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uot;And people like to watch that style of play.
"To win a Big 12 Championship, we're going to have to play better on defense. We understand that. But people have enjoyed watching us play, because of the attitude we have on offense.”
The ticket-selling requirement adds pressure to Gundy, but not on an immediate basis. He's not going to get fired in 2008, not unless the bottom falls out of these Cowboys, and there's no reason to believe that could happen.
But Gundy has got to put people in the corner seats of Boone's bowl.
No OSU coach has been fired by the fans, but it's happened other places. Gary Gibbs was doomed the October day only about 45,000 OU fans showed up to watch Kansas State. Bill Callahan was fired last November because Nebraskans sensed a softening of the ticket demand that sold out every Lincoln game since 1962.
Gundy shrugs at his new hat.
"The expectations are going to be there whether you have the new facility or not,” he said.
Yes, but win at a moderate level in the past, and Stillwater wouldn't boil. Win at a moderate level now, which might hold the attendance to 45,000 or so, and the fire heats up.
It's not an easy job. Ticket prices are high, budgets are strained by $4 a gallon gas and OSU isn't trying to entice old fans back, it's trying to produce new fans. That requires winning big, and even that's tough duty.
In 1988, OSU averaged 45,881 fans for six home games. That's a good number for the Cowboys, who that year had Barry Sanders and Hart Lee Dykes and a quarterback named Gundy. It was a wild, exhilarating year.
The last home game of the season, with Sanders' Heisman Trophy dash coming down the stretch, drew 40,100 for Kansas. Sometimes, winning big doesn't do it immediately.
"My responsibility is to put a great product on the field,” said Barry Sanders' college quarterback. "Make ‘em proud ... Oklahoma State people in the last few years have taken a lot of pride in what's happening here.
"We're going to have the best facility in the league, arguably the best facility in college football. They will take pride in having a new stadium.”
Taking pride will help. Taking a seat will help more.
