Dan Mullen speech

[SyonaraStanz]

Overall, our fan base has done really well supporting this team. The student section has been full well before kick-off during most, if not all, games this season. So why piss and moan about some students leaving a game early? Sometimes **** happens; get over it. If it continues into a trend, then ***** and complain, but after one time, bite your lip. No one and no situation is perfect. Occassionally you're going to be let down, either by your team, coaches, or fanbase. Mullen griping about this makes me wonder if he's setting up his excuse/reason for leaving in the future after some success.

Also, are the KY tickets available the ones returned by KY? If so, it's not easy for families to drop plans this weekend to buy recently available tickets for the game. It's not like they went unsold since day one.

 

[yagsigwadirruzza]

and you've succeeded in allowing douchebags to run your board.

 

[yagsigwadirruzza]

All I'm saying, is that I hope MSU fans as a whole don't think that we've done anything special. It's almost like we're so accustomed to half assing things and underachieving, that when we're average, we act like we've accomplished something. We prevent ourselves from obtaining something better.

You need big goals. Alabama and Auburn type success is not realistic, I agree, but it's something to shoot for. South Carolina a good example of what MSU CAN achieve.

 

[ckDOG]

It's no small feat that we are able to sell out our ticket allotment given the economy (yes, it matters) and the last decade of crap performances. That's a big deal. However, our fans have to do a better job at filling those seats when the purchasers decide not to use the tickets. The Alcorn and UAB games were not capacity games. You also can't have a quarter of the place leave at half time because we aren't kicking somebody's ***. All that has to change - people (coaches, RECRUITS, players, etc.) notice things like that and it matters. It's fine if you buy season tickets but have something come up or decide you can't afford to travel for a weekend. That's none of my business. Just give the ticket away. A filled seat is better than an empty seat.

I do think his point stands, but I just don't think we are at the right time to be able to officially cast that judgment. We still have some bad habits to break as a fan base. If we finish this season strong and we have an attendance (not sales) issue next year, that's going to be a big factor in Mullen's decision on whether or not he stays here long term or not. Winners usually have egos. Egos can't be stroked without a full house. If we want to retain a winning coach, the fans have to play their part. It's simple.

Again, I don't think we are anywhere close to panic stage yet. There are some behaviors to be concerned with though. Fortunately, I think the administration is cognizant of this and knows that it's best to go ahead and nip this in the bud by doing things like they did yesterday where Mullen used the cowbell issue to call out the students for leaving the UAB game early.

 

[Johnson85]

I'd rather take the hit on attendance but have a week to get people healthy. I do agree with playing USM first game of the schedule. I really don't want USM as a trap game.

 

[dawgstudent]

[No message]

 

[mjh94]

you stupid mother 17er.. god, if i could give you a right hook through the computer screen.

 

[yagsigwadirruzza]

their fans are doing their part.</p>

 

[yagsigwadirruzza]

We have to show up even if we're having tough times. Ole Miss is a good example, during one of their better teams in recent memory, they lose a game or two and the fans just quit coming. We CAN'T have that.

 

[o_1984Dawg]

</p>

 

[klerushund]

does it fall to the team to generate their own support? I don't think people just started supporting Kentucky basketball because they liked blue (I can't prove this to be true). I think what happened was that Kentucky basketball consistently performed on the court and support grew. People followed greatness. Be great and people will follow. Ultimately it's on the team to win. I can promise you this, if Mullen continues to win and the team keeps improving game-to-game and year-to-year, then support will grow. People follow winning. Asking for support similar to Auburn & Alabama after the decade we just had is really stupid. Those teams' on field performances are miles ahead of MSU both historically and recently.<div>
</div><div>The people who support State right now are the people who will support State no matter what (see: Croom years). That support base isn't going anywhere. The kind of support that many in this thread are hoping for is the kind of support that only comes when you add the fair-weather crowd to that base of diehards. The walk-up alumni only follow winning. You want to convert those people to diehards? It's going to take more than a Peach Bowl appearance. It's going to take consistent winning.</div><div>
</div><div>I mean, seriously, we couldn't sell out the stadium (without the recent additions) when we were playing to go to Atlanta in 1998 (vs. Arkansas). In comparison, people leaving the UAB game early seems like a small issue.</div>

 

[ckDOG]

I disagree in instances where we have a worthless stubborn coach that is clearly in the process of running our program into the ground. I had no problem with small crowds during the 2nd half of the Croom era.

I do agree that should be the case going forward with Mullen unless he proves that he's a moron of a coach (doubtful). If we manage to lose to UK this week and we have a miserable crowd for the Arkansas game - I'm going to be extremely disappointed. It's fairly obvious that Mullen knows what he's doing and has a great shot of making something happen at MSU. He deserves 100%+ capacity for every game until he proves otherwise. That's a long way off. Until then, that stadium needs to be beyond capacity.

 

[FISHDAWG]

We have to show up even if we're having tough times. Ole Miss is a good example, during one of their better teams in recent memory, they lose a game or two and the fans just quit coming. We CAN'T have that.

or either Manny Diaz already looking for a raise

 

[VegasDawg13]

Also, are the KY tickets available the ones returned by KY? If so, it's not easy for families to drop plans this weekend to buy recently available tickets for the game. It's not like they went unsold since day one.

Per Stricklin's twitter feed, yes, they are.That fact makesall of thepeople bitching about tickets still being available the week of the game seem pretty damn silly.

 

[patdog]

Don't waste the I-AA game on the first game of the season. Use it as a 2nd bye week. Play a CUSA/Sunbelt team in the 1st game. Definitelyplay USM first. That's the only way both teams will be fired up for the game.

 

[Topgundawg]

I'm glad coach is sounding off on cowbells, attendance, etc. its been so damn long since we had anything to cheer about that it's like a train were just a little slow getting started. I expect Kentucky game to be over the top and I hope Scott can put together some type of package on the big screen before game to get folks thinking about when to ring the bell. Students will be students and Fans will be Fans. I have to admit at the Florida game after the win it was pretty special seeing the fans and the team just staying in the stadium cheering.

We'll get there......

 

[Hector.sixpack]

Maybe I'm missing the sarcasm.

There's a "package" that tells folks when to ring their bells. There's a sign the whole game that says "Bell" or "Yell" on the jumbotron. There's other stuff that flashes on the screen for people to just yell and resttheir bell. I don't know what else the admin can do.

 

[Todd4State]

let's recap:
8 straight sellouts, coming behind a decade of losing.
broke season ticket sales record two years straight
sold all season tickets this year
put 30K in the stands. for the spring game. Twice.
travel well
and watch what happens when it's determined what bowl we're going to.

So, while we may or may not end up selling out UK, and I'm guessing we do, I think that State fans have done a helluva lot to get this thing going Dan's way.

Sure, I would imagine that there are a lot of schools that would love to draw 50K a game, and do all of those things that you said.

But let's be honest here- we can do better. Is it really too much to ask our fans to leave hunting early a few times a year or go when the team is on the road, or asking the students to stay for the entire game?

And I do understand that some opponents are less attractive and if you are on a budget and can't go to all of the games and you choose to skip the C-USA ones, I certainly understand that. And that's why it's up to the administration to make sure that there is something tied into that game to keep the attendance up.

And as far as the UK game and the tickets, maybe they were just letting people know that tickets were available rather than ***** people out. These were UK's tickets that they sent back after all.

 

[RobbieRandolph]

..

 

[Topgundawg]

I've been to home games and I realize what they have done on the big board. I should of been a little bit more specific. Possibly letting fans know about the fines, etc. Maybe that is to much of a downer at game time. Putting that info on the big board is about like the folks on the plane telling you about their safety features. There telling you but you are not really paying attention if you have done any flying.

All I know is to this point what ever they have been doing, doesn't seem to have helped much......

 

[o_GuitarDawg]

To be pooled into the same category as the people that left the game early. We were never in full control of that game. Why would you, or anyone else leave? Unless you have an emergency of some sort, or you're not a real sports fan, you have no reason to be leaving before the game is over. Our team was worn out and emotionally drained, and then we have to play a UAB team that has been putting up decent numbers for a bowl birth while trying to not look ahead to Kentucky. That was a trap game, for those of you that didn't leave and know what I'm talking about. <div>(But for those of you who did leave - you obviously don't know what a trap game is. Its pretty much what I've described above: tough emotional win on foreign soil, another tough game in a couple weeks but sammiched between is a team that we are expected to beat)</div><div>
</div><div>It's called a trap game because the trap is set for us to lose. We have played our hearts out and are looking forward to the next week when in comes _____ and takes us by surprise by not coming in ready to roll over and die.</div><div>
</div><div>You kids that did leave are <17>'n stupid. Did you come to school here to party in the junction???</div><div>
</div><div>I lucked out and ran into someone I know that had an extra ticket for a chair-back seat. Boy am I glad I did. I had no clue that students were filing out like we were being blown out under Crooms. I sure hope they don't leave against Kentucky if we're winning/losing by 3 going into the 4th quarter, but it wouldn't surprise me too much.</div><div>
</div>

 

[dawgstudent]

They can only do so much.

 

[russb7591]

towards the end of the speech what did he say that had everyone laughing?

 

[Topgundawg]

DAMN.... Make a comment and get slammed .... I guess it would of been nice after the Auburn game for the fans to know that we were going to get fined. I guess your solution is for the AD to do nothing so we can go back to putting Cowbells in our paints...

 

[dawgstudent]

they have done everything. Showed a video before the games to tell you when to ring. Put up on the videoboard when you should precisely ring. Sent out a pamphlet, emails, and made a website. We can't control when the SEC lets us know that we are going to be fined.

You like putting cowbells up your ***?

 

[AssEndDawg]

So you like putting Cowbells up your *** eh? Get on over here boy...

 

[patdog]

not having the SEC announce fines after every game they apply. A lot of our fans have never really believed (against all logic or common sense) that the SEC is serious about this. They think we can just ignore the rule and then next yearif the bells are made illegal, things will just be like they were before. Then when nothing was said after the first few games, they just assumed that everything was OK. They should have announced the fines as they went, and Stricklin should have said that we simply cannot continue to be fined and that if the fines continue and cowbells are made illegal again, we will be forced to take real measures to keep cowbells out of the stadium, including metal detectors.

 

[dawgstudent]

unless they knew earlier we were going to be fined.

 

[Rebels7]

I assumed it was common knowledge. Sounds like just about everything the AD can do is being done.

 

[patdog]

I'm sure that part of the deal was negotiated and agreed to by both MSU and the SEC. And I'll be the first to admit that at first I thought it was a good idea to hold off so it wouldn't be in the papers every week. But I think both the SEC and MSU realized it was a mistake and that's why we're seeing this announcement this week. They knew if they just said nothing, it would get worse for these last two games and we'd be screwed. So they are giving us one last chance.</p>

 

[AssEndDawg]

Would you put up with metal detectors at the stadium? Look, I'm all for the Ring Responsibly ********, whatever, it's fine with me. But it is not practical. It wasn't practical to begin with so Scott or whoever should have either fought harder to make it possible or just said forget it, keep em illegal and let the SEC try to do something about it.

<span style="font-weight: bold;">Not practical:</span> Ring on timeout, score, halftime, before and after game.

<span style="font-weight: bold;">Practical:</span> No ringing while the other teams offense is in the huddle or their QB is under center.

Both of them give you what you want, the cowbell isn't a deciding factor in the game, but one of them is possible while the other isn't. I don't take a cowbell most of the time but when I do it's friggin' impossible not to ring it after a long first-down or when the defense makes a great stop. I think this is why most fans just say "screw it". Because it's a no win situation. What good is having our cowbells if we can't ring them when we convert an important 3rd and 10? Or when the defense makes a great stop?

Regardless, if someone thinks they are going to frisk me at the stadium, put cowbell police in the stands or put me through a metal detector it's time to go shopping for new administrators. It's our school and our tradition. I'm fine with leaving my bell at home but if you can't talk the MSU fans into stopping the ringing at the wrong time then we need to pay the fine and deal with it. It's obviously the choice the people of the university have made and a cost of doing business. Until I see an SEC cop in the stands I'm not getting all worked up about their enforcement capabilities.

 

[Topgundawg]

Dawgstudent: Sounds like your in bed with the AD..... I agree with other poster..... I don't have a problem with the AD I just want all out effort this weekend. I'm a season ticket holder and I didn't get SXXX from anyone about fines. Maybe all the students got emails..... If so we saw what good that did.... All I know is someone out there in Dawg land besides you and I have got to do something. The coach has done his part.... Its time for the AD to do a little more.....

And before you send me some more SXXX about it, quick Being such a AD *** Kisser......

 

[patdog]

Oh, wait.</p>

 

[AssEndDawg]

I have no direct control over the TSA and I don't pretend to. I think some of the rules at the airport are stupid but I have no problem going through a metal detector there for the common good. But this situation has nothing to do with that, this is about cowbells and I do have some measure of influence, however weak, at MSU. But more to the point I know a lot of other people who would also have a real problem with that. So where I wouldn't dream of mouthing off about a policy decided by 300 million voters (especially since I agree with it) I can get all chatty Kathy about something that I am one of what? 5000, 6000 Bulldog Club members. Sure, I might lose the fight but I would fight it anyway.

 

[TaleofTwoDogs]

Why is that so hard for some of you to understand?? A head coach is more than just a X&Os guy, he's an ambassador, a salesmen and a program manager. He's using everything in his repertoire to sell the program..including loyalty, motivation and yes, even guilt. It doesn't have anything to do with whether he stays or goes, that is determined by the play on the field. He knows "if you win they will come", but he also knows that fan behavior (ie., attendance and dollar support) needs to be constantly reinforced and nurtured. He's just taking care of buziness, nothing personal.

 

[patdog]

The simple fact is, plenty of stadiums and arenas use wand metal detectors and have no problem with it. It takes about 5 seconds and is really no big deal. It's not like you're going to quit going to games or quit giving money, so don't even pretend like you will. And it's not like you're stupid enough to not realize that this isn't something that our athletic dept would ever do if they weren't backed into a corner and forced to by the SEC and our dubmass fanbase. Actually, maybe you are stupid enough to not realize that.

Edit: Huh, huh, huh (in best Beavis & Butthead voice). I just realized I said AssEndDawg is full of ****.

 

[DerHntr]

how in the holy hell could you have missed the point that we need to ring at certain times, and not others, or we would get fined? you would have to have your damn head in the sand to have missed it.

 

[biguglyjoe]

*****

 

[AssEndDawg]

is why you feel the need to be such a prick about it. I'm having a pretty rational discussion. As I said, I have no problem with the Ring Responsibly and I do a pretty good job of sticking with it. I honestly don't bring a bell very often. I think the way it is setup we are doomed for failure and I find fault with our administration for not seeing that fact up front and trying to do something about it (maybe they did and I just don't know about it yet). I'm not saying I can't be reasonable about this and I don't think I ever said I was going to stop giving money or stop going to games. I didn't say that because you are right, I'm not. I'm a third generation MSU grad and my parents live in Starkville. I go to games all the time and will continue to.

But, I would have a real problem with our administration switching to metal detectors, putting police in the stadium to take up the bells or issuing any sort of crackdown. I would let the Athletic Department and our University President know that I have a problem with it. And I may stop giving money to the Bulldog Club for a period of time (I don't use my priority). I know a good number of Bulldog Club members who would also be unhappy if this happened. So to sum up, I don't think this was handled appropriately and when I have to get frisked or wanded at the game I would have a problem with it and I would speak out. If I didn't get my way I may shift some things around, I may not, but I wouldn't be happy. Eventually I would get over it. All in all I just think this whole thing was setup for failure and I see why our fans are not exactly singing a happy tune and getting in line. I also think you people who are promoting this "last chance to make this work" line are full of ****. If getting to keep the bells means living with the current rules I don't see that as a win.

 

[RougeDawg]

And I guess I know nothing about college football. I've only missed 4 17ing home games since the 2000 season, was a student through the Croom years, and never once have I ever left the game early. You assclowns need to realize that playing piss poor against a weak *** CUSA team, late on a Saturday night, the students are going to leave early. They want to get to the bars early. As a student I never left early because I care as much about the program as anybody else and stayed for plenty of assrapings. Mullen gave no indication to the fans that we would be playing without multiple offensive starters. Maybe we wouldn't have expected a blowout as I'm sure a majority of people did. To not know that your star RB wasn't playing and sitting there all game wondering what the 17 he did wasn't too fun. Had Mullen let people know before hand maybe the expectations wouldn't have been as high. </p>

I've been to every game this year (home and away) and have been a faithful supporter through some of the shittiest seasons in MSU history. I've stayed for every second of every game I've attended, Maine, Auburn 44-0, Troy on homecoming, etc. so I don't want a coach telling me how I need to be cheering. I give more than the minimum to the Bulldog Club and even bought extra season tickets this year. I only need one.

Isn't it a head coach's responsibility to get the team ready to play each and every week? Did it appear that the team was as fired up as they have been the past few games? Is anyone having a press conference saying that Dan didn't do what he was supposed to do in preparing the team mentally? That is my point, and that is all. He shouldn't be calling out others when it was a bad day overall for everyone: fans, players, and coaches but we still got the W. At least we can be pissed after a win instead of looking at another losing season.

You don't have to wish for giving that right hook through the screen, if you'd like I'll tell you my tailgate location for Saturday and you can bring it there. That is if you even attend the games.</p>