Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
2/11/2022 7:38 AM
I completely get that alums like myself willing to travel 200 miles for a home game is dwarfed by TV and TV revenue. But I think it's very, very dangerous to alienate a devoted part of your fanbase, no matter how small that is.
Anybody who reads this board and/or posts has a strong connection in some way to this university. Many others have expressed their frustration about the accommodations made to appease the almighty "TV" versus actually getting alums back to campus and in the stands. At what point do I just say, "To hell with it?" You are constantly putting barriers in my way to support this program, so why should I continue?
As previously indicated, I had plans for next week's game made more than a month ago for a 50th birthday celebration with my 2 best OU friends. Those plans are gone now. In the short-term, this leaves a very, very bad taste in my mouth. In the long-term, who knows? This could very well continue my trend of attending fewer and fewer games in person.
The more i think about, the more a letter to the AD may be necessary. The university needs to know that some components of the TV deals that are signed are having an impact on fan participation. Give us a little. That's all I'm asking for.
Truthfully, I think it's on alums to think about this more rationally. But old grads and rational aren't likely to intersect anytime, unfortunately. And that's not a dig that's specific to OU. Just the reality of people who feel a deep connection to something they're not actually all that involved in anymore, but still feel an emotional connection to.
There are far, far more alums who are catered to by TV deals than there are alums whose trips to Athens were disrupted by a game time switch. By orders of magnitude. Throwing away one to appease the other serves the very narrow interests of a small, vocal minority over making the rational decision we all understand makes the most sense for the program. Foot stomping and letters and threats to stop supporting the program are as empty as they are ineffective. Unless you pony up big donor money, unfortunately your opinion just isn't able to be prioritized.
The reality is that if we weren't on TV at all, and the AD explained that the reason was so we could maintain two more Saturday home games, the same people complaining now would be screaming for her head because we're throwing away national exposure, recruiting cred, and revenue.
Boals has been very public about the scheduling difficulties a mid-major power, fresh off a tournament win, faces. That the schedule wasn't as good as it could be is in part a reality of our circumstances, and getting upset about those circumstances and threatening to stop supporting the University seems counterproductive to the outcome everybody wants.