Serious Question: Is MSU Committed Enough to Win a Natty in Football?

[ShotgunDawg]

Just thinking this morning about Mullen and our potential to keep him for the long term and I?m wondering if collectively MSU and the fan base is committed enough to win a national championship and I?m not talking about willingness to pay a big salary. That?s not the commitment I?m talking about.

The BYU crowd and students abandoning DWS was an eye opener for me and possibly insinuates that while MSU fans and students like football, I’m not sure they live and breath it?

How important is football to our fans?

More important than hunting?

More important than the beach?

Important enough to not schedule weddings or baseball scrimmages on Gameday?

This is the ground zero question that determines if this program has the potential to take the next step from competitive to a contender.

[Quaoarsking]

We could've done it on 2014 if Dak threw 2 interceptions in the red zone against Alabama instead of 3 :(

[Dawgfan77]

Since 2012 we have invested over 100 million just in football. We now pay assistant coaches. So I would say yeah we are committed.
In 18 we will have the most experienced along with the most talent maybe in the history of msu football.

[ShotgunDawg]

Since 2012 we have invested over 100 million just in football. We now pay assistant coaches. So I would say yeah we are committed.
In 18 we will have the most experienced along with the most talent maybe in the history of msu football.

Not talking about money.

Talking about emotional commitment.

Does our fan base care enough?

[IMissJack]

MSU is at a disadvantage in my opinion because a lot of alumni money is needed just to run the school, due to the State of MS underfunding. Therefore, money that would be available for athletics is needed elsewhere. That being said, I'm not one of those that believe we have to be a top 15 revenue school to win. Does anyone believe the University of TX gets a ROI in football like we do per win? With a program as historically bad as ours has been, it takes decades to get to the top consistently. In my opinion one of the major hurdles for us is the lack of local/regional media coverage. We need better PR nationally to help our coaches get those missing pieces they can't always find in MS.

ETA- Regarding emotionally invested- I think this is a slow process that our fans, as a whole, are starting to buy. The older mentality of "it is as good as we can expect", "we can't", etc. are starting to be forgotten. Keep in mind Jackie was hired 27 years ago, which for most of our fans that are living, was the best of times up until now. So, the longer we can sustain a consistent winning team, those expectations will be built in to the fan base.

[Bully13]

Shitty thread. Real shitty.

[Liverpooldawg]

Just thinking this morning about Mullen and our potential to keep him for the long term and I?m wondering if collectively MSU and the fan base is committed enough to win a national championship and I?m not talking about willingness to pay a big salary. That?s not the commitment I?m talking about.

The BYU crowd and students abandoning DWS was an eye opener for me and possibly insinuates that while MSU fans and students like football, I’m not sure they live and breath it?

How important is football to our fans?

More important than hunting?

More important than the beach?

Important enough to not schedule weddings or baseball scrimmages on Gameday?

This is the ground zero question that determines if this program has the potential to take the next step from competitive to a contender.

Simple answer. Yes. We were dang close in 2014. We were also pretty close in 99. Everybody has problems with students leaving crap games. They stay for the big ones.

[Dawgtini]

+1 Shotgun needs a side hustle #toomuchtimeonhishands

[IMissJack]

Simple answer. Yes. We were dang close in 2014. We were also pretty close in 99. Everybody has problems with students leaving crap games. They stay for the big ones.

This is true. Almost every "non elite" matchup has empty seats. The networks tend to not show overhead shots of the stadiums, so people don't see how many seats are empty. Granted the aTm game was technically a sellout, there were probably 15K not there. Now that still leaves almost 90K there, but the tops of the endzone were about half full, and many of the luxury boxes were basically empty.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

Is MSU committed? You would really have to ask the administration, staff, and players? Now it seems you are really asking if we, the fans, are committed. I'm a grown-ass man with a family and responsibilities. I love the bulldogs, but I don't let our pursuit of a national championship affect me. Is bulldog football more important than hunting, beaches, weddings, etc. as you mentioned? I guess it depends on who I'm doing it with and how it affects me. 22 kids playing ball is not what defines me as a man, so I guess the answer is that I'm not committed enough.

[BrunswickDawg]

I don't think I would take BYU - or UMASS this weekend - as an indicator. Students leave those type games all over the county, all the time. Even at Bama. Hell, UGA reduced the size of the student section by 5,000 tickets a few years ago.

I look more at the game time attendance. I'd be more concerned at the empty seats at the beginning of the game. I don't think we do a good enough job selling returned visitor allotments and wait until game week most times to start pumping cheap tickets for those games - and we probably contract too many tickets for long distance teams (like BYU and UMASS) or teams that do not travel well (Kentucky).

I think it there is still a slight hangover effect in our fanbase for OOC games because for so many years they were a shitty game that we stood just as good of a chance as losing as winning, and who wants to be in stands when we lose to Maine. I can remember many a game against Memphis or Troy in the 90s when the stands were only 3/4 full. Winning has taken care of a lot of that, but we still aren't quite there yet.

Hunting has always been a piss poor excuse - especially now that so many games are at night.

Weddings you will never control as long as women (in particular the Mother of the Bride) are the main planners. And if college football is not an important thing in the bride's family you are screwed.

[DawgPoundtheRock]

Shitty thread. Real shitty.

^^This^^

[Activated Alpha]

Question is......are you committed?

[Todd4State]

I think the fanbase has the potential to be a National Championship program one day but we have too many people that have the attitude or we can't or won't because of our history and it takes winning at a high level consistently to change that.

[Leroy Jenkins]

“The question is not how far. The question is do you posess the constitution, the depth of faith, to go as far as is needed?” -Il Duce

https://i.pinimg.com/564x/f4/90/cc/f490cc376720291ecc1651c6e023eda3--the-boondock-saints-dads.jpg

[mstatefan91]

I feel like this thread gets made every single year around this time... must be cause Bama is coming up on the schedule.

[Bully13]

Old man Can't is dead. We've buried him.

[WinningIsRelentless]

I don't think I would take BYU - or UMASS this weekend - as an indicator. Students leave those type games all over the county, all the time. Even at Bama. Hell, UGA reduced the size of the student section by 5,000 tickets a few years ago.

I look more at the game time attendance. I'd be more concerned at the empty seats at the beginning of the game. I don't think we do a good enough job selling returned visitor allotments and wait until game week most times to start pumping cheap tickets for those games - and we probably contract too many tickets for long distance teams (like BYU and UMASS) or teams that do not travel well (Kentucky).

I think it there is still a slight hangover effect in our fanbase for OOC games because for so many years they were a shitty game that we stood just as good of a chance as losing as winning, and who wants to be in stands when we lose to Maine. I can remember many a game against Memphis or Troy in the 90s when the stands were only 3/4 full. Winning has taken care of a lot of that, but we still aren't quite there yet.

Hunting has always been a piss poor excuse - especially now that so many games are at night.

Weddings you will never control as long as women (in particular the Mother of the Bride) are the main planners. And if college football is not an important thing in the bride's family you are screwed.

The biggest issue we face here is the cost of attending games now for younger families. For a family of 4 its no less than $500 to attend any game on a Saturday.

[Duckdog]

So if you don't live and breathe MSU you aren't a fan? Come on dude

[Liverpooldawg]

The biggest issue we face here is the cost of attending games now for younger families. For a family of 4 its no less than $500 to attend any game on a Saturday.

This weekend a family of 4 could go for less than a hundred bucks depending on how much gas they have to buy.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

Not talking about money.

Talking about emotional commitment.

Does our fan base care enough?

MONEY is where it starts though. Then when you start winning consistently, fans interest in football picks way up. That's the way it has and will always be. Winning cures all.

[QuadrupleOption]

This weekend a family of 4 could go for less than a hundred bucks depending on how much gas they have to buy.

Disagree. Tickets and gas, maybe.
But an 11:00 game means you are buying concessions for the whole family, minimum $20 more likely $40 over the game, then eating dinner out when you are done. Not to mention parking fees.

I have a family of 5 and every time we attend a game it costs us between $150 and $200 and that's NOT spending extravagantly. Is it a ton of money? No, but add in an 11:00 kick off and that means if you're coming from Jackson you're looking at leaving around 8:30AM at the latest to get there and seated on time.

It's a pain in the ass, and the 11:00 kickoff magnifies the pain. I'd rather watch it on TV and then spend the rest of my day doing other stuff.

[ShotgunDawg]

So if you don't live and breathe MSU you aren't a fan?

Huh? Who ever insinuated this?

Reading comprehension helps on message boards

[ShotgunDawg]

Disagree. Tickets and gas, maybe.
But an 11:00 game means you are buying concessions for the whole family, minimum $20 more likely $40 over the game, then eating dinner out when you are done. Not to mention parking fees.

I have a family of 5 and every time we attend a game it costs us between $150 and $200 and that's NOT spending extravagantly. Is it a ton of money? No, but add in an 11:00 kick off and that means if you're coming from Jackson you're looking at leaving around 8:30AM at the latest to get there and seated on time.

It's a pain in the ass, and the 11:00 kickoff magnifies the pain. I'd rather watch it on TV and then spend the rest of my day doing other stuff.

I think 11:00 am games may hurt MSU more than any other school due to the limited local population.

[THE Bruce Dickinson]

It's not about being an elite or non elite matchup. I will preface this by saying I am not a fan who stays until the final whistle for every game. Quite the contrary, I leave when we are getting our ass kicked, and I leave when we are up BIG.

However, the BYU game was pretty bad as far as attendance goes because all but maybe 300 students left at halftime and it was still very much a game at 21-3. I took a picture in the third quarter when we had just fumbled the kickoff and were up 18. It was still very much a game and no one was there to help the team out. This is the EXACT reason why we lost the South Alabama game last year. Fan support matters, and it really sucks when fans leave games when the game is still very much in question like it was against BYU.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

...This is the EXACT reason why we lost the South Alabama game last year.
Seriously? You think the fans not being there is the EXACT reason we lost to South Alabama?....wow

[THE Bruce Dickinson]

It had a lot to do with the loss.

A bigger crowd would have at least helped on D. If we keep them out of the end zone there is no need for the field goal at the end.

Keep believing it was because Mullen wore shorts, though.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

I never said anything about shorts. AND I never said that it didn't contribute to us losing but saying it is the EXACT reason we lost is a little over-the-top.

[THE Bruce Dickinson]

It was just a figure of speech I didn't mean it literally.

The exact reason was missing an easy field goal as time expired.

The only reason I mentioned the shorts is because there were tons of posters bitching about it after the game. I think we agree though that fan support matters a lot in close games, and we have been doing a poor job as a fan base of staying until we secure the win.

[bostondawg]

Not to incite an age debate, but alumni under 30 absolutely are. I've only ever known Mullen as a HC. Never missed a home game in my undergrad, and visited 10 of the 14 SEC stadiums in road games. Paying hundreds of dollars to come from Boston to be at the Bama game. I don't give a damn what people say about our history. The only history I know is us being competitive in the West.

[Maroonthirteen]

I get what you are asking Shotgun. Yes, We have a core fan base that is very dedicated. It is a small amount of people compared to Alabama and Tennessee and etc. however that has more to do with our rural location.

If you win at MSU, fans will show up. I remember our first bowl game in years, 91 liberty, we sold that place out. Then 98, we had a solid 20k at the SECCG. Then a large following at the cotton bowl. Same for the Gator bowl.

If we played in the SECCG again or a nc, we would take a big crowd but probably be out numbered. However again, it hasn't anything to do with the passion of our fans. We just have a small fan base (respectively) because of location and history.

[Johnson85]

Disagree. Tickets and gas, maybe.
But an 11:00 game means you are buying concessions for the whole family, minimum $20 more likely $40 over the game, then eating dinner out when you are done. Not to mention parking fees.

I have a family of 5 and every time we attend a game it costs us between $150 and $200 and that's NOT spending extravagantly. Is it a ton of money? No, but add in an 11:00 kick off and that means if you're coming from Jackson you're looking at leaving around 8:30AM at the latest to get there and seated on time.

It's a pain in the ass, and the 11:00 kickoff magnifies the pain. I'd rather watch it on TV and then spend the rest of my day doing other stuff.

This is called not being that big of a fan. I'm not that big of a fan either, nor are most people.

But I don't think that's our problem. What we are short on is fans that come to the game not because they are that big of a fan, but because dropping $500 on lodging for a family of four or five, staying and eating out for two nights and paying for concessions for the game and paying for a tailgate set up is not that big of a sacrifice.

And we need a greater percentage of those fans than most people because we do have such a small population within easy driving distance.

[Pollodawg]

Not talking about money.

Talking about emotional commitment.

Does our fan base care enough?
So, our entire life should revolve around State football? If that?s the cost, then it?s too damned high. Get a life.

[ShotgunDawg]

So, our entire life should revolve around State football? If that?s the cost, then it?s too damned high. Get a life.

I didn’t say this.

I am curious how say Auburn or Clemson fans think.

I don’t want to compare us to Bama fans because that’s apples and oranges.

[IMissJack]

It's more about population.

[Coach34]

Our biggest problem is our shitty forefathers putting the damn University in a small town in the northeast corner of the state.

If Mississippi State had been put in Madison County in 1878- we'd have 4-5 NC's already and Jackson wouldnt be so rundown and crappy right now.

[Bothrops]

The state isn't growing, that's a huge problem. Joe Max Higgins needs to be governor of MS.

[BulldogBacker]

Our biggest problem is our shitty forefathers putting the damn University in a small town in the northeast corner of the state.

If Mississippi State had been put in Madison County in 1878- we'd have 4-5 NC's already and Jackson wouldnt be so rundown and crappy right now.

Coach34, you are exactly right. We have the poorest location in the country. However, it is getting better as the world is getting smaller. The completion of transportation arteries helped a lot. But, we have little access to entertainment and a high selection of upscale restaurants.

[RocketDawg]

Not talking about money.

Talking about emotional commitment.

Does our fan base care enough?

Do they care enough to win a national title? Probably. But I hope we never get to the point of obsession that Alabama fans have.

[Johnson85]

Our biggest problem is our shitty forefathers putting the damn University in a small town in the northeast corner of the state.

If Mississippi State had been put in Madison County in 1878- we'd have 4-5 NC's already and Jackson wouldnt be so rundown and crappy right now.

It really is amazing that we ended up with 8 public universities in the State and we ended up with universities in Oxford, Starkville, Columbus, Lorman, Cleveland, Itta Bena, Hattiesburg, and Jackson. And to top it off, the only universities in a place that make any sense are a HBC that for most of its existence we were only willing to fund under the threat of a lawsuit and then a glorified teachers college.

It boggles the mind. Eight chances to do it right and the closest we got was having a 17ing teachers college in Hattiesburg. You'd think it would require deliberately trying to 17 it up to do that.

[Commercecomet24]

Our biggest problem is our shitty forefathers putting the damn University in a small town in the northeast corner of the state.

If Mississippi State had been put in Madison County in 1878- we'd have 4-5 NC's already and Jackson wouldnt be so rundown and crappy right now.

Yep.

[ShotgunDawg]

Our biggest problem is our shitty forefathers putting the damn University in a small town in the northeast corner of the state.

If Mississippi State had been put in Madison County in 1878- we'd have 4-5 NC's already and Jackson wouldnt be so rundown and crappy right now.

It?s clear that the forefathers of the state of MS were a group of dumb 17ers

Unreal the lack of foresight. Really makes you realize how dumb the reasons for the civil war and the old South were.

Where did these people go to school?

[Pollodawg]

It actually came down to Starkville or Meridian.

[QuadrupleOption]

It actually came down to Starkville or Meridian.

From a population perspective while Meridian would have been better, it's still a stupid place to put a university that is supposedly there to serve the entire state. For that matter, it doesn't make sense for UM to be in Oxford. I'm with Coach - putting a university in Madison county and FUNDING IT PROPERLY would have garnered us a much bigger share of SEC and national success.

[Coach34]

It actually came down to Starkville or Meridian.

Not putting it around the capital is moronic

[Commercecomet24]

To have 3 major university?s and a bus load of smaller ones in a state our size wasn?t smart to begin with but then to not centrally locate one of the major ones just topped it off. I love Mississippi and it?s my home but we have shot ourselves in the foot a few times.

[Pollodawg]

Not putting it around the capital is moronic

Oh, I agree.

[RougeDawg]

+1 Shotgun needs a side hustle #toomuchtimeonhishands

This. I think they are making robotic dolls in China now, that could relieve some of his pent up tension. If you know what I mean.

[Dawgology]

The biggest issue we face here is the cost of attending games now for younger families. For a family of 4 its no less than $500 to attend any game on a Saturday.

Not true. I got 2nd row tix on the 40 yard line for this weekend for my family of four...less than $100. Gas plus lunch maybe another $50-$60. That?s easily doable once or twice a season. It?s perfect for us because we have two young kids. We used to do season tix but it got to where we missed more than we attended due to the kids so we rightfully passed them on to someone who would fill the seats. That being said we MIGHT leave at halftime tomorrow depending on how the kids deal with it. But we might stay...I hope they love it and want to stay till the end. They are actually awe-struck over the black uni?s.

In my opinion these are the games State needs to heavy market to families with children. It?s affordable and just give them some incentive to show up. The kids get a signed foam Football from Mullen or a free cup that smells like shit...I don?t know...but hard sell them and make fans with a grassroots effort.

[RougeDawg]

I think 11:00 am games may hurt MSU more than any other school due to the limited local population.

The 56 total hotel rooms within an Uber rides range also plays a part.** room amount if facetious but we barely have enough hotel rooms for a tennis match. Most people want to kick back and drink a few on a game to relax and forget about work and life?s troubles. Very few convenience nearby actually add more stress to gameday plans than some people just staying home to unwind. So kill your self to make a 11 am game, driving over 300 miles one way, to a game you cannot drink more than a few wobbly pops, because our politicians have driving down the BAC limits well below idiotic levels l. It?s all a money maker for DUI?s. That topic is for another day.

Bottom line is most people, myself included, don?t feel the need to add another stressful day to our week for a shut state opponent. I already spend 2-3 hours behind the wheel every the day commute, depending on traffic. I?m sorry the majority of you live within a stones throw of the university. Some of us don?t, so open your mind and though process to the idea of wrong 9-10 hours of your weekend behind the wheel, either spend $600 for hotels and drink a few beers or drive back somewhere after the game, not having had a chance to fully unwind.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

From a population perspective while Meridian would have been better, it's still a stupid place to put a university that is supposedly there to serve the entire state. For that matter, it doesn't make sense for UM to be in Oxford. I'm with Coach - putting a university in Madison county and FUNDING IT PROPERLY would have garnered us a much bigger share of SEC and national success.

Wasn't OM almost in Montrose, Mississippi? I grew up hearing that.

[RougeDawg]

It?s clear that the forefathers of the state of MS were a group of dumb 17ers

Unreal the lack of foresight. Really makes you realize how dumb the reasons for the civil war and the old South were.

Where did these people go to school?

They chose Starkville exactly due to the remote location. They didn?t want the students having fun and being distracted by the nightlife of meridian or other larger towns of that time. So the very reasons they chose that location are the same reasons we are still behind the 8 ball compared to the rest of the SEC.

[BB30]

Fans don't win or lose games. Do the students leave early at crappy 11 am games yes. But that is about the only section that is full on crappy games at kick off. Season ticket holders are the ones that don't show up on crappy game weekends and I get it. I am fortunate enough to live in Columbus and not have a 2-4 hour drive to come watch UMASS vs State. Every big game we have Davis Wade is rocking and that is all that matters. The only games we need a true home field advantage we have one.

75% of your posts are debbie downer posts about how the game is rigged, media isn't fair, poor ole miss state never gets the benefit of the doubt. Try sitting back and enjoying the run we are on and the success we are going to have over the next few years and quit worrying about what everybody else thinks/says. We certainly have the commitment from both the fans and the administration to win a NC, will it happen? Who knows. It will take the absolutely perfect mix of things going right for sure. But from a fanbase standpoint we aren't much different from the Auburns etc. Just a tad smaller. We just need to continue winning more than we lose and continue to work on building a new brand of winning here at state.

[LC Dawg]

Not true. I got 2nd row tix on the 40 yard line for this weekend for my family of four...less than $100. Gas plus lunch maybe another $50-$60. That?s easily doable once or twice a season. It?s perfect for us because we have two young kids. We used to do season tix but it got to where we missed more than we attended due to the kids so we rightfully passed them on to someone who would fill the seats. That being said we MIGHT leave at halftime tomorrow depending on how the kids deal with it. But we might stay...I hope they love it and want to stay till the end. They are actually awe-struck over the black uni?s.

In my opinion these are the games State needs to heavy market to families with children. It?s affordable and just give them some incentive to show up. The kids get a signed foam Football from Mullen or a free cup that smells like shit...I don?t know...but hard sell them and make fans with a grassroots effort.

I did the same thing with season tickets when my kids were young. I was attending a lot more pee-wee football, soccer, and cheerleading than I was State games.
I'm with you on the marketing these type games to families with children. Most State fans with young children want to bring them to a game or two a year. There needs to be a centralized location that people can go to get tickets that season ticket holders aren't using.

[Liverpooldawg]

Disagree. Tickets and gas, maybe.
But an 11:00 game means you are buying concessions for the whole family, minimum $20 more likely $40 over the game, then eating dinner out when you are done. Not to mention parking fees.

I have a family of 5 and every time we attend a game it costs us between $150 and $200 and that's NOT spending extravagantly. Is it a ton of money? No, but add in an 11:00 kick off and that means if you're coming from Jackson you're looking at leaving around 8:30AM at the latest to get there and seated on time.

It's a pain in the ass, and the 11:00 kickoff magnifies the pain. I'd rather watch it on TV and then spend the rest of my day doing other stuff.

Why do you have to eat out after the game? It will be over before 3. If you live within 2-3 hours, eat at home. That's what I do. It can be done. It might not be what you want to do. FYI, there are $10 tickets available from the ticket office for this one. There are also free parking spaces available if you don't mind walking a bit. You can also pack food and drinks from home for before and after the game. I always pack drinks. If I wanted too I could go for about $30 bucks by myself. $10 ticket, $15 gas, $5 for a Coke. Add about $15 per person. It wouldn't be doing much but going to the game, but then that's all I do anyway. I will probably spend personally about $40-$50 and the guy that goes with me roughly the same. We will pay to park most likely and we will get a bite to eat at the game.

[Liverpooldawg]

I think 11:00 am games may hurt MSU more than any other school due to the limited local population.

I don't think there is any question about that.

[Liverpooldawg]

Our biggest problem is our shitty forefathers putting the damn University in a small town in the northeast corner of the state.

If Mississippi State had been put in Madison County in 1878- we'd have 4-5 NC's already and Jackson wouldnt be so rundown and crappy right now.

I'll go one step more...... If the plantationites had accepted us on their campus then Mississippi would have one gigantic major state university now. We might be looking at Alabama type numbers. It would have been good for the kids of the elite to be exposed to the tradesmen's kids too. The whole damn state would probably have been run in a completely different way than it has been. Just think how much more that one universty would be able to offer without having all your bread and butter departments duplicated.

[Dawgology]

Speaking of pay to park. First game for me this year. Can you still park at the research park and take a shuttle over?

[Liverpooldawg]

Wasn't OM almost in Montrose, Mississippi? I grew up hearing that.

Where the heck is that? I've never heard of it.

[Liverpooldawg]

Speaking of pay to park. First game for me this year. Can you still park at the research park and take a shuttle over?

I think so. You can also park for nothing on the road from campus to the highway patrol station. One plus for that one is it's pretty easy to get off campus. It's a bit of a walk though.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

Where the heck is that? I've never heard of it.

Jasper County in southeast quadrant of ms. Population around 130.

[Liverpooldawg]

Jasper County in central ms. Population around 130.

Thanks, that's a new one on me, both the town and the story.

[Commercecomet24]

Thanks, that's a new one on me, both the town and the story.

I used to hunt in montrose a lot. My family had land there. Not much to it. There is a banjo shop there if you?re interested lol

[Maroonthirteen]

My future gameplan is to buy a camper trailer and rent a space down there during the football season. You are right. The Hotel situation is difficult.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

I used to hunt in montrose a lot. My family had land there. Not much to it. There is a banjo shop there if you?re interested lol

Yea. I lived about 20 miles away and had a buddy that lived there. As small as the town I grew up in, it was smaller.

[Commercecomet24]

Yea. I lived about 20 miles away and had a buddy that lived there. As small as the town I grew up in, it was smaller.

I grew up in meridian but all my moms family is from Stringer in jasper county. Spent a lot of my free time with my grandfather hunting and farming.

[IMissJack]

Not putting it around the capital is moronic

I don't think those in power in Mississippi in those days were going to allow the "Ag College" to be in Jackson.

[IMissJack]

I grew up in meridian but all my moms family is from Stringer in jasper county. Spent a lot of my free time with my grandfather hunting and farming.

My Mom is from Heidelberg, and I never heard of Montrose either.

[Commercecomet24]

My Mom is from Heidelberg, and I never heard of Montrose either.

There?s not much to it lol. Way smaller than Heidelberg.

[Dawg61]

Just thinking this morning about Mullen and our potential to keep him for the long term and I?m wondering if collectively MSU and the fan base is committed enough to win a national championship and I?m not talking about willingness to pay a big salary. That?s not the commitment I?m talking about.

The BYU crowd and students abandoning DWS was an eye opener for me and possibly insinuates that while MSU fans and students like football, I?m not sure they live and breath it?

How important is football to our fans?

More important than hunting?

More important than the beach?

Important enough to not schedule weddings or baseball scrimmages on Gameday?

This is the ground zero question that determines if this program has the potential to take the next step from competitive to a contender.

One of your worst threads ever. Congrats Shotgun. People leaving the BYU game is nothing more than people ready to go do something else for the weekend when the game is a total blowout. That's it. Nothing more to it than that. Find more hobbies instead of trying to solve the riddle of how to win a national championship at MSU all the time. We were extremely close in 2014. Mullen is already a better coach now than he was then so next time we get that close again our chances are already much better. Being located in shithole Jackson, MS wouldn't improve our chances either and placing MSU in Jackson 150 years ago wouldn't have stopped Jackson from turning into its glorious shithole self that it is today. Clemson is located in nowhere South Carolina and currently have the Natty.

[Tbonewannabe]

One of your worst threads ever. Congrats Shotgun. People leaving the BYU game is nothing more than people ready to go do something else for the weekend when the game is a total blowout. That's it. Nothing more to it than that. Find more hobbies instead of trying to solve the riddle of how to win a national championship at MSU all the time. We were extremely close in 2014. Mullen is already a better coach now than he was then so next time we get that close again our chances are already much better. Being located in shithole Jackson, MS wouldn't improve our chances either and placing MSU in Jackson 150 years ago wouldn't have stopped Jackson from turning into its glorious shithole self that it is today. Clemson is located in nowhere South Carolina and currently have the Natty.

Just like anything else, the more times you get experience the better chance you have of winning it. I am surprised Oregon never won it as close as they have been but I guess Auburn spoiled that for them. Mullen is getting us in the ballpark but sometimes it just takes some luck for the ball to bounce the right way. Saban just has an advantage when it comes to big games because he does it every year.

[drunkernhelldawg]

We haven't been committed enough as of yet, but we have been getting better in that regard over the past 10 years or so. We need to keep at so we can take advantage when the opportunity arrives. Bama will have down years. But we'll still have to play the games..

[Back Judge]

Do the fans take a snap?

[ShotgunDawg]

One of your worst threads ever. Congrats Shotgun. People leaving the BYU game is nothing more than people ready to go do something else for the weekend when the game is a total blowout. That's it. Nothing more to it than that. Find more hobbies instead of trying to solve the riddle of how to win a national championship at MSU all the time. We were extremely close in 2014. Mullen is already a better coach now than he was then so next time we get that close again our chances are already much better. Being located in shithole Jackson, MS wouldn't improve our chances either and placing MSU in Jackson 150 years ago wouldn't have stopped Jackson from turning into its glorious shithole self that it is today. Clemson is located in nowhere South Carolina and currently have the Natty.

I appreciate your clarity

[Commercecomet24]

We haven't been committed enough as of yet, but we have been getting better in that regard over the past 10 years or so. We need to keep at so we can take advantage when the opportunity arrives. Bama will have down years. But we'll still have to play the games..

This is true. When I started attending games in the 70?s and really over the last 10 years our game day atmosphere has improved dramatically. Shoot 20 years ago 40k In the stands would?ve been awesome. We are building and growing and learning. After 100 years of mediocrity we are getting there. We are light years of where we were and while it?s not perfect it?s getting there and I love the atmosphere on game day even the crappy 11am kickoff. It?s a process and it?s working.

[RocketDawg]

They chose Starkville exactly due to the remote location. They didn?t want the students having fun and being distracted by the nightlife of meridian or other larger towns of that time. So the very reasons they chose that location are the same reasons we are still behind the 8 ball compared to the rest of the SEC.

I can't think of any SEC schools that are in a really nice town, except Nashville and possibly Lexington. Knoxville is OK but not great. Even if the school was in Jackson it wouldn't be in a nice town. About the only good thing is the central location. Look at Alabama and Auburn ... both smallish towns remotely located (at least at the time they were established).

[Coach34]

I can't think of any SEC schools that are in a really nice town, except Nashville and possibly Lexington. Knoxville is OK but not great. Even if the school was in Jackson it wouldn't be in a nice town. About the only good thing is the central location. Look at Alabama and Auburn ... both smallish towns remotely located (at least at the time they were established).

Being in the remote area of the state with no major roads going thru it has completely hampered our programs for years and years.

Being just north of Jackson would have brought more population and business to the Jackson area and more money to our University. Our student population would be at least double what it is now. Hell, I almost didnt go to State because it was in Starkville. Instead of 10K crowds throughout the 30's, 40's, and 50's- we would have had 30-40K crowds for ballgames. This would have helped our facilities and budget tremendously in funding our programs.
We also wouldnt have spent year after year of playing teams like Auburn, Alabama, and LSU on the road because it was damn near impossible to get to Starkville. Playing home games vs Auburn in Birmingham or in Baton Rouge 17 years in a row didnt help our football program a bit- I assure you.

[Dawg61]

Being in the remote area of the state with no major roads going thru it has completely hampered our programs for years and years.

Being just north of Jackson would have brought more population and business to the Jackson area and more money to our University. Our student population would be at least double what it is now. Hell, I almost didnt go to State because it was in Starkville. Instead of 10K crowds throughout the 30's, 40's, and 50's- we would have had 30-40K crowds for ballgames. This would have helped our facilities and budget tremendously in funding our programs.
We also wouldnt have spent year after year of playing teams like Auburn, Alabama, and LSU on the road because it was damn near impossible to get to Starkville. Playing home games vs Auburn in Birmingham or in Baton Rouge 17 years in a row didnt help our football program a bit- I assure you.

Great and if Columbus had landed in Brazil instead of America we wouldn't be typing in english right now.

[ShotgunDawg]

Being in the remote area of the state with no major roads going thru it has completely hampered our programs for years and years.

Being just north of Jackson would have brought more population and business to the Jackson area and more money to our University. Our student population would be at least double what it is now. Hell, I almost didnt go to State because it was in Starkville. Instead of 10K crowds throughout the 30's, 40's, and 50's- we would have had 30-40K crowds for ballgames. This would have helped our facilities and budget tremendously in funding our programs.
We also wouldnt have spent year after year of playing teams like Auburn, Alabama, and LSU on the road because it was damn near impossible to get to Starkville. Playing home games vs Auburn in Birmingham or in Baton Rouge 17 years in a row didnt help our football program a bit- I assure you.

If only in 1878 they would’ve known what football was*

[RocketDawg]

Being in the remote area of the state with no major roads going thru it has completely hampered our programs for years and years.

Being just north of Jackson would have brought more population and business to the Jackson area and more money to our University. Our student population would be at least double what it is now. Hell, I almost didnt go to State because it was in Starkville. Instead of 10K crowds throughout the 30's, 40's, and 50's- we would have had 30-40K crowds for ballgames. This would have helped our facilities and budget tremendously in funding our programs.
We also wouldnt have spent year after year of playing teams like Auburn, Alabama, and LSU on the road because it was damn near impossible to get to Starkville. Playing home games vs Auburn in Birmingham or in Baton Rouge 17 years in a row didnt help our football program a bit- I assure you.

Well ... we, and Ole Miss, played most of our games in Jackson for many years and it didn't help at all. They'd play a few of the minor games on campus (like Richmond), but very few went to the games. And very few do now either. And if those minor games were in Jackson, very few would go there either.

But by "our programs" if you mean athletic programs, that wasn't what I was talking about. Colleges are supposed to be primarily institutes of higher learning; athletics are supposed to be secondary and sources of entertainment for the students. It's kinda gotten out of hand everywhere though ....

I don't recall us playing home games in Birmingham or Baton Rouge.

[Spiderman]

Just thinking this morning about Mullen and our potential to keep him for the long term and I?m wondering if collectively MSU and the fan base is committed enough to win a national championship and I?m not talking about willingness to pay a big salary. That?s not the commitment I?m talking about.

The BYU crowd and students abandoning DWS was an eye opener for me and possibly insinuates that while MSU fans and students like football, I?m not sure they live and breath it?

How important is football to our fans?

More important than hunting?

More important than the beach?

Important enough to not schedule weddings or baseball scrimmages on Gameday?

This is the ground zero question that determines if this program has the potential to take the next step from competitive to a contender.

Even if it was strictly up to the fans.... no.

Not enough live breathe and eat college football.

And it shows both in money and attendance.

[Coach34]

I don't recall us playing home games in Birmingham or Baton Rouge.

Then you havent looked up our history. We literally played LSU in Baton Rouge 16-17 years in a row in Baton Rouge and probably 25 times there in a 35 year period. Thats why our football history is so skewed- we played so many games on the road.

State vs LSU- 37-71-3 on the field....per wiki- " In total, only three games in the series were played outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baton_Rouge,_Louisiana) from 1934 to 1970."

Auburn?

All-Time: Auburn leads the series 61-24-2
At Mississippi State: Auburn leads 12-5-1

Add those numbers for us