Fan Devotion and Money

[BamaHarv]

Greetings Vol fans

I have a question for you. My username gives away my allegiance, but this really doesn't have (much) to do with that. Well, it does in a way, but really it's more about the state of college football today.

We all, even Vandy fans I imagine, get up on Saturdays in the fall and fire up the smoker or grill, chill the beer, and prepare to watch 4 hours or so of our team taking on the opponent of the week. To me, the weekend football games dominate most of my weekend - raking leaves and mowing the yard be damned.

Many of us experience a certain level of depression when our team loses, sometimes until the middle of the next week. I do anyway My wife hates football season. To make things worse, I'm married to a Gator fan. Run and tell that.

At any rate, I saw a post earlier where someone (jokingly?) suggested that Nick Saban would jump ship for a 5-dollar raise, so my question is this:

If you were on the Vol board or AD, and he would indeed jump ship for the $5 raise, would you approve the 4,000,005 salary to hire Nick Saban (or any other "proven" coach)?

I'll get flack for this from other Bama fans but Saban is/was pretty much a gun for hire. You can't argue with his results (and I am very happy with the results) but my question is intended to be a bit broader in scope. Is it all about money and wins now?

Maybe it always has been *shrug*

On a different note, I think the Vols do better this year than many of the pessimists here are guessing. Just a gut feeling.

:hi:
BamaHarv

 

[Cartervol]

I don't see Saban leaving Bama for any other college job and it's always been about the wins and money, not necessarily in that order either.

 

[BamaHarv]

I don't see Saban leaving Bama for any other college job and it's always been about the wins and money, not necessarily in that order either.

I pretty much agree. My point was that college football seems to be more and more about the money, and it IS big money to be sure.

I buy the T-shirts and caps as quick as the next guy. It just seems to me that lately it's more of a business than maybe it once was.

 

[BeecherVol]

I think its about getting outside the box.
And yes winning = more $.

Most schools like to have school ties with a coach, and a lot of fans do as well. I think both UT and Bama fans will agree (at least some of them). To keep up with the "Jones" of CFB at some point you have to get outside the box.

It's nice when you can have it both ways, but in most cases it is getting rare. Losing makes the school and even home ties more irrelevant. Ask Phil Fulmer.

 

[VolGal423]

I pretty much agree. My point was that college football seems to be more and more about the money, and it IS big money to be sure.

I buy the T-shirts and caps as quick as the next guy. It just seems to me that lately it's more of a business than maybe it once was.

It is definitely more of a business than it used to be. ALL sports are that way. Think about someone like Peyton Manning or Tiger Woods. They probably make more money in advertising than they do playing their game.

A note on the T-Shirts...I was looking at game day shirts for this year and I can't find ANY UT shirts for under $25. That's ridiculous:ermm:.

 

[BamaHarv]

I think its about getting outside the box.
And yes winning = more $.

Most schools like to have school ties with a coach, and a lot of fans do as well. I think both UT and Bama fans will agree (at least some of them). To keep up with the "Jones" of CFB at some point you have to get outside the box.

It's nice when you can have it both ways, but in most cases it is getting rare. Losing makes the school and even home ties more irrelevant. Ask Phil Fulmer.

Sorry for quoting your entire post, but it makes my point. I was just as excited, just as fired up every Saturday when Mike Shula was at the helm. Now I just have higher expectations - because we PAID for the higher expectations.

The only difference, Saturday to Saturday, is that Saban wins. With Shula, I still woke up on Saturday morning expecting, or hoping for, a win. It didn't make me less of a fan when Shula's teams lost. It made me a disappointed fan. That's part of it I think.

 

[cotton]

If you were on the Vol board or AD, and he would indeed jump ship for the $5 raise, would you approve the 4,000,005 salary to hire Nick Saban (or any other "proven" coach)?

It depends somewhat on the situation, but in a case like UT recently found itself, the answer is a resounding "Yes." Bama did it after wandering in the coaching wilderness for years. Florida did it with Meyer. Kentucky and North Carolina and Kansas have done it recently in basketball. It is what powerhouse programs generally do to rebuild themselves.