ChiefsPlanet - Funny Stuff New Conference re-alignment thread

#Butthurt

http://sporting-ego.com/2011/10/27/m...-you-wish-for/

Because you just might get it. Specifically, you just might get it, the University of Missouri. With the allure of making the transition to the Southeastern Conference, Missouri has now jumped past Texas A&M into the lead for “Most short-sighted conference realignment move” in 2011. While Texas A&M at least has a generations-old National Championship to fall back on, as well as a nice big stadium, Missouri will enter the most powerful college football conference, at some point, presumably, with all the historical decorations and accomplishments of a thoroughbred race horse who finished out of the money in one too many races and ended up in the glue factory. Missouri officials and fans are confusing “winning realignment” with doing what is best for their school, their athletic department, and, most importantly, their football team, since that’s what all the 32-team super conference, Boise State to the Big East nonsense is all about. Yes, the same football team that is six games under .500 in the 15 year history of the Big 12, will now be entering a conference division that can claim 14 National Championships, or, two more championships than Missouri has bowl wins. Makes sense, right?

What is more valuable in college athletics, security or success? Missouri is putting its eggs in the basket of security, anticipating some sort enormous windfall at the expense of any future potential growth of its already flailing football program. While the promise of playing in the most visible, competitive, and history-laden conference will delivery an increase in revenue (which is the bottom line in Missouri’s eyes, regardless of how they try to spin the “instability” in the Big 12, the “instability” they themselves have created), Missouri will find out soon enough that they are a much smaller fish in a much bigger pond, most likely as soon as they take their first road trip to face Florida, Tennessee, or Georgia. By joining the SEC, Missouri will take an enormous step back in the visible, tangible things associated with college football. In terms of football budget, and overall athletic budget, Missouri would easily be in the bottom half, and most likely the bottom third of their new conference. When you can be lumped into a group, in football terms, with Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi, what exactly does that say about your perceived place in the pecking order? Faurot Field, a nice sized 71,004 seat stadium instantly becomes the 10th largest stadium in the SEC, or the 5th smallest. Not that it would matter the size of Missouri’s stadium, since they have trouble filling it with any regularity in the first place. Last week’s match-up with top 5 and potential BCS Championship game participant Oklahoma State drew 64,202, more than 6500 fans away from capacity. A better showing than the 58,000+ that made it for the season opener against Miami of Ohio, but a glaring indication of the overall lack of fervent support for the state’s only BCS university. Football is religion in the SEC, and Missouri would appear to be in the category of a convenient believer.
http://sporting-ego.com/wp-content/u...ary-Pinkel.jpg Gary Pinkel has been one of the loudest voices for MU to move to the SEC..

The most amazing thing about Missouri’s inflated sense of stature in today’s college football landscape is that their “meteoric rise” to power under head coach Gary Pinkel is predicated on winning the worst division college football has ever seen, the Big 12 North circa 2006-2008. In the 15 year history of the Big 12, Missouri has fielded a legit top 10 team in exactly one season, the 2007 squad that won the Big 12 North, only to get soundly beaten by Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game. That team, much like Missouri’s 2008 season, benefited from the rest of the Big 12 North employing the likes of Ron Prince, Bill Callahan, and Dan Hawkins, or, three coaches that will never be head coaches again at the FBS level. Throw in a slightly overrated Mark Mangino and a Cam Newton-less Gene Chizik, and Missouri’s amazing accomplishments appear to be more happenstance than anything that can be pointed at as a sign that the football program is ready to take a step up in competition. The 2011 season is showing a more realistic placing of where Missouri’s place, and Pinkel’s coaching, in the Big 12, as the previously mentioned unsuccessful coaches have since been replaced with coaches that know what they are doing, in most cases (except for Turner Gill). While Missouri is no longer the hapless program they were for years and year, to ignore the fact that Missouri has not won a conference title in football for more than 40 years, most years with a losing record, in the name of a few more dollars is a recipe for certain disaster.

Up to this point, programs such as Auburn, Alabama, LSU, and Arkansas have not even been discussed, being as all signs point to Missouri being placed in the SEC East at the request of certain programs’ wishes to keep currently football rivalry games. Throw those four power universities in the mix, and it is becoming easy to see why the SEC would want a team like Missouri. The conference can increase their TV footprint, gaining a state with 6 million residents, while adding another patsy to the schedule. No BCS title hopeful team wants a schedule loaded with top 5 teams, and the SEC is no exception. The potential to add an easy conference win, while increasing the conference revenue, is a no-brainer. Somehow, the ego-driven administration at Missouri refuse to see this move for what it is and what it is not. What it is certainly not is a conference looking to add teams in the hope that they gained yet another top 10 program to add to the stable. Making things tougher for the Alabama’s, LSU’s, Florida’s, and Auburn’s of the world are not how the SEC accumulated all their accolades and accomplishments over the years. What it is is a university that fails to see the long-term impact of their constant desire to be the pretty girl that everybody wants to talk to, even though they don’t offer a whole lot of substance.

http://sporting-ego.com/wp-content/u...finance039.jpg With MU moving to The SEC the Borderwar at Arrowhead Stadium is a thing of the Past..

By throwing away the chance to be competitive in a conference they helped start, Missouri is ignoring the flashing lights that point out the fatal flaws in their logic. They are too numerous to list in one column, but I‘m going to give it a shot. Recruiting in Texas will take a tremendous dip, due to no more regularly scheduled games in the state. The 12th most important rivalry in the country (if that), and the most important one to the fans (The Border War), will be gone, thus eliminating one of the best parts of college athletics, the hated rivalry games. Good luck getting fired up for those annual games with South Carolina. Kansas City fans are left in the dark, as the Big 12 tournament will no longer be played in a state that has no member team. Have fun flying to the Georgia Dome to watch Missouri play a first-round game against Ole Miss. All other sports will enjoy those lengthy midweek flights to Gainesville and Athens for volleyball, or those weekend bus rides to play baseball against LSU or Alabama. By wanting to brag about some sort of “victory”, namely landing in the SEC, Missouri will be setting itself up for many, many years of uninterrupted defeat. At least they got paid.