FSU to the Big XII: an average Joe's perspective

Well, dear audience (if you're even still out there!), I've fallen off the blog wagon for awhile. So, I felt that what better way to get back to the business of blogging than to chime on on this firestorm of a controversy about whether FSU should join the Big XII?

So, here we go......FSU trustees, contributors and fans have hit an ACC mid-life crisis, and our conference relationship, which seemed just perfect when we were seemingly winning ACC titles and playing for national titles every year, has soured. The ACC is run by Tobacco Road, cares more about basketball then football, and doesn't know how to bargain for a lucrative TV contract. Throw in the "lost decade" of FSU football, characterized by the decline of The Legend That Is Bobby Bowden, no FSU BCS bowl appearances since 2006, and a $2.4 million athletic budget shortfall, and you have the ingredients for a jaded spouse looking elsewhere for partner that can light a long lost spark. For FSU, that new flame is looking more and more like the Big XII.

Huh?

Sorry, Mr. Haggard (FSU Chairman of the Board of Trustees), but you haven't sold this Nole that trading the current spouse, no matter how saggy and wrinkled she might look, for that hot babe from the Midwest is in FSU's best interest. Sure, the monetary prospects might be better (a new Big XII TV deal might net FSU $2.9MM more annually than the contract the ACC just signed, as well as give FSU options for 3rd tier games they don't have with the ACC contract), the football competition better, and inclusion into a college football playoff scenario (assuming FSU actually CAN win a Big XII title, which is an entirely different discussion) more likely, but there are other things to consider.

This is where my Average Joe voice has his say. I don't pretend to know anything more than what I read online and gather from my "sources" on Twitter. My case is from an average fan's perspective, and one that wonders if leaving the ACC, at least right now, for the Big XII really makes sense.

The conference: the Big XII is a football first conference, what FSU is looking for. The ACC has never been a football conference (something FSU knew walking into it when we joined in the early 90's). Even though the Big XII was on shaky ground during realignment activities the last year or so, as long as Texas and Oklahoma say that there's a Big XII, there will be a Big XII. With the addition of West Virginia, it kept its football first mentality intact. The addition of FSU would cement it as the second best conference (SEC, of course), so it'd be a no brainer for the Big XII. However, word of caution, Nole Nation. Remember, I just said the Big XII would clearly be the second best conference in football. Considering FSU hasn't won an ACC title in seven, count them, SEVEN years, and since the ACC is well.....the ACC, we shouldn't expect the road to a mythical national title to get any easier. It becomes HARDER. I point back to the fact that if FSU was still ruling the roost on the ACC football farm, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. And I haven't even mentioned how we've done against the Sooners.....

The environment: a major source of angst among the FSU faithful is the perception that the ACC is anti-FSU. They hate FSU, a result of years of the Noles running roughshod through the football conference and winning national titles at the expense of their teams. The officials are biased against FSU in all sports, not just football (although I would make the argument ACC officials are just incompetent, regardless of participant). The ACC doesn't know how to make money like the other conference in the region, the SEC (but, then again, who the hell can make the money the SEC makes?). It's FSU against the schools of North Carolina and a basketball-first mentality (case in point - the conference is adding Pitt and Syracuse. Not necessarily football powerhouses). What environment does the Big XII offer? It's called Texas. If we feel like we're taking a back seat to Tobacco Road in the ACC, wait till we have to deal with Texas. There's a reason we have the saying "Don't mess with Texas." Remember what I said about Texas the reason the Big XII is still together? What Texas wants, Texas gets. FSU will need to understand they'll still be playing second fiddle to somebody else in the conference.

The fans. Ah, yes, the fans. I've already seen Twitter responses of fans that have stated a move to the Big XII eliminates any travel plans for away games. Away trips to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas are too expensive, can't be driven to by car, and in this fan's humble opinion, just isn't a fit for FSU from a regional perspective. Proximity is a large factor in rivalries, and our footprint in the Southwest is marginal, at best. FSU is a Southeastern school. Not a Southwestern school. I can't do a lot of smack talking in my hometown of Jacksonville, FL with OU and UT fans. They're around, but there just aren't enough of them to make it fun. Moreover, a move to the Big XII eliminates the ability for many FSU fans to travel to away games, and limits the fostering of new rivalries. Sure, the occasional trip to Norman or Austin is exciting, but reality is that we likely won't play them every year, and our regular Big XII opponents aren't going to generate the excitement we think they would. I have season tickets. I've seen the decrease of fan support at Doak. I know it's getting better, but to start over with OK State, Baylor, Kansas, Iowa State, Kansas State and West Virginia as regular opponents for my weekly trips to Tallahassee? Doesn't exactly fire me up. OK State and UWV might generate some buzz on a regular basis.....I guess. Unless the Big XII guarantees me OU or TX every other year as home game, I'm not sold my home football weekends being a significant upgrade over what the ACC has to offer.

FSU's responsibility: I would be remiss if I didn't touch on the lack of football success in Tallahassee in recent years. No ACC titles in seven years is a black eye for FSU football. We are expected to compete for the title every year, not worry about beating Wake Forest. But, that's where we are. The preseason buzz the last couple years still led to relative disappointment at the end of the season, as well as two losses to Oklahoma, one of the Big XII's best teams. We need to dominate the ACC again before we think we're really worthy of jumping into someone else's conference and competing for their title. I feel Jimbo has the ship headed in the right direction, but 2012 is the year he needs to put it all together. If we have another three or four loss season this year, especially with the weak schedule, it really questions the ability of Fisher to live up to the hype that surrounds his program. WIN, baby......

Finally, I will just come out and say it: FSU needs to find a way, any way, to gain admission to the SEC. That's where FSU belongs. Sure, we spurned them when we were independent and looking for a conference. I also know we have a snowball's chance because of the University of Florida. They will block any attempt by FSU to join the SEC. However, I don't see how you can make the argument FSU in the SEC doesn't make sense. It fits from a regional perspective. A football perspective. A sports program perspective. An academic perspective. Personally, I don't know what UF is worried about. Regardless of reality, they'll always feel they're better than us. They'll probably always have the better head-to-head record. Just let us in. We'll play nice. Heck, I'm even open to begging. I won't lie....I want some of that SEC cash. Once we're in, we'll forget all about how much we groveled to get there.

In sum, I feel the FSU Administration, fans and trustees alike should think about all aspects of any divorce proceeding from the ACC at the moment. Furthermore, we should not let the emotions of what we think FSU deserves in a conference partner cloud our judgment. What might look sexy tonight in the glow of realignment possibilities could very well just be an instance where the reality in the morning is that things aren't really much better than it was with the last partner.....and wondering whether ending the relationship was the right idea at all.