As a Texan, the beginning of the college football season is one of the most important events every year. I patiently wait for, what seems like, months for Texas Tech to begin its football season. Once it begins I fill every Saturday with hours of college football until January when it finally ends. I watch, in Texas, every year as communities come together through college sports. Whether it is in Lubbock, Texas where everyone cheers on the Red Raiders or in Fort Worth, Texas where those Horn Frogs of Texas Christian University hail, people in the cities come together to cheer on the home team. Now, I know Memphis is a basketball city rather than a football city but I am here to argue from a new perspective. Both of these sports are vital in putting universities on the map and universities are essential in the success of cities.
Lubbock, Texas is not the largest city in Texas, nor, is it the most fun by any means. Apart from the occasional ultra-conservative incident on the national news or Buddy Holly reference, there is not much Lubbock is known for. When I tell people I am from Lubbock, however, they often have at least heard of it because of Texas Tech and, most recently, due to the great success and controversy surrounding the former football coach, Mike Leach. Although Tech is not known for its strong academics, extremely smart and gifted kids select it for college because they are faithful fans of the Red Raiders.
Memphis has an advantage that Lubbock does not. Memphis has an extremely rich history, an even bigger musical sensation from the 1950s, and, typically, a great college basketball team. People all over the world have most likely heard of Memphis. Not all that is known about Memphis, however, is positive. The 2010 Census revealed that Memphis has the highest poverty of any city at a staggering 19.1%. Even more detrimental to the city’s image, Forbes named Memphis the second most dangerous city in America saying that out for every 100,000 residents there are 1,006 violent crimes in 2010. Along with this negative press, the University of Memphis Tiger football team has consistently been associated with being one of the lowest performing teams in a non-Bowl Championship Series conference. Is there anyone who can come to Memphis’ aid?
There is one coach who is able to make this team better. His name is Mike Leach. This former coach of Texas Tech is known for two things: being a crazy pirate and more importantly winning football games. He has been called a mad scientist because his formula for winning is both crazy and extremely effective. He is able to take teams with mediocre talent and turn them into offense power houses. A school like U of M could benefit from this because it could make them viable to move into a better quality conference like the Big 12 or South Eastern Conference.
Having a great football team will provide families in Memphis with an additional event to attend in the fall. Memphians must wait for basketball season each year. People in Memphis will call you crazy for even suggesting that Memphis can be both a football city and basketball city. What about those outsiders who are not native Memphians? If a great football team were to offer people with both pride and events could it not also invite business into the city? Businesses to city can provide jobs that would spark revitalization and all of this could happen with a simple hiring of Coach Leach.
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