Loser Bowl at it again

[dawg80]

"Also, the loser of the Oklahoma State-Texas Tech game could be factored in to our game," said Krupica.

Yep, the bowl you have to lose your way into.

Contrast that with the Liberty Bowl commish interviewed at halftime of the latest easy Boise State win, who said the LB is all about matching WINNERS. So, if MWC champ Utah gets a BCS invite, the Liberty will offer to match CUSA champ Louisville vs. WAC champ Boise State. Could be two Top 10 ranked teams too.

What is it about north Louisiana that makes it so prone to aspire to mediocrity?

[Tech77]

I hope Arkansas wins their way in there with a win over "The Team Down South."

[TYLERTECHSAS]

I hope Arkansas wins their way in there with a win over "The Team Down South."

DITTO!

[HogDawg]

What is it about north Louisiana that makes it so prone to aspire to mediocrity?

I've wondered about that all my life.

HD

[TYLERTECHSAS]

I've wondered about that all my life.

HD

Maybe it is due to the historic mediocrity of the Saints and LSU (until recent years). Plus in Louisiana, as a whole, it is all about the party not necessarily the main event. The main event is the party surrounding the main event. All else pales in significance. "Let the good times roll!" Just a thought.

[ChuckK3]

I've wondered about that all my life.

HD

Not to bore everyone on here, but, we are no different than any other place in the world...we're a product of where we've come from. HISTORY. You have to look at the history of northern Louisiana to understand its culture and mindset.

The region from Alexandria north to the Arkansas line was originally settled by small farmers from the less desirable areas of South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, while the "planter" class settled along the Mississippi, primarily south of Natchez, thru St Francisville, Baton Rouge and on to New Orleans.

The Planter Class controlled the state government, politics and the re$ource$, so guess who got the bennies of all that government could bring in? The section of Louisiana south of Alexandria, and specifically the section southEAST of Alexandria.

After the War for Southern Independence was lost, the state economy was decimated...HOWEVER, what little capital remained, stayed in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Reconstruction affected all areas of the state, but again, the region of Louisiana that could least afford it, was hit the hardest.

When Huey P came on the scene, North Louisianans were pretty excited, he was one of us! He preached a gospel of revival thru-out Louisiana...2 chickens in every pot, blah blah blah. Well, true to the Democratic party, the pressure of getting votes was too great, and Huey decided to build the state's "Flagship" university NOT in Ruston, or Monroe, or Shreveport or Bernice or Spearsville....but in Red Stick.

The oil boom of the 70's revived cities like Lafayette and to a lesser extent Lake Charles, but again...north Louisiana was the 3rd world cousin with too few votes to really matter, and a population that was generally less well off than those to the south. The economic gap between north and south Louisiana was almost as wide as the Mississippi River itself.

Decisions that should have been made along the way to capitalize on what little North Louisiana COULD contribute to the betterment of the state (i.e. its universities in Natchitoches, Ruston and Grambling) were completely watered down from the pressure of LOCAL politics (and who could blame them...if we can't play on a statewide field, let's dominate the local one), Ouachita Parish Junior College became NLSC, then NLU, then ULM., and LSU-S were born. Instead of the other political interests fighting this watering down...we collectively said, "oh well...this is the best we can do" and accepted it. Meanwhile, we try to be part of Louisiana and support the flagship school and state politics which continue to keep us on an island...the welfare boat.

That brings us to today. Why do we so easily accept leftovers? If that's all you've been fed from the creation of your society, you learn to expect it.

You "cain't" get above yer raisin'.

[Tech77]

Good post, Chuck. People south of ALEC couldn't care less if we dropped off the face of the earth up here in North La., yet a large number of our citizens fall all over themselves trying to associate themselves with south Louisiana, especially the big university.

[oledawg66]

Amen to that.

[george]

You guys are right. I was born in and live in Alexandria and this is clearly the changing point in the state culturally. Nortg and south La. have nothing in common. Different worlds.
Tech actually gets decent coverage in our paper. Could be better, but decent. Behind (you know who - LSU) and Northwestern ( in the reader's market) we get as much or more coverage than USL and more than anyone else.

[aubunique]

If Alexandria had been chosen as the capital of the state, things might be balanced. LR works well as a central capital in Arkansas. However, NWA now is growing into a wealthy area and leaving south Arkansas as pitiful as North Louisiana.

As much as I like seafood and warm winters, I prefer small-town life and Ruston will be growing through the ideal stage and one day people will get the spurt of growth they want and quickly start complaining about all the problems.

[markay714]

Good post, Chuck. People south of ALEC couldn't care less if we dropped off the face of the earth up here in North La., yet a large number of our citizens fall all over themselves trying to associate themselves with south Louisiana, especially the big university.

That's not true. I love Baton Rouge, and I'd say people (at least in my circles down here) have much more in common with north Louisiana than New Orleans. But, culturally it is different from north Louisiana, but isn't necessarily. The life I live here is just not that much different than it'd be if I lived in Ruston - even culturally. There are just more choices down here as far as lifestyles go.

[TulsaDawg]

After the War for Southern Independence . . . .

Nice post. And, thanks for getting the name right. It weren't no Civil War!

[lilray]

tech fans will always complain about their status among the real colleges out there that actually treat their athletic department as a vehicle for student athletes to compete and school pride as opposed to glorious TECH where its all about the benjamins, playing rent-a-wins that finance the rest of the miserable athletic department, and having no real accountabilty for the "major" sport coaches in football and womens basketball. until the day that TECH can reverse these deep rooted philosophies fans will always be accepting the next losing season or defeat.

[Jetstorm]

That's not true. I love Baton Rouge, and I'd say people (at least in my circles down here) have much more in common with north Louisiana than New Orleans. But, culturally it is different from north Louisiana, but isn't necessarily. The life I live here is just not that much different than it'd be if I lived in Ruston - even culturally. There are just more choices down here as far as lifestyles go.

There is your position, and then there is Chuck's position, and I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle so I will split the difference. There are many south Louisianians who honestly believe "real" Louisiana stops at Opelousas and couldn't care less about north Louisiana, but I think, with all that our state has been through the last 25 years, that mindset is eroding. We're finally realizing that we're all in the same boat here, and we will either all stand together or completely fall apart. That said, politics is still a question of core constituencies, and north Louisiana simply does not have demographics on it's side. We do not have enough of a population base or economic base to wield a big stick in the state capital. The only way we could do it is if North Louisianians voted like blacks do on the national level; in complete lockstep with a single party or ideology, no dissension. But we cannot unite behind a common candidate, even a good one; Randy Ewing's poor showing in the 2003 gubernatorial race is proof of that. And until local leaders get more political and business savvy, unite behind a common agenda, and really go hard after outside business to spur economic revival in this region, it will get worse before it gets better. We will continue to have a poor economy and continue to hemorrhage population. We have the same serious problem soLa has had; too many politicians and leaders up here treat whatever entity they are in charge of, not as a sacred trust to be grown and improved for a better tomorrow, but as their own personal feifdoms, over which they wield absolute power. Too many in positions of economic and political power in noLa actively discourage progress, simply because they would be unable to totally control it. Those sort of accusations are even being leveled at the leaders of Louisiana Tech and Ruston. And I can't say they are entirely without merit.

For a broader perspective, other states go through this cyclical regional tension as well; California has a bit of a north/south divide, though not as bad as Louisiana's. Tennessee has east/west tension. The closest that any state comes to Louisiana though, is probably Pennsylvania, and the divide there between the eastern and western parts of the state. Eastern Penn. is more liberal, more multi-cultural and multi-religious, and likes to think of itself as more hip and urban and modern. It has more in common with the Eastern Seaboard of New York and New Jersey and Maryland. Western Penn., however, is still very conservative, more working class, more ethnically and religiously homogenous (WASP with sizeable Catholic minority), and considers itself more a part of the industrialized Midwest. And like north Louisiana, western Pennsylvania's economy is dying and it's population is shrinking, and with it, any chance of that part of the state dictating the political tempo there (see John Kerry's convincing win there in the presidential race).

Aub, after four years at LSU, I now actually think Baton Rouge is a more appropriate "middle ground" for all the different factions of Louisiana than Alexandria. It's no longer a "Cajun" or "River Bourbon" town; the massive influx of people there since World War II and the rise of the petro-chemical industry has politically, religiously, and culturally diversified the city. And it's easily reachable for north Louisiana, central and SW Louisiana, Cajun Country, the Florida Parishes (everyone seems to forget them, huh?, but culturally, they are a lot like us north Louisianians), and New Orleans.

Agree or disagree with me on that, one things for sure; forget about moving the state capital again. It's simply not going to happen.

Chuck, you made a good post, and I agree with a lot of it, but I have one minor quibble on your history: when Huey P. Long rose to power, LSU had already been in Baton Rouge for 50 years, and had already been established by law as the flagship university of the state for nearly as long a time. He didn't build LSU; it had already been built. Even the current campus location predated his reign. Now, Long chose to build LSU up from a small college with a predominately agricultural and military academy focus into a real land grant school with a comprehensive academic program, and he did emphasize LSU in his education build-up (although other colleges in Louisiana did get some buildings and funding increases out of the deal too), but the foundation had already been laid way before he came along.

I do often wonder how the history of our state and our higher education system might have turned out had LSU not been moved from Alexandria in the 1880s. Would nothing else be different except LSU's location? Would another university have been built in Baton Rouge anyway (a University of Louisiana, post-Tulane renaming, perhaps?) and made the premier university in the state, so that very little would have gone differently? Or would Louisiana have split the education system, as so many states did, between an arts and sciences focused college and an agricultural and engineering focused college (University of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, LSU in Alexandria?) Or would Louisiana have gone the route of California and just splintered higher education in all directions, with no school at the top of a heirarchy?
Which schools currently in existance now, might have never existed had a comprehensive, or at least large, university risen to power in Alexandria? Would Tech even exist? I don't know. I think it's almost a foregone conclusion that LSU-A and Northwestern wouldn't exist.

Something to think about before you curse the way things are today; events may have taken off in such a way that Louisiana Tech never gets built and Ruston never gets a university.

[oledawg66]

Jet - Well thought out dissertation. I think that, if LSU had not been moved to Baton Rouge, the politicians most certainly would have provided for an institution in the capitol and would have given it preferential treatment just as they have LSU. The population base, tax base, is the primary factor in the deferential treatment rendered to south Louisiana. And the old money families of north Louisiana seem to think association with the south provides them more social status than the north ever could. Combine that with the mindless masses who are constantly and easily brainwashed and it is no wonder that north Louisiana has no identity of its own. The most obvious example is Madi Gras. The money people of the north are so anxious to emulate the south that they decided to import the pagan celebration to the Bible belt of the north. The most amusing thing to me is that the residents of north Louisiana then get highly upset that people actually get drunk and show their asses at the little parades and festivities and it just spoils things for their precious children. The bottom line is that the north has simply grown used to taking the leftovers from the south because of the political clout of the south. That is the way it has always been and the way it will always be. That is why we feel that the south couldn't care less about the north and why the north is so dependent on the south. But that certainly does NOT mean that we have to like it, especially when it involves our university. The fact that our administration also seems to buy into this propaganda makes it all the more frustrating.