re: University of Texas student body held vote about bringing back A&M rivalry, 97% voted yes

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Haha, so your argument is because A&M had good audiences when you had a generational and controversial player, it definitely wouldn't help your brand to play one of the biggest programs in college football on a yearly basis?

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my argument is, we played UT for over 100 years and it hardly, if ever, was a nationally relevant game. When we had a good team with players who were good, we were nationally relevant

Playing UT doesn't matter if we aren't good. If we are good, playing UT doesn't matter because we will have relevant games every week

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I seriously doubt it would help our brand anymore than the games we've played the last few years. Those were all nationally televised games with plenty of hype. Fox put us in the Sunday prime time slot despite the fact neither us or UCLA were top 25 teams. UT-A&M would be a huge deal the first year it came back then the relevance would be dependent on how good the teams are, like every other regional rivalry out there

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Maybe you guys have statistics showing it was largely unwatched outside of Texas, but I remember watching it in college, my family usually watched it, etc. We had no Texas ties (I do now), but I think you may be underselling what it was, and are definitely underselling what it could be.

Anyway, it's your decision, I just can't see how it's not a big positive from a marketing perspective unless you get trounced on the reg. Acknowledging that you are now getting high profile games in the SEC doesn't make that any less true (I'm not arguing you "need" Texas).

The issue of getting exciting OOC opponents is valid, IMO, but rivalry games are just as big a part of the sport as major, uncommon matchups are.

A&M and UT are both so lame.

Can't decide who to support in this lovers quarrel.

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my argument is, we played UT for over 100 years and it hardly, if ever, was a nationally relevant game. When we had a good team with players who were good, we were nationally relevant

Playing UT doesn't matter if we aren't good. If we are good, playing UT doesn't matter because we will have relevant games every week

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If you're not shitty, are you getting more national acclaim and attention playing Texas than not playing them? I think the answer is certainly yes, and I think you'd have to acknowledge that.

If your argument is that you've been able to replace Texas by getting big games in the conference, that's probably true. But the point remains that Texas is a bigger, more popular and more influential state than it has ever been. A&M is arguably peaking as far as expenditures and ripeness for the national stage (SEC, glitzy new stadium overhaul, perhaps a high profile coach in your future). Texas may or may not be on the way back to the top. Maybe going out and beating Clemson and Notre Dame will accomplish that, I don't know. But I just can't see how, purely from marketing, the Texas game doesn't help.*

*Again, unless you're getting pounded every year.

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and thats great for the schools that have them. I just don't get why it's so hard for people to accept that, in the modern landscape of college football, A&M and UT where never this big thing that had to be saved. UT has always valued it's relationship with OU more and A&M wanted to be in the SEC as early as the early 90s. It just is what it is

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Well, some rinky dink poll at UT apparently thinks it's worth doing

Anyway, if you want to argue that we can't understand because the game never really rose to the level of the rivalries we know in the SEC, fine, I just have to accept your first hand experience of it. But given the level of vitriol, I just have a hard time believing that is truly the full story.

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But I just can't see how, purely from marketing, the Texas game doesn't help.*

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because either way it doesn't matter. If A&M isn't good, that game isn't going to magically be this huge game that people in California are going to care about. If A&M is good, it won't magically be more relevant than if we were playing a major OOC opponent

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the level of vitriol,

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We're dealing with people who have a large lead in the all time series but can't get over the fact A&M is the largest and oldest university in a town built around the university.

Just look at how often they come here upset. They have like a 5,000 page thread stickied to their board to discuss A&M's daily movements.

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We're dealing with people who have a large lead in the all time series but can't get over the fact A&M is the largest and oldest university in a town built around the university.

Just look at how often they come here upset. They have like a 5,000 page thread stickied to their board to discuss A&M's daily movements.

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I didn't claim it was a one way street.

Look...I recognize that A&M and Texas should play again eventually. Its a natural like all the in-state non-conference rivalries.

But look at it from our point of view. We finally broke up with the controlling bitch that screwed it us over for years. We were willing to be civil, but the bitch wanted to continue to control things and went so far as trying to get every other school in the state to avoid us.

So now the bitch wants us back. Personally, I'd prefer she squirm for awhile. We're doing just fine.

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Aggies are starting to look like the redheaded step-child

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Snort-laugh that you think we're concerned about your perception of us with regard to the horns.