Reasons to Hate: Playing FCS Schools

Hating Alcorn State is a little too specific for me this week. I hate playing FCS schools in general. Let’s go with that. As always, feel free to add your reasons in the comments.

1. It is a disaster if you lose. The one time it happened to the Hogs, the coach was fired. This day in age, coaches will generally survive a loss to a FCS school for one week, but lately it has been the writing on the wall that a coach will not last.
2. People will never forget if you lose. I flipped on Miami vs. Appalachian State a few weeks ago and the announcers even bragged, “we made it six minutes into the game before we even mentioned Appalachian State beating Michigan back in 2007.”
3. These games are never a “sellout.” For whatever reason, no stadium is small enough when an FCS school comes to town. The game could be played at Bentonville High School and it would find a way not to sell out. It’s like people walk up to the box office to buy one of the last few tickets and then turn around to leave because they realize it might actually be crowded.
4. They are games that are near impossible to find on TV. Granted, it’s wonderful we live in a time when every game is on TV. I am actually old enough (people forget that) to remember when the SEC only had three games on TV every week. The Jefferson Pilot game, an ESPN/2 game, and the CBS game. But, this SEC Alternate channel stuff might as well be someone’s periscope from their cell phone.
5. There is never any enthusiasm surrounding the game. Fans rightfully expect to win by at least five touchdowns. So, it can be a little surreal when people realize they are trying to pump up a team down 21-17 to Samford going into the fourth quarter. They think, “I should be getting redrunk at the tailgate right now, not be worried that my team is actually losing to a school in a lower division.”