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Originally posted by Kaz:
Sounds like our Ostfriesenwitze (Ostfriesland is some islands in the North Sea near the border to Holland, Witz means joke). For some reason people from Ostfriesland have the reputation of being complete idiots, morons without an ounce of common sense.
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Yep, that is the exact reputation that Aggies have. Any sort of "stupid person" joke works for an Aggie.
Quote:
Originally posted by Kaz:
About the sports - I haven't noticed anything of the kind in Europe, is this only in America that schools have to be good at sports?
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I can't speak for other countries, but in America recognition and reputation is everything, especially if that reputation is as a "winner" or "being the best." Americans look down their nose at losers (there are many people who will side with whichever side looks like it will win, rather than the one that most fits them, just so they can be on the "winning side"). That's why the Dallas Cowboys now have the moniker "America's Team"; during the 1990s, they were so dominant that much of the public just became Cowboys fans (meanwhile, these same people switched to the Denver Broncos when Elway was making his last run, and they had a dominant team).
Extending this to colleges and universities, sports in the one sure road to recognition for most colleges. Sure, you have places like Harvard, who have many graduates in positions of power (in effect, many of them are viewed as "winners" due to their financial success), but most colleges just do not have the national recognition that Harvard commands. Sure, when you look at going to a university, you look to see which school has the best certifications and programs in your field, but does the average citizen or employer who is out in the working world? Most times not.
Instead, they jump on names they recognize, and that is where sports come in. Sports act as a advertising for the school; people will see the school name and recognize it, especially if their football team just went to a bowl game (i.e. was a "winner"). For example, from what I have seen, UTSA has a much better Business program (academically) than Florida State. UTSA does not have a football team; Florida State has the best team in the country. I graduate from UTSA with an MBA, and another guy with otherwise equal qualifications graduates with an MBA from Florida State. We both interview for the same job. Who will get the job? Chances are it will be the guy from Florida State, simply because the employer will recognize the school on his resume, and as such his schooling is considered "better" than mine (even though quite the opposite is true).
It's gotten so bad now that kids are being pressured by parents to become "super kids." They have to be perfect academically and have all kinds of extracurricular activities (including sports; hey, they give free scholarships to top athletes, and athletes are extremely well-paid) so that they will be more "attractive" to employers when they get out of college. The parents push their kids to be best at everything, and attack anyone that gets in their kid's way. Give a kid a (deserved) bad grade, and you will have the parents in the principal's office with lawyers threatening to sue (in some cases this is an exaggeration, but this has actually happened before). At little league sporting events, the parents will jump on referees for making what they see as bad calls (i.e. any call against their kid's team, especially if it is against their kid); there have been instances of violence against referees and teachers for just doing their job. In fact, a recent survey here in America found that the majority of school age children believe that cheating is okay, as long as it helps them obtain their goals.
In other words, Americans are hyper-competitive (like this is a surprise to anyone). Any sort of edge helps. And if your school can gain greater recognition by fielding a good football team, then do it (take the money out of the library and technology upgrade funds, and build a powerhouse team). That is the philosophy here in America.
Ready to move here now?
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Death is only the beginning...