(03-31-2013 01:43 AM)Sultan of Euphonistan Wrote: Yea we would lose a lot of our fanbase and students but that is still not an excuse. It is one thing to be a fan of the popular state school, it is a whole another thing to cheer for them over your own Alma Mater.
Yeah, but then again in football I cheer for Kent State as the local team over my Alma Mater. Except in hockey, of course, since there were hockey players in our dorms, so that's different, but I didn't go to University to get a football team to cheer for, I went for an education. And despite the preppies and the silly Greek culture across the street in Main Campus, it was an excellent undergraduate education.
Quote: Being from New York (but with parents from Florida) I have no connection to the Borg Collective down in Columbus and I am happier for it. It is too bad the programming is too ingrained.
Its too bad you didn't have a school to cheer for growing up and had to borrow your parent's school. I remember watching the Buckeyes and the Ohio State Marching Band play in the Horseshoe when my mom was a senior and got tickets. And of course, of the ten schools in the Licking County AA football conference, nine had the OSU fight song as their fight song (IIRC Newark Catholic had a different traditional football fight song, for some reason).
Quote: My parents are Florida Alumni. I was brought up a Gator fan. I was also the one cheering the hardest for Kent to beat Florida in the College World Series. Kent State is where I went to school and it is therefor my number one team that I cheer for over all others.
When I lived in Knoxville, I want to a couple of early games most years and cheered for the Volunteers playing against some hapless payday punching bag. When I lived in Newcastle, I cheered for the Newcastle Knights in the ARL and the Newcastle Breakers in the NRL, and when Australian soccer upgraded from semi-pro to pro, I cheered for the Newcastle Jets in the A-league. And of course, since they didn't really have American football in Australia, my kid grew up a Vols fan.
Living in Ravenna, it would be silly to pretend to a college life I never lived, pretending that I was in the stands cheering the Redskins on when I was in college. I was normally recuperating from Friday night, getting some reading done, or earning my work-study money working in the Library.
Quote: Even though I still cheer for Florida any time that I am asked which college team I cheer for I always say Kent State first. Perhaps others should do the same.
Kent State would be better for it. We have plenty of alumni and considering the school's athletic success in the past what 20 years we really should be supporting it better. Heck it would help with the respect angle since for example people around here respect big gaudy attendance numbers rather than actual on the field success of a school's athletic programs. The athletes deserve it and they do it with so much less than the money hogs down in C-Bus.
But I don't see the administration pursuing what seems to be your proposed strategy of turning away locals who aren't Kent State students or alumni unless they swear their absolute faith and fidelity to Kent State and never cheer for any team in the Big Ten ... since I don't think that strategy is going to actually net any extra attendance.