Mullen email on SBW. Who thinks we exceed last Spring?

pDigital32Dawg

Freshman
Aug 29, 2009
2,996
85
48
<font face="'PrimaSans BT,Verdana,sans-serif'">With the weather projecting thunderstorms Saturday who thinks we will even have more people attend than last season?
I hope we get the numbers but the advertising campaign hasn't been as good as it was last Spring. I hope people show up in droves but right now I don't see it.

Students, Supporters, Mississippi State family,

If you've heard us speak in the past few months, you've probably heard us say
the number 40,000. Forty thousand people in Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday at 5
p.m. for the Maroon-White Game. We've made a point of getting that number out in
the public for one simple reason - it's important.

It's important for our family and friends that have moved away to come back to
campus for Super Bulldog Weekend. It's important for our students and residents
of Starkville to come out and support our university.

It's important for our football team. Our guys have been working hard since the
last time you saw them (yes, we all remember that 41-27 beatdown over the school
up north), and they deserve the reward of seeing a huge crowd at Davis Wade
Stadium before they begin a grueling summer. But we're not satisfied with what
we accomplished last season, and you should demand more of us next year as well.
Just like our team was inspired by the record-breaking attendance each week last
season, we expect it to be even better and louder this year. And those
expectations begin now.

It's important because your attendance next weekend will show the top recruits
in the state of Mississippi and around the Southeast the support and passion and
pride they will see each Saturday in the fall.

It's also important for our university and for our future. Sure the football
program and the volleyball team and the soccer and basketball and track teams
will have recruits here, but so will the colleges of engineering and business
and every school on campus. High school students and kids from around the state
will be here this weekend and it's our chance, as a family, to make a huge
impression.

It's important, but it's certainly not a sacrifice. There will be events and fun
times everywhere you turn next weekend. From the unbelievable atmosphere at Dudy
Noble Field to the Cotton District Arts Festival to Fanfair in The Junction to
the Maroon-White Game and the concert following, there will be something for
everybody from April 16-18.

So we look forward to seeing everybody there, because it's important.

Thank you and Go Dawgs,
Dan Mullen
</font>
 

mstatefan88

Redshirt
Nov 30, 2008
3,396
0
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Dan is pushing really hard for this, and I think with the excitement about a lot of the young guys stepping up, and the QB battle looming large over spring practices, people are going to want to show up for the game regardless of how the baseball team is playing. We should have great weather for the game. Mid to upper 70's at game time, and a little cloudy. Has the makeup for a great spring game. </p>
 

Mjoelner

All-Conference
Sep 2, 2006
2,650
1,106
113
a 99% chance of a little league baseball team showing their skills at Dudy Noble. The latter will have more to do with football attendance than the first.

With that being said, I'm sure if thereis around 30k at the game, they'll announce 40 like last year when there was around 20k and they announced 30.
 

hidolahall

Redshirt
Mar 3, 2008
29
0
0
We need to have at least 40,000 screaming fans on Saturday.This is what potential recruits want to see.A fanbase excited about it's football program and a team that is on the rise.Bama just won the NC three years after being a mediocre SEC team and it's all about recruits and coaching.We have the coaching and the fans have to do their part in recruiting and that is showing up and being loud for the Maroon and White game.Then this fall showing all the recruits watching on t.v. that they will play in front of sell out crowds that are just as loud as they will see at Fla and Lsu.If you don't attend then don't come on the message boards bitchin about our record and why State always finishes in the bottom half of the SEC in recruiting.</p>
 

rem101

Sophomore
Jan 22, 2008
3,180
131
63
They have always had a sidewalk full of fans watching games, and that didn't help them win a NC under Shula.
 
Nov 17, 2008
1,519
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Calm down, it's only a spring game. The threat of rain last year scared me away. A 7-year old (my son)in a wheel chair and body cast doesn't mix well with rain. I doubtus skipping one year will ruin the football program.
 

GhostOfJackie

Senior
Apr 20, 2009
3,731
618
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A 30% chance of isolated storms is going to keep people away from an absolute **** show on Saturday? Give me a break. We have the arts festival, baseball game, spring game, concert, bar, and after party. It's going to be a **** show and people who miss out just because of a little chance of rain are straight wimps. IF IF IF it rains, put on a damn poncho and support the team that we complain about to no end on this board. Like Mullen said "it's important".
 

RebelBruiser

Redshirt
Aug 21, 2007
7,349
0
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The reason you don't win national titles, the reason you don't recruit nationally, and the reason you don't have a stadium as loud as LSU, Florida, UT, or Alabama is because you don't have the resources.

Your alumni base and your student body are much smaller than those other schools. Your state's population is much smaller than the states those other schools reside in, AND you still only get a split of the state's walk-on fanbase, unlike schools like LSU and UT that get ALL of their state's walk-on fans. To go further with the state population thing, your home state doesn't produce the sheer amount of talent that the other states in the Southeast produce, largely because of its smaller population. The only SEC states that produce less talent than Mississippi are Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas. Tennessee and Arkansas have the benefit of having all the walk-on fans and most of the state's players growing up fans of their school. Tennessee has the benefit of a very large enrollment, a large alumni base, and a lot of money, that allows them to go out of state to recruit more successfully.

The sooner you realize that your school is not going to become a national power or compete for national titles in football without those factors changing, the better off you'll be. Most of those factors are out of your school's control as well. Hiring a coach and showing up to support your program won't all of a sudden reverse the fortunes of your program.

It took me until I was about 22 or 23 to figure that out for myself, but ever since then, I've enjoyed my football program a whole lot more, because I now understand that there are certain things that just aren't going to happen, and if they do it'll be a once in a lifetime chance. I'll go ahead and spoil another one for you as well. You may win 1 or 2 SEC football titles in your lifetime, if you're lucky, at least as long as none of those other factors makes a dramatic change.
 

hidolahall

Redshirt
Mar 3, 2008
29
0
0
You're right the fans they don't play a role in a team's success.Mullen had a little free time on his hands so he decided to write a letter just for the hell of it,saying it was important to the program to have fan support.Saban is a good coach,but he is a great recruiter.He doesn't win the NC without those big time recruits.If we are ever going to have a chance to land big time recruits, it helps if when they are on campus they see excitement about our program.Crowd noise creates atmosphere which means alot to potential recruits watching on tv.It sounds like some of you want to have a good team but are unwilling to do what it takes to have a good team.
 

maroonmania

Senior
Feb 23, 2008
11,075
719
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at actually getting 40,000 had we signed Newton. A LOT of people would likely want to come get a peek at a hyped QB recruit that would have almost certainly been our starter. People still probably want to get a look at Russell but it seems apparent that, to this point, Relf will be the man and he is more of a known quantity.
 

hidolahall

Redshirt
Mar 3, 2008
29
0
0
I agree with your comments.Our fans should still do everything they can to support this team and do whatever we can to help our university be the best it can be.I realize that we will never have what those other schools have, but that doesn't mean we should stop trying to do our best.We may not ever win a NC but will can have a good program if everyone will do their part.</p>
 

JohnDawg

Redshirt
Sep 1, 2006
2,510
0
36
Sure, I applaud Mullen for writing an email trying to get people in the stands for the spring game. I'll be in Starkville Thursday evening until Sunday, but my point is, it's the spring game. Recruits aren't going to be beating down the gates to get into our spring game. <div>
</div><div>Also, Saban isn't just a good coach, he's a great coach. </div>
 

Mjoelner

All-Conference
Sep 2, 2006
2,650
1,106
113
Abutt in every seat on the lower level and clublevel is around 35k. Myself and everyone around me were guessing around 20k for the game. It was by far the most I've ever seen at one of our spring games but I still don't buy the 31k.