http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2012/11/24/arkansas-fires-john-l-smith/1724155/
I've always wanted to break big news like this.**
I've always wanted to break big news like this.**
Mullens to UPig**
- Thread starter NorCalDawg
- Start date
Because we have a history of being a stepping stone
Darryl Royal left us for Texas in the 1950s ....
Darryl Royal left us for Texas in the 1950s ....
Because Starkville is literally one of the smallest college towns in the BCS....
and we have no sustained winning tradition to speak of. the only way to change this is to gain more fans, give more money, win games and, most importantly, somehow attract people to starkville so they see it is a great place, not the cow pasture that many envision.
and we have no sustained winning tradition to speak of. the only way to change this is to gain more fans, give more money, win games and, most importantly, somehow attract people to starkville so they see it is a great place, not the cow pasture that many envision.
The perception of Starkville is a lot different than the perception of Oxford, for example. They're both perceptions and many sportswriters have never been to either place. The media builds one of them up and tries at best to downgrade the other one. OM graduates a lot of journalism majors who end up doing sports as well as other media and they promote those perceptions. Perception is reality, like it or not. The perception of the two towns will probably never change. The perception of losing versus winning can change by winning because it will be a fact, not a perception.
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I don't konw if we are perceived as a stepping stone as much as dead end...
Other than Royal, for most others it was their last FBS head coaching job. Tyler, Bellard, Felker, Sherrill...none of them stepped up from MSU.
Other than Royal, for most others it was their last FBS head coaching job. Tyler, Bellard, Felker, Sherrill...none of them stepped up from MSU.
In California, where I live, most people don't even know there is a Mississippi State University, but almost everyone has heard of Ole Miss. In fact, when I talk to people here about Mississippi State many of them say to me, "You mean Ole Miss, right?" or "Oh yeah, where Oher went to school? That was a great movie!" It's not everyone, but it's most of them.
I see a lot of people out here wearing Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and LSU apparel. I think I've seen one vehicle with an MSU alumni sticker on it since I've been here in 5 years. MSU just doesn't have that national recognition or the huge alumni and fan base like Michigan, Bama, etc... My boss, who is a huge Michigan fan originally from the Detroit area, thought they were playing Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl up until the day we played them! Of course, he knows who MSU is now and he actually follows MSU a little bit, now - at least enough to be conversant.
Until State starts beating some big name programs, like Michigan, on a regular basis the perception people have of us is just how it's going to be. It may be a little risky, but I think it's a good idea to open play next year with Okie State. Hopefully, we'll come away with a win. If not a win, I hope at least we can keep it close and be competitive. We're going to have to get on the national stage more and have positive results if we want the kind of attention, respect, and recruiting results (not that it's bad, just not elite) that we see other teams getting. I believe the athletic program is moving in the right direction with facility upgrades, good coaching hires, getting to bowl games consistently, good marketing, etc....
So, outside of some obvious media bias, I don't think everybody sees our program as a ********; I think a lot of people just don't know who MSU is.
I see a lot of people out here wearing Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and LSU apparel. I think I've seen one vehicle with an MSU alumni sticker on it since I've been here in 5 years. MSU just doesn't have that national recognition or the huge alumni and fan base like Michigan, Bama, etc... My boss, who is a huge Michigan fan originally from the Detroit area, thought they were playing Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl up until the day we played them! Of course, he knows who MSU is now and he actually follows MSU a little bit, now - at least enough to be conversant.
Until State starts beating some big name programs, like Michigan, on a regular basis the perception people have of us is just how it's going to be. It may be a little risky, but I think it's a good idea to open play next year with Okie State. Hopefully, we'll come away with a win. If not a win, I hope at least we can keep it close and be competitive. We're going to have to get on the national stage more and have positive results if we want the kind of attention, respect, and recruiting results (not that it's bad, just not elite) that we see other teams getting. I believe the athletic program is moving in the right direction with facility upgrades, good coaching hires, getting to bowl games consistently, good marketing, etc....
So, outside of some obvious media bias, I don't think everybody sees our program as a ********; I think a lot of people just don't know who MSU is.