Official realignment thread - SEC formally invites OU and Texas to join the conference in 2025

[Go Buffs]

I need a new home. I just don't know what that is right now.

Not much to offer as an alternative. Sorry.

 

[CUAviator]

This excerpt from Chuck Klosterman's Sex Drugs and Coco Puffs seems appropriate both for the GenX and the Soccer components of this conversation. I highly recommend the entire article if you can find it.

I've spent the last fifteen years of my life railing against the game of soccer, an exercise that has been lauded as "the sport of the future" since 1977. Thankfully, that dystopia has never come. But people continue to tell me that soccer will soon become part of the fabric of this country, and that soccer will eventually be as popular as football, basketball, karate, pinball, smoking, glue sniffing, menstruation, animal cruelty, photocopying, and everything else that fuels the eroticized, hyperkinetic zeitgeist of Americana. After the U.S. placed eighth in the 2002 World Cup tournament, team forward Clint Mathis said, "If we can turn one more person who wasn't a soccer fan into a soccer fan, we've accomplished something." Apparently, that's all that matters to these idiots. They won't be satisfied until we're all systematically brainwashed into thinking soccer is cool and that placing eighth (and losing to Poland!) is somehow noble. However, I know this will never happen. Not really. Dumb bunnies like Clint Mathis will be wrong forever, and that might be the only thing saving us from ourselves...

Soccer unconsciously rewards the outcast, which is why so many adults are fooled into thinking their kids love it. The truth is that most children don't love soccer; they simply hate the alternatives more. For 60 percent of the adolescents in any fourth-grade classroom, sports are a humiliation waiting to happen. These are the kids who play baseball and strike out four times a game. These are the kids afraid to get fouled in basketball, because it only means they're now required to shoot two free throws, which equates to two air balls. Basketball games actually stop to annihilate them.

That is why soccer seems like such a respite from all that mortification; it's the one aerobic activity where nothingness is expected. Even at the highest levels, every soccer match seems to end 1-0 or 2-1. A normal eleven-year-old can play an entire season without placing toe to sphere and nobody would even notice, assuming he or she does a proper job of running about and avoiding major collisions.

Soccer fanatics love to tell you that soccer is the most popular game on earth and that it's played by 500 million people every day, as if that somehow proves its value. Actually, the opposite is true. Why should I care that every single citizen of Chile and Iran and Gibraltar thoughtlessly adores "football"? Do the people making this argument also assume Coca-Cola is ambrosia? Real sports aren't for everyone. And don't accuse me of being the Ugly American for degrading soccer. That has nothing to do with it. It's not xenophobic to hate soccer; it's socially reprehensible to support it. To say you love soccer is to say you believe in enforced equality more than you believe in the value of competition and the capacity of the human spirit. It should surprise no one that Benito Mussolini loved being photographed with Italian soccer stars during the 1930s; they were undoubtedly kindred spirits. I would sooner have my kid deal crystal meth than play soccer. Every time I pull up behind a Ford Aerostar with a "#1 Soccer Mom" bumper sticker, I feel like I'm marching in the wake of the Khmer Rouge.

That said, I don't feel my thoughts on soccer are radical. If push came to shove, I would be more than willing to compromise: It's not necessary to wholly outlaw soccer as a living entity. I concede that it has a right to exist. All I ask is that I never have to see it on television, that it's never played in public (or supported with public funding), and that nobody -- and I mean nobody -- ever utters the phrase "Soccer is the sport of the future" for the next forty thousand years.

Is there a “thumbs up x 1,000,000” button?
Also, still laughing.

 

[skibum]

There was a movement in my youth where soccer fans made t-shirts and bumper stickers attacking American football.

"Girls play volleyball
Men play football
Intelligent men play soccer"

I used to be part of the "denigrate soccer" crowd, mostly because I felt it was a fair "punch back".

Reminds me of the fairly racist old saying in the UK that "football [soccer] is a gentleman's sport played by hooligans, and rugby is a hooligan's sport played by gentlemen."

 

[BuffBear]

Baylor fan here. Have always liked CU dating back to 90s when we had some close games when I first started caring. plus some family connections there. Curious about the PAC perspective on potential alliance talk. (Tried to read through this thread… geez some of y’all y’all love soccer.) frankly I think it’s sad. Had the big xii kept everyone and not been mismanaged it could have been the SEC/B1G rival more so than the PAC. I can tell you that in the last couple of years BU has cancelled research projects with LSU and SCarolina only to restart them with PAC schools, and scheduled with Utah and Oregon, in an attempt to position ourselves for realignment that we didn’t think was coming until 2024ish.

 

[Leon Sandcastle]

Oh boy

 

[Uncle Ken]

Baylor fan here. Have always liked CU dating back to 90s when we had some close games when I first started caring. plus some family connections there. Curious about the PAC perspective on potential alliance talk. (Tried to read through this thread… geez some of y’all y’all love soccer.) frankly I think it’s sad. Had the big xii kept everyone and not been mismanaged it could have been the SEC/B1G rival more so than the PAC. I can tell you that in the last couple of years BU has cancelled research projects with LSU and SCarolina only to restart them with PAC schools, and scheduled with Utah and Oregon, in an attempt to position ourselves for realignment that we didn’t think was coming until 2024ish.

**** Baylor
**** Ken Starr
**** Buddy Jones
**** the Southern Baptist Church

Get the **** out of here with your Baylor fan bull****.

EDIT: **** Baylor

 

[LaserDeathHawk]

Baylor fan here. Have always liked CU dating back to 90s when we had some close games when I first started caring. plus some family connections there. Curious about the PAC perspective on potential alliance talk. (Tried to read through this thread… geez some of y’all y’all love soccer.) frankly I think it’s sad. Had the big xii kept everyone and not been mismanaged it could have been the SEC/B1G rival more so than the PAC. I can tell you that in the last couple of years BU has cancelled research projects with LSU and SCarolina only to restart them with PAC schools, and scheduled with Utah and Oregon, in an attempt to position ourselves for realignment that we didn’t think was coming until 2024ish.

Eat my ****. Go away.

**** bailer

 

[BuffBear]

**** Baylor
**** Ken Starr
**** Buddy Jones
**** the Southern Baptist Church

Get the **** out of here with your Baylor fan bull****.

EDIT: **** Baylor

Well. Ken Starr is out. Buddy Jones is no longer a regent. We severed our ties to the southern Baptist convention in the late 80s and further distanced ourselves from the BGCT (Baptist General Convention of Texas) in the late 90s.
I have some personal reasons to root for the buffs. But thanks for the warm welcome.

 

[Uncle Ken]

Well. Ken Starr is out. Buddy Jones is no longer a regent. We severed our ties to the southern Baptist convention in the late 80s and further distanced ourselves from the BGCT (Baptist General Convention of Texas) in the late 90s.
I have some personal reasons to root for the buffs. But thanks for the warm welcome.

**** you. It makes me feel sick to see those two words put together. They are not compatible. **** Baylor.

I have some personal reasons to hate Baylor. Sometimes I question my own love of college sports (because I acknowledge some bad things happen in most athletic departments), but Baylor went so far over the line with their cover-up(s) and shaming of victims; I'm not sure how any self-respecting fan can continue to support that evil institution.

 

[Not Sure]

This isn’t going to end well.

 

[Not Sure]

Baylor fan here. Have always liked CU dating back to 90s when we had some close games when I first started caring. plus some family connections there. Curious about the PAC perspective on potential alliance talk. (Tried to read through this thread… geez some of y’all y’all love soccer.) frankly I think it’s sad. Had the big xii kept everyone and not been mismanaged it could have been the SEC/B1G rival more so than the PAC. I can tell you that in the last couple of years BU has cancelled research projects with LSU and SCarolina only to restart them with PAC schools, and scheduled with Utah and Oregon, in an attempt to position ourselves for realignment that we didn’t think was coming until 2024ish.

We won’t forget. We never forget.

 

[-BMP-]

Baylor fan here. Have always liked CU dating back to 90s when we had some close games when I first started caring. plus some family connections there. Curious about the PAC perspective on potential alliance talk. (Tried to read through this thread… geez some of y’all y’all love soccer.) frankly I think it’s sad. Had the big xii kept everyone and not been mismanaged it could have been the SEC/B1G rival more so than the PAC. I can tell you that in the last couple of years BU has cancelled research projects with LSU and SCarolina only to restart them with PAC schools, and scheduled with Utah and Oregon, in an attempt to position ourselves for realignment that we didn’t think was coming until 2024ish.

I’d probably rather have a scheduling alliance with the B1G than a scheduling alliance/merger with the Big 12 to be honest. Mostly because it would be a chance to play Nebraska more often, but I think it could also be a big moneymaker.

No doubt the Big 12 has some premier basketball programs, but it seems like it’s football driving everything.

 

[Highlander]

Besides what UK said, I’ll just leave this here.

Baylor trying to push Colorado out of Pac-10 expansion

Baylor trying to push Colorado out of Pac-10 expansion

www.denverpost.com

 

[CUAviator]

What happens to their rankings when they all start playing and beating each other?

It just reiterates their rankings - “see how good they are? Only SEC teams can beat SEC teams, so their 3-loss record is better than an undefeated Pac-12 team. Point proven.”

 

[CUAviator]

Do you know how to use the internet?

Wait, someone makes an outrageous claim about the popularity of soccer in a football thread and I am the one that is supposed to look that up??

 

[CUAviator]

Reminds me of the fairly racist old saying in the UK that "football [soccer] is a gentleman's sport played by hooligans, and rugby is a hooligan's sport played by gentlemen."

Huh, I might be misusing the word “racist”.

 

[CUAviator]

Baylor fan here. Have always liked CU dating back to 90s when we had some close games when I first started caring. plus some family connections there. Curious about the PAC perspective on potential alliance talk. (Tried to read through this thread… geez some of y’all y’all love soccer.) frankly I think it’s sad. Had the big xii kept everyone and not been mismanaged it could have been the SEC/B1G rival more so than the PAC. I can tell you that in the last couple of years BU has cancelled research projects with LSU and SCarolina only to restart them with PAC schools, and scheduled with Utah and Oregon, in an attempt to position ourselves for realignment that we didn’t think was coming until 2024ish.

You’ve seen what most folks around here think of that school. But in all seriousness, how does Baylor participate in research projects if they don’t believe in science? seriously.

 

[Gary Indiana]

Well. Ken Starr is out. Buddy Jones is no longer a regent. We severed our ties to the southern Baptist convention in the late 80s and further distanced ourselves from the BGCT (Baptist General Convention of Texas) in the late 90s.
I have some personal reasons to root for the buffs. But thanks for the warm welcome.

 

[BuffBear]

Why no. No it did not. LOL. Genuinely didn’t know there was so much Baylor hate among this fan base.

 

[Uncle Ken]

Why no. No it did not. LOL. Genuinely didn’t know there was so much Baylor hate among this fan base.

If I had to guess, I'd say that we're just warming up. It's the sort of hate that is reserved for institutions that consistently place sports about decency and then cloak themselves in bull**** religious righteousness. Has the Pepper Hamilton report been released yet?

Here's a thread that might provide a little background:

**** bailer!

**** bailer!!!

allbuffs.com

 

[onealcd]

Wait, someone makes an outrageous claim about the popularity of soccer in a football thread and I am the one that is supposed to look that up??

It’s not outrageous, European soccer ratings have been increasing (in a time where all ratings for US sports have been down during covid). This isn’t outrageous. I don’t even like it watch soccer lol this is just what is happenings

 

[onealcd]

Euro 2020’s Italy-England Final Most Watched Euro Final In U.S. History

Italy's victory over England in the UEFA Euro 2020 final was the most-viewed Euro match in U.S. history with 6.49 million viewers on ESPN.

deadline.com

Jeez that was hard

 

[skibum]

Huh, I might be misusing the word “racist”.

FYI "hooligan" in the UK is a similar dog whistle to "thug" in the US - if you substitute those words in the quote you'll see how yes, it is a little racist.

 

[SINKRATZ]

Why no. No it did not. LOL. Genuinely didn’t know there was so much Baylor hate among this fan base.

Baylor is an example of a completely dogs**t football program deciding the only way it can become competitive is to eliminate rules, accountability, and consequences. They hired a sleazebag coach and let him and his players run amok because winning was more important than human decency. F**k Baylor.

 

[CUAviator]

It’s not outrageous, European soccer ratings have been increasing (in a time where all ratings for US sports have been down during covid). This isn’t outrageous. I don’t even like it watch soccer lol this is just what is happenings

Euro 2020’s Italy-England Final Most Watched Euro Final In U.S. History

Italy's victory over England in the UEFA Euro 2020 final was the most-viewed Euro match in U.S. history with 6.49 million viewers on ESPN.

deadline.com

Jeez that was hard

Gawdamit, I can’t believe I did this. You started by saying soccer viewership already surpasses baseball (Previous post a few pages earlier).
Then you linked this article with this quote to prove your point.
” Euro 2020 final Sunday was the most-viewed Euro match in U.S. history with 6.49 million viewers”
I asked for a comparison. YOU didn’t do that, apparently too much work (but wanted me to do it…so I did).
Turns out the LOWEST EVER viewed World Series game in history, Game 2 2020 (in a covid season) - 8.950 M (2020)

World Series television ratings - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Ive admitted I’m not good at math, but 8.950 > 6.49.
Stop with the soccer.

 

[onealcd]

Gawdamit, I can’t believe I did this. You started by saying soccer viewership already surpasses baseball (Previous post a few pages earlier).
Then you linked this article with this quote to prove your point.
” Euro 2020 final Sunday was the most-viewed Euro match in U.S. history with 6.49 million viewers”
I asked for a comparison. YOU didn’t do that, apparently too much work (but wanted me to do it…so I did).
Turns out the LOWEST EVER viewed World Series game in history, Game 2 2020 (in a covid season) - 8.950 M (2020)

World Series television ratings - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Ive admitted I’m not good at math, but 8.950 > 6.49.
Stop with the soccer.

Yes, that is a euro league final that the US wasn’t even participating in. Did you read the number in there about the women’s team in the world cup getting almost 15 million viewers a couple of years back? Does that even register to you?

World Cup TV Ratings: Other Matches Strong Over the Weekend

Though Netherlands/Mexico was the biggest draw of the weekend, the other Round of 16 matches also performed well. ESPN earned a 3.9 U.S. rating and 6.4

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Baseball ratings have been tanking for years and you really don’t want to compare the World Series numbers to random FIFA matches.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

Yes, that is a euro league final that the US wasn’t even participating in. Did you read the number in there about the women’s team in the world cup getting almost 15 million viewers a couple of years back? Does that even register to you?

World Cup TV Ratings: Other Matches Strong Over the Weekend

Though Netherlands/Mexico was the biggest draw of the weekend, the other Round of 16 matches also performed well. ESPN earned a 3.9 U.S. rating and 6.4

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Baseball ratings have been tanking for years and you really don’t want to compare the World Series numbers to random FIFA matches.

World Cup is a completely different animal and not comparable. Until regular season MLS games start consistently passing the other sports ratings, this is a stupid debate.

 

[CUAviator]

Yes, that is a euro league final that the US wasn’t even participating in. Did you read the number in there about the women’s team in the world cup getting almost 15 million viewers a couple of years back? Does that even register to you?

World Cup TV Ratings: Other Matches Strong Over the Weekend

Though Netherlands/Mexico was the biggest draw of the weekend, the other Round of 16 matches also performed well. ESPN earned a 3.9 U.S. rating and 6.4

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Baseball ratings have been tanking for years and you really don’t want to compare the World Series numbers to random FIFA matches.

Yep, saw the one sentence where one game in the history of ever of soccer got 15 million US viewers.

 

[onealcd]

World Cup is a completely different animal and not comparable. Until regular season MLS games start consistently passing the other sports ratings, this is a stupid debate.

Not really, did you just ignore the euro cup numbers I posted? Those are amazing numbers for a tournament the US isn’t even involved in. For reference those games were getting better ratings than quite a few college football games on Saturdays. Again that was also during a period of terrible tv ratings for every league in the US.

 

[BuffsNYC]

Baylor sucks for sure.

Nevertheless, J.J. Joe is one of the best sports names I've ever heard.