Mornin Mates...
Today's Topic = To Be Or Not To Be (that is the question ?)
We are not talking about a Shakespearean tragedy here but a Sun Devil fan and booster tragedy related to our athletic dept overseen at the highest level by "King" Crow (using a Shakespearean metaphor)...
"King" Crow, who has no problem with the concept of "competitive traction" within our athletic dept, even when we are not competitive in our athletic traction, is now busy re-designing our athletic dept to take it to new levels of what exactly..??
More ineptitude or what exactly..??
And, Sun Devil fans have to face that question squarely in the face given that college athletics, at least where football and basketball are concerned, are now semi-pro in nature, which really upsets the amateur apple cart to the dismay of many in the college sports world...
So, as fans and boosters do we move forward as fans and pay-up to see more of the same at ASU under "King" Crow (again, using a Shakespearean metaphor)...
Supposedly, we have some basketball players making six figures to play the game at ASU only to deliver a losing season, so is it any wonder why some fans are questioning their "return on investment" when it comes to pay-for-play basketball..??
And, the same applies to football where we have had back to back 3-9 seasons...
Never mind supporting something like ASU women's basketball that loses (according to Crow) about $5M annually...
Apparently, Crow doesn't like that and not just because that Sun Devil sport lacks any sort of decent "competitive traction" under our current coach...
Five million dollars is nothing to sneeze at which puts Crow in-sync, it appears, with most Sun Devil fans that would rather see that sort of money go to someplace within the athletic dept that would help with elevating both of our money making sports in football and basketball...
Granted, Sun Devil basketball doesn't make money because it's a winner but, rather, because college basketball is a billion dollar mega-business that is shared by many within the scope of the NCAA...
So, given these college free agency arrangements through the transfer portal and pay-for-play arrangements through the NIL deal these days, where does ASU need to go with all that, keeping in mind that Crow does not want his ASU athletic dept to be a big deal or a bigger deal than his academic aspirations will allow, IMHO...
Where AU president Robbins would rather cut of his right hand than see his elite BB program suffer the same fate of what has happened at ASU, president Crow would rather be okay with "competitive traction" or athletic mediocrity, so that no one thinks about ASU sports first and foremost in Tempe, like they do in Tucson, rather than academic importance as defined by Crow, IMHO...
He would rather our Sun Devils be like that at Northwestern that has a very good academic reputation than at someplace like Ohio St where football rules the day...
So, if this is true, where does that leave you as a Sun Devil fan and/or booster..??
Personally, I still care about my Sun Devils but I don't lose any sleep any more worrying about this or that since it isn't all that fun and entertaining rooting for "competitive traction"...
I would rather be a James Madison fan or a Grand Canyon fan since they are not taking siestas these days during March Madness...
And, I'm wondering if academics and athletics are mutually exclusive at a school like ASU...
Hopefully, we'll know what Crow is up to with his athletic dept re-design in the coming weeks and months and, who knows, maybe, we'll also find out about the NCAA Notice of Allegations in the same time span...
To be or not to be, that is the question..??
My heart is still there but my wallet has a lot of reservations about opening up to support more Sun Devil mediocrity...
How about all of you..??
This is just my two cents worth of opinion and speculation, as always...
G'day Mates and Go Devils!!!
Today's Topic = To Be Or Not To Be (that is the question ?)
We are not talking about a Shakespearean tragedy here but a Sun Devil fan and booster tragedy related to our athletic dept overseen at the highest level by "King" Crow (using a Shakespearean metaphor)...
"King" Crow, who has no problem with the concept of "competitive traction" within our athletic dept, even when we are not competitive in our athletic traction, is now busy re-designing our athletic dept to take it to new levels of what exactly..??
More ineptitude or what exactly..??
And, Sun Devil fans have to face that question squarely in the face given that college athletics, at least where football and basketball are concerned, are now semi-pro in nature, which really upsets the amateur apple cart to the dismay of many in the college sports world...
So, as fans and boosters do we move forward as fans and pay-up to see more of the same at ASU under "King" Crow (again, using a Shakespearean metaphor)...
Supposedly, we have some basketball players making six figures to play the game at ASU only to deliver a losing season, so is it any wonder why some fans are questioning their "return on investment" when it comes to pay-for-play basketball..??
And, the same applies to football where we have had back to back 3-9 seasons...
Never mind supporting something like ASU women's basketball that loses (according to Crow) about $5M annually...
Apparently, Crow doesn't like that and not just because that Sun Devil sport lacks any sort of decent "competitive traction" under our current coach...
Five million dollars is nothing to sneeze at which puts Crow in-sync, it appears, with most Sun Devil fans that would rather see that sort of money go to someplace within the athletic dept that would help with elevating both of our money making sports in football and basketball...
Granted, Sun Devil basketball doesn't make money because it's a winner but, rather, because college basketball is a billion dollar mega-business that is shared by many within the scope of the NCAA...
So, given these college free agency arrangements through the transfer portal and pay-for-play arrangements through the NIL deal these days, where does ASU need to go with all that, keeping in mind that Crow does not want his ASU athletic dept to be a big deal or a bigger deal than his academic aspirations will allow, IMHO...
Where AU president Robbins would rather cut of his right hand than see his elite BB program suffer the same fate of what has happened at ASU, president Crow would rather be okay with "competitive traction" or athletic mediocrity, so that no one thinks about ASU sports first and foremost in Tempe, like they do in Tucson, rather than academic importance as defined by Crow, IMHO...
He would rather our Sun Devils be like that at Northwestern that has a very good academic reputation than at someplace like Ohio St where football rules the day...
So, if this is true, where does that leave you as a Sun Devil fan and/or booster..??
Personally, I still care about my Sun Devils but I don't lose any sleep any more worrying about this or that since it isn't all that fun and entertaining rooting for "competitive traction"...
I would rather be a James Madison fan or a Grand Canyon fan since they are not taking siestas these days during March Madness...
And, I'm wondering if academics and athletics are mutually exclusive at a school like ASU...
Hopefully, we'll know what Crow is up to with his athletic dept re-design in the coming weeks and months and, who knows, maybe, we'll also find out about the NCAA Notice of Allegations in the same time span...
To be or not to be, that is the question..??
My heart is still there but my wallet has a lot of reservations about opening up to support more Sun Devil mediocrity...
How about all of you..??
This is just my two cents worth of opinion and speculation, as always...
G'day Mates and Go Devils!!!
