I have read several people make comments that John Brady should be fired not because of poor results, but because of the terrible low attendance at the PMAC this year. I was just wondering if any of you had the same opinions about Smoke. There were only 3,000 people at the sunday game of this weekend's series with s. carolina :bncry: . Coming from a school that has led the nation in attendance for something like 10 straight years, that is pretty bad. Just wanted to see how everyone feels about this.
Coulda been due to all the holidays this weekend: Apparently April 9th is Martyr's day in Tunisia. So maybe people were still hung over from honoring that. Or April 11th is both Heroes' Day in Costa Rica and Liberation Day in Uganda, so I know quite a few people having Heroes' Day Eve and Liberation Day Eve parties in BR this weekend.
The attendence was not good. Bottom line. I was listening to the radio and i heard that some other SEC schools put in like 11000 for just one game this weekend? Thats garbage. I know i'll always be there for all lsu sports through and through. But, to think that some people dont go b/c a team is struggling is piss poor. I love the Tigahs and I'll go to bat for them even when they are down. Tahts more than I can say for some other sorry people who are front runners.:lsup:
Is it going to be poor results or poor attendance that ultimately costs smoke his job? I'm not sure. Maybe they make a turnaround and make a run at another title. Either way, I afraid that the clock is ticking on his time here in BR. Just like Gator fans didn't like it when Ron Zook didn't keep their "dynasty" in tact, I don't think the people here at LSU will tolerate a sub .500 SEC record and the lowest attendance in years. I know he has taken us to the CWS the last two years, but i'm starting to think that that isn't good enough. It looks as though the foundations of the years of greatness is beginning to crack. However, it was only a matter of time I guess. Look at UCLA in basketball and Notre Dame in football. It's just too hard to sustain flawless play at this level forever. I just hope skip doen't come out of retirement and risk tarnishing his legace ala Michael Jordan.
Don't forget April 10th is MY birthday. Maybe that's why no one was there yesterday? If that IS the reason, why weren't they out celebrating with me? hmmm
You have to consider where some of the other SEC schools are in reference to their success. LSU is at the tail end of around 17-18 years of consistent winning. I remember when Sklip first came, and the momentum just built every year until that first NC. Arkansas as far as I can remember has only recently, last 4 years or so, achieved any baseball success of any note. They are on the upswing, same with almost every other SEC school with the exceptions of Georgia, they've been good, real good before and Miss. St. whose been good before. LSU on the other hand seems to be on the tail end of a glorious run. We expect more because we've experienced more. I went to the game Sat, and that was not LSU baseball. I'd hate to be coaching LSU right now because of the built in expectations that can NEVER be lived up to. No one will probably win 5 NC"s in the next 10 years. The wisdom is to be the coach who follows the coach who follows the legend. It seems as if Smoke thinks this car is in drive and he only needs to steer it, but it seems to me that no one has his foot on the gas and we are coasting to a gradual stop.
Skip will not return to the dugout. Forget about that. I think that the rest of the country has turned the corner in baseball and caught us from behind. It was inevitable with the all the money being poured into baseball programs. Schools now see baseball as an athletics bright spot that can be built in a relatively short period of time. Spend some $ on facilities, get some great local talent to include a couple of kids passing on the draft, bring in some JUCO kids and some California kids and BAM - you have a baseball program before you know it. Everyone is blazing the recruiting trails these days. Everyone is building exceptional facilities. Damn, Rice won a National Championship... Like Miami and Florida State Football coming out of the 1990's, we're simply no longer on top of the wave.
Well whoopity do for you then. Keep in mind, most people view sports as entertainment. And things are less entertaining when the team you are paying to see is not performing well. So, it's a pretty easy to see that people will be less likely to pay for entertainment that they don't think is all that entertaining. I don't really know what it means when you say you'll "go to bat for them even when they are down," other than "I'll spend money and time on the games, even if they suck, because my standards for recreation are just that low." Kinda reminds me of Cubs fans. That's not say that I think people should only go when LSU is winning. On the contrary, they should only go when they want to, and think that's the best way for them to get some recreation. But I don't understand this moral obligation to attend at all times.
