When will SoCal get its head out of its *** about college baseball?

[Smoked Toag]

They've had as much success as any other area in the country but people just do not support these teams. The only one who really ever got half-*** fan support was Cal-State Fullerton, and they were dominant for a piece because of that. USC still is considered the best program ever historically, UCLA won a title, Pepperdine won a title. Long Beach State has had a good program. UC-Riverside, UC-Irvine, UC-Santa Barbara - all have had their time in the sun. Just can't understand why a couple of these programs can't circle the wagons and create a monster.

I don't know where Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, Fresno State and Oregon State get their talent from over the years when they were winning big but I guarantee they get a lot from Greater LA. And none of them have great support either. So maybe this is an indictment of the entire Pac-12 too.

You could probably say the same about Florida and Miami (Miami especially) so it's possible the reason is that there are just other things to do. But I still don't buy that completely. Florida State supports their program well, of course they are not located in the same tourist type area as the others. But all of this is cancelled out by the fact that Florida and California have the money advantages too so they literally could almost never have a bad team if their coach has a brain.

 

[dorndawg]

Frankly I think we discount just how much of a niche sport baseball is at many universities. USM was #20 in avg attendance in 2019.

1	LSU	SEC	425,377	10,634	10,326	102.99	40
2	Ole Miss	SEC	305,591	8,988	11,477	78.31	34
3	Mississippi St.	SEC	373,784	8,900	15,000	59.33	42
4	Arkansas	SEC	348,775	8,719	10,737	81.21	40
5	South Carolina	SEC	197,936	5,998	8,242	72.77	33
6	Texas	Big 12	175,768	5,493	7,373	74.50	32
7	Texas A&M	SEC	172,401	4,926	0	Inf	35
8	Louisiana	Sun Belt	144,553	4,663	4,850	96.14	31
9	Nebraska	Big Ten	84,088	4,426	8,486	52.15	19
10	TCU	Big 12	118,221	4,379	4,500	97.30	27
11	Florida St.	ACC	160,202	4,330	6,700	64.62	37
12	Clemson	ACC	142,042	4,304	6,272	68.63	33
13	Texas Tech	Big 12	144,339	3,901	4,432	88.02	37
14	Florida	SEC	141,491	3,824	5,500	69.53	37
15	Oregon St.	Pac-12	106,327	3,666	3,315	110.60	29
16	Auburn	SEC	106,225	3,320	4,096	81.04	32
17	Kentucky	SEC	101,520	3,275	5,000	65.50	31
18	East Carolina	AAC	105,098	3,091	5,000	61.82	34
19	Virginia	ACC	101,668	3,081	5,500	56.02	33
20	Southern Miss.	C-USA	91,550	3,052	4,300	70.97	30
21	Vanderbilt	SEC	102,519	2,929	3,626	80.78	35
22	Alabama	SEC	96,555	2,926	5,867	49.87	33
23	Arizona St.	Pac-12	99,267	2,920	5,300	55.09	34
24	Hawaii	Big West	87,532	2,735	4,312	63.44	32

<tbody>
</tbody>

http://stats.ncaa.org/rankings/change_sport_year_div

 

[Smoked Toag]

Thanks Captain Obvious. That's, you know, what prompted my post. There's no reason going forward for it to be considered so 'niche'. They like the Dodgers and Angels. And if it's overall talent that's the problem, that is changing. I understand that in the past, especially compared to football, where ALL the best players were in college for 3-4 years. But with MLB shrinking it's draft (and even if not), more and more guys will be going to college, therefore talent and quality of play is increasing. These guys have grown wise to the whole MiLB racket, it's better off to go to college unless it's 1-5 round money.

Great weather, great talent around. Just a mystery.

 

[dorndawg]

Thanks Captain Obvious. That's, you know, what prompted my post. There's no reason going forward for it to be considered so 'niche'. They like the Dodgers and Angels. And if it's overall talent that's the problem, that is changing. I understand that in the past, especially compared to football, where ALL the best players were in college for 3-4 years. But with MLB shrinking it's draft (and even if not), more and more guys will be going to college, therefore talent and quality of play is increasing. These guys have grown wise to the whole MiLB racket, it's better off to go to college unless it's 1-5 round money.

Great weather, great talent around. Just a mystery.

I bet it baffles you why people don't like you. Just a mystery.

 

[paindonthurt]

Such a tool most of the time.

 

[paindonthurt]

We agree on something!

 

[dorndawg]

We agree on something!

 

[paindonthurt]

I’m action Jackson. You can be Arnold.

 

[GloryDawg]

I’m action Jackson. You can be Arnold.

I was thinking more on the lines of John Holmes and Ron Jeremy.

 

[dorndawg]

I was thinking more on the lines of John Holmes and Ron Jeremy.

 

[mstateglfr]

Kudos for the good response and for making me laugh after remembering that episode.

 

[Smoked Toag]

Kudos for the good response and for making me laugh after remembering that episode.

Welp, at least I kept the 3 biggest thread-killers quarantined in one thread for a minutes, so others can thrive temporarily.

Now, back to California college baseball.

 

[Bill Shankly]

They've had as much success as any other area in the country but people just do not support these teams. The only one who really ever got half-*** fan support was Cal-State Fullerton, and they were dominant for a piece because of that. USC still is considered the best program ever historically, UCLA won a title, Pepperdine won a title. Long Beach State has had a good program. UC-Riverside, UC-Irvine, UC-Santa Barbara - all have had their time in the sun. Just can't understand why a couple of these programs can't circle the wagons and create a monster.

I don't know where Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, Fresno State and Oregon State get their talent from over the years when they were winning big but I guarantee they get a lot from Greater LA. And none of them have great support either. So maybe this is an indictment of the entire Pac-12 too.

You could probably say the same about Florida and Miami (Miami especially) so it's possible the reason is that there are just other things to do. But I still don't buy that completely. Florida State supports their program well, of course they are not located in the same tourist type area as the others. But all of this is cancelled out by the fact that Florida and California have the money advantages too so they literally could almost never have a bad team if their coach has a brain.

It comes a shock to most MSU people but college baseball isa minor sport. College softball gets better TV ratings.

 

[Smoked Toag]

It comes a shock to most MSU people but college baseball isa minor sport. College softball gets better TV ratings.

Again....why? I understand it in the B1G. But California is a hotbed of talent with tons of success.

 

[paindonthurt]

I’d rather be a thread killer than you.

 

[MSUDC11]

Again....why? I understand it in the B1G. But California is a hotbed of talent with tons of success.

I mean you can kinda say the same thing about football in CA the last decade too. Don’t know if you’ve watched a USC, UCLA, or Cal home football game lately but fans aren’t exactly showing up for those either.

 

[Smoked Toag]

I mean you can kinda say the same thing about football in CA the last decade too. Don’t know if you’ve watched a USC, UCLA, or Cal home football game lately but fans aren’t exactly showing up for those either.

Absolutely. Then you can look at the Rams and see that folks don't show up for that either, and they won the damn Super Bowl.

But the Dodgers draw well, and Angels are middle of the pack. Seems like that would trickle down to college ball.

 

[mstateglfr]

Welp, at least I kept the 3 biggest thread-killers quarantined in one thread for a minutes, so others can thrive temporarily.

Now, back to California college baseball.

View attachment 23933

 

[Bill Shankly]

Again....why? I understand it in the B1G. But California is a hotbed of talent with tons of success.

Baseball historically has been a professional sport once you get past high school. That's the main reason.

 

[coachnorm]

Understand that what is happening at Mississippi State is not happening in most parts of America. I enjoy seeing State keeping baseball alive: it's a beautiful thing. The reality is baseball is an old mans sport and virtually alien to the youth of America as a spectator sport. It was awesome seeing the baseball park in Starkville after seeing the facility at USC when the baseball field was being used for 7 on 7 football high school tournaments? Attendance for college baseball at UCLA and USC is measured in the low hundreds? Yes, there is an unbelievable amount of baseball talent in California, but nobody wants to watch college baseball out there. If a California baseball player wants to play in front of quality fans he needs to go to Starkville, go figure?

 

[WrapItDog]

Then you can look at the Rams and see that folks don't show up for that either, and they won the damn Super Bowl.

The Rams sold out every home game this season. 1 of 6 teams in the NFL that had 100% attendance for home games.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/attendance

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I agree with you. They've had so much success.

One problem is that they've not had enough of the right people care. I always kind of wondered what if Kevin Costner had donated some money or acted as a fundraiser for his alma mater - Cal State Fullerton.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Again....why? I understand it in the B1G. But California is a hotbed of talent with tons of success.

Obviously you know this, but tons of things to do in SoCal, beach, mountains, hiking, professional sports, metro areas that stretch for hundreds of miles, beautiful weather year-round, etc., etc. College baseball is way back in the pack, there's only so much time and attention to devote. Not much to do in most rural parts of the south and since we're used to being last in just about everything, we'll jump on anything that we can take pride in.

College baseball hits the sweet spot on the calendar for us, football is over, deer season is over, the weather is starting to warm, but will not get unbearably hot until late in the season, MLB and NBA aren't huge here and spring football practice stays on the down low.

 

[mcdawg22]

No many how many times I see it. I still laugh out loud at the baseball scene at the end.

 

[Requiem For A Dawg]

The Rams sold out every home game this season. 1 of 6 teams in the NFL that had 100% attendance for home games.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/attendance

That is thanks in large part to opposing fanbases. There were several games this year that the opposing fan base made a large majority of the crowd.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

Obviously you know this, but tons of things to do in SoCal, beach, mountains, hiking, professional sports, metro areas that stretch for hundreds of miles, beautiful weather year-round, etc., etc. College baseball is way back in the pack, there's only so much time and attention to devote. Not much to do in most rural parts of the south and since we're used to being last in just about everything, we'll jump on anything that we can take pride in.

College baseball hits the sweet spot on the calendar for us, football is over, deer season is over, the weather is starting to warm, but will not get unbearably hot until late in the season, MLB and NBA aren't huge here and spring football practice stays on the down low.

People in general in LA and SOCAL don't have much of an attachment to college sports period. So many popular pro sports. The south east has a huge follow in college sports because the lack of professional teams except for major metro areas that are very spread out. Braves, Rangers, Cardinals, Cubs, astros, Yankees, those are probably the closest teams and or the most followed in the southeast. That's where college baseball is the biggest. It's a geography thing. Like college football is so big instead of pro football. In other areas it's not as big because they follow pro sports more. People down here follow bama and lsu like people in Pennsylvania follow the Steelers. People in LA follow Dodgers and giants. People in San Diego still miss the chargers snd love the padres. It's just not the same draw. Many of the big schools that are good at baseball traditionally don't have much a following because of how expensive they are to get in to and are for elites. The smaller schools (which are still large) don't have the following because there are so many schools in California and so many people. It divides the attention. Plus in California there are so many other factors such as politics and just more things to keep attention. USC has geared a lot of attention away from sports due to scandals and politics. That may change with this new AD. LA is all about appearance. The chair of the board of trustees is running for mayor so that will e interesting. Stanford is a good baseball school but it's a school for elites and smart kids. Just like USC. UCLA is good baseball school just don't have the crowds we do because it's not the best thing to do in town. Still have high academic standards too so not a sidewalk fan school either. San Luis Obispo good baseball too much divided attention again. Long Beach same thing. Just the way it is. In the south east we have food, outdoors, and college sports. That's about it.

 

[Baddmann]

Why is your list chart mixed up?

For instance: Ole Miss is above us and Arkansas with lower attendance and USM is actually #23.

Not trying to stir anything up, just curious.

 

[Dawgg]

I'm hoping it never does. I like having a stranglehold on something in college sports and don't necessarily see the greater Los Angeles area becoming a big college baseball destination as a good thing.

 

[dorndawg]

Why is your list chart mixed up?

For instance: Ole Miss is above us and Arkansas with lower attendance and USM is actually #23.

Not trying to stir anything up, just curious.

Its sorted by average attendance I think - you can go to the ink and look at it from avg, total, etc.

 

[Smoked Toag]

I'm hoping it never does. I like having a stranglehold on something in college sports and don't necessarily see the greater Los Angeles area becoming a big college baseball destination as a good thing.

It's not like they haven't already had big success. USC is one of the most successful programs of all time. I mean UCLA already beat us for a title. Like I said earlier, most of the Pac-12's success overall (and other teams out there) were built on SoCal players. 30% of Oregon State's current roster is from California. They, and Arizona State, are really the only ones who have translated their success into a following. Fresno pops up every once in a while and then CSF is the only LA area team to put something together, and they benefitted from it. Arizona won a title in 2012 and can't get much going either.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

California universities have changed a lot since all those titles USC won. Ideologically and politically. That's also why you see a lot of these California kids end up in other states playing baseball. It's a chance to shine and a chance to go to a school that gives a crap about sports and not more concerned over safe spaces and stuff like that. Many of the other schools are less expensive to cover the what their scholarship won't.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I know you're getting a lot of downvotes here in this thread and that's a shame. I agree the California schools should be better but I like our advantage too-- I mean when you have the wife of Stanford's coach blogging about Dudy Noble Field when they visited in 2019, you know many Californians like what they see about southern college baseball.

I know Kendall Rogers has said and written things about this in the past. I don't recall the last time he has though...

I'd love a national perspective here, you know?

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Cost-effectiveness is a huge factor.

And with that said, a California school with a nice NIL deal would be tough to beat.

 

[HumpDawgy]

They are too busy keeping up with the Kardashians.

 

[Smoked Toag]

I know you're getting a lot of downvotes here in this thread and that's a shame. I agree the California schools should be better but I like our advantage too-- I mean when you have the wife of Stanford's coach blogging about Dudy Noble Field when they visited in 2019, you know many Californians like what they see about southern college baseball.

I know Kendall Rogers has said and written things about this in the past. I don't recall the last time he has though...

I'd love a national perspective here, you know?

Yeah I get that but I'm more concerned with the advantage we have over our peers than the teams in California. None of these change quickly anyway, so if USC decided to mobilize, it wouldn't happen quickly and who knows where our program will go in the time it takes them to do so. Just seems like if anyone actually wanted to do it, there's a big gaping hole there. Cal State Fullerton is the only one who has ever even tried.

I generally root for CSF for this reason. I bet they rise again under Jason Dietrich.

 

[Smoked Toag]

California universities have changed a lot since all those titles USC won. Ideologically and politically. That's also why you see a lot of these California kids end up in other states playing baseball. It's a chance to shine and a chance to go to a school that gives a crap about sports and not more concerned over safe spaces and stuff like that. Many of the other schools are less expensive to cover the what their scholarship won't.

I've never actually been to CA. Seems like a foreign country from all the things I read.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

I have spent a lot of time there for software conferences and got my masters there. Worked a lot with city of LA and County. They wanted me to stay and work there. Paychecks weren't big enough to justify the cost of living and as much as I love the weather there, I can't stand the politics. USC was/is a good school but many there have their heads way to far up their asses. And in my experience not a lot of locals go to school there. Expensive private school where you got to have celebrity money, really good grades, Or be an outstanding athlete. USC has a bunch of people with elitist mindset and many others just don't care about sports either. It's more like a social gathering. Can't really speak for ucla but it's not easy to get in there either. One of the reasons chip Kelly wanted to stay in pac12. Higher academic standards.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Some of the same things can be said for Stanford and Silicon Valley. I've mentioned that I worked there for a while shortly after getting my bachelors degree from State many years ago. The only reason I could do that was that I would be out there also helping out family.

Stanford folks are scary smart and on a different level-- by that I don't mean elitism but more about achievement.

You've got to have money to live there though. Stanford had some trouble keeping faculty because of the cost of living.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

Yeah Stanford people are super smart. I started to look at them for a phd or another masters but it was crazy. Many of my professors either lived way out or in small apartments. The director of our program lived in a very small house.

The way I looked at it my money went a lot further living in the southeast. I think the beaches are better in Florida too. Weather just isn't as nice year round.

 

[13thEagle]

It comes a shock to most MSU people but college baseball isa minor sport. College softball gets better TV ratings.

That just proves camel toe is preferable to moose knuckle