Question for our fans (Warning Long)

[Yeti]

Name one MSU billionaire…..hell we have very few big millionaires. That said I don’t send money For one I don’t have a clue where to send , two I just rather my money go to helping other charities. I do think we need to figure out how to get 50 bucks a month or so from fans plus we need a benefactor that I don’t think exist.

 

[Mr. Cook]

So yeah .... maybe yesterday doesn't motivate me to give more. However it motivates me to really analyze deeper if State is really willing and capable from Keenum to Selmon to Lebby to the last fan. From what I see.... no.

I like the way you’ve phrased this. Equally as important, you pointed to another key factor: feasibility

What’s we’re witnessing from Ole Miss is the result of intentional steps to be where they are today. What frustrates me about &tate is the “we’re-just-so-happy-to-be-here” mentality with no real vision for excellence and achievement.

Instead, it seems the preferred route is that of the fearful servant (see Matthew 25: 14-30). And we all know where that leads.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

If we had a competent DC, we beat the Team at the top of this list this year.

 

[Coast_Dawg]

So is the question, did them playing yesterday in front of their home crowd trigger enough jealousy in me to change how I live to give money to 18-25 year old males playing football?

The answer to that would be “No”.

 

[DerHntr]

I have an extreme philosophical disagreement with NIL from the fan NIL funds standpoint. Fans are not able to get anything in return for players’ Name, Image, or Likeness, which is what NIL was supposed to be. If a business wants to contract with a player and not really make them do much to earn that money, so be it. It’s their business’s money and they can pay for bad marketing if they want.

Fans should have never been part of this equation. Fans can see the direct benefits of their payments to the Bulldog club(better facilities), buying season tickets (watching live), and donating to academic initiatives (people getting scholarships or nicer facilities). Paying into a NIL collective for a player to make $500k a year and then possibly leave the following year for a higher contract to another program is not something most average fans can stomach.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I didn’t watch the game so your question doesn’t apply to me.

I DNGAS about NIL; therefore, I am not jealous.

Your question should be What needs to be done for you to care about MSU NIL?

Answer: MSU needs colonoscopy prep now.

 

[ckDOG]

I have an extreme philosophical disagreement with NIL from the fan NIL funds standpoint. Fans are not able to get anything in return for players’ Name, Image, or Likeness, which is what NIL was supposed to be. If a business wants to contract with a player and not really make them do much to earn that money, so be it. It’s their business’s money and they can pay for bad marketing if they want.

Fans should have never been part of this equation. Fans can see the direct benefits of their payments to the Bulldog club(better facilities), buying season tickets (watching live), and donating to academic initiatives (people getting scholarships or nicer facilities). Paying into a NIL collective for a player to make $500k a year and then possibly leave the following year for a higher contract to another program is not something most average fans can stomach.

This all day.

Money (some, at least) to orgs like the bulldog club are tax deductible for a reason. I have no conceptual or ethical problems with these. There's a lot of good and general support for the regular hard working student athletes with these entities.

"NIL" collectives pay for play slush funds churched up as "NIL". I have zero issue with any athlete getting a true marketing deal that leverages their name, image, and likeness. I applaud any athlete that can make that happen and wish them generational wealth if possible. Asking me to give $50 bucks a month to the "NIL" collective is not this. It's a grease payment on top of all the other benefits they receive, now including rev share, to sign with my preferred school. Do I get to use their name for anything (sell merch, advertise my business)? Nope. On top of that it's a 1 year commitment. Re-recruiting a roster is lame. Combo all that with the reality that this money (in my financial situation at least) would come out of what I normally give to my church and charity. Now I'm losing sleep at night so that's going to be a no from me. I assume many are in the same boat.

 

[Villagedawg]

I am very curious to see read the responses here but this is a needed and warranted conversation.

There is no doubt we still have fans who vehemently hate the NIL and won’t give yet they also seem to be the loudest in the room when it comes to complaining about our football team and administration. That being said, here is my question to all of you.

Did watching our rival yesterday almost put 70k in the stadium, hosting and winning a playoff game change now how you view NIL and further more the BC/SEF/ BI?

Granted some on here like myself give and give freely and generously but did seeing our rival yesterday motivate you like myself to dig down and give a little more?

For those that don’t give did yesterday motivate you to look at this new era of football and decide to give even if it’s just 25 to 50 a month?’ (Don’t scoff at the small amount here every donation counts and helps)

I understand there is some trepidation about the program and leadership under Lebby and I to share some of of thoughts , however I still belive that we still need to arm the current leader with as much firepower as we can. This would not only show the current administration and staff we are committed as a fan base, but would also show that should we make a change in the very near future that this fan base is committed to winning and giving the needed resources to do so to be successful.

Never in the history of college football have fans had such a direct interest and impact on results on the field than they do now by giving and supporting the football program.

I have more to add, but I think this is a good conversation for us to look in the mirror and check our true potential and temperature of how we view NIL and if we are committed to doing exactly what our rivals did by embracing the new era and building and giving. Can we all pull together lock step and support the program… Again this isn’t a Lebby hate thread think bigger picture when answering. This isn’t to start and argument it’s to have a civil discussion about our program and fan base. No wrong answers here.

No

 

[DawgNsuds]

This all day.

Money (some, at least) to orgs like the bulldog club are tax deductible for a reason. I have no conceptual or ethical problems with these. There's a lot of good and general support for the regular hard working student athletes with these entities.

This all day.

Money (some, at least) to orgs like the bulldog club are tax deductible for a reason. I have no conceptual or ethical problems with these. There's a lot of good and general support for the regular hard working student athletes with these entities.

"NIL" collectives pay for play slush funds churched up as "NIL". I have zero issue with any athlete getting a true marketing deal that leverages their name, image, and likeness. I applaud any athlete that can make that happen and wish them generational wealth if possible. Asking me to give $50 bucks a month to the "NIL" collective is not this. It's a grease payment on top of all the other benefits they receive, now including rev share, to sign with my preferred school. Do I get to use their name for anything (sell merch, advertise my business)? Nope. On top of that it's a 1 year commitment. Re-recruiting a roster is lame. Combo all that with the reality that this money (in my financial situation at least) would come out of what I normally give to my church and charity. Now I'm losing sleep at night so that's going to be a no from me. I assume many are in the same boat.

Bulldog Club Donations are no longer deductible if they are associated with receiving any benefit, i.e. tickets. Untethered donations, I believe still are.

And no, nothing yesterday in anyway convinced me to change my view on NIL, Would you send money to the New Orleans Saints or Dallas Cowboys so that they might pay their players more?

Changes in Tax Law
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated the 80% deduction for donations tied to the purchase of season tickets for college sports. This means that if a donation is required to buy tickets, only the portion that exceeds the value of the tickets may be deductible.
Donations made without any benefits, such as tickets or merchandise, are generally fully deductible.
NIL Collectives and Donations
Donations to NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) collectives, which support individual athletes, typically do not qualify for tax deductions. The IRS views these contributions as primarily benefiting individual athletes rather than serving a public charitable purpose.

 

[POTUS]

Ole Miss can 100 % win the national title. 3 of the 4 games in the next round of the playoff have a spread of a touchdown or less. There has never been more parity.

There hasn’t been a team win its first national title in 40+ years. Oregon and Texas Tech might be able to pay their way into theirs. Might. CFB & MLB are a lot more similar than CFB & NFL. Ole Miss is the Oakland A’s.

 

[RotorHead]

If I could watch all the games without having to have a subscription to (fill in the blank), I might consider giving money. However, I can’t. So I won’t.
The kids (that’s what they are) are being given exactly what they want, immediate gratification. So much so, that they’re tempted to delay their entrance into the league because it’ll equate in a pay cut. That isn’t right. They get a scholarship, access to more resources than the standard college student, and the opportunity of a lifetime. By implementing the NIL, they no longer have to strive for the league. They’ve made it, right? There’s no more player development, school loyalty, or passion. It’s numbers and dollar signs. This NIL is even making initial waves into high school athletics. It’s disheartening at best and despicable at worst as to the nature of athletics.
You ask about giving money to buy more/better players? I’ll pass. As another poster put it, I’ll take what little extra I have and spend it elsewhere.
Don’t ***** at me for being one of those that won’t give to NIL, ***** at those who made this debacle and tainted college athletics for all of us.

 

[Seinfeld]

Absolutely not, and I feel like I’ve said this a hundred times, but I’ll say it again because nothing has changed since this $hitshow began just a few years back.

BD77, we may not see eye to eye on some of this stuff, but I like you, and I’ll gladly have a beer with you if we ever run into each other in town. That aside, everything about this NIL system is still an unadulterated broken mess.

1) We’re paying for play even though we allegedly can’t pay for play

2) There is no commitment from anyone involved

3) There is no communication as to where funds are going

4) There is no return for the investors other than some small hope that these kids will put a few points on the scoreboard for ol’ MSU

I’m no fan of Lebby, but for me, this isn’t about him or Selmon. It’s about a ludicrous system that no one can seem to figure out how to fix, and I want no part of it until a program like MSU has an opportunity to actually build something again. i hope that one day we’ll be able to look back on this era like a bad dream, but as for now, this is without question the worst period for college sports in my lifetime, and I’m not endorsing it. Too many better ways to spend my $$

 

[Bulldog from Birth]

I just can't get there mentally to give any significant resources to this. I am happy to give to MSU, both for academics and athletics, and will always give. But giving to this pay-for-play scheme, just so Mississippi State athletes can get a higher quality of jewelry, vehicles, etc. than me or my children is a bridge too far. Especially when you just to have watch them take my money, and then up and leave for another SEC school within a matter of weeks or months for a bigger check. And I also don't think it will even improve MSU's lot in life. If we pay more, it will just cause Texas, Georgia, Alabama, etc. to raise more and drive the NIL expectations higher. As many have said - the system needs massive reforms. This is not collegiate athletics.

 

[campshelbydog1116]

There hasn’t been a team win its first national title in 40+ years. Oregon and Texas Tech might be able to pay their way into theirs. Might. CFB & MLB are a lot more similar than CFB & NFL. Ole Miss is the Oakland A’s.

The 12 team playoff in conjunction with the portal being wide open have only been a thing for 2 years. What happened in previous eras has no bearing on this system. The Vegas spreads are telling you that the teams are very close in talent across the board with what is left, just like they told everyone the G6 schools had no business playing these opponents last week.

 

[Seinfeld]

Not saying you should not do whatever you want with your money, but this is a major reason we struggle to compete in football. Everyone else in our league cares more about football than any other sport. Our fans do not. If that mindset does not shift, we will never be all in the way OM is or be able to compete at that level. If a baseball school is what we want to be, then so be it. Whatever makes people happy. It’s not my business to tell people what they should enjoy. But it’s a fact that we can’t be what our ceiling is in football with our boosters being this obsessed with baseball. Maybe that’s not a bad thing, but it is a thing.

The people that keep bringing up baseball kill me.

We are spending $4.4M annually to a football coach that has won 1 conference game in two seasons, and we’re about to pay buyouts on half a dozen $hitty assistants that he hired.

We are spending $4M on a basketball coach that has yet to win a tournament game and that’s likely headed to the NIT this season

We lose $5M on women’s basketball annually

We are paying $5M/yr on buyouts for fired coaches

And somehow, the $2.9M that we’re paying O’Connor for having a Top 5 preseason team is where we’re throwing money into a fire pit. Ok

 

[OG Goat Holder]

If I could watch all the games without having to have a subscription to (fill in the blank), I might consider giving money. However, I can’t. So I won’t.
The kids (that’s what they are) are being given exactly what they want, immediate gratification. So much so, that they’re tempted to delay their entrance into the league because it’ll equate in a pay cut. That isn’t right. They get a scholarship, access to more resources than the standard college student, and the opportunity of a lifetime. By implementing the NIL, they no longer have to strive for the league. They’ve made it, right? There’s no more player development, school loyalty, or passion. It’s numbers and dollar signs. This NIL is even making initial waves into high school athletics. It’s disheartening at best and despicable at worst as to the nature of athletics.
You ask about giving money to buy more/better players? I’ll pass. As another poster put it, I’ll take what little extra I have and spend it elsewhere.
Don’t ***** at me for being one of those that won’t give to NIL, ***** at those who made this debacle and tainted college athletics for all of us.

Probably about 1% of these guys can make more money in college than the NFL (if they are good enough to make the NFL).

A few more are like Pavia, good college players but not pro, but that’s an even smaller group.

Let’s keep it factual. The NFL could eat college football at any given time.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

The people that keep bringing up baseball kill me.

We are spending $4.4M annually to a football coach that has won 1 conference game in two seasons, and we’re about to pay buyouts on half a dozen $hitty assistants that he hired.

We are spending $4M on a basketball coach that has yet to win a tournament game and that’s likely headed to the NIT this season

We lose $5M on women’s basketball annually

We are paying $5M/yr on buyouts for fired coaches

And somehow, the $2.9M that we’re paying O’Connor for having a Top 5 preseason team is where we’re throwing money into a fire pit. Ok

Baseball is the biggest student recruiting tool we have. To ignore that is madness.

 

[campshelbydog1116]

The people that keep bringing up baseball kill me.

We are spending $4.4M annually to a football coach that has won 1 conference game in two seasons, and we’re about to pay buyouts on half a dozen $hitty assistants that he hired.

We are spending $4M on a basketball coach that has yet to win a tournament game and that’s likely headed to the NIT this season

We lose $5M on women’s basketball annually

We are paying $5M/yr on buyouts for fired coaches

And somehow, the $2.9M that we’re paying O’Connor for having a Top 5 preseason team is where we’re throwing money into a fire pit. Ok

We paid 60 million dollars to build a baseball stadium and did so without fundraising it while having bottom tier facilities and stadium in the sport that every other school worships. And it really is not even about the finances of it all. It is about the mindset our boosters have of “oh well at least we have baseball.” Kentucky is that way with basketball. Basically everyone else in our league would sacrifice their first born child for a football national title and we sit back and are just happy we are good in baseball. Now from a 50 thousand foot view that probably makes more sense to people who are not fanatics. Spending what it takes to be elite in football is insane to most people, but we are one of the very few in our conference who don’t rob children hospitals (or some equivalent of that) to win in football. Maybe we are on the right side of it. But we are definitely different.

 

[Anon1749038494]

Baseball is the biggest student recruiting tool we have. To ignore that is madness.

This is correct while LSU/Bama/Auburn/OM, our closest neighbors all with similar majors, have real SEC football teams.

 

[Bulldawg77]

Please read this. While we don’t have 700K living alumni we have close to 150K. It takes all of us

 

[T-TownDawgg]

And somehow, the $2.9M that we’re paying O’Connor for having a Top 5 preseason team is where we’re throwing money into a fire pit. Ok

And yet, this may be the only direct benefit you’ll get out of that money-
warmth.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

We paid 60 million dollars to build a baseball stadium and did so without fundraising it while having bottom tier facilities and stadium in the sport that every other school worships. And it really is not even about the finances of it all. It is about the mindset our boosters have of “oh well at least we have baseball.” Kentucky is that way with basketball. Basically everyone else in our league would sacrifice their first born child for a football national title and we sit back and are just happy we are good in baseball. Now from a 50 thousand foot view that probably makes more sense to people who are not fanatics. Spending what it takes to be elite in football is insane to most people, but we are one of the very few in our conference who don’t rob children hospitals (or some equivalent of that) to win in football. Maybe we are on the right side of it. But we are definitely different.

It’s because we give a shlt about baseball. Not because we don’t want to fund football. We like it (baseball). Get over it. Mississippi is a baseball state.

 

[Ranchdawg]

Please read this. While we don’t have 700K living alumni we have close to 150K. It takes all of us

Short term thinking. That $20 million will only last one season.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

The major problem with college football is there is not a system in place that can keep the playing field level. There is no one working to make the product better. There is no one determining what is good for college football as a sport and making hard rules to follow that plan. Everyone is out for themselves so it is a constant moving target. To get a bunch of morons to think they can compete in this sport if they just throw money at it is stupid. It's like our great political system that is 38 trillion in debt with no end in sight because we can't agree upon the rules of the game. The only rule is to win so whatever it takes is what happens.

If you told me the annual budget for all FCS football participants was fixed at 75 million dollars. Each team earns a share of this system that covers most of that and it is up to each school to get 15 million to cover the shortfall. They can't spend any more money than that on football even if they bring it in. The budget can be adjusted each year after the deals for coverage are made. Therefore if you had some sort of definitive balance, then maybe I can get behind that. If Alabama, Georgia, Texas et al can spend whatever they want and it will always be more than we can afford, we would just be dupes to give these teams a W each year and allow them to get a Lions share of the profits and trophies.

 

[Called3rdstrikedawg]

Exactly^^^.
We are an SEC program in Name Only. We have a Sunbelt Bank Account. We either find a coach who can win with less or we stay at the bottom in football and focus on the other 3 sports for on the field success!

 

[Dawgzilla2]

Three points, and we'll see if YOU can be civil and attempt to understand.

1) As far as Ole Miss, no, that did not affect me. At least any more than Indiana and Texas Tech. This just proves that historical have nots can make the playoff. We will see how they ultimately do as far as a title but making the playoff is close enough in my view. I think we need to shed this whole 'what is Ole Miss doing' stuff but that's my opinion and I've been screaming it for years.

2) Money wise - no, I will not give to NIL. Not because of what you think......but because believe it or not, I did find a female to procreate with and now have other obligations besides MSU football. ESPECIALLY paying players. But fundamentally I do disagree that 'every little bit helps'. This isn't an election. $50 a month is $600 a year. No, that does not add up. It's a rich man's game, and they have to bear the brunt of NIL. Well, anything above our TV money or whatever.

I support by going to games. I will admit that most of my ticket buying and game attendance is baseball. If I ever did do NIL, it will likely be baseball.

3) I have a fundamental disagreement with how we are currently running our football program. I don't think we have much chance to be successful. This certainly affects my attendance at games. I have outlined my blueprint many times on here and a few agree, but we are in the minority, so I've damn near given up any hope. I really don't like our historical culture around football, and we all are aware of our built-in disadvantages......location, small population center state with divided allegiances, close to Ole Miss and Alabama, etc.

There you go. Bring on the insults.

I agree with most of this. And disagree with none.

UMiss doesn't not move the needle for me on giving.

However, the overall landscape of college sports has me considering donating. I dont want to, but Im starting to wonder if it is better for the university than my donations to the general fund.

One thing that would push me toward donating to the collective would be access to information. I dont want to be involved in decision making, but I would want to know who is getting paid what, who turned down our offers, etc., maybe even get to see some of these contracts. I dont know what level.of donor you'd need to be to get that info, but that would really push me to giving.

 

[Dawgzilla2]

Name one MSU billionaire…..hell we have very few big millionaires.

We have billionaire alums, just not really high profile ones. I was in school in the 80s with two guys who are now billionaires....at least according to estimates, since their holdings are mostly private. They both inherited successful businesses and have diversified well.

 

[HeCannotGo]

My compliments to Bulldawg77 for fighting the good fight on the NIL front.

I'll resist the urge to tell others how to spend their money. I'll just say that, until about six months ago, I was in the same boat as many of the non-NIL givers here. I didn't give to NIL because ... I didn't want to. Sure, I justified it several different ways: I hate the system, players shouldn't be paid, my small contribution won't matter, better things to do with my money, etc.

But I decided that the system I hate isn't going away because of my boycott. Other MSU folks were stepping up in a big way, carrying the load for the rest of us. I decided I wanted to be part of the solution. A very small part, to be sure, but I'm glad I gave this year and plan to do so again next year.

 

[Bulldawg77]

My compliments to Bulldawg77 for fighting the good fight on the NIL front.

I'll resist the urge to tell others how to spend their money. I'll just say that, until about six months ago, I was in the same boat as many of the non-NIL givers here. I didn't give to NIL because ... I didn't want to. Sure, I justified it several different ways: I hate the system, players shouldn't be paid, my small contribution won't matter, better things to do with my money, etc.

But I decided that the system I hate isn't going away because of my boycott. Other MSU folks were stepping up in a big way, carrying the load for the rest of us. I decided I wanted to be part of the solution. A very small part, to be sure, but I'm glad I gave this year and plan to do so again next year

Thank you for the response and donation. I wished most shared your thoughts that yes we need the bigger donors but we also need the smaller one as collectively it all adds up.
For be it from me to tell you how to spend your money but we need everyone who can give to give We all want to win in football and basketball we have to support the SEF/BI

 

[curseddawgs]

No insults. I said this to be civil.
Indiana struck gold with Cig. No doubt. But Mark Cuban a few others are throwing money at the program after years of not supporting it. IU football history is worse than ours.
I think supporting baseball is like setting money on fire. It’s a niche sport that’s only really popular in the SE. I along with other (some very influential donors might i add) are moving funding from baseball. UVA damn near made the playoffs this year after defunding the BB program . No coincidence there.

Niche offenses don’t work in P4. No one runs one now because the majority of P4 teams don’t have to. We have greatly improved and closed the gap on NIl but could exceed our ceiling of everyone was lock step. Niche offense wouldn’t work in this modern era.

You say the 50 a month doesn’t count but if we had 5K giving 50 a month that’s 3MM collectively a year, if we had 10K or more at 50 a month that’s 6MM a year. So yes every little bit helps.
I appreciate you and others have family’s as do I. But I want to see us be successful in football and basketball.

The mark Cuban point is something no one is talking about. He’s no longer in the nba business and wants to spend his monster somewhere in sports so he might as well make his Alma mater the #1 seed in the CFP

 

[dawgstudent]

I give to NIL because I don't want State to suck. Mississippi State sports is part of who I am. I enjoy it and it's more fun when we win. My donation definitely doesn't move the needle but I give the amount that I want to give.

When it was 2 separate entities (Bulldog Club and Bulldog Initiative) - I just moved whatever I was giving the to the BC to the BI that wasn't required. Now that it's all under one umbrella - I give to one.

To answer your question - Ole Miss doing better doesn't make me give more $$$. I give what I want to give - win or lose.

 

[HRMSU]

Oh, make no mistake, that's the ONLY motivation. And maybe I'm alright with that, but what I do NOT want to see is us try to do things the exact same way they did. And I also want to see us continue to strive and execute a plan even when Ole Miss is not good.

They have a different dynamic than us. A notch better history, fan support, culture. It's just true. We should not follow their lead and aspire to be them.

Their dynamic is Ole Miss is their identity. I love State but it's not my identity by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[NukeDogg]

If the day ever comes where I personally am profiting off a players Name, Image, or Likeness, then I will donate the corresponding amount of money to the NIL fund. That day will never happen.

NIL in its current form is FUBAR'ed. The persons, institutions, schools, businesses, associations, etc that make a profit off of a player or team should be the ones paying the money. Asking the fans to pony up the dough to pay the players so that these persons, instituations, schools, businesses, associations, etc. can collect the profits without paying it themselves is 17ed, and I choose not to participate.

If that makes me a terrible State fan, then so be it. These days, I feel less and less attached to State sports anyway, particularly football and basketball. If some rich alumni want to donate, then good for them. If I had "17 you" money then maybe I'd feel differently. But as my life stands right now, donating to NIL and throwing $20 bills into the fire pit in my backyard give me the exact same result.

 

[The Peeper]

Did watching our rival yesterday almost put 70k in the stadium, hosting and winning a playoff game change now how you view NIL and further more the BC/SEF/ BI?

1. Why would I ever watch them play football?

2. What they do has no relevance on my life whatsoever.

 

[Drebin]

I am very curious to see read the responses here but this is a needed and warranted conversation.

There is no doubt we still have fans who vehemently hate the NIL and won’t give yet they also seem to be the loudest in the room when it comes to complaining about our football team and administration. That being said, here is my question to all of you.

Did watching our rival yesterday almost put 70k in the stadium, hosting and winning a playoff game change now how you view NIL and further more the BC/SEF/ BI?

Granted some on here like myself give and give freely and generously but did seeing our rival yesterday motivate you like myself to dig down and give a little more?

For those that don’t give did yesterday motivate you to look at this new era of football and decide to give even if it’s just 25 to 50 a month?’ (Don’t scoff at the small amount here every donation counts and helps)

I understand there is some trepidation about the program and leadership under Lebby and I to share some of of thoughts , however I still belive that we still need to arm the current leader with as much firepower as we can. This would not only show the current administration and staff we are committed as a fan base, but would also show that should we make a change in the very near future that this fan base is committed to winning and giving the needed resources to do so to be successful.

Never in the history of college football have fans had such a direct interest and impact on results on the field than they do now by giving and supporting the football program.

I have more to add, but I think this is a good conversation for us to look in the mirror and check our true potential and temperature of how we view NIL and if we are committed to doing exactly what our rivals did by embracing the new era and building and giving. Can we all pull together lock step and support the program… Again this isn’t a Lebby hate thread think bigger picture when answering. This isn’t to start and argument it’s to have a civil discussion about our program and fan base. No wrong answers here.

I stopped reading at the "watching our rival blah blah blah slob slob slob."

I don't get the penis envy. Ole Miss had a good weekend. They had a good year. If we are doing anything in reaction to what they do, we deserve everything we end up getting.

 

[blacklistedbully]

Aren't you the guy who came on here pushing this and called fans who don't give, terrible fans, and suggested they go cheer for some other team?

In any case, as I've stated before, what made college sports so special was the students, alum, teachers, staff, etc. being "us" with the student athletes. They were one of us...family.

NIL and the transfer portal has robbed the big college sports of that...the one precious thing that made it better than pro or semi-pro sports. Without it all we have is a sub-standard semi-pro football club that happens to wear our school jerseys and use our facilities to make money for themselves, even if they also make some for the universities, and even if they are required to take some classes most of them don't give a damn about.

It's now "us" and "them"...not just "us". It's like paying a prostitute to be your girlfriend. How much pride can one really take in having a "hot girlfriend" if the only reason she is with you is because you pay her to be and everybody knows it?

As far as Ole Miss is concerned, another thing I predicted from when it was first being talked about and before it really got going is that Ole Miss would be very quick to realize success under the new system because they've already been doing that **** for decades. Their network and operation had very little to learn and capitalize on because the only real difference for them is they can now do it legally and within the new rules, and can also now do it with even fewer limits because there is no longer increased risk of getting caught and punished.

Also have said before how grateful I am that we won our NC in baseball with a roster not built on this tragic new system of hired guns/mercenaries who have little motivation beyond $ to be a part of our program.

 

[Maroon13]

In any case, as I've stated before, what made college sports so special was the students, alum, teachers, staff, etc. being "us" with the student athletes. They were one of us...family.

NIL and the transfer portal has robbed the big college sports of that...the one precious thing that made it better than pro or semi-pro sports. Without it all we have is a sub-standard semi-pro football club that happens to wear our school jerseys and use our facilities to make money for themselves, even if they also make some for the universities, and even if they are required to take some classes most of them don't give a damn about.

It's now "us" and "them"...not just "us". It's like paying a prostitute to be your girlfriend. How much pride can one really take in having a "hot girlfriend" if the only reason she is with you is because you pay her to be and everybody knows it?

As far as Ole Miss is concerned, another thing I predicted from when it was first being talked about and before it really got going is that Ole Miss would be very quick to realize success under the new system because they've already been doing that **** for decades. Their network and operation had very little to learn and capitalize on because the only real difference for them is they can now do it legally and within the new rules, and can also now do it with even fewer limits because there is no longer increased risk of getting caught and punished.

 

[GloryDawg]

2) Money wise - no, I will not give to NIL. Not because of what you think......but because believe it or not, I did find a female to procreate with and now have other obligations besides MSU football. ESPECIALLY paying players. But fundamentally I do disagree that 'every little bit helps'. This isn't an election. $50 a month is $600 a year. No, that does not add up. It's a rich man's game, and they have to bear the brunt of NIL. Well, anything above our TV money or whatever.

 

[GloryDawg]

Name one MSU billionaire…..hell we have very few big millionaires. That said I don’t send money For one I don’t have a clue where to send , two I just rather my money go to helping other charities. I do think we need to figure out how to get 50 bucks a month or so from fans plus we need a benefactor that I don’t think exist.

Only one school in Mississippi has billionaire alumni and it isn't a SEC school. Just saying.

 

[The Peeper]

Paying into a NIL collective for a player to make $500k a year and then possibly leave the following year for a higher contract to another program is not something most average fans can stomach.

If you want to see the results of NIL giving, if you are ever at a baseball game at The Dude, you can sit and watch your NIL $$ drive by endlessly in Dodge Chargers, Hellcat's, jacked up pickups w/ big shiny wheels and mufflers that sound like old log trucks. Stand at the Dude and gaze over at the football complex parking lot or straight down at the baseball parking lot and you'll see dozens and dozens and dozens of vehicles much more expensive than the one you drove to the stadium. When they crank up and leave they usually burn more rubber off of the tires than most people will wear off in a year.