I know, but confusing us with ULL is still the two schools being confused for one another. The stupidity of Hester's statement is horrendous, as ULL only started "winning" in football from 2011-2014, sandwiched by 3-9 & 4-8 seasons. They were not "winning" in basketball in recent memory, and their only claim to recent fame besides their 4 seasons of success has been their softball and baseball seasons. We were receiving votes in 2011, ranked in 2012 (followed by the bad press with the bowl), then plummeted in 2013, and then crushed ULL both in 2014 & 2015. So the only year Hester could have gotten such a stupid viewpoint was in 2013, probably when Holtz got him to join our staff. If one year is enough to make people forget Tech and claim anyone beside LSU in Louisiana who is winning after that is ULL, they are not well versed, and PD is right, they are ignorant. And such confusion does not occur in the DC area (in my experiences). Maybe it happens more often in Southern Louisiana where ULL is based
Of course, if Hester was talking about the New Orleans bowl, where ULL had won 4 straight times (with 2 wins vacated), then I could sympathize with him there. When we won it in 2015 it had been ULL the previous 4 years, so it could confuse the casual observer.
Living outside of Louisiana, people confuse us with ULL often. I correct them and they don't do it again. Ignorance not stupidity.
But do they do it because ULL was winning as compared to us? That made Hester's comment a little stupid without any context. If Hester meant the NOBowl, maybe I can forgive that...
I should also note that since you live in Memphis, Tennessee, i.e. within striking distance of MTSU and WKU, two former Sun Belt rivals with ULL, I could see some of the locals being ignorant of the ULL-Tech difference, as WKU/MTSU replaced ULL with Tech in the last few years as conference mates. It would probably take some corrections to the casual observer, especially with such an identity fickle school as ULL, as they may have assumed ULL changed their name again . In DC, we don't have local Sun Belt schools, so such issues are less prevalent.
My neighbor a Ok State alum mentioned they were playing a La. team and wanted to know if that was TECH. My reply "No Bill that is ull. Those are the guys we all make fun of in La.!"
WWDog
La Tech
Region and hyphen free since 1894!
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