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Let’s Talk Conference Pride

Rellyrell

Rellyrell

Heisman Winner
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I had an interesting, random convo w/ a UGA Bull Dog fan. Of course we talked about expectations, team’s future, etc. He was actually a more level headed fan, giving compliments to us & mentioned how Bama not having their playmakers helped them immensely.

We shifted gears, & I highlighted how the S-E-C chant is a bit unusual, b/c as Canes, it’s us v. everyone. He stated UGA has that attitude as well; that in fact, he hates all SEC teams & it can become contentious at games. However, & this is what caught my attention, he said being a dominant Conference is just good for business. The monies that flow in b/c Bama may win a Nat’l Title in Football, UK wins a nat’l title in basketball, Florida wins a nat’l title in track, Miss St wins a nat’l title in baseball, that’s just good for business. He mentioned how much $$ they’ve been flushed w/ as a conference from TV deals, endorsement deals, etc b/c their conference has become must see in all sports.

He then joked, when he sees other fan sites say “$EC”, that’s a compliment b/c they are making “$$.”

This convo had me thinking about the ACC; currently we’re the lowest paid P5 conference regarding TV revenue. I’ve said b4, but it behooves us to get back to the top, but also have FSU come along w/ us. We were must-see TV for yrs. Right now, we don’t have real rivalry games in FB. In b-ball, it’s Duke v. UNC, but that’s about it. Our baseball squads just bellied up in the tourney (except ND), & we were no where to be found in T&F.

I get that it’s us v. The World, but in this $$ landscape, we need the ACC to become good to elite so we can all prosper, imo.

Thoughts?
 
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Agreed. The ACC was salivating over potential FSU-Miami games, regular season and ACCCGs. Unfortunately both programs **** the bed except for a brief period when FSU had Winston and won a NC. Many of us prefer FSU in the dumpster but the conference desperately needs more than Clemson as an elite football program.

Historically the ‘us against the world’ fit us as an Independent, but the adults in the room recognize the program needs a fiscally strong and competitive conference. And that requires more than a great Miami program.
 
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A good Miami and a good FSU benefits this conference more than anything. That will significantly raise the profile of the league. We have the potential to be closer to the B1G as a league than the SEC, but that largely hinges on Miami and FSU. Have zero faith in FSU getting there, but maybe they throw around some big money after they inevitably fire Norvell. For their sake, they should hope he bottoms out quickly instead of a 6 or 7 win season. We got lucky with Manny's incompetence.
 
I have friends who are diehard football fans who simply refuse to attempt to watch ACC games because most of them are on ACC network. Our conference sucks ***. Even the Pac12 can have 3 win Oregon State playing against Cal with ESPN’s 5th or 6th best announcing crew, meanwhile we play Virginia Tech on ACC Network with Davey O’Brien calling the game. And it’s a network that 99% of America either doesn’t have or doesn’t know they have. Clown show!
 
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Rellyrell said:
I had an interesting, random convo w/ a UGA Bull Dog fan. Of course we talked about expectations, team’s future, etc. He was actually a more level headed fan, giving compliments to us & mentioned how Bama not having their playmakers helped them immensely.

We shifted gears, & I highlighted how the S-E-C chant is a bit unusual, b/c as Canes, it’s us v. everyone. He stated UGA has that attitude as well; that in fact, he hates all SEC teams & it can become contentious at games. However, & this is what caught my attention, he said being a dominant Conference is just good for business. The monies that flow in b/c Bama may win a Nat’l Title in Football, UK wins a nat’l title in basketball, Florida wins a nat’l title in track, Miss St wins a nat’l title in baseball, that’s just good for business. He mentioned how much $$ they’ve been flushed w/ as a conference from TV deals, endorsement deals, etc b/c their conference has become must see in all sports.

He then joked, when he sees other fan sites say “$EC”, that’s a compliment b/c they are making “$$.”

This convo had me thinking about the ACC; currently we’re the lowest paid P5 conference regarding TV revenue. I’ve said b4, but it behooves us to get back to the top, but also have FSU come along w/ us. We were must-see TV for yrs. Right now, we don’t have real rivalry games in FB. In b-ball, it’s Duke v. UNC, but that’s about it. Our baseball squads just bellied up in the tourney (except ND), & we were no where to be found in T&F.

I get that it’s us v. The World, but in this $$ landscape, we need the ACC to become good to elite so we can all prosper, imo.

Thoughts?
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OK, I call bullcrap on a couple of elements.

First, I get it if we are having a conversation, and someone says "SEC-SEC-SEC". But to see fans chanting it at a major sporting event is just pure beta. It is.

Second, as for the money, that has become a very orchestrated thing (and, sure, I get that it's not the SEC's major job in life to look out for everyone else). By blackballing Miami, F$U, GaTech, Louisville, and Clemson (in favor of Mizzou and aTm), the SEC went down a specific pathway where they felt that they "only" needed one school in each of those states. Florida is the #3 state by popluation and Georgia is the #8 state. Again, I understand the take of aTm, but it's also pretty obvious that UM and F$U would have been better schools to take into the SEC than Mizzou was.

As for the ACC, I can basically agree. Our commissioner was terrible for years, and I would have much preferred a newer Commissioner come in with radical new ideas and approaches, rather than "hey, I'm going to make this place 40% better over the next 10 years". We don't need gradual at this point. We need a huge jolt. Notre Dame would have been a huge jolt. UCF/USF would have been a huge jolt (and I'm talking about the size of the TV markets, so I don't want to hear the same cvnty porsters who are scared of inviting UCF and USF to the ACC).

I've made this clear. I live in Orlando, about halfway between Miami and F$U. I look at the Spectrum channel lineup in Orlando, and they have FOUR dedicated channels for the Big 10 and SIX dedicated channels for the Pac 12. Meanwhile, I can't even get the SECOND ACC channel (and, yes, I don't want to hear the same cvnty porsters talk about how streaming is the future). Bottom line, we get the majority of our TV money from, you know, ACTUAL TV BROADCASTS. Having an ACC channel that people want to see and want to pay for is what fills our bank account. Not "hey, bro, use a FireStick".

Yes, the ACC needs to win more. But we also need to be in some bigger markets, on more screens, and with greater resources. Those are things that need to be addressed by the ACC Commissioner, not just a "win more" bromide.

And we have a VERY challenging battle here, as most of the ACC footprint (at least the good/money-making schools) overlaps the SEC footprint.

Pac 12 and Big 12 don't overlap much with anyone else.
 
I remember the days with Us, FSU, and FLA, all be consistently ranked in the top 10 sometimes closer to top 5. As bad as I hate Half *** U, if we were both top level programs again, there's very little that rivals that game day experience and yeah, certainly great for the ACC brand.
 
Man we do need some legit competition, big thing is coaches only Clemson UNC, & maybe Pitt has legit coaching and that shows with recruiting the type of talent they bring in. Those will be the only teams that can bring in the talent to compete on the big stage consistently other that the U of course. Man FSU so far off talent and coaching wise they gonna have to re invent themselves as a program they are years away from being years away
 
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Agreed that the league as a whole needs to improve to prosper. However, they are in a tough spot. The TV deal lasts until 2036 and I don't think there are any periods during the contract where the numbers can be increased unless there are new members. By the time the league improves as a whole, will it be too late to keep the better schools from defecting to greener pastures?

The quickest fix and most unlikely, is to have ND join as a full member. Aside from that, maybe the ACC could get the TV contract adjusted by adding a 9th conference game to the schedule?
 
Adding ND as a full-time member for football would be the biggest move as far as expansion is concerned. Whether that’s possible or not, who knows?
 
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TheOriginalCane said:
OK, I call bullcrap on a couple of elements.

First, I get it if we are having a conversation, and someone says "SEC-SEC-SEC". But to see fans chanting it at a major sporting event is just pure beta. It is.

Second, as for the money, that has become a very orchestrated thing (and, sure, I get that it's not the SEC's major job in life to look out for everyone else). By blackballing Miami, F$U, GaTech, Louisville, and Clemson (in favor of Mizzou and aTm), the SEC went down a specific pathway where they felt that they "only" needed one school in each of those states. Florida is the #3 state by popluation and Georgia is the #8 state. Again, I understand the take of aTm, but it's also pretty obvious that UM and F$U would have been better schools to take into the SEC than Mizzou was.

As for the ACC, I can basically agree. Our commissioner was terrible for years, and I would have much preferred a newer Commissioner come in with radical new ideas and approaches, rather than "hey, I'm going to make this place 40% better over the next 10 years". We don't need gradual at this point. We need a huge jolt. Notre Dame would have been a huge jolt. UCF/USF would have been a huge jolt (and I'm talking about the size of the TV markets, so I don't want to hear the same cvnty porsters who are scared of inviting UCF and USF to the ACC).

I've made this clear. I live in Orlando, about halfway between Miami and F$U. I look at the Spectrum channel lineup in Orlando, and they have FOUR dedicated channels for the Big 10 and SIX dedicated channels for the Pac 12. Meanwhile, I can't even get the SECOND ACC channel (and, yes, I don't want to hear the same cvnty porsters talk about how streaming is the future). Bottom line, we get the majority of our TV money from, you know, ACTUAL TV BROADCASTS. Having an ACC channel that people want to see and want to pay for is what fills our bank account. Not "hey, bro, use a FireStick".

Yes, the ACC needs to win more. But we also need to be in some bigger markets, on more screens, and with greater resources. Those are things that need to be addressed by the ACC Commissioner, not just a "win more" bromide.

And we have a VERY challenging battle here, as most of the ACC footprint (at least the good/money-making schools) overlaps the SEC footprint.

Pac 12 and Big 12 don't overlap much with anyone else.
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I agree with just about all of what you wrote. My only difference would be I think the TV market idea you mentioned is a bit more nuanced. A TV market can be large, but if the TVs aren't watching, does it even matter? The ACC already has the entire eastern seaboard represented from Boston to Miami. This includes New York, PA, Washington DC area, Atlanta, etc. Yet, they don't have nearly the viewership of the SEC or Big 10 as shown by the value of their TV deal.

With all due respect, and it has nothing to do with being scared of UCF or USF, do those schools bring enough viewership to increase the value of the payout for the conference as a whole? And I don't mean, just in the Orlando and Tampa areas. Does Jim Bob in Arkansas watch a UCF game or a Miami game if they are on at the same time? Do UCF and USF get massively more ratings over FSU, Miami, or Florida games that are on at the same time in Tampa and Orlando? I don't know, but it would be interesting to find out.

For the ACC to improve its payout, any additions need to add more value to the conference as a whole. It needs to be a big splash and I'm sorry I don't think UCF, USF, or a WV do that on their own.

As much as I don't like the SEC, I have to tip my hat to them. When they bring in schools, they pick the biggest or 2nd biggest school in states that love college football, not a directional school or a "city" school. Mizzou is "the" college in Missouri and brings in KC and St. Louis, aTm is the 2nd biggest school in Texas. Now they are bringing in the flagship schools of Texas and Oklahoma.

The ACC went the route of expanding based on "TV market" size only and not really looking at the viewership of those schools or their fans' love of college football. BC, Syracuse, and Pitt all bring in huge TV markets, but college football is not a huge priority in New York state and New England. Pitt is a DISTANT 2nd in popularity to Penn State. Louisville was just the best option available when Maryland jumped to the Big 10.

Actually Louisville kind of reminds me of UCF. They had a magical string of years from Bridgewater through Lamar Jackson like UCF did in the mid-late '10's. It will be interesting to see how UCF responds to moving into the Big XII. Will they maintain their run or become a middle of the road team like Louisville has recently (although Louisville may be in for a resurgence with their QB)?
 
canester95 said:
While I agree, we need the ACC to be solid, I just think rooting for a conference is silly. The SEC SEC SEC chants are dumb enough. I only care about Miami.
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We all care about Miami.......Relly's point that it comes down to $$$$$$$'s and the decision and moves to maximize our sports i.d at ALL levels. Not just football.
Same ol same ole does not cut it......we have to make aggressive moves as stated above in orde, r to attract the fan attention, and the Network commitments.
 
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