Who has a more prestigious job?

[PeaveyFury]

Well Al, you're not exactly a football fan.

[And That]

I live in Minnesota, don't follow college football other than vicariously through my friends, couldn't name more than 5 current Badger football players, and could tell you unequivocally that Bret Bielema was UW's football coach. I guess I'm one of the few?

[Fatter than Joey]

I surely can't name more than a handful

 

Well if you can't no one can.

 

I wouldn't want to argue Blazer's contention that Packers > Badgers. However, Sticking to the original premise...

 

I have lived and traveled in a lot of different places n the USA -- and just about every place has a Badger and/or Packer bar. Rarely have I come across Brewer fans.

 

Look at how Badger fans travel -- Check out how people just give 1000s of $$ to the football program.

 

Badger Nation > Brewer Nation

 

so

 

Bielema > Yost

[TerraceReserved]

I have lived and traveled in a lot of different places n the USA -- and just about every place has a Badger and/or Packer bar. Rarely have I come across Brewer fans.

 

Really? I know that there are plenty of Packer bars scattered across the country, but Badger bars? There aren't any Ohio State, USC, or Florida football bars around here, and why would Wisconsin have bars around the country? I just find that a bit hard to beleive.

[homer]

TR, where do you live?

 

I was in San Diego over the weekend and watched Bucky at a badger bar. I used to live in AZ and there was one in Tempe.

 

And there are several OSU bars here in Chicago.

[TerraceReserved]

TR, where do you live?

 

I was in San Diego over the weekend and watched Bucky at a badger bar. I used to live in AZ and there was one in Tempe.

 

And there are several OSU bars here in Chicago.

 

Well count me in as being very surprised. I honestly had no idea there were any Badger bars whatsoever across the country. It just strikes me as odd, that a reasonably well known college football team has bars in states thousands of miles away. I geuss I underestimated the popularity of college football becuase of my lack of interest in it.

 

I geuss what confuses me is this: If there's a Badger bar in San Diego, why aren't there bars for the dozens of other teams that are just as big and well known as Wisconsin in that city? I'm sure there may be some, but there can't be a Michigan, Florida, BC, OSU, Penn State etc. all in that city. Does it have something to do with the Badger fan base or the abundance of Wisconsinites who live elsewhere?

[iluvlamp]

If you were out at dinner, and Ned Yost was sitting at a table and Brett Beilema was sitting at a different table, which table would generate more buzz. I think it is closer than some people think but I give it to Beilema.

 

A good point that has been brought up is the level of current success the organization is having. In general I would rank the level of prestige in this order

 

1) UW Football

2) Packers

3) UW Basketball

4) Brewers

5) Bucks

 

Does that change with success. I think Bo Ryan is more prestigious right now than McCarthy. Will that change if the Packers win a Super Bowl?

First you are crazy to even have your rankings like that.

 

Packers, Packers and more Packers. Much of this state doesn't even care about UW when it comes to pro football. When the Packers are involved it is a crescendo of love. Even the bad Packer teams have sold out Lambeau, buy jerseys, and talk non-stop about them. The Packers are this state. Like it or lump it. The history of the Packers is undeniable and the level of success has nothing to do with it. A great Badger team will still be talked about less then a bad Packer team. I agree with Blazer's post that there are some serious Badger goggles. And OSU will crush UW 46-14 Saturday...sorry:)

 

[Blazer25]

I know that we're talking about the prestige of the job, not the guy....but at the same time, when there's no continuity and guys are changing jobs every 2-3 years, it really detracts from the prominence of the position.

I think that's the key here. The original question was what is the more prestigious job? I don't disagree that Bielma is a more charismatic figure than either McCarthy or Yost but that doesn't make the WI Football job more prestegious.

 

All it means is that Barry Alverez did a great job hiring his own replacement.

 

 

Additionally, prestigious jobs retian coaches. Maybe this is speculation, but I think Bielma is gone the first time a bigger name program comes calling. That doesn't exactly scream "Prestige" to me but rather a solid program that is a stepping stone.

 

 

I would definitely consider Alabama, Penn State, or Notre Dame on par with any NFL team.

I'd say any NFL job is more attractive for most coaches but maybe that's my bias. I'll say this about your list, all the schools you named are much more prestigious jobs than UW.

[hawing]

It kind of pains me to say so, but I'd have to rank the Packers first too - not for myself personally, but certainly statewide. As a kid growing up, it was all Packers in my family. Not any Badger sports, though we lived much closer to Madison than Green Bay; and I was definitely the only member of my family to develop an interest in the Brewers (and that wasn't until I was 16). Plus this was the 1970s, when the Packers were pretty bad.

 

The Badgers in general have made great strides in 'prestige' since the Pat Richter/Barry Alvarez eras began, but I think the Pack still wins out in the end - doggone it.

[Baldkin]

I know there is a Badger/Packer bar in Denver, CO as well.

 

I don't think this is as much to do with Badger fans being everywhere... as it is Badger/Packer fans drinking everywhere, and starting their own bars everywhere.

[burniebrewer]

But there are only about 30 D1 head coaching jobs that are worth a hoot. I wouldn't say the head coach at New Mexico St is more prestigious than Ned.

Hal Mumme would disagree with you.

 

[Katuluu]

Well, Badger Bars are typically Packer Bars that show Badger games on Saturdays. Their are multiple Packer bars up here in the Cities and at all of them you can catch a Badger game. But Badger fans travel better then probably any Big Ten team. My parents are OSU alumni, and they travel to multiple Buckeye games and Badger games, and they will easily admit Badger fans come out in bigger crowds.

 

Also, pay scale is a bit dubious measure to use, as each sport pays differently. Tubby Smith is getting paid ~$4.5 million to coach the Gophers basketball team, which means he makes as much as any of the top managers in baseball. Baseball managers are simply paid less. Also, a lot of colleges have started ramping up what they will pay their coaches in an effort to keep them from going to other programs or jumping to the pros. The Gophers John Anderson is an outstanding baseball coach, yet he makes around $100K a year. So percentage wise, their is a much bigger pay gap between college baseball coaches and major league managers then their is between NCAA coaches and their NFL/NBA counterparts.

[BrewCityUnit]

First you are crazy to even have your rankings like that.

 

 

Packers, Packers and more Packers. Much of this state doesn't even care about UW when it comes to pro football. When the Packers are involved it is a crescendo of love. Even the bad Packer teams have sold out Lambeau, buy jerseys, and talk non-stop about them. The Packers are this state. Like it or lump it. The history of the Packers is undeniable and the level of success has nothing to do with it. A great Badger team will still be talked about less then a bad Packer team. I agree with Blazer's post that there are some serious Badger goggles. And OSU will crush UW 46-14 Saturday...sorry:)

 

Thanks for calling me crazy

 

Anyways, where I grew up in southwest Wisconsin, the Badgers are and always will be WAY more popular than the Packers. I think it has more to do with what part of the state you were raised in. But to the point, I am not necessarily saying the Badgers are more popular than the Packers, I just think Bielema is more prestigious than McCarthy. Whoever brought up the point about boosters was right on. The UW football program is a money making machine.

[Fatter than Joey]

Tubby Smith is getting paid ~$4.5 million to coach the Gophers basketball team, which means he makes as much as any of the top managers in baseball. Baseball managers are simply paid less.

 

I think the difference is -- is that no one in Wisc is going to give the Brewers $100K to hire a manager. Whereas in the case of the Gophers, I am sure a lot of alumni/boosters

wrote some checks to bring a guy Tubby Smith in to coach their team. Do you think that there would be that same interest to help the Twins hire someone like perhaps

Joe Torre (or some equivalent to Tubby Smith)

[Katuluu]

I guess I am unclear what boosters have to do with prestige. Why is a program more prestigious if you had to beg for money from outside interests just to sign a coach/manager? In actuality all it really does is give power to a few wealthy fans who have limited experience in running an athletic program.

 

Professional franchises essentially only have one booster they have to appease, the owner. If the Twins want to shell out big money to a free agent or a manager or a GM or whomever, they have to get the money from one person, and that's Pohlad. Professional franchises and colleges operate their revenue streams completely differently, so to punish professional franchises for not having boosters seems to me to be a fallacious argument.

[rluzinski]

Anyways, where I grew up in southwest Wisconsin, the Badgers are and always will be WAY more popular than the Packers.

 

Population wise, that's not saying very much, is it? The greater Milwaukee area is about athird of the state's population by itself and the Packers win easy. The North East is obviously Packer crazy as well. I'd assume the Packers win easy outside the state. I don't think it's even close.

[JJHardy7]

I think this discussion may need to be put a different way. It seems that some are discussing the specific position of UW football head coach vs. MLB Manager, Packers head coach, etc.

 

Others are discussing Bielema vs. Yost, McCarthy, etc. I think this topic is more of a discussion. To think that the UW football head coach job is more prestigious than the Packers head coach I think is not a true statement. The Packers are one of the most popular teams in all of sports and are rich in tradition. The Super Bowl is named after a former coach and like others have mentioned Badgers football hasn't done much outside the past 15 years or so. I think there are a share of NFL jobs that dwarf almost any college team.

 

Now if it's specifically the person it's a whole different story.

[BuckyTuba]

Badger football is less prestigious than Packers football...

 

I despise Packers football though.

 

I'd say the pecking order is Packers, UW FB, Brewers, UW Basketball, UW Hockey and then the Bucks.

[pogokat]

"Maybe college FB fans but casual sports fans? No way. The average sports fan from North Carolina has no idea who Brett Bielema is. I guarentee that even casual baseball fans know who Ned Yost is. "

 

Ok, first off, i don't live in NC anymore...

 

I watch 10-15 college fb games a year...and i know tons of people who watch way more than that...and i can say with near certainty that none of them know who burt Bielma is...

 

of course, everyone in the south knows who Ned Yost is...because he was friends with dale Earnhardt and he was a coach for the Braves for a long time...

 

I think College Football is of ridiculous popularity...and it matters a ton to whatever region you live in...but, it's not the teams that are popular...it's the sport...

 

I would definitely say that there are more Bravees fans than Dawgs fan, tigers fans, bama fans, gt fans, tennessee fans, and florida fans...

 

because all of those different teams fans like the braves...and they love college football

 

so, while college football is definitely more popular than the mlb...the braves are probably more popular than any one college team in the south because it appeals to a much larger audience..

 

and honestly...how many of you guys care about mark richt or tommy tubberville?

 

i can't turn on the tv without seeing those guys...but we don't even get to see Wisconsin games down here, so i've got no idea who the coach is...

 

it's really justa different medium

[BrewCityUnit]

I guarantee more people in the South know Mack Brown compared to Cecil Cooper or Ron Washington

 

I'm not buying the fact that people in the South know or care who Ned Yost is and I can't see how they don't know who Brett Bielema is. When Wisconsin played Auburn in Orlando 2 years ago, every single person I talked sports to could care less about professional sports. All they cared about was college football.

[foamboy1]

BB...by a mile.

[pogokat]

college? yes.

 

a particular team....which coule be one of many down here...

 

if they like baseball, they are braves fans...

 

so, the braves are more popular than any one college team, even thought more people would probably say they liked college football the most

[iluvlamp]

By the way Guybrush Threepwood makes me laugh uncontrollably. Too good.

[iluvlamp]

Just because I said the word "crazy" doesn't mean you ARE crazy BCU. But just because, I will take a PC course that will teach me the way of the walk. I apologize IF....