Cheo said:

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Who?mikejones! said:

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Op- come back and explain you are talking specifically about this board, not necessarily the team and it's relative success

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I am man. This board in specific. Agree that the youth just isn't into message boards anymore. It's expected. I was once 18 years old laughing my ass off here. These last 18 years have gone by too quickly….wonder how sustainable this project is down the road

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Now imagine ANOTHER 18 years of bitter disappointment, crushing losses, and wasted opportunities and you'll be almost to where I'm at.

I just came back from about a 6-month hiatus, and this is why I left:

• Negative fans, like obnoxiously negative fans that could not even be happy for a victory without *****ing.
• Changing priorities in life where Aggie news I got from other sources was sufficient to scratch my Aggie sports itch. I did not need to follow the day to day and hour by hour whims of 18-22ish olds.
• Changes in the way I consume content and media
• Not gonna lie, I started finding joy in other pursuits and interests that outweighed Aggie sports. Years of ho hum started dragging.
• Had nothing to do with NIL, Transfers, Conference Realignment or Playoffs. This actually freshened it up.

Why I came back?

It's F'n football season. LFG!!!!

Class of '95 for historical record.

Richleau12 said:

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Don't look at me, I posted a discussion topic and the damn thing was removed. Thanks to greg

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We're all staring you down, Rich.

RUGuys4Real said:

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Cheo said:

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Damn man, the glory era of mid-late 2000s is far gone. Board is dead. No excitement about anything. At least before there was some hilarious **** in this board, no more. Doomerism has settled in (understandably so). Literally no one gives a ***** What is recruiting? Who is that? The lore is gone. No idea who's on the team this year, apathy normalized.

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Man I'm loving A&M Football, these days! Elko's been here 18 months and we've got a 92.23 avg recruit ranking with 20+ Blue Chip's committed. And this is calculated recruiting, not just blind offers to the Top 30. Probably helps that I'm an Elko Fan, from his years as our DC, but you losers are nuts.. If you aren't looking forward to the 10th, 11th, 14th, 18th you're missing out.. Brown, Ford, Watkins, Wilson, Womack..... the future of this team. We've just landed the #2 DL, with a favorable chance of landing the #1 in 3 days. From a common sense perspective, it's hard to believe Aggie Football is this far along just 18 months after a $76 million Dumpster Fire.

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Admire the optimism but history is against you. We've had highly rated classes for YEARS!!!!!

Call it BAS or just plain old history, of which I have a personal sample size of over 55 years, its hard to get excited when we continue to have gotten less out of more for pretty much my entire life.

We are Texas 8&4 until we prove to be otherwise.

RUGuys4Real said:

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Iraq2xVeteran said:

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RUGuys4Real said:

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infinity ag said:

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RUGuys4Real said:

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Cheo said:

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Damn man, the glory era of mid-late 2000s is far gone. Board is dead. No excitement about anything. At least before there was some hilarious **** in this board, no more. Doomerism has settled in (understandably so). Literally no one gives a ***** What is recruiting? Who is that? The lore is gone. No idea who's on the team this year, apathy normalized.

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Man I'm loving A&M Football, these days! Elko's been here 18 months and we've got a 92.23 avg recruit ranking with 20+ Blue Chip's committed. And this is calculated recruiting, not just blind offers to the Top 30. Probably helps that I'm an Elko Fan, from his years as our DC, but you losers are nuts.. If you aren't looking forward to the 10th, 11th, 14th, 18th you're missing out.. Brown, Ford, Watkins, Wilson, Womack..... the future of this team. We've just landed the #2 DL, with a favorable chance of landing the #1 in 3 days. From a common sense perspective, it's hard to believe Aggie Football is this far along just 18 months after a $76 million Dumpster Fire.

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Hold your horses
We haven't won anything yet.
Good start, encouraging, but it is just that.

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A&M went 5-3 (Conf) with an eleventh hour scramble for portal players to fill spots in 2024. Did you expect to go 8-4? I certainly did not... Can you believe the idiots on here whining because we went 8-4? Will we go 8-4 this year? It's going to be tough, Notre Dame (@ ND), Florida, LSU (@LSU), Texas (@TU),........ Arkansas (@AR), Missouri (@Mizz). Our first Big Beautiful Recruiting Class is still in High School and they're our 2026 depth. Is that what you mean by "Hold your horses"? Just because I'm very optimistic about A&M Football doesn't mean I've forgotten we're in Elko's 2nd year. Somehow Elko & Co are convincing these recruits, headed for Texas, Bama, Georgia, Ohio St, LSU, Clemson, that A&M is the place to be....

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Jimbo Fisher had the same regular season record and SEC record in his first year, but he won his last 2 SEC games against Ole Miss and LSU and the bowl game for a 9-4 (5-3 SEC) finish. I think most people would have found an 8-4 (5-3 SEC) regular season record more acceptable if we didn't lose our last 3 SEC games and bowl game while playing inconsistently on both sides of the ball. If the losses had been sprinkled around or we had lost early but then improved and finished strong, the outlook would have been different.

Our schedule is very unbalanced with 3 straight SEC home games against Auburn on 9/27, Mississippi State on 10/4, and Florida on 10/11 before a stretch of 3 straight SEC road games against Arkansas on 10/18, LSU on 10/25, and Missouri on 11/8 in a span of 4 weeks. With that schedule, I think we will have a floor of 7-5 (4-4 SEC) and a ceiling of 10-2 (6-2 SEC) with probable road losses at LSU and Texas. The swing games against Notre Dame (away), Florida (home), Arkansas (away), Missouri (away), and South Carolina (home), will make or break our season.

I am predicting a 9-3 (7-0 home and 2-3 away) with losses to Notre Dame, LSU, and Texas. If we finish 8-4 with at least one November SEC win and then win our subsequent bowl game for a 9-4 finish, it will be a much better finish than ending last season with 4 consecutive losses to Power 4 opponents. This is my minimum expectation for Elko's second year.

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It's hard to compare coaches, especially 1st year, when so many variables are involved like the teams we play or the players inherited, NIL. Fisher ended that first season with Ole Miss & LSU, Elko's ended against Auburn & Texas. Fisher's first season started with some pretty good players, Mond & receivers (Kendricks in that last game), an OL. Fisher inherited some 5 star talent that hadn't been coached or couldn't be coached. That's what I'm looking for this year, defenders understanding containment & playing under control so that RB's aren't running wild downfield. I don't know if Klein or Bateman are the choice coordinators, it's not my job too. I'm hoping for a great season, however my expectations will go up with each Elko Class.

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I agree that it's hard to compare first year coaches when there are numerous variables, such as opponents playing, players inherited, NIL, and transfer portal. It's just that I think a 5-3 SEC record would look different if those 3 losses were spread out or if we started slow before finishing strong with 2 November SEC wins. It's not the 5-3 SEC record that people are upset about but losing our last 3 SEC games. Losses to 9-4 (5-3 SEC) South Carolina (away) and 13-3 (7-1 SEC) and Texas (home) were understandable, but a loss to 5-7 (2-6 SEC) Auburn was inexplicable.

Cheo said:

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Damn man, the glory era of mid-late 2000s is far gone. Board is dead. No excitement about anything. At least before there was some hilarious **** in this board, no more. Doomerism has settled in (understandably so). Literally no one gives a ***** What is recruiting? Who is that? The lore is gone. No idea who's on the team this year, apathy normalized.

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I don't believe in A&M's brand. I know that is a broad statement. But look at what everything sip is doing. They are doing it better. AGAIN. We had a solid 12 years to separate ourselves and the powers that be can't get out of our own way. Our gear sucks, our events suck, our PR sucks, our social media sucks, our NIL events suck.

Sips have celebrities, Lambos, massive SEC kick off parties, etc, etc. ALL of this matters to recruits. I know we can match dollar for dollar, but then these intangibles become a major factor.

A&M continues to have a reluctance to change to become more appealable.

As I've said before it is mind numbing Aggies can be so excellent in business, but cannot execute a likable and appealing brand strategy. We are the largest conservative school in the largest conservative state. I see so many tee shirt fans that are more "Aggies" in their values put but on the burnt orange because sip is cool.

Between that and NIL, its completely turned me into a casual fan, and a firm believer we are a preputial 8-4 team with an occasional good season.

If we want to have a cooler brand, we should start winning at a higher clip.

Nothing's more un-cool than impotently losing 4-5 games a year

I still go to hang out with family and friends… and to watch the FTAB, which I will never get bored of.

It would also be a lot more fun if Visor Guy would come back and get paid to train the Yell Leaders (which they need to add 2 or more since the stadium has out grown 5 yell leaders).

Cheo said:

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Who?mikejones! said:

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Op- come back and explain you are talking specifically about this board, not necessarily the team and it's relative success

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I am man. This board in specific. Agree that the youth just isn't into message boards anymore. It's expected. I was once 18 years old laughing my ass off here. These last 18 years have gone by too quickly….wonder how sustainable this project is down the road

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Thank you. People are unsurprisingly just *****ing about aggie football in general and not the board.

Who?mikejones! said:

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There's not a single thing you can do about how much or little the team wins.

If you go for such reasons, you might as well light your money on fire.

As to the op- this is the major change in this board. It used to be a community. Now it's obsessive fans who pout about not getting the outcomes they want but cannot effect.

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I have it on good authority that if you tweet at high school kids and follow them into the bathroom you can do your part to deliver a natty

NyAggie said:

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For me, it's not nil: I'm fine with players getting paid; for me it's the portal and the free transfer

I makes it hard to get excited about good young players developing because you are worried they will just transfer. And then when you have productive veterans you have to worry about them getting getting plucked by the highest bidder

It just makes it not worth the same level of emotional investment anymore when you reAlize that you could have a 50% roster turnover from year to year between graduations, early nflers and transfers

I love how Elko is recruiting and I'm hoping his culture changes plus the new settlement rules will mitigate some of the transferring and bring us some extra wins

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Players always got paid.

NIL isn't the root of the problem, you're correct.

If they reinstated the penalty year for transferring the sport would get way better overnight

It's a ridiculous policy

That's the good ol texags I know. Double thumbs up

Sumlin era was peak zoo

Austin Millbarge said:

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I just came back from about a 6-month hiatus, and this is why I left:

• Negative fans, like obnoxiously negative fans that could not even be happy for a victory without *****ing.
• Changing priorities in life where Aggie news I got from other sources was sufficient to scratch my Aggie sports itch. I did not need to follow the day to day and hour by hour whims of 18-22ish olds.
• Changes in the way I consume content and media
• Not gonna lie, I started finding joy in other pursuits and interests that outweighed Aggie sports. Years of ho hum started dragging.
• Had nothing to do with NIL, Transfers, Conference Realignment or Playoffs. This actually freshened it up.

Why I came back?

It's F'n football season. LFG!!!!

Class of '95 for historical record.

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Good list. I would add one more. The lack of posts/traffic has made me go elsewhere for anything other than Aggie athletics. There were a couple boards on TA that had heavy traffic and were somewhat entertaining. Those days are gone here.

This board is so inherently negative there's not much point of posting on here. I spend more time on the baseball and basketball boards these days.

Mike Elko is building a football team that I believe in short order we'll have the wins to go with the hype. You simply aren't paying attention to what he's building and don't know how to be optimistic while being realistic when viewing the football program. There are going to be bumps along the way but that is to be expected.

Yea we've under achieved over our history but constantly reminding everyone of that is a real downer. If you don't enjoy Aggie Football - why in the hell are you on here?

And don't get me started on the BAS bull***** What a bunch of self loathing crap for our fanbase to be spewing.

Be a realist. Stay grounded. Don't buy all the hype but don't be afraid to be positive when its warranted.

85AustinAg said:

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This board is so inherently negative there's not much point of posting on here. I spend more time on the baseball and basketball boards these days.

Mike Elko is building a football team that I believe in short order we'll have the wins to go with the hype. You simply aren't paying attention to what he's building and don't know how to be optimistic while being realistic when viewing the football program. There are going to be bumps along the way but that is to be expected.

Yea we've under achieved over our history but constantly reminding everyone of that is a real downer. If you don't enjoy Aggie Football - why in the hell are you on here?

And don't get me started on the BAS bull***** What a bunch of self loathing crap for our fanbase to be spewing.

Be a realist. Stay grounded. Don't buy all the hype but don't be afraid to be positive when its warranted.

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Perfectly said. There is a handful of posters that you absolutely know will show up to comment when anyone says anything positive. Like they're obsessed with being annoyed with people optimistic. Its beyond juvenile..

The board is negative because it's an accurate reflection of our football program. Hopefully Elko will be able to permanently change our football program into a contender, but I doubt it. I'd love to be proven wrong.

the most cool guy said:

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The board is negative because it's an accurate reflection of our football program. Hopefully Elko will be able to permanently change our football program into a contender, but I doubt it. I'd love to be proven wrong.

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Incorrect

This board is negative bc some of the posters choose to be that way. It's most likely that way in most areas of their lives and it's not the outside world that makes them that way.

the most cool guy said:

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The board is negative because it's an accurate reflection of our football program. Hopefully Elko will be able to permanently change our football program into a contender, but I doubt it. I'd love to be proven wrong.

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Pretty much same. Been here since the 98 season…got excited and wanted to talk all things Aggie football.

Little did I know that was the peak.

I refuse to get my heart broken anymore so I will assume total incompetence until we are holding a trophy of some kind on the field.

LB12Diamond said:

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the most cool guy said:

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The board is negative because it's an accurate reflection of our football program. Hopefully Elko will be able to permanently change our football program into a contender, but I doubt it. I'd love to be proven wrong.

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Incorrect

This board is negative bc some of the posters choose to be that way. It's most likely that way in most areas of their lives and it's not the outside world that makes them that way.

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Ok, Sigmund Freud.

Aggie football is by far the most disappointing thing in my life and has been for 25 years. Our football program is what gives me a negative attitude toward our football program. There is nothing else in my life that would cause me to be negative toward our football program. That actually doesn't even make sense.

LB12Diamond said:

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the most cool guy said:

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The board is negative because it's an accurate reflection of our football program. Hopefully Elko will be able to permanently change our football program into a contender, but I doubt it. I'd love to be proven wrong.

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Incorrect

This board is negative bc some of the posters choose to be that way. It's most likely that way in most areas of their lives and it's not the outside world that makes them that way.

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Self-projection is strong with this one

The only thing that can save us is a collective TexAgs poop slap

the most cool guy said:

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The board is negative because it's an accurate reflection of our football program. Hopefully Elko will be able to permanently change our football program into a contender, but I doubt it. I'd love to be proven wrong.

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Yep. More Aggies are realizing we are basically the Chicago Cubs (pre modern World Series victory) of college football. Great traditions. Loveable losers. Until we win a championship, lol.

4 said:

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I'm surprised it took this long.

86 years of choking gets old.

but.....wait till next year

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fify

Most of us that made it fun 15-20 years ago are too busy taking kids to baseball practice, soccer, etc. I used to post all the time. I took part in the various photoshop threads, poll skewing etc. Cuppycup and his crew made their own site. The new generation that has time for that hasn't picked up the slack.

Paul Pierce Ag said:

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If we want to have a cooler brand, we should start winning at a higher clip.

Nothing's more un-cool than impotently losing 4-5 games a year

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Respectfully, your comment is the exact problem.

It's not about just winning football games.

It's about winning at everything.

Even the things you think aren't a big deal as I previously mentioned.

Sip understands this.

They cover the entire terrain.

I disagree. Winning is everything, including coolness.

The celebrities (McConaughey on the sidelines, etc.), the lambos, and the swagger would at best ring incredibly hollow and at worst would be mercilessly mocked if tu was going 5-7 right now. We'd be laughing our butts off at them day in and day out on these forums, calling their wasted efforts "stunts" and "antics." You don't see us doing that now because they're winning. We don't have a leg to stand on.

When Ehlinger said his (in)famous line, "Longhorn Nation, we're baaaaccckk!" after beating Georgia, it seemed cool and rightly confident. However, when they went 8-4 or whatever the next season, that exact same line became one of the biggest laughingstocks we'd seen in a while. Till they started winning again.

In the court of public opinion, might makes right. Winning = might in CFB, and thus everything depends on winning


You may be somewhat unique in feeling that tu or any other program is still super cool due to their gear and celebrity endorsements/involvement while their football team is going 6-6 or 7-5. I don't think the public is with you on that.

Strategy said:

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Paul Pierce Ag said:

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If we want to have a cooler brand, we should start winning at a higher clip.

Nothing's more un-cool than impotently losing 4-5 games a year

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Respectfully, your comment is the exact problem.

It's not about just winning football games.

It's about winning at everything.

Even the things you think aren't a big deal as I previously mentioned.

Sip understands this.

They cover the entire terrain.

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What? If you're winning at football, that's all that matters.

The pot bangers got what they wanted. Amateur athletics has been ruined.

Sadly, I'd prefer amature football over paid employee football any day. I'd rather watch college baseball over MLB too.

It's all broken now. It ruined amature sports in america =(

To many sips polluting the waters here

I'm starting to think that a fair % of posters on this board are bots.

The state of "amateur" athletics plus the fact that I have to look at the forums with reading glasses in order to see the posts finally made me lose some interest.

Winning a conference or national championship in professional "college" football has been meaningless for some time. At least now everyone realizes that it's just paid entertainment and the players are just employees who will move to another employer at the drop of a hat (filled with more money). What happened to the days of players being students first, even it it meant returning to college to finish after their playing days were over?

Aggie Dad 26 said:

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TBoneAg said:

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NIL, Transfer portal, 8-4 just doesn't get me too excited anymore although I still love college football

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I feel like this is overstated. When we signed the greatest recruiting class of all time-time, this board lit up like a Christmas tree. If it were to happen again, not many here would be complaining about NIL.

Elko's epic, 2nd half of the season failure did things inward for me and many others. He dangled culture change over us when he made the switch to Reed during the LSU game, and had the team in first place.

It now feels like nothing has changed nor will it anytime soon. If it could change in my life-time, that would be great, but im no longer skeptical

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That was the last time there was any excitement because we were given hope. And hope is dangerous. Hope kills.

Then we Aggied it up and not a single player on that roster made it past, what, 2 years? And that class is the first class in (I believe) the history of the modern recruiting era to be the #1 class that didn't play for a national championship. Again, we managed to Aggie it up.

We are the perpetual Charlie Brown kicking the football and karma/fate/the stars/the Gods/whatever is the perpetual Lucy pulling it away at the last second. Many of us, especially older Ags, are just apathetic. Elko can sign a new #1 class - great. I don't expect it to translate into anything really except another 8-4 season, and will keep expecting that until proven wrong.