re: Kevin Cope is obviously not a fan...

quote:

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There is a strange correlation of shitty public education systems and the popularity of college football.

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I can't speak for SC but in LA there is 1 glaring reason why public schools' test scores are so poor. Most parents who value their kids' education put them in private schools, especially in the N.O. metro area. Those aren't tested in the same manner as those stuck in lousy public schools. So most in the public schools are children of indifferent parents who only want the kids to be out of their way for several hrs/day, 9 months /yr. Whether the kids are learning anything worthwhile isn't a priority.

Who cares what a no-body professor thinks? The columnist must have been on vacation when he wrote it and needed anything for his column that week--nothing more than a throw-away piece.

Everybody knows college football is a gigantic money maker because our in-state unwashed masses love it, including myself.

Dropping big time football from LSU and not paying Miles big bucks is a money loser, not a money maker. There is no point to this article other than to say some intellectual snobs are jealous of over-paid football coaches—so what!

quote:

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"You might say the obsession with football is indicative of the inadequacies of education in Louisiana," he argued, noting the hordes of people who descend on campus on autumn Saturdays largely comprise a "weekend culture with no interaction with the university" beyond the game.

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Without reading the thread I'm pretty sure his comments were ignored and personal attacks were made on Cope instead of admitting he has a point.

Louisiana does have a problem with lousy public (and private) education in K-12 and (if you judge Louisiana by her collection actions) is busily turning LSU (among other publicly funded universities) into a bottom tier school.