Answer Monday, Part VI
OK, let's try to answer those Mexican mouthpiece and rougher crowd questions one more time.
Q: Why is Sanchez still wearing that Mexican mouthpiece which he knows is a source of controversy and opposition by many and proves he is not a team player who wears the same uniform as the rest of the team? Are the rumors circulating true that he is getting advice from an agent and the Mexican mouthpiece is considered a marketing strategy?
A: I have not noticed his mouthpiece for games but I know he was taken aback by criticism for it last season. The mouthpiece was designed by a USC dentist who makes mouthpieces for all the players and thought it would be clever to add the Mexican flag, so I know it's not a marketing strategy. I will ask Sanchez about it later in the week. Out of curiousity, would Sanchez be criticized if he were Irish and wore a shamrock on his mouthpiece?
Q: I read the comments this past week about the current make-up of the Coliseum, especially the new rougher crowd, and do you think the following are accurate numbers for who comprises the crowd at USC football games in 2008 (at least for the Ohio State game):
USC Students: 11,000
USC Alumni: 25,000
USC Staff/Faculty: 1,500
Fans with no ties to USC: 35,000
Visiting team's fans: 20,000
A: I don't have much problem with this crowd assessment. And I think the 35,000 are probably where the problems arise, fans who are jumping on the bandwagon with no idea of the traditions or the atmosphere of college football. I've often wondered if frustrated Raiders fans would ever adopt USC because there is no NFL team in L.A. And let's be honest, those black jerseys do not help.
All of this might seem like an overreaction, but I've received a lot of emails about the rough crowd at the Ohio State game.
What kind of backwards person would be offended by a Mexican mouthpiece? So what if he wants to show some solidarity? This kind of nativist paranoia is annoying and ignorant. I'm not even Mexican, but that there is a controversy over this makes me wanna wave a Mexican flag and throw a wet burrito at whatever McCarthyite dumbass who's complaining. If you're so offended, move to Nebraska.
The Donkey asserts that USC is the largest private employer in the City of Los Angeles. The 1,500 figure is way, way to low. The Donkey believes Scott can get the correct number of faculty and staff from the sports information office.
Scott wrote "I don't have much problem with this crowd assessment." The Donkey believes Scott is lazy.
When Barack Obama gives a speech, he does not wrap himself in a Kenyan flag.
When John McCain traipses around the country, he does not use a Scottish flag as a cape.
Why? Because they are Americans.
Sanchez is an idiot.
The numbers for faculty and staff seats are fairly accurate. That is about how many seats they are allocated at the Coliseum (at discounted prices, too).
Excellent points by Brad. Completely agree.
If Mark had a mouthpiece with a shamrock I would blast him for his loyalty to the Fighting Irish.
Xenophobes come out of the woodwork!
Let's cancel St. Patty's Day, and Oktoberfest...and someone go tell Zach Heberer to stop promoting his Croatian pride.
Tell the Papadakis family to open up an "American food" restaurant, what is this Greek food anyways?
BECAUSE WE ARE AMERICANS WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO CELEBRATE OUR DIFFERENCES, OUR BACKGROUND, OUR CULTURES, AND THE COLORS AND FLAGS THAT WE PLEASE.
It also gives Brad and my neighbor in Redondo the right to post their so called "patriotic" perspective...no matter how dumb it is.
First, I think your numbers are way off. I'd take the 35,000 "fans with no ties" band wagon number and drop in half...and add 17,500 to the alumni number (and yes, I understand that includes alums who've jumped on the bandwagon). And don't confuse us with UCLA, for most games opposing fans don't exceed 5,000. But for the big games, Nebraska, OSU, etc (ND has always had a huge allotment) it does seem like 20,000 visiting fans have found they're way into the Coliseum...and in and among loyal fans and alums, even the student section. Thanks to the online ticket exchanges (and my boy Barry) profit driven season ticket holders have had an easy time selling off extra season tickets to opposing fans who, in the past, would never ever have found their way into sections between the goal posts. It's a recipe for disaster when you mix up such big numbers of "infiltrating Stub Hub purchasing opposing team" fans with die hard and longtime seat holding SC fans. In years past this was just a Notre Dame game issue but now, as long as we're scheduling teams that travel in huge numbers it will continue to happen. It's a new phenomenon that we're facing...and I think it's going on in a lot of places.
America - love it or leave it.
The 35,000 "fans with no ties to USC" is probably correct if you factor in family of alumni who accompany them to games.
To "add 17,500 to the alumni number" would make it 42,500 alumni at the game and there is no way that would be close to being correct. That would mean 25 percent of all living USC alumni would attend the games and that cannot ever happen.
As it is, with the exception of the Ohio State game, there was an average of less than 6,000 students per game the past two seasons, with some games getting fewer than 4,000 students. Considering that there are about 33,000 students currently attending USC, that would mean an average of between 12 to 18 percent of the student body at each game. Alumni would not have a higher percentage at games.
So these numbers above of the Coliseum crowd look good to me.
Who complains about a "rough crowd"? If you find them, send either to the visiting section up in the bleeders or Section 13 where they can get dealt with.
I do agree that there was a huge influx of Buckeye fans at that game, even in areas that are traditionally only for season ticket holders. We sit in Section 13, in the Thundering Herd and we had a FOUR Buckeyes right in front of us. That was disappointing being that we've seen the same people in those seats for years.
Oh, and get off Sanchez for a mouthpiece he wore once in a game LAST YEAR. It was funny. It was cool. Oh and he had the best game of his life. Maybe we should MAKE him wear it! It was provided to him BY THE UNIVERSITY. Let it go.
As a Muslim, I would be very, very offended if Heberer ever chose to wear the Croatian flag on his uniform. When the football players wear the cardinal and gold uniform, they are playing as Trojans and represent USC, not a foreign country. There is a reason why the USC football team has never had names on the back of their jersey; it is because they are playing as a team, not as individuals. There is no place for flags of countries that would show a person is not part of a team. What they do in their own time with flags is their business, but what they do when they wear a USC uniform is the business of all Trojans. In the cardinal and gold, you are a Trojan who represents USC alumni and students, not a foreign country.
You have often wondered if they are all frustrated Raider Fans?? is there anything other than a frustrated Raider fan? This is common knowledge, Raida fans fill the seats at SUC games
I can't believe the Mexican mouthpiece is still an issue. Who cares if Mark wears a mouthpiece with a Mexican flag on it. Just because someone celebrates his heritage does not mean he's disrespecting his country. Seriously. People are too insecure about themselves these days. When are people going to realize that what people do with their own bodies and personal gear is of no consequence to anyone else unless you allow it to affect you. By the same token, Rey's Pacific Islander tattoos have no effect on Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews, or anyone else. Stop worrying about other people and handle your own business, people.
And Trubruin, you want to talk about filling seats at the stadium? Did you see the sea of red that filled the Rose Bowl this weekend to see FUCLA fall to another non-BCS school? It almost looked like a Fresno State home game out there. (And Trojan fans would've loved seeing Slick Rick get on the microphone after the game, begging the fans to come to the Rose Bowl the following week and promising to turn the sinking ship around. Good stuff all around)
If a player put a Saudi Arabian flag on his helmet (especially after September 11th) there would be outrage and opposition from many. The same thing applies to a Mexican flag. Just be a Trojan and wear the Trojan uniform and nothing else to separate yourself. It is a team sport and politics and personal preferences/messages do not belong.
Fight on!
Why aren't you people who care about team unity more concerned with Joe McKnight's eye tape with references to money?
It takes an awfully redneck mindset to complain about a kid's mouthpiece. Come on, folks. This isn't the SEC...
A couple points for you "devout" Trojans:
1) Since when is the mouth piece considered part of the uniform, last I checked it was an optional piece of equipment.
2) If you are so concerned about athletes wearing and representing the Cardinal & Gold as a team, then where is the uproar regarding the writing on the eye black?
To me this very much akin to this "mouthpiece issue" but for some reason people don't seem to care as much because "I need Money" doesn't carry the negative connotation that some of you have of the Mexican flag. So if your going to take issue with Mark Sanchez's mouth piece then take issue with Joe McKnight's eye black (and all the others who do so) and Rey, Kaluka, Fili, Christian, and etc for representing their Pacific Islander heritage.
A disguised excuse to hide their prejudice. They are flat out not men or women enough to say I despise Mexicans or Latinos for that matter...