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Mtn. comes back to bite MWC
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The Mountain west should be going out of their way to get The MTN in every house of these voters, what would that cost? a couple of dishes across the nation
? then at least the first game they saw of Utah or TCU or BYU would not be in a bowl game.
Way to go Thompson and school presidents. Your fans hate the tv deal, but I'm glad you guys are happy.
That was a great idea to take the games I could catch on KSL or KJZZ and move them to a channel that many years later is not available from my satellite provider, Dish Network. I'm so glad you guys thought this through.
Thanks for looking our for me, the fan.
get used to it.
How about Ball State. It's on ESPN tons and never moved ahead of Utah or TCU, yes a two-loss TCU team. Did anyone watch those games. No, if you look at the ratings. It's Tuesday for pete's sake. MWC fans have problems filling the stadium on Saturdays, let alone if they had to play on Tuesday or Wednesday night. ESPN's refusal to promote the MWC hurts, but it didn't promote the MWC when it was on the network.
Go Utes....#2!
First of all, this column had nothing to do with BYU and the firesides. Next: It seems a shame to me that there are always those who will disparage anything uplifting and good. Have you no shame at all?
If we play on ESPN this year, does anyone really think Utah is in the national title game? C'mon.
I'm as impressed by their performance against 'bama as anyone - that was an unbelievable game - but the reality is if they played against 'Bama they way they did against Michigan or New Mexico or TCU, they would have lost by 30.
Congrats to the Utes on an amazing undefeated season, but don't buy into the nonsense that lack of exposure hurt. Lack of exposure is the only reason they are ranked as high as they are.
Most teams pimp out their players, have them work hard, give their all, risk injury for the good of the team. Often when they get in trouble or seriously hurt, they are kicked to the curb, and someone replaces them and the team goes on for the greater good of the program, using them to earn money for the school.
Bronco could use the time the night before the game having a nice meal, working, sitting in a hottub, etc Instead the firesides are an opportunity for the team to connect with their fanbase, work on character that will make them better fathers, husbands, and citizens during school and after they graduate.
Aside from all of that, it is their own time, volunteered because that is how they choose to use their time.
That being said, how does how they use their time affect you. Since they have began giving firesides, they have had three straight 10 win seasons, and it can't be measured how this has positively affected the team.
You don't have to understand it. Just try to be more tolerant.
This is nothing new. How do you think we got to the current BCS mess? Somebody changed the rules that everybody had agreed to previously.
For the conference presidents and craig thompson who saw the mtn as "sticking it to the man" - well, turn around and look who got stuck now.
As for ESPN, I used to be an avid watcher of Gameday. But now it's the same swan song to the same teams and players each and every week. Most weeks, being in the top 25 isn't even enough to be featured (but Notre Dame will get a 5-10 minute discussion even if they're winless).
They can't even get basic facts straight - the bowl preview special had BYU listed as second in the MWC, looking for its fourth straight Vegas Bowl win. As a Cougar, I wish that were the case! If they can't even check facts readily available on their own freaking website, why should I trust anything else they say?
It's not sports journalism anymore, it's business PR.
What I am saying is that as bad as the coverage is now for the fan base in Utah, it is many fold better for us outside. There is no way we would have gotten anything close to the coverage we now enjoy. Now, I do agree that the mtn. does not have anywhere near the national respect that ESPN does, but I vote for the opportunity to see most all of the games in the MWC.
Maybe it's my area (Texas), but why can't I get it with my regular package, like I get Versus?
So, let's see:
Four season tickets to BYU at LES: $600 (minimum)
Snacks for everyone in your group at LES: $250
Watching EVERY BYU game on Directv: $80
Avoiding the drive in gameday traffic: Priceless!
Heads should roll at the conference level for letting that happen.
The BCS, on the other hand, is some kind of subgroup of the NCAA and unfortunately the maximization of profits for the benefit of the BCS conferences is its only goal. The NCAA and BCS's goals should be to promote student athletes and oversee a system that is fair. They accomplish neither under the current system. TV contracts aside, the system is completely BS.
Enjoy the games!
Also, ESPNU is on same sports pack as Direct TV which costs $12 a month or in my case $11 month (since I have the HD Package too).
Those Dish Network people it, took me all a second to decide to switch to a satellite carrier that offered the mtn. I watch every Utah game but the Weber St game and every BYU, in total I watched at least 40 MWC football games this year from my home here in Western Idaho.
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