@HighEliteMajor
It isn’t often that I disagree with a post on so many different levels. Let’s see if I can get through this.
“My position on this is the same as with MU … play them.”
Mine is the samefor both as well… Don’t
"But WSU is different. Self’s position on MU isn’t based on alleged logic. It’s based on emotion. So it’s hard to argue against the emotional decision not to play MU. It’s easy to argue against the WSU avoidance.
Self has said that we have to play games that benefit Kansas. He uses two points there – money and exposure.
However, both are poor arguments."
Disagree here as well. KU gains nothing by playing either school. We only fill their coffers with money, we are not going to sell any more tickets, gain any more revenue or profit from the games any more than we do for anyone else. Playing them is not going to garner any more ground in those areas with respect to recruiting. We are strong In KC and we are strong in KS with respect to our recruiting base. We also aren’t going to gain a lot with respect to pride. We will be expected (in most years) to beat them so the only thin there can be from a game against either is a down side.
“A great example of a similar team that plays an in-state basketball school is North Carolina. A program on the same elite plane as KU, yet UNC played Davidson at a neutral site. Davidson is comparable to WSU. WSU is not a perennial power. Davidson isn’t either. Both have had their good runs, here and there. If North Carolina can play Davidson at a neutral site, Kansas can play WSU.”
Sorry this just reminds me of that saying that I am sure everybody’s father has said when we kids were thinking of doing something silly and made the comment, “Well Billy is going…” The correct response is, “If Billy was going to jump off a cliff…” I don’t care what other schools choose to do, I am only interested in what is best for KU and I don’t see regularly schedule games against either of those two schools as being good for KU.
“Each year we play game at the Sprint Center. One year it happened to be Davidson, then Oregon St., another New Mexico, this season Utah. Perhaps I’m missing something, but it would seem to me that none of those schools give us exposure to any particular recruiting hotbed, nor do they give us a national exposure game. They are pedestrian games. Even if one of the teams is ranked, they are not exceptional national games.”
ON this we agree, but there also is no downside to playing them. The only positive for those games, imo, is that it keeps KU’s name in the forefront in the KC recruiting and maintains control of the city (to a degree) for KU keeping Moo at bay there.
“Further, none of the games generated one ounce of increased fan interest. It is just another game. WSU would certainly be different. Such a match-up could generate more national interest, particularly in the first few seasons of the games.”
I beg to differ. It would create more regional interest, but the truth of the matter is that most of the country doesn’t care about two Kansas schools playing each other yearly. This year there might be some interest due to the rankings, but for the most part, not so much. KU has a national presence, all that playing tWSU would do is increase their exposure. No real benefit to KU.
“We played a home and home with Colorado?”
I wasn’t particularly happy about that, but at least it helped a former KU player, so that is how I justified it. I guess it did also keep our fanbase in CO happy as well as keep our recruiting open there. Mostly just rationalizing it there though.
“Look, I’m sure someone can make the case not to play WSU. But you’d have to work at it. Sometimes, though, when someone is kicking sand in your face you just have to pound them into the sand. Life is not without risk. Sure, we could lose. But the build-up and the anxiety of a game that has subjective repercussions is why we play the games. It’s the beauty of sports.”
I don’t think it takes much work at all. I see absolutely no benefit from playing WSU at all. I see how it helps WSU, but absolutely nothing to gain for KU. Nothing
