Can someone tell why I need to be exicted about Hawaii Bowl?

smupony94 · Post by **smupony94** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:15 am

So you want to go to a bowl where 3,000 people will show up and the school has to buy the remaining 10,000 tickets?

I can't wait until we go to a great bowl. At this point we would embarrass ourselves which would hurt recruiting even more. Look at UCONN, they were panned repeatedly in the press for not selling their allotment for the BCS bowl (10,000 tickets). That was non-stop national negative press.

2ndandlong · Post by **2ndandlong** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:23 am

smupony94 wrote:
PonyPlayer4 wrote:
2ndandlong wrote:I have been looking for tv ratings for each bowl, but I can't find anything reliable. Anyone know a good source on this?

Someone posted this right after bowl season last year. I think we were bottom 3-5 in ratings in the AFB.

Out of 32 bowls we were number 29

what about ticket city and aloha?

ReedFrawg · Post by **ReedFrawg** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:24 am

smupony94 wrote:So you want to go to a bowl where 3,000 people will show up and the school has to buy the remaining 10,000 tickets?

I can't wait until we go to a great bowl. At this point we would embarrass ourselves which would hurt recruiting even more. Look at UCONN, they were panned repeatedly in the press for not selling their allotment for the BCS bowl (10,000 tickets). That was non-stop national negative press.

I believe they sold less than half their allottment. The criticism was warranted.

StangCP · Post by **StangCP** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:42 am

gostangs wrote:
And i am not talking about the new or casual fan (don't have enough of those)- would like to see us do something for the 2-3k very loyal fans that have been through hell with this team for 25 years. When do they get a thank you? When do they get to feel like a rock star? Maybe if we showed our loyal fans some appreciation there would be more of them.

OK, really? What "thank you" would you like to get? Play a bowl game in Dallas? We did that last year. So...do you want to play in Dallas every year then? What works for YOU?

Sure, June wants to go to Hawaii. The reason it is going to happen, though, is that ESPN wants June back in Hawaii to play his old team in the bowl game that they own, for their benefit, not ours. I cannot say for sure but I am willing to bet that, if you ask ESPN to act in the interest of SMU fans who have "been through hell with this team for 25 years" instead of their own stakeholders, the answer will be no. I am happy to put you in touch with some people there.

Seriously, what do you want? A great coach? check. Winning Seasons? check. Bowl game invitations? check. Beat TCU in their house? check. Top 25 votes? check. BCS AQ conference affiliation? check. ESPN to think about you when it comes to bowl games? get lost.

Our athletic staff has lived hell every day and works their [deleted] off to get us through it. Give these guys some credit - they are doing the best they can whether or not people show up on gameday. It is paying off and it will get better. How about we don't browbeat them every freaking day? Let's just show up at whatever bowl we are lucky enough to be included in and make the best of it. i.e. kick some [deleted]. If you can be there, great! If not, turn on the TV or go somewhere and support our team. I am sure Dutch will mix a concoction that will help you relax a bit.

2ndandlong · Post by **2ndandlong** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:56 am

ESPN sees a story in June going back to Hawaii that they could promote, albeit a little.

What is the story to promote where SMU stays in Dallas? Again?

smuuth · Post by **smuuth** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:58 am

Because it is not about you gettting excited. That is the least of the priorities of the Program at this point.Are you kidding? Correct me if I am wrong but I believe Hawaii has worldwide appeal and probably the best site for a visiting team besides possibly the Rose Bowl game in Pasadena and maybe the Orange Bowl in Miami. NAtional TV! Beautiful weather in the midle of winter. Beautiful people and so much to do. It is about rewarding the players who have done the work. Fans will have to watch it on tv or travel. How many SMU fans would travel to Memphis? If they don't travel to Fort Worth to watch SMU-TCU then why expect them to travel to Memphis in winter with nothing to do but go to jazz clubs, eat bbbbq and go to the casinos and dog races!

No Quarter · Post by **No Quarter** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 11:14 am

Mostly I think a trip to the Hawaii Bowl should be regarded as one of JJ's perks and something we should expect every few years during his tenure at SMU. Gostang put it very well on the first page of this thread and at least once on a later page.

Having said that, it comes to mind that Oklahoma was on probation many years ago and part of the penalty was no bowl games. The Sooners tried to add a game to their schedule - with Hawaii out there. IIRC the NCAA said no because it would be an unfair recruiting advantage.

It is not nearly as big a deal to visit the islands today as it was years ago but it still seems like a nice trip for the team during a season when the weather in Dallas or Memphis may be ugly.

gostangs · Post by **gostangs** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 11:22 am

What do I want? i want to see us improve - and although i know we have it would be great if at the end of the year it felt like it by seeing us move up the pecking order. Hawaii bowl is same thing we did 2 years ago. We will have half as many people there. It is a terrible trip to make since it is Christmas Eve. We have been on a rail to go there from day one - and that can be annoying since the goal is suppose to be winning the conference.

I am the biggest SMU fan you can imagine - glad June is here, glad a few very loyal alumni pulled us out of the swamp by building Ford and bringing June here. Totally excited about the pending B.E.

Bottom line - there might not be great options here - but i think most SMU fans are ready to be able to take a fun Bowl game trip -and for the third year in a row we cant do that.

Are we better off then where we were a few years ago? Absolutely - and it is great to debate bowl games instead of come up short once again - so i get that - but the bar is higher now so we can stop patting ourselves on the back for not being horrible.

The wise players get an education out of this - the staff gets a pay check. The fans get to watch from home. Yippee.

SMU_Alumni11 · Post by **SMU_Alumni11** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 11:31 am

smusic 00 wrote:
SMU_Alumni11 wrote:
smusic 00 wrote:Because it is our 3rd straight bowl game.

What does that have to do with where we are playing? Go to ticket city bowl its our 3rd bowl game, and if they go to hawaii its 3rd bowl game...

just giving a reason to be excited. When I was in school, we never went to 3 straight bowl games. Most alumni are in the same boat. I think 3 straight bowl games is excitement worthy wherever the team plays. BTW, there won't be a free buffet for you at the bowl game.

Really? I did not know you dont get free food at bowl games. You are so smart, Im guessing music is top notch field. Especially pointing out that if we go to hawaii its our thirds straight bowl game, but not our third straight bowl game if we go to ticketcity bowl.

SMU_Alumni11 · Post by **SMU_Alumni11** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 11:37 am

ALEX LIFESON wrote:
smudubs wrote:
gostangs wrote:No reason. We will be flat since it will be old news to our guys. It is just June wanting to go where he will be worshipped. It is just ego

Might be nice if we could go somewhere our fans could see our bowl game that is not our own stadium. But why would that enter into anything?

How many of the players have you spoken to who have said they would be flat for a trip to Hawaii? A trip that many proclaim was the best trip of their lives. If you really want to see the team come out flat, have them play in Dallas. Oh wait, we saw that epic fail last year. I have talked to enough of the actual players to say definitively, the PLAYERS want to go to Hawaii. They do not see playing in Dallas against an average Big 10 team as a reward.

Now the idea of going somewhere where the fans can attend is laughable. Why award a fan base that doesn't come to home games. Tulsa was only three hours away and I would guess we had fewer than 1000 fans there. That was a game with championship implications and where were our fans? The weather was absolutely beautiful and they sold beer right outside the stadium and where were the fans? As some have pointed out here, Rice, an in-state rival less than four hours from SMU, will have poor attendance because it is on Thanksgiving weekend. This is a home game people! But it is reasonable to expect poor attendance because it is on a holiday weekend.

Yet many argue the Ticket City Bowl would be better? Playing a team that most really don't care about, during the holiday season when we can all freeze our butts off in the stands is better? Yeah, I say go to Hawaii. Be the only game on TV and put on an absolute show. Let recruits know what SMU football is all about without having to explain a half empty Cotton Bowl to them. Do some of you actually put serious thought into some of the things you post? Is post count really that important?

A+ post. Beat Navy!

D-, time will tell that Hawaii bowl will be a mistake, especially if we lose to Hawaii. There is no getting around it: Its for June, Its for Hawaii's economy (not ours), its a free trip for players, an excusable trip for rich alums. Now if you are to say this is great way to punish fans for poor attendance, then by all means you are correct. It sucks for those who did show up to every game, but the majority that didnt should get slapped with no bowl game to travel to. Also when you are talking about recuriting, please mention its minimal for us getting good and big talent, but a great recruiting tool for Hawaii, because theyll see the huge rainbow losers crowd.

ALEX LIFESON · Post by **ALEX LIFESON** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 11:54 am

D-, time will tell that Hawaii bowl will be a mistake, especially if we lose to Hawaii. There is no getting around it: Its for June, Its for Hawaii's economy (not ours), its a free trip for players, an excusable trip for rich alums. Now if you are to say this is great way to punish fans for poor attendance, then by all means you are correct. It sucks for those who did show up to every game, but the majority that didnt should get slapped with no bowl game to travel to. Also when you are talking about recuriting, please mention its minimal for us getting good and big talent, but a great recruiting tool for Hawaii, because theyll see the huge rainbow losers crowd.[/quote][/quote]

Unless you are talking about 5,000 SMU fans going to the Cotton Bowl, what bowl game are you talking about "our fans" travelling to? Our fans DO NOT travel, not even to Ford Stadium.

mrydel · Post by **mrydel** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 11:59 am

Hoofbeat83 wrote:
mrydel wrote:Where is the option for.....I can't go because I do not want to go alone and my wife will not go because she is afraid of drowning when we fly over the ocean and she will not listen to me when I tell her that hitting the water would kill her so she would not have to worry about drowning? Huh? What kind of poll is this without all the options that it should have?

Take her on the LOVE BOAT

She is not afraid of flying. She is afraid of drowning. No way she gets on a boat. She shudders if we drive past a Bass Pro Shop.

SMU_Alumni11 · Post by **SMU_Alumni11** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 12:01 pm

ALEX LIFESON wrote:D-, time will tell that Hawaii bowl will be a mistake, especially if we lose to Hawaii. There is no getting around it: Its for June, Its for Hawaii's economy (not ours), its a free trip for players, an excusable trip for rich alums. Now if you are to say this is great way to punish fans for poor attendance, then by all means you are correct. It sucks for those who did show up to every game, but the majority that didnt should get slapped with no bowl game to travel to. Also when you are talking about recuriting, please mention its minimal for us getting good and big talent, but a great recruiting tool for Hawaii, because theyll see the huge rainbow losers crowd.

[/quote]

Unless you are talking about 5,000 SMU fans going to the Cotton Bowl, what bowl game are you talking about "our fans" travelling to? Our fans DO NOT travel, not even to Ford Stadium.[/quote]

I think you are right that if we just left our usual crap marketing the way it is and go to the cotton bowl. However, if some booster or campus donation or something goes out and gets every marketing piece available (other than you know primetime tv ads) and lets people know SMU returns to its stadium : Cotton Bowl. I'm sure it can garner attention. I really wish it was a Big 12 vs CUSA, then most likely would be a SWC match, but for some reason they rather get a Big 10 team. I think there will be well over 5000 fans, at least 15000 would go (without any marketing help). I do also think its a treat for players to play at the cotton bowl, I can understand the AFB not being a treat. I remember someone saying that players never been to Hawaii and all that but thats true for every year. We can just go every other year to Hawaii to make sure everyone sees it.

RE Tycoon · Post by **RE Tycoon** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 12:08 pm

smupony94 wrote:So you want to go to a bowl where 3,000 people will show up and the school has to buy the remaining 10,000 tickets?

If memory serves, we played in Dallas last year and we sold our allotment and tickets were going for laughingly high amounts on stub hub. Depending on the opponent, the Cotton Bowl will most likely be half full, but SMU has proven they can sell tickets to a Dallas bowl game (as we should).

I agree with the USC - TCU faction. We should play in the bowl with the most prominent name school, no matter where it is located.

And for the people that think CUSA will punish us, you have no idea how bowl games work. There is a pecking order of bowls and they pick who they want, the conference doesn't do the picking. Besides, the conference wants the bowl games to be well attended so they can keep their affiliations, so even if they could make the call, they'd be shooting themselves in the foot by sending SMU, UH, or UCF to a bowl game purposely to effect attendance.

Stallion · Post by **Stallion** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 12:11 pm

CUSA most certainly does have a voice on which teams go where-basically they are going to try to maximize revenues-the Commissioner has stated that its less slotting and more of a corraborative decision on which teams go to which Bowls-at least in CUSA that's how it happens