sobering thought: national perception

[STATELAW]

<p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left; "><b style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; ">Stewart, you have Ole Miss a Knight, yet Mississippi State at Peasant. MSU has beaten Ole Miss the past three years and finished with better records. You need to do your homework.<br style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; ">[/b]<i style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; ">-- Al Fava, Collierville, Tenn.[/i]</p><p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left; ">I did some homework and found out that neither team has finished in the top 10 since 1969, and Mississippi State since 1940. The Mannings may be the only thing keeping both schools from the bottom rung. But congratulations on the win streak.</p><span style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left; "><br style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; "><br style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; ">Read more:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/stewart_mandel/07/18/penn-state-death-penalty-ncaa-mailbag/index.html#ixzz215TrrRz6</span><div>
</div><div>The question was a response to a column Mandel wrote ranking the college FB "pecking order". I generally like Stewart Mandel, and sadly I think this is the generalperceptionof both MS programs by the national media.</div>

 

[shotgunDawg]

Statelaw, Depressing? Yes, but it doesn't matter. It only matters what we think about ourselves and where we are going. Mullen is selling that we are going in the right direction, and that is all that matters. Its kinda of corner, but just remember the Robin Hood quote, "Rise and Rise again, till Lambs become Lions."

 

[engie]

Was a good(long) thread about this on tiger droppings: http://www.secrant.com/ra...ball-program-or-not.aspx

As far as history goes, we're FAR worse than them. Here's a good article from 2009: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3842161

By that scoring scale presented here, State scored 59 points total in it's first 73 years examined. We've scored 20 in the past 2 years(not examined). So, by that arrangement, we've accomplished 25% of total historical points in the previous TWO seasons.

Right now, we are a top 40(I'd argue around #30-35ish) program... with the ability to move up to around #25 with sustained "success" and the new stadium.

EVER getting past #25 for us is going to be a major, MAJOR undertaking...involving multiple stadium expansions and sustained success on another level (8-4 or better)...

 

[STATELAW]

I'm more interested in his tone toward the question in general. He is dismissive of the distinction between the 2 schools, going as far to say that the Mannings are the only reason BOTH of us rise above the bottom tier. But Shotgun is right all we can do is "just win, baby" and over time that perception will change.

 

[dawgs.sixpack]

since jackie sherill came to msu, i think ole miss and msu are within 1 or 2 games of each other over the past ~20 years. i added up the numbers a year ago when one of my friends was talking about how much better of a program ole miss is. we are probably ahead of them now after last season. ole miss is nothing more than minnesota. (minnesota was a national power in the 30s-60s too). imo the last ~20 years are really all that matters to current success. anything older is merely for fans to brag about **** that happened before they were born.

neither of our programs are great, we've largely been interchangeable the last couple decades to the point that usually only 1 of us is "up" at a time and the other "down", then after a few years we switch spots with maybe a year of crossover where we are both avg or better.

 

[Johnson85]

Cause they were probably one of the top ten teams at the end of that year, although I could see how losing to Vandy and Wake Forrest would keep them from rising that high in the polls.

 

[coach66]

trending rapidly in the right direction while our rival is going in the opposite direction. The trend is your friend**

 

[RonnyAtmosphere]

..in the same way Suge Knight is a knight.


If you are 24 yrs. old, fresh out of your journalism grad program, & don't know **** about sports yet have been hired by ESPN to cover sports, what is the first article you write in order to impress your peers?


You write an article bashing Starkville/Miss. State. Then although you have written nothing about sports, you've still hit the ground zero sweet spot of all sports journalism, hence everybody in the office high-fives you.

 

[STATELAW]

or are you saying that bashing starkville is popular with the national media? either way I am not sure I understand how that relates to Mandel/national media viewing om and state asindistinguishable and fullydependent on the Manning for any nationalrelevancy.

 

[dawgs.sixpack]

i don't think the national mediacares enough about msu to promote a young journalist up for writing a msu/starkville bash article.

 

[HighLifeRebel]

But this post makes no sense.

 

[gravedigger]

Write the article that everyone already agrees with the premise rather than the one that takes research and challenges the presumptive ideas.

Its the real main complaint against the clarion ledger. It perpetuates the steryotype that mississippians are all to willing to accept.

There is only one way to turn that around. One way. CHange the perception by the teams actions. Dont give them an optionn of believing something else. We all know a final four doesnt do it. It takes the real hardware. We all know some arbitrary poll half a century ago wont change it. You have to do it now and you have to raise the hardware.

THEN those pantywaste jerks will write like they never thought anything different. But you will know.

I dont want respect for our football team right now. I want it in January. </p>