College Sports

[kyyote]

Am I concerned for no reason?  You see, I love my school and I care about my fellow Miners who play and represent my school with pride. I have no feelings for the UTEP employees who didn?t attend my school and are just connected to the school by a paycheck. I already have lost much of my connection to the players with the NCAA turning them into just mercenaries. So now, tell me what the connection is between me the UTEP grad and any of the players. The paycheck?  I don?t know where this is going to end up. But I am losing my connection to UTEP sports as they will no be just a team of paid faceless, nameless players collecting a check. The amateurs have giver away the one thing that made them special. Heart. Heart has been traded for a few bucks.  How many of you will really care about the Miners wins and losses?  Do they even matter anymore or are you just paying to watch the show? 
Serious question. Are the players Miners if they only played a year at UTEP and they weren?t getting a post graduate degree?  How long will it be before the miners just play guys who are never miners other than the same way the guy during a UTEP pickup truck in maintenance is a Miner?
Btw, does making progress toward degrees even count anymore? 
Does anyone else feel like this is just the huge step in dismantling the entire system?  Or am I just crazy as usual.

[SisyphusMiner]

I basically agree with you.  Why even maintain the farce of attending classes?  Its just minor league NFL and NBA now

[KiddMiner]

College Sports has changed and until all the legalities are ironed out through the court system I don't see us having a "Relationship" so to speak with the players as once upon a time. The local kid ala Aaron Jones may fit the bill, but if the team is lagging behind the upper echelons and they receive an offer, well, better for them to make the move. We shall see what happens with the new staff and if the University can keep the current coaches if they compete for titles.

$$ talks and if the two main programs produce results, facility upgrades should help, we shall see.

[kyyote]

Thank you both for confirming my worst suspicions.  When Paul owned the Diablos it was a fun night with the kids but no one cared about winning or losing the games.  So the new coach is supposed to be able to put on a good show. Cute. And they want to waste 90 million to upgrade the venue.  Again am I crazy to think that the new coach is now like the CEO of UTEP football.  I smell ticket prices going up. 

[Minermojo]

I may be the only one that even if the Cartel destroyed college sports like we knew it the Miners will still be my team. Even if the players don't hold an allegiance to the school they still wear Miner orange and blue. It's no different than rooting for a certain professional team as the rules are the still the same, some come and some go and it's all for a paycheck. Still many maintain their professional love for their team even if they are traded. Some come back and play one more year so that they may retire as a member of the team they love.

das all.

[MinerInWisconsin]

I may be the only one that even if the Cartel destroyed college sports like we knew it the Miners will still be my team. Even if the players don't hold an allegiance to the school they still wear Miner orange and blue. It's no different than rooting for a certain professional team as the rules are the still the same, some come and some go and it's all for a paycheck. Still many maintain their professional love for their team even if they are traded. Some come back and play one more year so that they may retire as a member of the team they love.

das all.

I will still be a fan too. I?m afraid my blood is too orange to give up just because we suddenly live in bizzaro world.
I don?t like the pay for play but you could see it coming for quite a while.

I know the athletic department needs more money, so do lots of athletic departments. It?s somewhat encouraging that UTEP has said that the 1st home game is already half sold out. Playing games at Nebraska and Tennessee is tough on the team but good for the bank account.


If the Miners have a decent showing on national tv (FOX) at Nebraska to start the season, a sellout in that 1st home game vs fcs Southern Utah should result.

[Minermojo]

I'm counting those two games as losses but if they keep it exciting where those Cartel schools have to earn their win then I'll be happy. Score baby, score, that's all we can ask for.

Anyone remember the Flying Miners? I want that kind of offense again.

[SisyphusMiner]

I don't necessarily mind a 7-3 game when it's two defensive juggernauts battling it out.  I really don't mind any style of play if teams are good at it for their level of athlete.  I don't mind watching middle school sports because i go in with expectations of what to expect from middle schoolers.

What I hate is watching college teams play like mediocre high schoolers and that's what I've been watching since the last few years of the Price era.  We haven't had a good OC (or at least one that was allowed to be) since Eric Price.

[kyyote]

There is only one thing that matters in a fair fight. Winning. Wins and losses are all that counts. Style points are what losers look at because looking at wins and loses sucks. Look up wins and losses for the last 12 years and see if we aren?t in the top ten of losing college football teams. The fact that we managed to not only lose, but in horrible loseresque ways to do it. I have been asking seriously for years if it wasn?t some kind of plan to drop us down a level.  Did you know that Wes Phillips has been to OC for the Vikings for years?  It isn?t that we don?t know how to play football. Maybe it is just too hot. Nope. Odessa/Midland play in the heat. The funny thing is there are thirty thousand fans just looking for a chance to win waiting to come out to a game where we aren?t the guaranteed loser.
So, the question is can he win or not. If we are entertained by a clown show and trained elephants it should be at the circus. The only thing that matters is wins at football games. Putting up good fights and losing is what tomato can fighters and sparring partners do. Get beat up for pennies.

And now, they are just employees.