The last shall be first: Everybody should be pulling for Sylvester Croom (Sportswriters & Race)

SI.com ^ | December 3, 2003 | Geoffrey Norman

[Timesink]

Sylvester Croom inherits a program that is 8-27 since 2001 with just three SEC victories.

Other than Vandy, which makes a point of being woeful, no football program in the SEC struggles more than Mississippi State. The name of the town where the school is located pretty much says it all -- Starkville. Sounds like the name of one of the Coen brothers movies. Mississippi State is a second-class citizen in a universe that is made up of aristocrats like Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Alabama, LSU, Florida and so on. This is a program that has gotten used to the back of the bus, to sharecropping a hard-scrabble little farm and looking up at the fine plantations on the hill.

[Timesink]

How did I come across this story? Well, because it's above the fold on the front page of Google News, as are 558 other stories on this same topic as I type this. The Google News page is entirely computer-generated, and where a given story is placed on the page depends on how many news outlets are covering the story and how prominently they're playing the story. So in order for a story to make the top of the page on Google News, it has to be getting a LOT of coverage.

Now what was that about sportswriters not being obsessed about race?

[squidly]

He'll have his work cut out for him. MSU fielded one of the sorriest teams I've ever seen in the SEC this season, and historically they are the worst program in the conference, even worse than Vandy. It is highly questionable whether or not even the greatest coach could win consistently there.

Now we get political: MSU is under investigation for NCAA recruiting violations and other violations, and the details leaking out don't make it sound good for them. They may lose a lot of scholarships, perhaps a one year postseason ban. Some people think that by hiring a minority, MSU gains favor in the eyes of the NCAA, and the sanctions will be lighter as a result. Who knows?

[PermaRag]

Would the liberal media mind if people wished him well WITHOUT reference to his race? Is his coaching ability enhanced BECAUSE of his race?

Welcome to the SEC,

[.cnI redruM]

Seeing as how Croom hasn't blamed the state of MSU's football program on conservative student demonstrations, I'm quite happy to hope he does ok, keeps the job for a while, and makes a good living.

[vetvetdoug]

MSU has a lot of arrogance and ignorance. Croom will look like a genius.

[Timesink]

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[Timesink]

Seeing as how Croom hasn't blamed the state of MSU's football program on conservative student demonstrations, I'm quite happy to hope he does ok, keeps the job for a while, and makes a good living.

Oh, me too; I have no qualms with Croom. I'm just pointing out that Rush was right: Sportswriters are OBSESSED with race.

[.cnI redruM]

Yes, they are. Pathetically so. They need to each be made to wash Shaq's jock strap for a month, by hand. That would solve the problem.

[TontoKowalski]

I'm sure Mr. Croom is a fine man and a good football coach. But...

I ain't rooting for Mississippi State football if Saint Peter himself falls from the sky to take over the coaching.

[saminfl]

Oh, me too; I have no qualms with Croom. I'm just pointing out that Rush was right: Sportswriters are OBSESSED with race.

You really hit the nail on the head.

[Spook86]

You hit the nail on the head--a nail that SI neglected to mention. Sylvester Croom is inheriting an undisciplined bunch of thugs masquerading as a football team. And, to make matters worse, MSU is about to get hammered by the NCAA for some of the worst rules violations since the SMU scandal of the mid-1980s. I have some inside knowledge of the specific allegations against MSU, and the list includes (among other things) illegal payments to players, and academic fraud. Even with Croom as the new head coach, State will probably forfeit 20-25 football scholarships, be off TV for a couple of years, and endure a concurrent ban from post-season play.

Croom will make short work of the discipline issue, but getting past probation will take much longer. SMU never recovered from the "death penalty" of the 1980s. No one is predicting that for State--at least not publicly, but the loss of large numbers of scholarships will put them in a bind for at least 3-5 years.

I believe Croom will be a winner in Starkville, but it will take time. In the interim, he needs to become chummy with MSU's long-time baseball coach, Ron Polk. When athletic director Larry Templeton (the man who hired Croom) gets canned for ignoring Jackie Sherrill's flagrant cheating, Polk with become the AD. Together, Polk and Croom will have one heck of a clean-up job on their hands. s

[TheBigB]

I am SICK of people taking shots at my alma mater. I hope Croom is sucessful as well, but lots of people forget that after Jackie took over the program, State went to 6 bowl games in the 90s (the first was in 1991--Jackie's FIRST year as Coach. That was MSU's first bowl game in a decade). He left as MSU's all time winningest coach and they won what might have been THE best bowl game of the past several years--the 2000 overtime Independence Bowl over Texas A&M. And in 1999 they met Tennessee for the SEC title, leading in the 4th quarter before falling to the eventual national champions. Number of times Ole Miss has played in the SEC Title game = ZERO.

A bad day in Starkville is better than any day in Oxford.

[mrustow]

No, timesink. That's impossible.

BTW, when I looked at his picture, I immediately thought, "he looks like an old lineman, probably OL." I guess that makes me guilty of profiling.

[squidly]

Of course, anyone who wants to can point to MSU's alleged cheating as the root of their 90's success, considering that they never had any sustained success at all post WWII until Rev. Jackie got there. Right or wrong, it's an easy argument to make.

[squidly]

Disagree about the television ban. The NCAA doesn't really do that anymore, if they do that anymore at all.

[Rummyfan]

The man Croom replaces -- Jackie Sherrill -- won some games at Pitt, Texas A&M and even at MSU

Jackie Sherrill is certainly no saint wrt recruiting and keeping players playing, but give him his due: he won a National Championship at Pitt and had a couple of other highly ranked teams (the likes of Tony Dorsett and Dan marino will do that for you). I'm glad MSU hired Croom - but now he's got to make it on the field. And opposing teams aren't going to care what race the MSU coach is!

[Palmetto]

no football program in the SEC struggles more than Mississippi State

Come on now.

Seriously.

Lou Holtz, line 1.

63-17, for example. BWAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!!

[american spirit]

Turn on any TV sports show or game and you'll see a significant % of black announcers working college and pro football & basketball games dominated by black athletes. On top of that we get LeBron, Michael Vick, M. Jordan, Tiger, Barry Bonds, etc. and the rest of 'em jammed down our throat by the likes of Nike, Gatorade, etc. yet despite this we get this media inspired soap opera about someone like Mr. Crooms and we're supposed to give a shi*?. Like most folks, I enjoy the exploits of classy athletes and coaches, both black & white, but I am sick to death hearing about some black guy who may have got his feelings hurt because he was passed over for some coaching position. Who's to say some white coach with much better credentials was passed over because the Packers had to bend to pressure and hire a black man as a position coach?

Why is it that we've come to this point where if a black feels somewhat slighted or unrespected it's a major news event yet the double standard allows them a pass whenever they mouth off with racially insenstive or boorish remarks such as what we've from the likes of Barkley, Iverson and some of the other hip hop morons.....it's total nonsense!

[dixiechick2000]

"I ain't rooting for Mississippi State football if Saint Peter himself falls from the sky to take over the coaching."

I root for whoever Notre Dame is playing. I feel almost the same way about State. I root for whichever MS team they are playing.

That being said, I wish Mr. Croom the best, and hope he enjoys his tenure at State. He seems like a fine man.

[rebelyell]

Well well well....I figured one of you arrogant taters was going to make a comment like that. You'd be better served by trying to figure out how you're going to pay for that 4MM buyout your nutless AD gave Bowden yesterday. Lest you forget, just a month ago after Wake Forest beat the living crap out of you, the overwhelming majority of clemtech fans wanted to give him the boot. 3 games later and y'all are falling all over yourselves to kiss his ass.

Enjoy the drubbing UT will deliver in the Peach....I can assure you all of us will.