From VandySports.com premium message board:
Dear Sir
I am a passionate lifelong Vanderbilt football fan. I never had the privilege of attending Vanderbilt but have always respected the values of the university and its unique contribution to the world of college athletics.
My role as a fan in the past was going to a few VU sporting events every year, buying some caps and t-shirts, reading and occasionally posting on a message board. However, I want to make myself more of an advocate for a school that consistently leads the SEC in student-athlete grades, graduation rates, and undoubtedly gives its scholar athletes a world class education while competing in the best conference in college athletics.
While Vanderbilt fans are unique in many ways we are just like any other fans in the conference. We love sports and love to see our teams win and for a lot of years we didn't get to see our football teams do a lot of that. There may be less of us than some of the bigger state schools since there are fewer graduates and let's face it 25 straight losing seasons doesn't help to bring in new fans. However, we are passionate and you have to admit that we are fiercely loyal to have endured decades of losing. Most of all, win or lose, we want to see Vanderbilt teams get equal treatment from the conference in which they are a charter member. Maybe every now and then we could use a bit of salesmanship from our conference leaders since there are some perceptions of Vanderbilt football and its growing fan base that are either no longer true or are quickly changing.
In 2008 and 2011 the Vanderbilt football teams went 6-6 and we were pleased to attend any bowl. In both instances Vanderbilt fans that had stayed away or attended games infrequently came from around the country and the world to attend those games in respectable numbers. In both years VU sold its full allocation of tickets as opposed to several of the football powers with the "better" fan bases that couldn't do so.
In 2012 Vanderbilt went 8-4 and our fans thought that we would get to do something that we had never had the opportunity to do in most of our lifetimes. . .attend a New Year's Day Bowl Game in sunny Florida. While most of the other SEC fans get to gripe annually about the differences between Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville we were happy with any of the above and being part of the pageantry and prestige of just one New Year's Day bowl game after over 120 years of Vanderbilt football.
Our hopes were dashed when we learned that Northwestern would be the Big 10 representative to the Gator Bowl. We knew that the bowl committee wouldn't want a rematch of a regular season game. It was understandable from their point of view. I'll admit though it was extremely disappointing to learn that the Big 10 was an advocate of getting their small private school into their rightful place in the bowl sphere while the SEC stated that it had no power to interfere so VU fans (and the hometown bowl officials) were a little upset, but we sucked it up bought VU's full allocation of bowl tickets (again) and were convinced that the conference would not let such a slight happen the next time the team went 8-4.
Fast-forwarding to this year again VU went 8-4 and all of the fans said yes this is it! Florida, New Years, first time ever HOORAY!! When the Gator Bowl didn't mention us publicly we were OK with it because we knew that the most powerful commissioner of the most powerful league in college athletics would stick up for VU this time. Right? He was smart and savvy enough to point out to the Gator Bowl that the heartwarming story of the underdog school and it's charismatic coach getting to a New Year's day Bowl for the first time ever would be a big hit with sponsors and TV viewers. Sure he was.
On Sunday our hopes were dashed again but this time there was a lot more salt in the wound. We learned that the ACC commissioner pushed for his small private school to get equal treatment and ours didn't or at most didn't push hard enough for the right thing to happen. The ACC and Big 10 fight for the underdog and the SEC doesn't? The fans of both of the schools picked for the Gator Bowl are mad and ESPN, USA Today and Sports Illustrated are ridiculing the Gator Bowl and the SEC for giving Vanderbilt's team, coaches and fans the shaft. The SEC had the power to avoid this and chose not to use it.
Not only was there not a Gator Bowl but VU was pushed to the lowest bowl possible. A bowl that frankly the most powerful athletics conference in the land shouldn't even be affiliated with, and I say that as a taxpaying resident of the city of Birmingham who is frankly embarrassed that the city lets a stadium, part of which has had to be condemned and torn down, even stand. A bowl game in a stadium that the conference wisely chose to move its championship game away from 2 decades ago.
When I look around and see what the other conferences do for their bowl teams I think the SEC can work on getting more prestigious bowls in the future especially for deserving teams:
A 6-6 Pac-12 team goes to Hawaii
A 7-5 Conference USA team goes to the Superdome
A 6-6 AAC team goes to Yankee Stadium
A 7-5 MAC team goes to Florida
An 8-4 SEC team goes Legion Field? Historic yes
historically neglected and dilapidated
The reward to a team and coaches for a historic season is a trip to a rust box? The best the conference can do for a team with the best back-to-back seasons in decades for a postseason trip is a stadium worse than anywhere it played during the regular season.
Now, I'll be a team player and do my part. I'll dutifully buy tickets and attend the game (although it is apparent that selling out the school's allocated tickets helps with better bowls in the future is a total myth). I'll donate a couple of tickets to a charity here in town and maybe even donate to something to a church near Legion Field to hopefully help someone who has no choice but to wake up every day and look at that dump to get to a better place in life someday.
The Southeastern Conference fights every year for its athletic champions to be placed in the National Championship Game, BCS games and NCAA playoffs in other sports. Shouldn't the SEC be fighting just as hard for its undisputed academic leader, Vanderbilt, and its long suffering fan base to get a treat instead of a trick when those rare bowl seasons come around?
I think so.
Sincerely
