(05-30-2016 12:04 AM)_C2_ Wrote: You say that now but if Pitt had a roster full of Academic All-Americans yet was getting thrashed 52-9 and 37-14 every week and every year, you'd get tired of the losing.
Ironically, you'd ask "why don't we have any good players." No one wants to be the embarrassment of their colleagues because their school sucks at the major sports, everyone wants to win now and especially if they are a donor and paying for it or going to games and paying the cost for that.
Brother, I've been there. This isn't theoretical for me. During the 1996 season, I sat in Ohio Stadium and watched Ohio State mercilessly beat Pitt 72-0 (the year before it was 54-14 at Pitt Stadium). They ran a punt return back for a touchdown in that game with only eight men on the field.
The next week we lost to Miami in the Orange Bowl, 45-0. Two weeks later, Syracuse beat us 55-7 in the Carrier Dome and that was followed by a 60-6 loss at Notre Dame.
You would be hard pressed to find another major college football team which has won a national championship in the modern era (1976) that was repeatedly pounded like Pitt was pounded for years and years.
Pitt de-emphasized football and instituted a number of extra criteria that its players had to follow just to gain admission into the university. And we were DRILLED as a result of that decision. Still, through it all, we at least maintained our dignity. I would take every single one of those losses with pride as compared to our in-state rivals Penn State. Paterno got his 409 wins but holy hell, man. At what cost?
Was that worth it for them? I'm sure some will say yes. However, for me, there's no way that would ever be worth it. Now, when people think of Penn State they don't think of Joe Paterno, the great football coach full of character and integrity. They think of a fraud who pretended to be one thing but was actually someone altogether different than his public persona. They think of a man who covered up child rape and a State College culture that at least tacitly condoned it.
That will be Briles legacy too. Just another crook in a long line of them in college football history. Like Paterno, Briles was nothing but a phony piece of shitt.
(05-30-2016 12:04 AM)_C2_ Wrote: So there you have it, people will be outraged by a scandal like this but I bet if Baylor was winning 1-2 Big 12 games a year like they were before Briles, they don't get that stadium built and I bet ol' Floyd Casey would be empty except for when Texas, OU and TCU came to town. So which do you want? Poor and outrageed fan support or winning with thugs? You don't have to win with thugs but your chances of comepting in that tough neighborhood increase dramtically by taking chances on them if you're lil' ol' Baylor. The same is true for their (possibly/presumably) cheating basketball program.
All of that is likely true but so what? Have some perspective, man. You have lost sight of the shore. No amount of losing can ever damage Baylor University as much as this scandal has and will.
(05-30-2016 12:04 AM)_C2_ Wrote: As for that last paragraph, my daughter, if I had one, would be way more of a worry going somewhere in the middle of the hood like Spellman, Texas Southern or even UH (it's not as dangerous as people make it out but there is still poverty and crime in the area) than in Waco or most anywhere Briles may go (he likes rural locations). We're talking about a relative few rapes over the course of a few years, there are rapes, date rapes and sexual harrassment on every college campus, let alone crime in general. Rather than shield her, I'd put pressure on the administration to ensure her safety and keep a watchful eye on everyone, whether they are with the chemistry majors or football team, and discipline people sharply.
How can you pressure the administration to do anything if the first thing you are looking to do is completely absolve the man most responsible for creating/facilitating/condoning a rape culture within his program?
I have two boys but if I had a girl there is no way in hell I would send her anywhere that has been proven to systemically cover up the rapes of other people's little girls, even going so far as to openly intimidate some of them.
Honestly the jock worship in this country is out of control. If Briles were a postal inspector or a manager at Wal-Mart instead of a football coach, and he was actively covering up crimes committed by his employees, would you be so forgiving?
No chance.