to the biggest critics

[PK]

I've been going to The Egyptian for 58 years now! And I live in Arkansas!

That's a long ride. Hopefully it's not for a take out order.

[redpony]

I went to SMU because I used to listen to the SMU/Notre Dame games and was a Doak Walker fan. THAT is an old(er) fan of SMU! I've been going to The Egyptian for 58 years now! And I live in Arkansas!

I guess there are pony fans as old as I am. Think I beat you to the Egyptian by a few years. In fact Sam Campisi and his family lived across the street from my ex- inlaws.
Love their marinated crab claws as well as the pizza.

[Charleston Pony]

How many games, besides the really convenient ones...have you been to the last couple of years? And how many times have you complained about the attendance at Ford?

hey newbie: you are a little bit misguided in who you are trying to attack here. The hardcores on this board are not the issue. It's our class mates and former classmates who should have an interest in supporting SMU that we complain about. We don't have a product that is going to attract the casual sports fan in DFW, so it's up to those with some connection to SMU to care enough to be part of the solution...but too many have the attitude that "give me a top 10 program playing teams of national interest before I (might) buy a ticket". Too many just don't understand that our lack of a large following is what has us among the have-nots in college athletics. I will assume you support the program by attending as many games as you can. That's all we are saying. We don't have enough students and graduates who care enough to do their part in bringing this program back. There was never a doubt that programs like USC, Penn State, etc... would come back from their sanctions. SMU was a completely different story. We didn't have a huge following even at the height of the Pony Express, but it's frustrating that we can't come close to filling Ford with our own fans.

[Arkpony]

Actually I do take out orders from Campisis and bring them back to Arkansas.

[PK]

Actually I do take out orders from Campisis and bring them back to Arkansas.

I forgot about that little trick they have for those situations. Works pretty well from what I have heard.

[covok48]

Wow, a long overdue thread addressing our abysmally low attendance issues. Surely I've never seen of of these before. Let's discuss!

I suppose here is where I claim to have been a fan of the program since 19XX, spend thousands of dollars in airfare/ lodging/ tickets to attend x number of games per year to watch us lay an egg against garbage competition. That way i can smugly claim I'm a true fan.

How about this? Shut up and be grateful we have any fans with that much dedication at all.

[ClassOf81]

My first 2 years out of SMU, I had a job that required me to work Saturdays.
Since then, I have not missed a single home game, and I have made every game we have played at TCU, NTSU, Baylor, Texas A&M, Texas, Rice, Tulsa and all but 2 games at Houston.

[HarvCrimYaleBlue]

Here's the thing. The old timers like me (1985), picked SMU because it was a good school with a good football team in a good conference. The newbies picked SMU only because it was a good school . If the newbies were interested in football, they would not have chosen SMU because SMU football has been in the tank for decades. It's good that some newbies are football fans but it's not to be expected. Football was not a consideration in choosing their school. It was a big consideration for me when I chose SMU over NYU for my LL.M.

Serious question...you picked the school based on it having a good football program? Were you a student athlete / player? If not that statement seems misguided. I would hope all people choose a school based on the education you would receive first and foremost.

I definitely did not choose SMU for sports (2001 grad), however I support various sports in the capacity that I can. Was a huge soccer fan because I played myself (although not good enough to play collegiatly) and SMU was really good in the early 2000's, thanks Luci. Caught basketball games and really enjoy the football gameday atmosphere now no matter my displeasure and frustration with on field execution. I go because I am a fan of the University.

To answer the original posters question I go to what I can. Been to Lubbock, Waco and Birmingham. Also bought tickets to College Station and Fort Worth, but had to forego the trips at the last moment. Would like to go to Houston and...Michigan!

[Stallion]

Well I guess you proved his point. There re plenty of people that choose a school based upon deep seated loyalty to a school fostered by athletics

[ponyte]

ONe reason I enjoy the games is the people in my immediate area. One or so post on this board but most don't. They show up for most games which I attend. I believe because of their location they attend more games than me.

Perhaps the Athletic department is surveying these fans. The dedicated fans that make up the majority of the fan base and don't post their opinions on the Internet. I do believe if we could get more folks like these in the base it would make a difference. They are local and they are dedicated and they can bring (easily) friends.

For what its worth, though most of us on this board are not satisfied with our home games, all have been exciting games. Three more so than others. And entertainment is important to attract fans.

Beat Cinney and make the UConn game something folks interested in SMU football want to see (going over .500, getting one step closer to bowl eligibility, making the UH, UCF game important). NOt saying our attendance improves, but it creates excitement for those local and loyal fans and gives something of a buzz around town.

And GG's recent recognition might attract a few if we win in Cinney. Football is about the players for casual fans and we have a budding celebrity.

[Dwan]

It is interesting reading this thread. SMU has such a bizarre collection of fans. You kind of have three groups

First group- were SMU students or fans prior to the DP. They have seen SMU be an elite program that competed for national titles and sign top 5 recruiting classes. They stood by the team through the DP and the post DP years. They can never really get excited about an 8 win season especially when those 8 wins come against the worst teams in division one. They experienced the glory and suffered (or are still suffering) through the pain. They know we will never be elite again, but they just want to see us be able to compete against our old SWC foes and not get embarrassed. They could live with 8 win seasons if the team beat TCU and Tech. They see Pony Excess and get nostalgic .

Second group- were SMU students or fans post DP. Basically were fans of a division 1AA program. Division 1AA level players, facilities, fan base, and attendance. The team would win maybe two or three games a year but when they played in the SWC or other established schools, game was over in the second quarter. They look at an 8 win season and a bowl game and are thrilled. They never experienced glory, only the pain which they came to know as the norm. They see the BLVD, games on TV, Bowl Games on TV, Players in the NFL....and are pretty satisfied. They see Pony Excess and think it is fiction.

Third Group- became SMU fans or Students after 2002. They have seen the program reach the heights of being decent. They are used to seeing the team go to bowl games and seeing .500 or better football. They see the facilities, the BLVD, the bowl games and are convinced we are a coach away from being elite again. That we should be winning 10 games a season and getting back in the Big 12. To them, Pony Excess and the glory days are a coach away.

And oddly enough, each one of these groups is right in their own way.

[mustangxc]

It is interesting reading this thread. SMU has such a bizarre collection of fans. You kind of have three groups

First group- were SMU students or fans prior to the DP. They have seen SMU be an elite program that competed for national titles and sign top 5 recruiting classes. They stood by the team through the DP and the post DP years. They can never really get excited about an 8 win season especially when those 8 wins come against the worst teams in division one. They experienced the glory and suffered (or are still suffering) through the pain. They know we will never be elite again, but they just want to see us be able to compete against our old SWC foes and not get embarrassed. They could live with 8 win seasons if the team beat TCU and Tech. They see Pony Excess and get nostalgic .

Second group- were SMU students or fans post DP. Basically were fans of a division 1AA program. Division 1AA level players, facilities, fan base, and attendance. The team would win maybe two or three games a year but when they played in the SWC or other established schools, game was over in the second quarter. They look at an 8 win season and a bowl game and are thrilled. They never experienced glory, only the pain which they came to know as the norm. They see the BLVD, games on TV, Bowl Games on TV, Players in the NFL....and are pretty satisfied. They see Pony Excess and think it is fiction.

Third Group- became SMU fans or Students after 2002. They have seen the program reach the heights of being decent. They are used to seeing the team go to bowl games and seeing .500 or better football. They see the facilities, the BLVD, the bowl games and are convinced we are a coach away from being elite again. That we should be winning 10 games a season and getting back in the Big 12. To them, Pony Excess and the glory days are a coach away.

And oddly enough, each one of these groups is right in their own way.

Funny, I fall in between the last two both in terms of my years at SMU (2000-2003) and my expectations for the program. I am thrilled about ending the season with more wins than losses, regular bowling, games on TV, Adidas/Nike merchendise, players in the NFL, etc. I also think that we should expect better and know that getting the right coach could take us to the next level.

My concern is that their are a lot more misses than hits in coaching searches and would like to enjoy our moderate success as much as possible. Our time will come.

[RyanSMU98]

It is interesting reading this thread. SMU has such a bizarre collection of fans. You kind of have three groups

First group- were SMU students or fans prior to the DP. They have seen SMU be an elite program that competed for national titles and sign top 5 recruiting classes. They stood by the team through the DP and the post DP years. They can never really get excited about an 8 win season especially when those 8 wins come against the worst teams in division one. They experienced the glory and suffered (or are still suffering) through the pain. They know we will never be elite again, but they just want to see us be able to compete against our old SWC foes and not get embarrassed. They could live with 8 win seasons if the team beat TCU and Tech. They see Pony Excess and get nostalgic .

Second group- were SMU students or fans post DP. Basically were fans of a division 1AA program. Division 1AA level players, facilities, fan base, and attendance. The team would win maybe two or three games a year but when they played in the SWC or other established schools, game was over in the second quarter. They look at an 8 win season and a bowl game and are thrilled. They never experienced glory, only the pain which they came to know as the norm. They see the BLVD, games on TV, Bowl Games on TV, Players in the NFL....and are pretty satisfied. They see Pony Excess and think it is fiction.

Third Group- became SMU fans or Students after 2002. They have seen the program reach the heights of being decent. They are used to seeing the team go to bowl games and seeing .500 or better football. They see the facilities, the BLVD, the bowl games and are convinced we are a coach away from being elite again. That we should be winning 10 games a season and getting back in the Big 12. To them, Pony Excess and the glory days are a coach away.

And oddly enough, each one of these groups is right in their own way.

Sums it up pretty well, and has a direct impact on getting alums involved. Technically, I fall in group 2 (1994-1998). We saw the SWC disintegrate, Ownby get replaced by DART rides to the Cotton Bowl for home games, and generally were led to believe that football was about the social experience and not the game because the games were by and large HORRIBLE. Spend four years in that environment, and it is hard to convince somebody that football is worth coming back to since it wasn't worth going to in the first place. However, I also have group 3 expectations; I think if you can get a high energy coach with a solid recruiting staff who will aggressively reach out to the SMU and broader community, you can build some buzz to at least get folks to check out the product. To do that, you not only need the right head coach (see LB), but the entire administration behind marketing the crap out of it. This in my mind has been JJ's biggest failure next to recruiting; he embraced Hawaii to the point of being synonymous with the school and the state; he has treated SMU and Dallas with at best indifference, then wonders why nobody is real excited to come check out his team.

[Stallion]

maybe we could just buy Hawaii a June statute to be built in Honolulu-certainly not on SMU's campus

[mrydel]

So if we stated certain places they could not put the statue, that would make it a statue of limitations, right?