Lies in Sports Illustrated are big and bright By Dan Urban Editorial Staff Thursday, October 3, 2002 last updated October 3, 2002 3:19 AM Don’t mess with Texas? Please. If there ever were a place whose inhabitants were deluded about their superiority, it is the Lone Star State. Texas pride is out of hand. Texans love that everything in their state is big. Big land mass, big oil rigs, big sky. Let’s not forget the other “bigs” in Texas, namely, beer bellies, trucks, gun racks, hats and belt buckles. Despite the fact that they live in a dust bowl, Texans have maintained a fantasy that their state is somehow blessed with beauty from on high. “God’s country,” they call it. Yeah. Right. Perhaps it is this arrogance that sparked my irritation with Texas. Maybe it was being forced to watch the obnoxious Longhorn fans exulting after their team beat Stanford in the College World Series — twice. Whatever first kindled my ire, seeing Sports Illustrated ranking Texas as the nation’s best sports program over the Cardinal threw gas on the flame (not that a true Texan would ever use lighter fluid; I must admit, their barbecueing is excellent). So why would the nation’s most popular sporting magazine choose a school whose fans shout “Hook ‘em horns!” over Stanford, where one hears, “Run! Run! Increase the aggregate yardage!”? Alright, bad example. Throwing common sense and Sears Cups out the window, SI proclaimed Texas to be No. 1 because “the Longhorns performed slightly better than the Cardinal in the big-ticket sports like football and because their fans approach sports with just a touch more fervor.” The pundits just may have a point here. Imagine, if you will, a split screen television. One half shows the devoted Sixth Man crowd forming a sinuous line in front of Maples Pavilion, eagerly awaiting the game. The other half shows the faithful Longhorns in front of their own basketball venue (I don’t know what it’s called, and I don’t care). The more observant among you will note that one side of your screen contains a vastly greater quantity of printed material. Hardback, paperback and spiral-bound books abound. What are these mysterious documents, you wonder? Playbooks, so that the fans can more intelligently follow the game action? Media guides, so that they can analyze every move the opponent makes and offer helpful hints to Mike Montgomery? Of course not. These are course readers and textbooks. After all, what better opportunity is there to brush up on your multivariable calculus for that midterm in two weeks than while waiting in line for the game? Time is precious. Let’s be honest. It’s hard to spare that first half of a basketball or football game when there are problem sets to be done. Less spirited we may be, but at least we spare a salamander a fiery death in a pre-Big Game inferno. Daniel Urban is a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, and he sincerely hopes that he still has his friends from Texas. Email him at durban@stanford.edu. I don't know how to reply to a guy that attends a nerdiversity. http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=8905&repository=0001_article
I'm not saying academics aren't relevant to a discussion of the best athletic programs, but I do notice it's never a fan of the more highly-ranked/regarded team that plays that card. Stanford obviously believes strongly in diversity, though, if they're allowing someone with such limited intelligence to write a column for the school paper. Bravo, Stanford.
Both schools have outstanding athletic reputations, and should be proud of their feature in Sports Illustrated. If you had done your resarch, you would have seen that the University of Texas has a reputation for excellence. Despite being one of the largest universities in the country, and being subject to state funding, they continually produce strong acedemics that become leaders in their communities. They have a diverse student body, representing all 50 states and over a hundred countries. Their Business, Medical, and Law graduate programs are recognized as being among the top in the nation. Stanford also has a reputation for excellence. They are renown for the intelligence of their student body, and it's high standards for admissions. So how sir, did you manage to get in? OR It is good to see that Stanford is attempting to diversify it's student body by allowing in individuals with more limited intellectual ability. I wish you all the best with your program, and hope that you are able to succeed and someday graduate.
This article is ridiculous. I am a die-hard Aggie, but I'll NEVER say that the fans in Austin aren't hardcore. The strong UT fanbase is part of what makes the rivalry so intense and so much fun. The guy that wrote the article is an assclown.
what Refman said... sour grapes... Texas is a superior state, duh! I thought everyone knew and accepted that!
I love Texas and all (the state, not the school), but California is the 1 state I would rather live in over TX.
You might want to wait until you make your first $1 million. As for the Stanford article, what else would you expect from a wine sippin' Stanford pansy-ass?
I'll second that opinion. An apartment the size of mine in a similar neighborhood would cost more than 3 TIMES as much as it does here.
when I was being recruited to my last job, i told them i had offers in Silicon Valley... in order to get me to stay in Texas, the recruiters showed me some figures about living costs in CA. I knew the reputation of CA life, but there figures were incredible. I thought they were exaggerating, so i took it with a grain of salt. well, i did some research on my own and found, if anything, they were being generous. there is no way i could afford living in CA, even as a software engineer. staying in TX was the best choice i ever made. i was able to save so much money b/c of the cheap cost of living here that I have lived well (so far) w/o a job!
What irks me is his characterization of Texas as a 'dustbowl.' He obviously has never been to Texas, nor has he even opened a map, or he would know how diverse the topography is across the state.
I'll tell you what fellow Texas alums/students/supporters, we should do as the saying dictates and......... MAKE EM' EAT ****
Seeing as how I just tied my horse to the post outside I gotta ask ya pahdnah...yew ain't from 'round deese parts are ya?
Oh yeah, living on a faultline is real smart. Cali is beautiful and all, but I just couldn't see staying there due to the high cost of living and the quakes.
My brother in law has lived in LA for a few years now. They have had one quake. He didn't know it had even happened until he saw a few books had fallen off the shelf. He turned on the news and they said there had been an earthquake.
Perhaps it's this ignorance and stereotyping that breeds my irritation with jackass media moguls such as Dan Urban.
He apparently hasn't visited 75% of the state of California, they can hold their own with the redneckinest Bubba from around here.
