re: Which Expansion was Less of a Fit: Ark/SCAR, Aggie/Mizzou, or OU/TX?

quote:

---

Arkansas fans talking about how expansion ruined the SEC will never not be funny.

---

Arkansas joining the SEC did ruin one conference.

But it wasn't the SEC...

quote:

---

I hate when people misdiagnose our state like you have.

You got most of it right before you hit Oklahoma.

I come from a part of Oklahoma called Little Dixie. Ever heard of it? Obviously not. It is more like being in the southeast than any of the places you touched on.

---

I have been to Little Dixie a bunch. It ain't the south. The fact that it is named little Dixie stems from the fact that it was mostly settled by folks displaced shortly after the demise of actual Dixie. There is an area in Utah that is similarly named and it is as southern as the one in Oklahoma. They are much closer to being similar than they are to either being the south.

Who said expansion ruined the SEC? The post you referenced was talking about the SEC being about Southern schools vs. adding yankees and Texans. We've been slowly moving to super conferences for years, so expansion was inevitable.

Texass has quite a bit of experience in ruining conferences. Our concerns aren't with expansion, but the fact that UTerus is sorta like the batshit crazy chick that thinks she's a 10 when reality she's more of a 7. Maybe worth it if for a bang if she's a 9+... but better to run away otherwise.

My guess is the SEC isn't going to let Texass run over them, so I'm just looking forward to the fireworks.

quote:

---

What makes Texas so different from say, Florida or UGA?

---

The people and their culture. All are state universities and the place monied and connected people from the state send their children for education in state. The culture in all but about 1/3 of Texas (graciously) is vastly different than that of Florida and Georgia. Academically they are similar, culturally they ain't close. Nothing wrong with that...Texas culture, which accounts for about 66% of the state, is uniquely Texan and it is great. The fact that the culture of Florida and Georgia is nearly identical from North Carolina to 1/3 of Texas and the culture of the majority of Texas stretches from just a little east of Houston/Dallas to almost Los Angeles is the difference...

Every place in this country has changed culturally from the early days of the SEC, the 1930s forward. So much of the rural South did not join the 20th century until after WW II. The Depression hit but they were already poor to start with. With the advent of mass communications this country is very homogenized.

I have traveled just about everywhere and suburbia looks the same in Ohio, Georgia or Alabama. Same stores, same highways, all the same looking. Small town America looks very similar also. Do people speak differently? Yes they do. Is all the local establishment food the same? No it is not. The South and Midwest are closer culturally than say the South and the Northeast

People, that have not traveled all that much, hold on to their preconceived ideas of how people act or feel about their politics.

I have looked at "fitting in" in a sports conference as do you have the passion for your team as much as fans of the teams you are playing? If you bring passion, you fit in.

Let's ask former SEC commissioner Harvey Schiller.

quote:

---

In July, Texas accepted an invitation to join the SEC in 2025, but the move could happen sooner.

If Schiller got his wish, it would have happened much, much sooner.

Texas was the apple of Schiller’s eye during his time as SEC commissioner from 1986-89.

---

quote:

---

“We focused on Arkansas and South Carolina, and really wanted Texas,” Schiller told me earlier this month.

---

It was always about Texas.

Ah... ok. Living in the past, based on something that might have been appealing to Shiller back in 1989. I thought you were trying to say the SEC wanted Texass now, not 30+ years ago.

I found this article linked at the bottom of your "proof" that is significantly more relevant to the Texas of today and the transition to the SEC.

"Texas football is a joke" LINK /

You left off the rest of the headline: "Texas is a joke... now, but move to SEC will help revive Longhorns"

And if Texas football is a joke, then Arkansas obviously is too. Unfortunately you've had the benefit of being in the SEC for 30 years and are still a joke.

Anyway, past, present, future, doesn't matter. If you're the SEC commissioner putting together a plan for expansion, who's your top choice? It's obviously Texas, no matter if we're in 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020.

You think it's a coincidence that every single expansion the SEC has made just randomly included a Texas rival?

quote:

---

You think it's a coincidence that every single expansion the SEC has made just randomly included a Texas rival?

---

Yes. I think geography and cultural fit drove decisions considerably more than some latent desire to bring Texas into the fold.

You honestly believe that the SEC consciously went after rivals of Texas, playing the long game to finally lure the "white whale" into the conference?