OUR VIEW: Sports spending necessary for wins

Well, they did it. Despite the fact that a lot of us didn’t think they could, they did it. The football team won. Full credit goes to every player who stepped on the field to bring home the victory.

Nice job guys. Sorry we doubted you.

Now the question becomes, “Was it worth it?”

From a football fan’s perspective, yes, it was worth the four weeks of heartache that we went through waiting for Saturday. It was a perfect story. The kind Hollywood makes movies about. It’s what makes sports so much fun to watch.

From the USU student’s point of view, it’s still in the air. Not all Aggies are football fans. Not all like sports of any kind. All are expected to pay for it. That’s over $50 that win, lose or draw will not be coming back into anyone’s but the athletic department’s pocket.

On the front page of today’s Statesman, there’s an article about how much sports at USU really cost the student body. Such articles tend to spark arguments between sports fans and those who just don’t care.

We would ask both sides to remember their point of view is not the only valid one. Keep the figures in mind. Remember, numbers don’t lie, but people can use them to mislead. Consider the university as a whole, not just one department, demographic or sport.

Understand that a quality program takes money. Spending is a fact of life. But hopefully the spending will be done wisely, and will produce more wins and quality programs like basketball.

Also understand that spending must be accounted for. That money comes out of the pockets of students who could use it for rent or textbooks.