Aggies and Politics

[bystander]

I put this over here because it has political overtones. What is prompting this post is Demontre Moore who was cut by the Cowboys yesterday .They are insisting it is not because he made a fist after the anthem. He just came off a suspension, hasn't proven himself on the field yet and then he decides he wants to play 1968 Mexico City Olympics (along with David Irving who came off a 4-game suspension, made some protest noises too but is still on the roster). So given this there is something that has puzzled me for a long time. I have noticed over the years that Aggies have called the Longhorns various nicknames including the infamous, "T-Sippers." I've also seen the world Liberals thrown around at the Longhorns. Now this is what is puzzling to me and I will try to be factual and not racial. We know the voting patterns of black Americans (90%+ Democratic) and A&M seems to pride itself on the flag, patriotism, militarism or in general traditional Conservative value-sets. So if we are Liberals and they are not, why do so many black football players play for them? Maybe it's just that there are only so many scholarships available and it is a good university so that may be the easy answer right there. But then you have the Bennett brothers and Demontre Moore. If you believe the Aggies and assume that UT is Liberal then why would they have not come here? You would think that black activism would be much more at home on the UT campus than on theirs. It just doesn't add up.

Maybe the answer is, "They're Aggies."

 

[theiioftx]

Aggy. Stupid is as stupid does.

 

[ProdigalHorn]

Because they don't care about politics. They're there to play football, and I'm guessing a lot of them are savvy enough to get that just because a school has a "conservative" reputation, that doesn't mean black students are going to be ostracized or marginalized in some way. And I'm guessing they don't parade the corps of cadets around in front of the recruits too closely.

 

[Seattle Husker]

Because they don't care about politics. They're there to play football, and I'm guessing a lot of them are savvy enough to get that just because a school has a "conservative" reputation, that doesn't mean black students are going to be ostracized or marginalized in some way. And I'm guessing they don't parade the corps of cadets around in front of the recruits too closely.

Football players are elevated in status at nearly every campus. Nobody cares about their political leanings (nor do the players, I suspect). These highly touted recruits are there for one reason...a path to the NFL.

 

[bystander]

Football players are elevated in status at nearly every campus. Nobody cares about their political leanings (nor do the players, I suspect). These highly touted recruits are there for one reason...a path to the NFL.

Could be it's that simple. But things are so political on college campuses. A&M has had some problems with right-wing activity. Yet the players who seem to be behaving in a manner you would expect from a Liberal still go there. I guess if you bow down low enough they will ignore anything.

 

[Crockett]

Students currently at A&M may be, on average, a little more conservative than students of comparable intelligence. But compared to most Big 12 and SEC schools, it has high admission standards. There aren't many true cretins with enough demonstrated academic accomplishments to get in there. Every kid I know going to A&M is a "nice" kid ... the kind I don't my son hanging with.

 

[Seattle Husker]

Could be it's that simple. But things are so political on college campuses. A&M has had some problems with right-wing activity. Yet the players who seem to be behaving in a manner you would expect from a Liberal still go there. I guess if you bow down low enough they will ignore anything.

From my experience at UW in the 90's the players don't have time for political activism. Outside of Missouri I can't remember a football team threatening political action and that controversy had engulfed the entire campus (rightly or wrongly) when they threatened to not play. Northwestern maybe? Of course they simply wanted to unionize to get some $$ so that's a selfish political activism.