Steve Patterson is the one who decided selling beer at football games was going to be one of his priorities. He chose that. Not me, not Deloss, Steve Patterson. And he failed to execute one of his first big initiatives. If a player on the team fails in his assignment, we don't whip out the Big Book of Excuses and say "That fumble was ok, because the defensive player was really big." Or "Offensive line is really hard to play so missing a blocking assignment and letting the QB get crushed is understandable." We only pull out the Big Book of Excuses for staff and administrators. Why is it so hard for some people just to admit the truth and say Steve Patterson failed to execute one of his first initiatives? He gets an "F" for that assignment. For some reason, we have turned into the program in Texas that wants to give out Certificates of Effort and patting the individual on he back for trying, instead of saying the person failed. That used to be a hallmark of the other school.
As for what Patterson has delivered for the 70,000 fans that are not in the suite seats, exactly what has he delivered? Nothing he has told anybody about. What buzz is there around the beginning of the season? None. Other than a big question mark that is the new staff, what has Patterson done for the fans? Nothing we know of. Patterson's priorities, the 30,000 wealthy fans, get whatever they want because they are a priority. I get it.
I think the 70,000 fans who are simply not a priority need to purposely show up late and leave early every chance they get until Stave Patterson delivers positive change. Cigarroa seems to have wanted to give the finger to the rank and file alumni for supporting Bill Powers the way we did, so he nixed beer sales. Is there any other explanation? At some point, the 70,000 fans who are not a priority for Steve Patterson need to demand change. I know Mickey Mouse was hired to work on changes to the game day experience. It remains a big question mark whether Patterson even has the ability to execute any changes Mickey and his friends suggest. We would have hoped Patterson would be someone who could make things happen. Obviously, we shouldn't take that for granted.
Steve Paterson is obviously not going to be someone who brings change quickly. I am someone who believes the program needs change. I am never going to be pleased with someone who is satisfied with the status quo, who is satisfied with Texas being seen as second rate when compared to A&M or who is able to ignore the message the 70,000 fans are sending by their lack of energy during games. Bill Powers thought Steve Patterson was the right guy for the job. Bill is leaving soon. Maybe the next President will be someone who believes we can do more with our athletics program and Patterson will get replaced with someone who can offer change. I advocate replacing Steve Patterson if he doesn't start delivering positive change and start delivering for more than just the 30,000 wealthy fans of the program.