One of the things which disturb me as I read the daily paper is how folks buy into a victim mentality. You’d think that the police mission, rather than to preserve and protect, was one of looking to kill minorities. We hear politicians more concerned about criminal rights trying to make them the victims. Most folks whom I encountered while a student at Southern Miss were mostly from middle class homes and it was a struggle to have the funding for college. Would I have liked to have had everything paid for me while driving a Corvette on campus? You bet….really who wouldn’t want that advantage in life. But that wasn’t the reality of my situation. Looking back I don’t fault anyone for my situation as I had it better than some and not as good as others. I never looked at what I didn’t have but what I could achieve with what I did have. I never saw myself as a victim of society. As I age I find that health is more important than wealth. And that the value a family does not fall with the stock market.
Lately, as I’ve read BGN it appears that some are taking on the role of victims rather than looking at our situation and the opportunities that are before us. So now we have all these reasons that we are the victims ranging from the ESPN strategy to marginalize us to disparaging the reputation of others by calling them cheaters and liars. Not that we are basing anything on known facts but just our belief that what we write is true. Some are designing ways to balance the power and the wealth hoping that those with the power and wealth will somehow agree to do that. Some think that the reason that OM recruiting is so great is that there is shenanigans going on with the head coach in his recruitment of players. This one is disturbing to me in that he is a fellow USM alum, ordained minister and a person who told the OM committee who was hiring that he saw coaching as his way to further his ministry in sharing Christ and if the committee didn’t want that then he wasn’t the man for the job. But we are so easily swayed to believe the worse in folks, especially if it fits our theory. The NCAA mandates that any coach aware of cheating must turn that information over to the NCAA. I don’t recall our coach talking about having any insights into losing players due to cheating.
I don’t disagree that the advent of TV rights has played a large part into making this situation difficult for USM. Back in the early 70’s you had only a few games on TV during any given weekend. The NCAA had rules in place that limited teams to a maximum exposure. We were rarely on any TV during those days. I recall the first ABC broadcast being a FSU game in which we won handily. Sometimes WDAM would have a local broadcast and I seem to recall one with Bowling Green during those days. But outside bowl games TV was a rarity for USM. Bobby Collins with the help of Reggie Collier and other notable players helped put USM on the national landscape of football. Football became a much bigger event in the life of Southern Miss fans. We were playing OM and MSU regularly and showing that we were equal or better than them. We were not out recruiting them but beating them with players that had a chip on their shoulders with something to prove. Our coaches had the same attitude to coach all out with only the goal of winning in mind. No victim mentality but a desire to be the best we could be. OM dropped the series and later MSU but only due to the total embarrassment they had to endure with each loss. We were not getting their recruits or causing them financial harm, nope we were just plain beating them with little known, not highly recruited players.
Now some fans begin the victim conversation of how this would doom USM football and wanted the state legislature to intervene to save the series. Never was going to happen but rather than becoming a victim USM moved on and began to dominate the CUSA. Oh, we heard from our OM/MSU friends how if they played in the CUSA they’d win it every year. Of course saying this while living at the bottom of the SEC rankings didn’t make a lot of sense. But USM persevered and had some great seasons and enjoyed some national exposure. Winning seasons and bowl appearance became the norm at Southern Miss. Changes occurred, a mistake made and we all wondered if the magic was gone. No longer was CUSA the same, new and unknown teams filled the conference while old foes departed. Again the victim mentality of blaming others…prior coaches, administration missteps, and each other was the postings of the day. But Monken didn’t allow himself or the team to fall for this victim way of thinking. They put together a return back to greatness wining nine games and playing competitive football again. The near future is looking bright again but some haven’t left the feeling of being victimized.
I write all this to say that we need not let the victim mentality of the day rule us. There are way too many positives happening to allow me to be concerned about what others are doing. Southern Miss has never gotten a hand up but has always had to pull ourselves up to be what we want our program to become. It’s not the easy way - but as long as we have coaches with character, players who expect to be successful and fans that believe in the mission then we will succeed. Some things are not going to be given to us, and others may work against us but it is what we can do for ourselves that will determine our future. We may not be driving a Corvette but the car we drive will be one that was bought from hard work, desire and without the help of anyone but folks that strive to take Southern Miss to the Top!
