AD Patter$son Facing Heat

How have i changed the subject, you have complained about not being able to play corn hole and cook your un seasoned burgers and drink your coronas, when and wherever you want to, before and after games. I have continued to say that most of the fans would not be complaining about those things if the team was winning.

 

Just to be clear when the team is getting thumped by the likes of Arkansas, Baylor and TCU it is hard to sustain any enthusiasm. It is going to take several wins to get rid of the taste of the total lack of preparation and effort that was rolled out for TCU and Arkansas.

 

RATTFATT , policy changes like paying for parking, tailgating, 30+% price increases and no ticket resell would have had the same negative impact on season ticket holders and game day enjoyment even if the team was winning. Give me a break.
If the team was winning, charging 1964 alums to take a picture on DKR field would have had the same negative impact. Patterson's policies and actions have alienated and angered long time alumni, season ticket holders and foundation members and have nothing to do with winning. The fact that we are not winning only adds to the dissatisfaction already caused by Patterson.

 

IDH is exactly right.
" The fact that we are not winning only adds to the dissatisfaction already caused by Patterson."
It may add to the dissatisfaction by a larger measure that if we were winning but stevie P's performance would still be a negative with the vast vast vast majority of people paying money to support Horn athlectics.

 

This actually has me questioning whether you have EVER been a real part of the pre-game festivities that many faithful refer to as tailgating...faithful that are apt to depart the more the administration kills that atmosphere. This holds just as true for the waste of space that will be the third-party vendor selling spots as it will for the baseball space that will be lost for a parking garage.

Squeezing every nickel until it bleeds is not something this University needs...they aren't running short on funds. Yet. But keep pissing off the faithful and then you ARE reliant upon corporate donations that ebb and flow with the economic winds...

 

Just like I stated earlier, we are all adults and you can decide if you want to pay for those things or not. There are a lot of things that people tolerate if they fell the product is worthy enough. Look at how people will sit in long lines to pay for over priced coffee at Starbucks. They don't have to do that, but because they fell like the product is good they tolerate those long lines and the over priced coffee. As I continue to say, if the program was winning a lot of the people who have issues would tolerate it. I don't understand why people think this is the only program where this is happening.

 

Per BON:
Texas Longhorns athletic director Steve Patterson is losing the perception battle following several unpopular moves documented in a June report from Horns Digest, but is now attempting to address those concerns in a memo obtained by several media outlets as he comes under criticism from his superior.

The memo's release came a day after the Austin American-Statesman published a report that new UT-Austin president Greg Fenves has recently met with Patterson twice and plans to do so again on Friday. Is Patterson's job in trouble? Both sources quoted by the Statesman believe it's possible, but right now Fenves doesn't want to make a change despite some pressure from donors.

What Fenves does reportedly believe, according to sources who spoke with the Dallas Morning News, is that Patterson needs to change his "personal style"...

It's understandable that Fenves doesn't want to make a change at this time and instead hopes that Patterson can change his ways. The problem is that Patterson didn't seem to learn from his failures in Portland as the Trailblazers general manager.

What indications are there that he can learn from his mistakes at Texas if he hasn't grown since leaving the Pacific Northwest in 2007?

 

P.R.

 

Wow, this is the biggest failure I have ever seen to understand college football. People that do not care about those things stay at home and watch on their TV. People that do care about these things (aka the experience) GO TO THE GAMES! Games are as much about the social experience as anything else. Even when I think OU is going to kill us, I still look forward to seeing my Dallas friends. As I said in my earlier post, not seeing old friends in Austin really makes it harder to spend the money and go to the games.

Patterson has made a lot of changes that cater to the rich over the poor. Look at how much money one has to pay to tailgate. Look at the increased parking prices. Look at the clearing out of San Jac after the games so the rich can exist. I have wonder if the goal (especially with the paid tailgating areas) is to run off the middle class and poor. Patterson wants to play a game in mexico yet wants to prevent middle class and poor hispanic Texas fans from tailgating which is total bs. This is what fans are angry about. Fans are not angry because of patterson's "style", they are angry because of his policies.

 

I have to agree with mb227 in questioning Rattfatt's Texas tail gating. I know at our tailgate we don't drink Corona, grill unseasoned hamburgers or play cornhole. I am not familiar with a game called "cornhole". I may be an old unaware naive Texan, but I thought "cornhole" meant something completely different in Texas. Grilling unseasoned hamburgers, drinking Corona and playing cornhole would seem to be more of Yankee or California type activities/terms or non Texan. But then again, I don't wander far from our tailgate of 40 years where we are grilling seasoned fajita's & ribs, drinking Lone Star, Miller Light and wild Turkey, bullshitting and pitching washers.

 

That's a great post, and that is why I continue to say the president is just using p.r. He really doesn't care what the people not named McCombs, Denius, or Jamail, think. He just got on the job, so of course he's going to act like he cares. That's why he didn't address the policies, he instead talked about the personality. Obviously the big time boosters are always the main focus, just like the rich are the main focus with politicians. And corn hole is the game where you throw the little bean bags, into the holes that are on wooden platforms.

 

"Just like I stated earlier, we are all adults and you can decide if you want to pay for those things or not." Rattfatt

How about " We are all adults and can decide to keep or get rid of Patterson who wants us to accept and pay for those things".

 

You change the subject when you are called out on things like the coaching hires and Patterson having to clean up Brown's mess, when he was going to retain Brown. Then you go into some lecture about people not getting mad when Brown and Dodds were in charge. The fact is that there were multiple threads and long discussions about it, so you give that up.

You have been found out, you don't care about tailgating, so you lash out at people that do. You say your little snide remarks that you don't know anything about, regarding people's tailgates. This all started with your remark about not understanding why people are so upset. Of course you can't understand, you turn up your nose at such things like tailgating. It's not just tailgating by the way at issue here. Funds are pulled from the band and student athletes, while Patterson still has funds to hire 40 more cronies at Bellmont. Why is the largest by far athletic department, in need of 40 more employees. Care to address this?

Since you like to talk public relations. Why would Texas not send the full band to South Bend? A prime time game on national television, on a major network. This game will be seen by maybe the largest audience of the year, for a Texas game, in a storied venue, against college football royalty. It's the opening weekend for college football and I would think UT would want to go full out for this game. What other major program would not send the full band. It's not a matter of tickets. The visiting band stands in the endzone, like they always have at South Bend.

Then you crawl back into your tired little statement about winning cures all ills because it's the only thing you can still say. You call Fenves meetings with Patterson PR. When it becomes more clear each day he is quite upset with Patterson. Now you say the President of UT doesn't care about anybody but big donors and everything is just a rouge to shut up the minions. If he didn't care he wouldn't be having multiple meetings with Patterson about it.

This has nothing to do with on the field performance, people would still be upset at these policies whether the year was 2005 or 2015.

 

So, you get rid of Patterson then what, you don't think the other AD isn't going to do the same things, but in a different way. I just think Texas fans got too comfortable with the status quo under Dodds, so when change occurs it's difficult to deal with. It's the only thing that I hate about being a Texas fan, we whine and complain too much. This is big time business, you can't be stuck on how things where done years ago. Loosen up, let the players wear what they want, let them have fancy uniforms etc.

 

I would just simply say this, if all this stuff is so urgent and serious why hasn't he just fired him. I'll tell you why, because it's just pr. He was going to meet with Patterson anyway to talk about those sorts of things. If it wasn't just pr Patterson would be gone already.

 

I have been part of three or four generations at the same tailgate starting in the late 60's and continuing through 2014. I have watched friends and relatives bring babies and watched them grow to young adults at the same tailgate and now they bring their babies to same tailgate. Now grandkids and great grandkids run around.
I can tell you don't know what you are talking about.
By the way we have "Bean bag toss", never called it "corn hole". That would probably take our tailgate levity in the wrong direction.

 

So this is just a "business" to you, this speaks volumes. No wonder you sound like this.

Did you ever actually attend The University of Texas? People have a long and vested interest in what is taking place. So people are just "whining" now. You sound like a real corporate hack.

 

No, it's just not a business to me, it's also just a business to Patterson and the president. Which is why he didn't fire Patterson, instead he talked about not changing the policies but to just be nicer to the customers.

 

Why don't you tell us poor minions what exactly the University of Texas means to you, other than a football factory.

It is just that to Patterson, you have no idea what Fenves is doing or how he feels.

 

It's great to be nostalgic about things, but I learned a long time ago that this is just big time business. Why can't some people just take a step back and open their eyes. I've given you numerous examples. So let me give you more, look at the LHN, and the millions of dollars that it's making not only for athletics but also the millions it gives to academics. The bottom line is, I know what the president is thinking because he didn't fire him. He didn't talk about how bad the policies where for fans, he talked about how Patterson needs to be nicer to the customers. The president is nothing more than a politician. I'm not try to be mean to anyone, but i think a lot of people might be very naive.

 

It would be nice if you would actually answer a question directly, instead of going off on another tangent.

I asked you what the University of Texas means to you other than a football factory. Why can't you answer that? It has real relevance to what is being discussed. This is more than just a business like Starbucks, to most people, it has to do with what "their University" does and how it treats fellow Longhorns.

 

Can you not read, I told you what the university means to me. It means a business to me, paying a tuition doesn't give me any more privileges than anyone else. By the way, if it's not a business why do we have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to get an education.

 

I read very well, I graduated from UT, with two degrees.

You can't handle it when people call you out on these things.
It's way more than a business, it's about lifetime affiliations with the University and fellow Longhorns. If all it means to you is a "business" then nobody here can help you. That's pretty sad actually.

The University of Texas is called a family, did you not get this when you attended it, or did you attend it? I graduated with a BA in 80' and a BJ in 82'. What about you?

 

Does any of this have to do with why Tre Newton wants to visit with me when he's in Dallas?

 

What things are you calling me out on, you kept asking me the same question and if you where reading carefully you would already know what that answer was. And yes, I also attend the university, it maybe a family to you but I'm pretty sure we come from different back rounds and have different experience, especially when you are of a different race on campus. So, the bottom lines is, you can be nostalgic about these things. I just would rather call it like it is, and it's a big time business, period.

 

The problem is your not calling it like it is. Your calling it like you see it and not the vast majority of UT grads, no matter their creed or race.

 

So, some fans take offense at SP, others don't. I'm in the don't camp. I would think that those who take offense at SP should take it to SP and not to those who don't care.

 

Some saying $teve'll be gone by next spring...



[FoxSports.com]

 

Who ever that was said exactly what I said about Dave Brandon at Michigan, and just like i said it's all about winning. It's just unfortunate that we have a fan base that whines and cries about everything. And just like I said, if Patterson isn't the athletic director whoever they bring in will do the same thing. He'll just make sure that he kisses their butts while he's doing the same thing Patterson was doing. That's what really irks me, we should be like Alabama, in terms of blue bloods. But were not, because all the fan base does is whine and complain about everything.

 

Go see my post on page 3. I've missed 3 total home games since I was 4 years old. Guess I am not a blue blood who is upset at changes that fundamentally ruin the game day experience, instead I am just a whiner and complainer.

Also, Im an Augie defender who argues with NBHorn7 on baseball, but poor NBHorn7 has been suffering through a lot of hitless innings of Texas baseball. You better not be accusing NBHorn7 of not being a blue blood. I am not sure how many of our fans can do what he has done and continue to give the fans that cannot see the games reports, even when things go badly.

Have you not noticed that a lot of posters here who bitterly argue on the "on the field" "basketball" "baseball" and "west mall" forums generally seem to be in agreement about the new policies? I mean, I do not agree with some of these posters and they do not agree with me about anything.

I guess I cannot speak for every tailgate, but mine has always been economically and racially diverse with white, hispanic and african american UT grads from the 70s and 80s and many of their UT grad/or non UT grad kids and friends. I guess I am aware tailgating itself is open to all races since I've grown up my entire life tailgating with people of different races. It has been for at least 30-40 years.

If you did not grow up going to tailgates or have no UT ties, start your own tailgate group with your college friends. That's how ours got started in the first place so many years ago. My brother and I have both occasionally tailgated in other areas with our college friends. However you might have trouble doing so in the future, not because of your race or background, but because of policies like charging high rates for parking and the tailgate guys where you have to pay $2,100 for a tailgating spot.

It is also difficult to tailgate for a home game if we decide to play it in Mexico City instead of Austin.

Instead of making friends and good times for yourself to get nostalgic about, your attitude seems to be to take a dump on things others enjoy. That's not a great way to go through life.