Hello There, Guest! (LoginRegister)

Post Reply 
Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
Author Message
UTEPDallas Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 6,002
Joined: Oct 2004
Reputation: 330
I Root For: UTEP/Penn State
Location: Dallas, TX
Post: #61
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 01:18 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 01:16 PM)esayem Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:43 PM)NBPirate Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 10:07 AM)esayem Wrote:  
(08-12-2019 06:18 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  If the stars aligned differently, ECU would have been in the Big East in the 90's or later. They never had (and still don't) have a chance at the ACC because of the saturation of schools in their state and neighboring states who are already there but they could have been in the Big East and carried their weight, including some on the field.

How? Louisville, and arguably Cincinnati, were ahead of them even in 1990.

The aforementioned, plus USF and UCF, and even Temple were ahead of them in 2003.

Plus, UConn and Villanova had a green flag, so they were ahead of ECTTS too.

Dude, this shows little knowledge. In 1990, Cincinnati hadn't been to a bowl game in 40 years. USF's program was 6 years old in 2003 and UCF was in their first year as a I-A school.

Ridiculous assertions. In 1992, ECU won the Peach Bowl and finished the season ranked 9th.

In 2003, Louisville, Cincinnati, and USF joined the Big East. The only other football playing options listed in the Big East meetings were UCF and readmitting Temple.

In the mid-90’s, UConn and Villanova were given a golden ticket. UConn cashed theirs in. UConn had talked about joining 1-A as early as the Big East announced a football conference; they would have been chosen over ECU.

1990 is you best argument, but I haven’t seen anything about ECU being on any shortlist, in fact, the only reason they were in the room as the 16th team for the Metro mega-supersized conference is because Penn State withdrew.

I’m pretty sure Louisville and Cincinnati were both surveyed by the Big East for football-only membership, ECU may have been too, but I still think Louisville was in the best position.

This. ECU didn't even make the initial cut for Conference USA. The conference began play in 1995, ECU joined as football only in 1997. The weren't in as a full sports member until 2001.

ECU didn’t even get a full sports Big East invite in November 2012 while Tulane got an all sports invite. I remember their fans saying on the C-USA board back then that the CAA was the better option to park basketball/Olympic sports and the A-Sun as the least desirable option.

I don’t know if the Big East rejected them multiple times based on their directional name, location or academics. It’s a shame because they could’ve pull their own weight in the Big East and probably basketball could’ve improved with better competition. As for the AAC, it’s in ECU’s best interest if Old Dominion or Charlotte don’t get the call to replace UConn especially ODU.
08-13-2019 01:43 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
C2__ Offline
Caltex2
*

Posts: 23,633
Joined: Feb 2008
Reputation: 552
I Root For: Houston, PVAMU
Location: Zamunda
Post: #62
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

Wrong, turn off those John Wayne movies (mostly set in other areas of Texas). Houston (and Dallas) are unique. They share characteristics with places all over the country. And for certain, Houston shares more in common with New Orleans and Chicago than it does with Vegas or Salt Lake. The directly West Coast cities are a different animal but anything to the east and west of the Rockies shares little in common with Houston except a few parts of the Pacific Northwest.
08-13-2019 02:12 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Attackcoog Offline
Moderator
*

Posts: 44,735
Joined: Oct 2011
Reputation: 2860
I Root For: Houston
Location:
Post: #63
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

lol. Once you hit a certain size, cities start becoming pretty culturally similar. They may have different regional indentifiers, but Houston has more in common with cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, and LA than it does with Salt Lake City or Tulsa. If I had to culturally define Houston, it would probably be defined more as "southern" than "western"---though it probably has elements of both. Ive lived here all my life. The city I grew up in didnt even have a million people. Today, the metro area has over 6 million----its a much different place. 04-cheers
(This post was last modified: 08-13-2019 02:42 PM by Attackcoog.)
08-13-2019 02:38 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Frank the Tank Offline
Hall of Famer
*

Posts: 18,720
Joined: Jun 2008
Reputation: 1773
I Root For: Illinois/DePaul
Location: Chicago
Post: #64
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

Putting aside the culture on the ground, for conference realignment purposes, Texas is a "swing state". Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech were moments away from forming the Pac-16 at the beginning of this decade, the SEC eventually took Texas A&M, and both the Big Ten and ACC would love to add Texas. TCU went from the Mountain West to the Big East (without ever playing there) to the Big 12 in less than a year. That's what makes the top Texas schools so valuable: they provide a huge population base while being able to fit into virtually any conference coast-to-coast geographically.
(This post was last modified: 08-13-2019 03:07 PM by Frank the Tank.)
08-13-2019 03:05 PM
Visit this user's website Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
1845 Bear Offline
Moderator
*

Posts: 5,161
Joined: Aug 2010
Reputation: 187
I Root For: Baylor
Location:
Post: #65
Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 02:12 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

Wrong, turn off those John Wayne movies (mostly set in other areas of Texas). Houston (and Dallas) are unique. They share characteristics with places all over the country. And for certain, Houston shares more in common with New Orleans and Chicago than it does with Vegas or Salt Lake. The directly West Coast cities are a different animal but anything to the east and west of the Rockies shares little in common with Houston except a few parts of the Pacific Northwest.


Houston has much more of a southeastern imprint to it than any other Texas city. Austin fancies itself west coast, dallas tends to fancy itself as semi-East coast cosmopolitan. Fort Worth looks West in terms of identity- probably a knee jerk due to close proximity to Dallas.
08-13-2019 03:16 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
quo vadis Offline
Legend
*

Posts: 50,007
Joined: Aug 2008
Reputation: 2370
I Root For: USF/Georgetown
Location: New Orleans
Post: #66
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 03:05 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

Putting aside the culture on the ground, for conference realignment purposes, Texas is a "swing state". Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech were moments away from forming the Pac-16 at the beginning of this decade, the SEC eventually took Texas A&M, and both the Big Ten and ACC would love to add Texas. TCU went from the Mountain West to the Big East (without ever playing there) to the Big 12 in less than a year. That's what makes the top Texas schools so valuable: they provide a huge population base while being able to fit into virtually any conference coast-to-coast geographically.

Texas AM longed to join the SEC because culturally, it fits well with the southeast - Arkansas and LSU being longtime rivals - and also to escape Texas's shadow.

TCU is to me a bad example, because the MW and Big East were desperate for warm bodies, and they fit the bill because of their football success. G5s can't be choosy about geography when survival is at stake.

Texas itself is desired by everyone because it is arguably the most valuable college athletics property anywhere, like Notre Dame.

Texas is south-centrally located and is historically a confederate/southern state in addition to its western identity. That makes it a fairly easy geo and cultural add-on for the SEC, but it is far removed from the PAC, B1G, and ACC geo and culturally. Texas is a terrible geo-fit with all of them, but you disregard that when you are as valuable as Texas is.
(This post was last modified: 08-13-2019 04:23 PM by quo vadis.)
08-13-2019 04:19 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
UTEPDallas Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 6,002
Joined: Oct 2004
Reputation: 330
I Root For: UTEP/Penn State
Location: Dallas, TX
Post: #67
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
Texas is different from other states. It’s its own country.

Dallas and Houston want to be known as world-class cosmopolitan cities with big airport hubs that connects you to the rest of the world.

San Antonio is more Southwest with its Tex-Mex food and missions.

Fort Worth takes pride in its cowboy roots. Even though it’s only 30 miles from Dallas, its identity is totally different from its bigger neighbor to the east. Its motto is “where the West begins.”

Austin is a California town trapped in Central Texas. They’re proud of their “Keep Austin Weird” culture. Waco, Temple and San Marcos are not far away and are more conservative than the state capital.

El Paso is ironically what Texas looks like to people who have never been to the Lone Star State. Desert, mountains, cactuses, close to Mexico, cowboys and real Mexican food. It’s far from the big cities in the state and has more in common with Phoenix and even Denver than Dallas and Houston.

Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, Abilene, San Angelo and Wichita Falls. Mostly desert towns in the south plains dependent on oil and natural gas especially in Midland-Odessa.

Corpus Christi, South Padre Island, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. Texas farmland.

Beaumont, Texarkana, Tyler, Longview and Nacogdoches are the closest thing Texas has of the South.
08-13-2019 04:25 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Wedge Offline
Moderator
*

Posts: 19,862
Joined: May 2010
Reputation: 964
I Root For: California
Location: IV, V, VI, IX
Post: #68
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 02:12 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

Wrong, turn off those John Wayne movies (mostly set in other areas of Texas). Houston (and Dallas) are unique. They share characteristics with places all over the country. And for certain, Houston shares more in common with New Orleans and Chicago than it does with Vegas or Salt Lake. The directly West Coast cities are a different animal but anything to the east and west of the Rockies shares little in common with Houston except a few parts of the Pacific Northwest.

Phoenix and Houston have a lot of similarities as metro areas. But again, Houston is closer to the east coast than it is to Phoenix.
08-13-2019 04:25 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
quo vadis Offline
Legend
*

Posts: 50,007
Joined: Aug 2008
Reputation: 2370
I Root For: USF/Georgetown
Location: New Orleans
Post: #69
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 02:38 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

lol. Once you hit a certain size, cities start becoming pretty culturally similar. They may have different regional indentifiers, but Houston has more in common with cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, and LA than it does with Salt Lake City or Tulsa.

LOL ... that's nouveaux-riche Houston talking, the Houston of billionaire oil men whose grand pappies drove cattle on horseback up to Kansas City and crave the respect of coastal elites.

But make no mistake, I grew up in the northeast corridor, and nobody up in DC or Philly or NYC or Boston thinks of Houston as a cultural peer. From those vantage points, Houston and Dallas are cattle and oil, JR Ewing and Remember the Alamo (yes, we know that was in San Antonio, but it might as well have been Houston). And no, your 7 million strong metro area and GHW Bush Intercontinental Airport do not change that.

That's your cultural identity nationwide, and that's how other schools view you. Houston, Tulsa, and SMU have zero cultural fit with the rest of the AAC. None.
(This post was last modified: 08-13-2019 04:30 PM by quo vadis.)
08-13-2019 04:29 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
C2__ Offline
Caltex2
*

Posts: 23,633
Joined: Feb 2008
Reputation: 552
I Root For: Houston, PVAMU
Location: Zamunda
Post: #70
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 04:25 PM)Wedge Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 02:12 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

Wrong, turn off those John Wayne movies (mostly set in other areas of Texas). Houston (and Dallas) are unique. They share characteristics with places all over the country. And for certain, Houston shares more in common with New Orleans and Chicago than it does with Vegas or Salt Lake. The directly West Coast cities are a different animal but anything to the east and west of the Rockies shares little in common with Houston except a few parts of the Pacific Northwest.

Phoenix and Houston have a lot of similarities as metro areas. But again, Houston is closer to the east coast than it is to Phoenix.

They're spread out, what else do they have in common? Phoenix reminds me more of the Outland (Inland) Empire than Houston.
08-13-2019 04:53 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Attackcoog Offline
Moderator
*

Posts: 44,735
Joined: Oct 2011
Reputation: 2860
I Root For: Houston
Location:
Post: #71
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 04:29 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 02:38 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

lol. Once you hit a certain size, cities start becoming pretty culturally similar. They may have different regional indentifiers, but Houston has more in common with cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, and LA than it does with Salt Lake City or Tulsa.

LOL ... that's nouveaux-riche Houston talking, the Houston of billionaire oil men whose grand pappies drove cattle on horseback up to Kansas City and crave the respect of coastal elites.

But make no mistake, I grew up in the northeast corridor, and nobody up in DC or Philly or NYC or Boston thinks of Houston as a cultural peer. From those vantage points, Houston and Dallas are cattle and oil, JR Ewing and Remember the Alamo (yes, we know that was in San Antonio, but it might as well have been Houston). And no, your 7 million strong metro area and GHW Bush Intercontinental Airport do not change that.

That's your cultural identity nationwide, and that's how other schools view you. Houston, Tulsa, and SMU have zero cultural fit with the rest of the AAC. None.

I love it when a guy who doesnt live here tries to tell a lifelong resident what our "culture" is. lol...Dont make me climb down off this horse and unholster my hog leg Pilgrim. Gimme a break. We drive air conditioned cars through the Taco Bell drive through lane just like everyone else. Good Lord. Apparently the Houston "culture" was just fine with eastern schools in 2011 when UH was invited to the Big East.
(This post was last modified: 08-13-2019 05:01 PM by Attackcoog.)
08-13-2019 04:55 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
UTEPDallas Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 6,002
Joined: Oct 2004
Reputation: 330
I Root For: UTEP/Penn State
Location: Dallas, TX
Post: #72
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 04:55 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 04:29 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 02:38 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

lol. Once you hit a certain size, cities start becoming pretty culturally similar. They may have different regional indentifiers, but Houston has more in common with cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, and LA than it does with Salt Lake City or Tulsa.

LOL ... that's nouveaux-riche Houston talking, the Houston of billionaire oil men whose grand pappies drove cattle on horseback up to Kansas City and crave the respect of coastal elites.

But make no mistake, I grew up in the northeast corridor, and nobody up in DC or Philly or NYC or Boston thinks of Houston as a cultural peer. From those vantage points, Houston and Dallas are cattle and oil, JR Ewing and Remember the Alamo (yes, we know that was in San Antonio, but it might as well have been Houston). And no, your 7 million strong metro area and GHW Bush Intercontinental Airport do not change that.

That's your cultural identity nationwide, and that's how other schools view you. Houston, Tulsa, and SMU have zero cultural fit with the rest of the AAC. None.

I love it when a guy who doesnt live here tries to tell a lifelong resident what our "culture" is. lol...Dont make me climb down off this horse and unholster my hog leg Pilgrim. Gimme a break. We drive air conditioned cars just like everyone else.

Some people are still stuck in the 80’s. I know quite a few of them.
08-13-2019 04:57 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
C2__ Offline
Caltex2
*

Posts: 23,633
Joined: Feb 2008
Reputation: 552
I Root For: Houston, PVAMU
Location: Zamunda
Post: #73
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 04:29 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 02:38 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

lol. Once you hit a certain size, cities start becoming pretty culturally similar. They may have different regional indentifiers, but Houston has more in common with cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, and LA than it does with Salt Lake City or Tulsa.

LOL ... that's nouveaux-riche Houston talking, the Houston of billionaire oil men whose grand pappies drove cattle on horseback up to Kansas City and crave the respect of coastal elites.

But make no mistake, I grew up in the northeast corridor, and nobody up in DC or Philly or NYC or Boston thinks of Houston as a cultural peer. From those vantage points, Houston and Dallas are cattle and oil, JR Ewing and Remember the Alamo (yes, we know that was in San Antonio, but it might as well have been Houston). And no, your 7 million strong metro area and GHW Bush Intercontinental Airport do not change that.

That's your cultural identity nationwide, and that's how other schools view you. Houston, Tulsa, and SMU have zero cultural fit with the rest of the AAC. None.

It's not seen as a cultural match due to Houston's age (and how recently it emerged as a major city) and the distance it is from the Atlantic corridor. On the ground and when it comes to certain amenities (in general, not overall or obvious ones like government or skyscrapers on every block) Houston fits right in with the long time East Coast powers and Chicago.
08-13-2019 05:01 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Wedge Offline
Moderator
*

Posts: 19,862
Joined: May 2010
Reputation: 964
I Root For: California
Location: IV, V, VI, IX
Post: #74
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 04:53 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 04:25 PM)Wedge Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 02:12 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

Wrong, turn off those John Wayne movies (mostly set in other areas of Texas). Houston (and Dallas) are unique. They share characteristics with places all over the country. And for certain, Houston shares more in common with New Orleans and Chicago than it does with Vegas or Salt Lake. The directly West Coast cities are a different animal but anything to the east and west of the Rockies shares little in common with Houston except a few parts of the Pacific Northwest.

Phoenix and Houston have a lot of similarities as metro areas. But again, Houston is closer to the east coast than it is to Phoenix.

They're spread out, what else do they have in common? Phoenix reminds me more of the Outland (Inland) Empire than Houston.

Spread out, lots of people driving a long way on the freeway to get from one place to another, wide variety of buildings, commercial areas, residential areas in close proximity because there is little or no zoning, warm weather (though humidity wise Phoenix is only like Houston during monsoon season).

Yes, Phoenix is also similar to Riverside-San Bernardino ... in many ways Phoenix is the most distant LA suburb. 03-lmfao
08-13-2019 05:24 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
TexanMark Offline
Legend
*

Posts: 25,637
Joined: Jul 2003
Reputation: 1326
I Root For: Syracuse
Location: St. Augustine, FL
Post: #75
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

I lived in Texas for nearly 20 years. The vast majority of the state leans east . Only El Paso and Lubbock leans West.
08-13-2019 05:41 PM
Visit this user's website Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Fighting Muskie Offline
Senior Chief Realignmentologist
*

Posts: 11,789
Joined: Sep 2016
Reputation: 789
I Root For: Ohio St, UC,MAC
Location: Biden Cesspool
Post: #76
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
I had a TCU grad tell me that the line between Southern culture and Western culture runs between Dallas and Ft Worth.
08-13-2019 06:19 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
UTEPDallas Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 6,002
Joined: Oct 2004
Reputation: 330
I Root For: UTEP/Penn State
Location: Dallas, TX
Post: #77
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 06:19 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I had a TCU grad tell me that the line between Southern culture and Western culture runs between Dallas and Ft Worth.

Probably that was in the past. Dallas wants to get away from anything Southern. It’s slowly getting rid of the big oil, steak houses, big hair with wide shoulder pads image of the 70s, 80s and early 90s. I don’t know if Houston is doing the same. Fort Worth has its own culture and they actually embrace their cowboy and cattle heritage.

Texas and Florida were in the Confederacy but except for a few chunks of each respective state like East Texas and the FL panhandle, they’re not a cultural fit when it comes to the South.
08-13-2019 06:44 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
scoscox Offline
2nd String
*

Posts: 318
Joined: Mar 2019
Reputation: 10
I Root For: Xavier
Location:
Post: #78
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 04:55 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 04:29 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 02:38 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

lol. Once you hit a certain size, cities start becoming pretty culturally similar. They may have different regional indentifiers, but Houston has more in common with cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, and LA than it does with Salt Lake City or Tulsa.

LOL ... that's nouveaux-riche Houston talking, the Houston of billionaire oil men whose grand pappies drove cattle on horseback up to Kansas City and crave the respect of coastal elites.

But make no mistake, I grew up in the northeast corridor, and nobody up in DC or Philly or NYC or Boston thinks of Houston as a cultural peer. From those vantage points, Houston and Dallas are cattle and oil, JR Ewing and Remember the Alamo (yes, we know that was in San Antonio, but it might as well have been Houston). And no, your 7 million strong metro area and GHW Bush Intercontinental Airport do not change that.

That's your cultural identity nationwide, and that's how other schools view you. Houston, Tulsa, and SMU have zero cultural fit with the rest of the AAC. None.

I love it when a guy who doesnt live here tries to tell a lifelong resident what our "culture" is. lol...Dont make me climb down off this horse and unholster my hog leg Pilgrim. Gimme a break. We drive air conditioned cars through the Taco Bell drive through lane just like everyone else. Good Lord. Apparently the Houston "culture" was just fine with eastern schools in 2011 when UH was invited to the Big East.

I mean all the eastern schools besides uconn said peace out were making our own league so maybe it wasn’t just fine with them
08-13-2019 07:09 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
bullet Offline
Legend
*

Posts: 66,287
Joined: Apr 2012
Reputation: 3285
I Root For: Texas, UK, UGA
Location:
Post: #79
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 04:25 PM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  Texas is different from other states. It’s its own country.

Dallas and Houston want to be known as world-class cosmopolitan cities with big airport hubs that connects you to the rest of the world.

San Antonio is more Southwest with its Tex-Mex food and missions.

Fort Worth takes pride in its cowboy roots. Even though it’s only 30 miles from Dallas, its identity is totally different from its bigger neighbor to the east. Its motto is “where the West begins.”

Austin is a California town trapped in Central Texas. They’re proud of their “Keep Austin Weird” culture. Waco, Temple and San Marcos are not far away and are more conservative than the state capital.

El Paso is ironically what Texas looks like to people who have never been to the Lone Star State. Desert, mountains, cactuses, close to Mexico, cowboys and real Mexican food. It’s far from the big cities in the state and has more in common with Phoenix and even Denver than Dallas and Houston.

Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, Abilene, San Angelo and Wichita Falls. Mostly desert towns in the south plains dependent on oil and natural gas especially in Midland-Odessa.

Corpus Christi, South Padre Island, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. Texas farmland.

Beaumont, Texarkana, Tyler, Longview and Nacogdoches are the closest thing Texas has of the South.

Good summary. But I would say in contrast to the previous poster, Houston is Gulf Coast, not southeast. Dallas has a lot more in common with the South than Houston. It has traditionally gotten the Deep South people from East Texas as well as migrants from the Deep South moreso than Houston who gets people from everywhere.
08-13-2019 08:10 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
bullet Offline
Legend
*

Posts: 66,287
Joined: Apr 2012
Reputation: 3285
I Root For: Texas, UK, UGA
Location:
Post: #80
RE: Gerlach: Leaving AAC not an option (for ECU)
(08-13-2019 04:55 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 04:29 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 02:38 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 01:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 12:27 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Houston is more east than west. Houston is a little more than 800 miles from Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean, but 1300 miles from San Diego on the Pacific Ocean. Houston is closer to every AAC school, and closer to Montreal for that matter, than it is to Gonzaga.

But culturally, Houston is much more west than east. E.g., Houston is closer on the map to Memphis than it is to El Paso, but culturally, both are 10-gallon-hat, cattle, and oil wells "Texas". Memphis is culturally a thousand miles from that.

Houston, Tulsa, and SMU are culturally dissimilar by a large margin from the other AAC schools. They are all culturally Cowboy/Western schools. There is a Gulf Coast/Bayou affinity between Houston and New Orleans, but that's about it.

lol. Once you hit a certain size, cities start becoming pretty culturally similar. They may have different regional indentifiers, but Houston has more in common with cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, and LA than it does with Salt Lake City or Tulsa.

LOL ... that's nouveaux-riche Houston talking, the Houston of billionaire oil men whose grand pappies drove cattle on horseback up to Kansas City and crave the respect of coastal elites.

But make no mistake, I grew up in the northeast corridor, and nobody up in DC or Philly or NYC or Boston thinks of Houston as a cultural peer. From those vantage points, Houston and Dallas are cattle and oil, JR Ewing and Remember the Alamo (yes, we know that was in San Antonio, but it might as well have been Houston). And no, your 7 million strong metro area and GHW Bush Intercontinental Airport do not change that.

That's your cultural identity nationwide, and that's how other schools view you. Houston, Tulsa, and SMU have zero cultural fit with the rest of the AAC. None.

I love it when a guy who doesnt live here tries to tell a lifelong resident what our "culture" is. lol...Dont make me climb down off this horse and unholster my hog leg Pilgrim. Gimme a break. We drive air conditioned cars through the Taco Bell drive through lane just like everyone else. Good Lord. Apparently the Houston "culture" was just fine with eastern schools in 2011 when UH was invited to the Big East.

All he is really doing is telling what the NE culture is, not what Houston's is.
08-13-2019 08:12 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Post Reply 




User(s) browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)


Copyright © 2002-2024 Collegiate Sports Nation Bulletin Board System (CSNbbs), All Rights Reserved.
CSNbbs is an independent fan site and is in no way affiliated to the NCAA or any of the schools and conferences it represents.
This site monetizes links. FTC Disclosure.
We allow third-party companies to serve ads and/or collect certain anonymous information when you visit our web site. These companies may use non-personally identifiable information (e.g., click stream information, browser type, time and date, subject of advertisements clicked or scrolled over) during your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services likely to be of greater interest to you. These companies typically use a cookie or third party web beacon to collect this information. To learn more about this behavioral advertising practice or to opt-out of this type of advertising, you can visit http://www.networkadvertising.org.
Powered By MyBB, © 2002-2024 MyBB Group.