Spring Game and Development

[BroadwayVik]

I care about the development of PSU athletics. Things get a helluva lot more interesting depending on the quality of the opponent, how well PSU measures up and the "electronic sunshine" of television media coverage---not the obligatory kind of coverage, but the kind driven by the raw interest in the game.

The Spring Game revealed an improved team attitude and sense-of-urgency. They appear to be going in the right direction. What we have to be careful of is setting any kind of ceiling on PSU's development though imprudent management practices.

As far as media coverage is concerned, I believe they perceive similarly-named institutions similarly. The media perception of a university is based on track record and peception. The track record is given, the perception is malleable. That media-perception is based on the team's image. What influences the team's image is the NAME of the institution, the LOGO image and the DIRECTION the team is going.

The Direction PSU is going is "getting back to its winning ways." The Logo image is similar to that of the New England Patriots. The Logo (and uniform) is fine but could stand always some improvement and innovative forms.

Our media Name is in a peer-group of similarly-named institutions of the West, developed or yet under-developed. These include Cal State schools like San Diego State, Fresno State and San Jose State (also Sacramento State). These also include Boise State.

Boise State is the great pioneer in altering media perceptions of this peer-group. San Diego State tried for decades to make itself appealling to the Pac-10 but failed time and time again. They just cannot seem to marshall its forces together to get their own stadium and to attract their fans in sufficient numbers to get themselves to the big time. Perhaps, at last, with their new coaching staff (Al Borges among them), things will finally change.

If the Pac-10 is the #1 conference of the West, the MWC is the #2 conference, the WAC the #3 conference and the Big Sky the #4 conference. Think of these conferences of the West like USN&WR Academic Tiers. San Diego State' may be overcoming its long-held ceiling and, at least, has affiliation in the #2 conference.

San Jose State brought in Dick Tomey to help them overcome their developmental ceiling. They now have a better uniform image and logo but their direction has not yet changed. They CAN be a very good team but all too often flag. Why? Fresno State has also seems to have reached its ceiling potential. Boise State overtook their leadership position in the #3 conference and will likely rise up to the #2 conference.

So Boise State has to be the model of choice for us. They are thinking National Championship. If they can gain in size a bit more, they could realize it. We should study their program. If they will receive us, we should send emissaries to their university and ask them questions that will help us to develop so as to not get tripped up and stuck like the others of our similarly-named peer-group.

 

[BroadwayVik]

Several consecutive snippets of the PSU Spring Game 2010 are now on YouTube.

 

[pdxfan]

Nice thoughts about our future. A few more - first, it's nice to think of us gouped with Fresno, San Jose etc., members of the WAC, but the outside world thinks of us as grouped with Cal Poly, Davis, Sac State etc. Northridge, Irvine, Cal State LA etc. get lost for lack of football. How do we get up to San Jose etc.? By drawing in 16,000 plus consistently. Logos, uniforms etc. won't matter. National media? They'll come when we consistently hit the NCAAs. The Oregonian should be our concern now, and they're slowly coming around. They covered our football last year better than they ever have, and this despite the losing. If they do as well next year, we should be happy. If we join WAC, yes, crowds will be larger and ticket sales increase. But will it bring in the annual additional 5 million dollars or so needed to get started there? As Marty pointed out, we're going to have to find an aditional 5 million just for the university, let alone for athletics. By all means keep up the aspirations - but keep reality firmly in hand.

 

[BroadwayVik]

Some perceptions of reality can be very stullifying. Boise State could have settled for just being a big sky conference team. After all, they were associated with Montana, Idaho, and Nevada. What hope was there for them? Instead, they decided to make it their mission to rise from obscurity.

Their upward movement began with their hiring Pokey Allen away from us. They went twice to the I-AA championship game. Randy Nordloff then hired Tim Walsh from Sonoma State which, I felt, was not our best candidate. We progressed well for a while and then hit-a-wall. Walsh hijacked our program's progress and kept it sub-playoff and non-progressive for nearly a decade, after his initial surge.

Meanwhile, Boise State kept their progress going, kept their searchlight on, hiring away Dirk Koetter from Oregon. They saw that Oregon had something going on that was working and they tapped into it. While Oregon progressed materially, they also began to degenerate a bit spiritually. They became the university with all the uniform combinations and lots of blue-chip players, but they lost a lot of the spirit from their days of progressing up from the pit of a seemingly perpetual losing.

They did well from 1984-1994 and then kept making progress to become a national player. But in many ways they kind of plateaued. They were all heart and spirit in their mission-quest to become a national caliber team. But every time something great came into the program (beautiful new locker room, Moshofsky covered practice field), they seemed to use that as a means to revert more to their true unsavory side of their identity and take it more easy on what got them there. With Chip Kelly, they continue to tear-it-up, but they still have a ways to go before they can stop bruising teams like Ohio State. It was like men-against-boys in the 4th quarter of the Rose Bowl. They seem to have lost a lot of that underdog spirit that used to give them a chance to win against long odds. They haven't lost it completely. A lot of their success stems from it. But look at the LaGarrett Blount incident and what other team it involved.

Now we see Boise State with that spark of Oregon's rise but, unlike Oregon, they haven't degenerated it. Rather, they continue to develop it to higher heights. Oregon settled, Boise State keeps it going. If they get blue-chip players, look out. I feel they'd be unstoppable. Who can beat them right now? Only the best among the very best. TCU was unable to.

What I'm saying is Portland State needs to reach at every opportunity. If our staff is not about reaching up to realize PSU's potential, then they need to go to a program that is satisfied to be mediocre. Getting to the WAC is the first step. When we get to the WAC, the whole complexion of the landscape changes. Everything changes. And these kinds of changes are exciting and attractive.

The Rich got rich by either inheriting their wealth or by following a plan to make big money. Those of the latter ilk, if they see a university like Portland State making progressive decisions and moving in the right direction, they recognize that spirit and want to associate themselves with it. Having attracted a community of wealthy well-wishers, PSU then finds they want to get into the act, they want to participate in this wonderful time of progress and the majority will choose to strategically apply part of their fortunes to this cause. Money comes from abiding in this attractive spirit, but it is the spirit which attracts those with money in the first place, and they will choose to use part of their money as a tool to bridge gaps to higher progress so as to enhance this attractive progressive spirit even more. It feels powerful and rewarding of their previous (and now current) entrepreneural efforts. They feel vital playing the game and now they get to play as part of a community of like-minded fellows on behalf of an entity that will certainly outlive them.

But if PSU has leadership who know nothing (or too little) of this spirit, the rich will choose not to associate themselves because it is this spirit which attracts them in the first place and they know the leadership will either flounder or work itself into a stullifying bureaucracy. To give it a name, I think it is the spirit of "successful catalytic-visionary entrepreneurship." Those who are in-the-money recognize it and strongly want to be part of such a social system that engenders it because, again, it feels validating, socially-beneficial and rewarding. They know how to navigate in those waters with expertise, so their input is immediately relevant, valued and honored. Without monied-support, we just roll around in mediocrity with teams like Sac State, Northridge and Cal Poly and just continue to wonder about teams like Boise State. "How'd they do that?" I know how they did it. Entrepreneurally. Catalytically. Visionarily. Successfully. They created the right kind of spirit and that kind of success attracts its own kind. The first move they made was to import a coach with the right stuff---that being Pokey Allen. Perhaps Nigel Burton is our connection back to Pokey Allen.

 

[AggieFinn503]

What's up you guys. I'm sort of back and forth between Portland and Sacramento now, so I'm catching up a lot on the Viks with my time here. Went to the Spring Game, saw some talent, but I'm wondering who the hell is going to play QB? Y'all had like 6 of them out there, and that kid that came in from Air Force looked very competent. j/c hope Nigel can turn it around, I think he will, it'll take 2 or 3 years though. Cheers!

 

[pdxfan]

Speaking of QBs, what about Davis with Denham gone? As for us, we do have a lot of choices but with the Pistol offense we'll need them. Presumably, a running QB is more likely to get hurt. Yes, Green looked good in spring practice. But so did Kavanaugh. Engstrom's not bad and for passing Hubel is great. In theory if everyone's doing what they're supposed to do, it doesn't matter who the QB is if he's competent. But we all know that the personality of a QB can make all the difference. Burton says we'll wait to chose the starter until fall practice, meaning inter alia he wants to give Hubel a chance. Hell, maybe Hubel's learned to run!

 

[martymoose]

Speaking of QBs, what about Davis with Denham gone? As for us, we do have a lot of choices but with the Pistol offense we'll need them. Presumably, a running QB is more likely to get hurt. Yes, Green looked good in spring practice. But so did Kavanaugh. Engstrom's not bad and for passing Hubel is great. In theory if everyone's doing what they're supposed to do, it doesn't matter who the QB is if he's competent. But we all know that the personality of a QB can make all the difference. Burton says we'll wait to chose the starter until fall practice, meaning inter alia he wants to give Hubel a chance. Hell, maybe Hubel's learned to run!

Engstrom killed me last year, especially up in Seattle against EWU.

My money is on CK being the starter come fall...