Lying With Numbers, Spring Game Attendance Report

I love this so much, particularly that Arizona's 
spring football game is held in a baseball
stadium.

Two things happen every spring: 1. Universities hold their annual spring game, giving football fans a blissful respite in the desert of the off season. 2. Universities turn into politicians and make crazy exaggerated lies about attendance at the spring game. Why do universities feel the need to lie about something so completely trivial? Universities are places of higher education and learning, but they are also hubris machines. Universities today seem to spend as much time on their image as they do on education. Nothing brings out this twisted reality like the spring football game.

Spring game attendance doesn't mean much in the way of anything serious, but it can be a good indicator of fan support. Especially when you compare this year's attendance to last year's attendance. So here are the official numbers, the likely lies, and last years numbers for comparison. Included are all the usually SEC teams and some notable extras.

Some teams haven't played yet, this article will be updated as further spring games are completed. Also, don't confuse laughing at the exaggerations of universities as actually thinking spring game numbers matter.


Covered Games:  Alabama, Auburn, LSU, South Carolina, Michigan, Clemson, Georgia, Mizzou, Pitt, Purdue, USC, Texas and FSU.

SEC Billboard Wars Proliferation

Mississippi State and Ole Miss are locked in a duel to the death.  No it's not the annual Egg Bowl, that is anything but a duel.  It's a game of one-upmanship involving who can out do who with billboards.  MSU launched the first salvo, and now Ole Miss has followed suit.  Little did they know they were going to ignite a SEC billboard arms race.  Now all the SEC schools are involved, lets take a look at their efforts: (click to make images bigger)

Auburn is launching a campaign to stress the life of success a career at Auburn can lead too.

Bandit Cartoon: Baylor vs. Reality

Baylor is fighting for the Big 12.  Even though the Big 12 is dead, at this point it's not CPR anymore so much as it's defiling a body. Baylor is threatening legal action to stop Texas A&M from leaving the Big 12.  Ken Starr (yep, that one) President of Baylor has a plan, and he wants to share his vision with you:

Bandit Cartoon: Texas A&M and the Big 12 Have "The Break Up Talk"

Because breaking up is hard to do ...




It's not you, It's me.



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Every Conversation With a Texas Fan

The most popular cartoon series in Bandit history continues.  This time we look at the logical points made by Texas fans about the Longhorn Network and the Aggies possibly leaving for the SEC.  Enjoy!

Don't miss all the other great Bandit Ref movies!

I won't every give you up.



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Is Texas A&M SECeding? If So, Who Else?

The rumor mill has been hard at work this morning predicting Texas A&M will move to the SEC for the 2012 season.  I think that A&M making it for 2012 may be a bit of a stretch, but the rumors have been kicked into high gear with the Longhorn Network Deal out in the open for all to see. No reasonable person can argue that the amount of money, publicity, and positive media coverage Texas will get with the deal puts them at an incredible advantage over their counterparts in the Big 12. At this point it looks like Texas is out to do what makes the most money for Texas and everyone else be damned.

So why would Texas A&M go to the SEC? From Texas A&M's standpoint it makes sense for a variety of reasons. They would be joining the undisputed top conference in college football, the SEC has won the past six national titles. They would also be able to recruit against Texas using the SEC banner, telling recruits that they could be seen all over Texas on the Longhorn Network, or all over the nation with the SEC. It would be a step up in revenue to join the lucrative media deals of the SEC, instead of getting what scraps fall their way in the Big 12. The Aggies would be in the hunt for some great bowls and get to play LSU on a yearly basis again. It is really hard to find a reason why the Aggies wouldn't want to be in the SEC when compared to the at this point all but doomed Big 12. Do you want to play Missouri and Kansas, or Alabama and LSU?