How many of you are Surprised by former App State LB DJ Smith?

[4Corners]

I love how in 2005 everybody was "Good job, App!" when they won championship one and now they are loathed like this.

If we are truly an irrelevant school, as you say, why so much hate? I have no qualms with ECU. I respect ECU for what they have accomplished considering that they are a 5th FBS school in the state.

The only thing worse on this board than App homers are the ones so fed up with them in the first place. Heck, I've realized for awhile now that the AE experiment has failed. That doesn't make his accomplishments in college any less important.

Am I not allowed to be proud of my school because they are "not real" football?

ECU is going to be a borderline bowl team this year and lost one of the best quarterbacks they've ever had this year.

They'll still beat App by at least 2 tds.

I went to ECU but I'm a heels fan first. I pull for the heels over ECU.

[Panthro]

I went to ECU but I'm a heels fan first. I pull for the heels over ECU.

Typical

[Niner National]

I get a kick out of my friends who went to AppState (and I have quite a few) start getting excited about maybe moving up to real college FB, D1.

App will not move up. Even the Sun Belt Conference didn't want them.

They have no success in other sports, no support for any other sports, no television market, and Boone is difficult to get to. Travel inconvenience is fine for football since there are so few games, but for basketball and olympic sports, no conference wants to have to land players in Charlotte or Greensboro and then bus them 1.5-2 hours + to a game in each direction. This turns what could have been a day trip into an overnight trip, which significantly increases costs. Cost is especially important in non-BCS conferences because most athletic departments run razor thin profits or already lose money.

[4Corners]

App will not move up. Even the Sun Belt Conference didn't want them.

They have no success in other sports, no support for any other sports, no television market, and Boone is difficult to get to. Travel inconvenience is fine for football since there are so few games, but for basketball and olympic sports, no conference wants to have to land players in Charlotte or Greensboro and then bus them 1.5-2 hours + to a game in each direction. This turns what could have been a day trip into an overnight trip, which significantly increases costs. Cost is especially important in non-BCS conferences because most athletic departments run razor thin profits or already lose money.

I agree w/ a lot of this. Just driving to Boone is a pain in the ass.

[Niner National]

I agree w/ a lot of this. Just driving to Boone is a pain in the ass.

Boone from Charlotte is no big deal if that is your entire trip, but when flying from Texas to Charlotte, busing to Boone, busing back to Charlotte, and flying back to Texas it is a pain in the ass.

That's why every CUSA member except ECU voted against extending an offer to App. The SBC commissioner has made a few statements that indicated the same thing if you read between the lines. If App were in Winston Salem or hell maybe even Asheville they probably would have gotten an invitation. James Madison is in the same situation.

[AppStatePanther]

Why can't App fans and alumni be excited about putting players in the NFL? It's not like the OP said anything about ECU or anyone else for that matter.

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

Why can't App fans and alumni be excited about putting players in the NFL? It's not like the OP said anything about ECU or anyone else for that matter.

well most of it on this board comes from an nc state fan who, like all wolfpack fans, is afflicted with a raging case of tiny penis syndrome.

you see, after being a distant third to duke and unc in terms of overall relevance since the beginning of time, ncsu fans are finally excited about having someone to fug with who is not only weaker but actually has a fanbase that's easy to piss off. regional bias plays into it as well, which will be further illustrated in the near future when a lot of the people on this forum poo talking app state as a "high school program" are tugging on their two inchers over uncc.

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

and app state football is purely a western NC thing and should stay that way. trying to make a bid for the "big time" would completely fug their program forever.

No. I was pulling for app that game. I hate the big10. My gf and her family all went to Ohio state and I can assure you that the B10 fan base consists of delusional morons stuck living in the past - AppState would fit in nicely with them.

this is one thing that has always pissed me off about big 10 fans. michigan/ohio state is the most trumped up, overhyped rivalry in college football and that game hasn't been played for a damn thing since like 2006 when there was a national championship berth possibly on the line.

[Panthro]

lol

[Niner National]

and app state football is purely a western NC thing and should stay that way. trying to make a bid for the "big time" would completely fug their program forever.

Boise State, Southern Florida, Central Florida, and UConn must not have gotten that message. 3 of these 4 will probably never sniff a national championship game, but they're respectable programs in a good (although severely weakened) conference.

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

lol

that's what i say when i see state and ecu fans trying to act like they root for a "big time program".

lmao nc state had t-shirts for sale in their online store at one point that had something like "IN-STATE CHAMPIONS" printed on them because they had beaten all the nc teams on their schedule one season.

[Panthro]

When's the last time App did that?

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

When's the last time App did that?

i get the feeling that you think i don't understand little app state's little place in the football universe. any idiot would understand that state is a big program compared to a freaking FCS school and comprehend yet further that state isn't even a corn nugget in most any SEC program's poo.

it doesn't matter.

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

Boise State, Southern Florida, Central Florida, and UConn must not have gotten that message. 3 of these 4 will probably never sniff a national championship game, but they're respectable programs in a good (although severely weakened) conference.

back in the powerhouse days i might have agreed with the notion that they could pull something like that, but app's program is in something of a precarious position right now. jerry moore isn't going to be around forever and they've yet to settle on a clear successor to armanti edwards. app state's era as a socon power is starting to wane and they're losing ground to programs like georgia southern and wofford.

moving forward they'd be looking at a new head coach and possibly a new system. deep sixing a bunch of rivalries including one that goes back 80 years in favor of probably losing a whole lot of games to a whole lot of mid-majors nobody cares about would probably start to drive fans away and you'd be looking at a troy or a marshall instead of a nationally relevant program like boise state or uconn.