Is Football REALLY "king" in SE Texas? Numbers say NO!!!

[Bulldog92]

Since you are one year my senior, I will blame it on the alzheimer's!! I SUPPORTED my argument...Can you support your football argument? HUH? Cant hear you.....take your time....I'll wait............. :

You didn't support anything. I have yet to see these numbers you speak of. Show me the numbers, man.

If basketball was as popular as you say it is, the number of posts on this board would outnumber the football posts. In fact, the total number of football posts outnumbers basketball and baseball combined by roughly 70,000. That is a large enough sample to get a rough figure of what society in general would say. Is basketball gaining ground over where it was 20 years ago? Yes. Is it more popular than football? No. Never will be.

[Guest DickVitale]

This is not a popularity contest. Its about figures...Texas High School basketball is HUGE and the football-heads refuse to accept that...7 on 7 was created to COUNTER summer league and AAU basketball!! Paranoid football coaches were losing kids to basketball by leaps and bounds, and it is happening EVERY DAY...People LOVE to play basketball here in Texas. Texas HS football SPENDS more money than it MAKES...That is a fact.  Face it, man, this state has turned and probably did YEARS ago, but people on the grid iron refused to accept that fact.  ESPECIALLY in SE TEXAS...

[prepballfan]

I grew up in a town that did not have football. We only had Basketball and baseball. The girls team made it to the State Tourny ever year. After a couple trips to Austin veiwing the games I have to say that football is bigger in SETX. I moved to Port Neches after my junior year and after 1 football game I still loved my basketball but I see why football is supreme down here in SETX. Keep this in mind I love basketball and have a deep appreciation for the sport. My family has played basketball in this area since the 1940's.

[Guest DickVitale]

Said NOTHING about GIRLS basketball.....Boys basketball in Texas is BETTER than football....especially here in SETX...Not bigger, but better...meaning its popular and it MAKES money for the districts, not TAKE money from the districts.

[westend1]

Central/Ozen THIS year....It was like they were giving away something in the parking lot at halftime...We were discussing it, and ended up leaving too!

 I think it was 12-7 at half.     Very few left.   FAB RI CA TION!

[Bulldog92]

This is not a popularity contest. Its about figures...Texas High School basketball is HUGE and the football-heads refuse to accept that...7 on 7 was created to COUNTER summer league and AAU basketball!! Paranoid football coaches were losing kids to basketball by leaps and bounds, and it is happening EVERY DAY...People LOVE to play basketball here in Texas. Texas HS football SPENDS more money than it MAKES...That is a fact.  Face it, man, this state has turned and probably did YEARS ago, but people on the grid iron refused to accept that fact.  ESPECIALLY in SE TEXAS...

You're making some pretty bold suggestions in this post. I'm sure you can post links to the studies that were done to prove what you're saying. Tradition is a big thing to a lot of us and the burden of proof is on your shoulders if you're going to suggest that things are changing so drastically. Coming on here and putting out your opinion is fine and I respect it, but you need more than this to back it up.

[shorttexas1]

I guess no one read my post, but the kids in SETX have shown you where their interst is...  BASKETBALL has been more successful than football....

[westend1]

I guess no one read my post, but the kids in SETX have shown you where their interst is...  BASKETBALL has been more successful than football....

We read it.      :

[Bulldog92]

You guys aren't going to be able to convince me of this without some concrete evidence. I'm trying to buy it because I love basketball just like you guys do and I'm happy that more kids are into it, but I don't. If I'm wrong, that's fine. I just don't see it.

[KFDM COOP]

This is not even close, not worth discussing. You don't see advertisers across Texas paying for Sports Xtra shows on TV like they do for Football etc. Call the UIL they will tell you.

[Bulldog92]

This is not even close, not worth discussing. You don't see advertisers across Texas paying for Sports Xtra shows on TV like they do for Football etc. Call the UIL they will tell you.

Thank you.

[KFDM COOP]

It don't take a rocket scientist to know this.

[NDNWarrior]

Then you are really not paying attention...You are probably one of few that ACTUALLY watch the game....Seriously...What do you think basketball coaches talk about at football games? How they are an EXPENSE DRIVEN SPORT....ZERO PROFIT, with the exception of the Southlake Carrolls and Katy High schools of the world...

Sounds like somebody's got a "chip" on thier shoulder..... ???

[Bulldog92]

Then you are really not paying attention...You are probably one of few that ACTUALLY watch the game....Seriously...What do you think basketball coaches talk about at football games? How they are an EXPENSE DRIVEN SPORT....ZERO PROFIT, with the exception of the Southlake Carrolls and Katy High schools of the world...

Sounds like somebody's got a "chip" on thier shoulder..... ???

He's just heavily biased towards basketball and he has that right. This argument is really like Custer going into Little Bighorn. It has no chance with anyone that's willing to look at it objectively, let alone everyoen else with a strong allegiance to football.

[Let’sGetAlong]

Dicky V...let's see if this is a good point. I don't so much care, I just love sports. Let's take out all of the people that are at these games because they have children or relatives part of the game: either playing, cheering, dancing, etc. Now let's take out all of the students who are at the games (because well..students should be there). Where are we going to find more people that have not "ties" to the game at the game. I believe (and I don't think there is any actual way prove it) that it would be hands down at a football game. However, I do agree...it's not as much as a king as we all assume it is.

[pngfan1]

Just as I suspected....No one gave a single real REASON why they THINK FOOLSBALL is king!! "its just always been that way" huh, football guys?? :....WHY?

Number of people in the stands. I know a lot more kids are involved than basketball, but lets scratch out the parents then compare how many people are there to spectate.Compare and it won't even be close.

[Guest DickVitale]

Just as I suspected....No one gave a single real REASON why they THINK FOOLSBALL is king!! "its just always been that way" huh, football guys?? :....WHY?

Number of people in the stands. I know a lot more kids are involved than basketball, but lets scratch out the parents then compare how many people are there to spectate.Compare and it won't even be close.

Maybe thats just at PNG games..... : :....When is the last time they went to the playoffs in basketball? Never? I would say probably never, so you cant use that as a valid argument.

[pngfan1]

OK!!!!!!Football is King at PNG. Good Point! Baseball a very close second. Basketball.....well who cares. And I'm using fan support not playoff appearances to judge it.

[AggiesAreWe]

I will say this, yes, basketball in this area has been more successful as far as teams winning championships and going deep in the playoffs than what football has done. But to suggest that basketball generates the same amount of money as football is ridiculous.

I know from personal experience that we here at SETXsports can get way more sponsors for football than we ever thought about getting for basketball. It's almost apples and oranges. There are the exceptions to the rule (HJ, Silsbee) but trust me, I have tried other schools for basketball sponsors and it just ain't happening. Football on the other hand, well, they actually come to us most of the time. So, as a product that one needs to sell, football is definetly KING here locally over basketball.

As for the gate reciepts, just ask any local football ref or basketball ref and they will tell you were the money is, it's football. I'll just use my home town school Silsbee as an example. Tiger football on average has about 5,000 or more attend their home football games. That's at least 25,000 home attendance for the season. For basketball, Silsbee normally gets 10 home games (only had 7 this year) and they average about 800-1000 for those games. So the most would be 10,000 home attendance for Silsbee basketball. The ticket prices are lower for basketball games than football and football in Silsbee has season ticket holders, guarenteed money even if they don't show up. It's not close as far as the money generated from these two sports. Football wins.

I am pretty sure it's that way for 90% of the schools in our area, sans the HJ's, Kountze's, and Spurger's.

Football generates more revenue, case closed. It may cost more than basketball, and in some cases basketball may profit more, but the arguement was what generated the most revenue and well, it's not even close.

I will agree that in some cases the profit % is greater in basketball than in football. But the bottom dollar numbers will still be greater in football.

As far as popularity goes, it's still football in this area. A local school can have tremendous success in basketball but not so much in football and it will be shown by the support that they get. But let that same school start winning in football and you will see the support for their successful basketball team pale in comparison to the football support. I broadcast both these sports along with baseball for this site, I have seen it with my own eyes. Schools that are traditionally successful in basketball that start getting successful in football will see the support for football be dramatically more than basketball. Even if it's just one year of success in football out of the last 10 years for that particular school, for that one year, football will be KING at that school.

It is what it is.

These are the comments I made over on the basketball forum regarding this subject.

As big a basketball guy I am, I know that football is KING here in Southeast Texas. You're kidding yourself if you think otherwise.

[Guest beat-em_deep]

This is not even close, not worth discussing. You don't see advertisers across Texas paying for Sports Xtra shows on TV like they do for Football etc. Call the UIL they will tell you.

AMEN!!!!

[Slam14]

Dicky V...let's see if this is a good point. I don't so much care, I just love sports. Let's take out all of the people that are at these games because they have children or relatives part of the game: either playing, cheering, dancing, etc. Now let's take out all of the students who are at the games (because well..students should be there). Where are we going to find more people that have not "ties" to the game at the game. I believe (and I don't think there is any actual way prove it) that it would be hands down at a football game. However, I do agree...it's not as much as a king as we all assume it is.

  I love basketball, but to say it rivals football in Texas is not even close...Football is still very much KING in Texas.

Dickie V. wants to exclude in his numbers the band, cheerleaders, drill team...why?  They are there BECAUSE of football.  How many cheerleaders would tryout if they knew they wouldn't cheer at football games?  Would the drill team put all of the effort into their routines if they knew they would only perform for 200-350 people at the basketball games?  So what if some parents leave noncompetitive football games after their kids have performed at halftime.

Most people have this grand idea that football brings in great volumes of revenue for their school.  Dickie V is correct in saying that the majority of school districts actually operate their football programs "in the red".  Why would almost all of the districts continue to lose money on their football programs?  BECAUSE IT'S WORTH IT!

 

[Serpentor]

I will say this, yes, basketball in this area has been more successful as far as teams winning championships and going deep in the playoffs than what football has done. But to suggest that basketball generates the same amount of money as football is ridiculous.

I know from personal experience that we here at SETXsports can get way more sponsors for football than we ever thought about getting for basketball. It's almost apples and oranges. There are the exceptions to the rule (HJ, Silsbee) but trust me, I have tried other schools for basketball sponsors and it just ain't happening. Football on the other hand, well, they actually come to us most of the time. So, as a product that one needs to sell, football is definetly KING here locally over basketball.

As for the gate reciepts, just ask any local football ref or basketball ref and they will tell you were the money is, it's football. I'll just use my home town school Silsbee as an example. Tiger football on average has about 5,000 or more attend their home football games. That's at least 25,000 home attendance for the season. For basketball, Silsbee normally gets 10 home games (only had 7 this year) and they average about 800-1000 for those games. So the most would be 10,000 home attendance for Silsbee basketball. The ticket prices are lower for basketball games than football and football in Silsbee has season ticket holders, guarenteed money even if they don't show up. It's not close as far as the money generated from these two sports. Football wins.

I am pretty sure it's that way for 90% of the schools in our area, sans the HJ's, Kountze's, and Spurger's.

Football generates more revenue, case closed. It may cost more than basketball, and in some cases basketball may profit more, but the arguement was what generated the most revenue and well, it's not even close.

I will agree that in some cases the profit % is greater in basketball than in football. But the bottom dollar numbers will still be greater in football.

As far as popularity goes, it's still football in this area. A local school can have tremendous success in basketball but not so much in football and it will be shown by the support that they get. But let that same school start winning in football and you will see the support for their successful basketball team pale in comparison to the football support. I broadcast both these sports along with baseball for this site, I have seen it with my own eyes. Schools that are traditionally successful in basketball that start getting successful in football will see the support for football be dramatically more than basketball. Even if it's just one year of success in football out of the last 10 years for that particular school, for that one year, football will be KING at that school.

It is what it is.

These are the comments I made over on the basketball forum regarding this subject.

As big a basketball guy I am, I know that football is KING here in Southeast Texas. You're kidding yourself if you think otherwise.

Always with the lectures...

Here is an easy way to figure this out. Who cares about Basketball here? and Football?

[Guest DickVitale]

Oh yeah. That will figure this debate out.... : :...Why didnt I think of that? Son you play FOOTBALL for your school, huh? Thought so. Bright is not your color is it?

[tvc184]

No need to read four pages of posts to figure this one out.

When people talk about a sport being king, they are talking about popularity. Who won the most games, against whom or who has been to the playoffs or championship game the most times means absolutely nothing when discussing which sport is king.

Football in most schools can draw a bigger crowd on one game than they can the entire home basketball season. While there are a couple of basketball schools where that isn't true, even there the football will normally outdraw basketball in the mere five home football games and by a wide margin.

High school football is clearly the king in southeast Texas (or all of Texas for that matter) and basketball is an also-ran.

[Guest DickVitale]

No need to read four pages of posts to figure this one out.

When people talk about a sport being king, they are talking about popularity. Who won the most games, against whom or who has been to the playoffs or championship game the most times means absolutely nothing when discussing which sport is king.

Football in most schools can draw a bigger crowd on one game than they can the entire home basketball season. While there are a couple of basketball schools where that isn't true, even there the football will normally outdraw basketball in the mere five home football games and by a wide margin.

High school football is clearly the king in southeast Texas (or all of Texas for that matter) and basketball is an also-ran.

Also-ran? You sound like a football coach.....WOW....also-ran? gimme a break : : Why are football coaches CONSTANTLY running guys OUT of the gyms? PARANOID....Kids like basketball better...They are sickening, those football coaches....sickening! >