BASKETBALL

USC Morning Buzz: There’s A Difference Between You And Administrators

This comment from USC administrator Brandon Sosna thanking the fans after the loss to Arizona stood out to me:

“The respect for our basketball brand is strengthening thanks to you.”

Our basketball brand?

That is the difference between an administrator and the Trojan fans who watched/supported for years. He thinks it’s a “brand.” A way to make more money.

The fans are devoted because of their loyalty/love/devotion to the team.

Fans don’t think of it as a “brand.” That’s a cringy term to use for a college sports team. There used to be a term called “Trojan Family.” That’s not a brand. It’s a common feeling of support and unity. A common purpose. Not a brand!

44 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: There’s A Difference Between You And Administrators”

  1. Scott, you are so wrong about many fans not thinking of it as a brand. Any person who claimed they wouldn’t attend a game until Clay was fired sees it as exactly THAT! Many would post online and compare it to supporting a pro team who refused to fire their coach.

    A true, diehard Trojan supports the team no matter what and what you stated above would be accurate in describing them.

    #FTFO

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Right on SoCal. Scotty, you’re making a mole hill into a mountain. I don’t care if you call it a brand, Trojan Nation, Trojan Family…the athletes still wear the school colors and we cheer for them. Where was that righteous anger in 2016 (the year of the Alabama fiasco) when it was obvious that the Village Idiot was not a good coach and the press should have been hounding Gomer and the AD?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. BTW, when I refer to the Alabama fiasco, I am not just talking about the score on the field, or the obvious chasm in coaching between the 2 programs. I am also referring to the disgraceful display of USC players coming out of the tunnels as if they were dogs or preening on the sideline. The emergence of Sam Darnold salvaged that season, but it also masked the serious deficiencies in discipline and coaching. Without Darnold, the program was exposed.

        Liked by 5 people

    2. Personally, I couldn’t care less about USC basketball. For all of you USC basketball fans I say “awesome…..more power to you”. To each his own. I’m a big time USC football fan. I don’t care about USC mens or women basketball, mens or womens tennis, mens or womens golf, baseball….I do sort of like track and field. I can understand a lot of you people. You graduated from USC. I didn’t. I’m just a poor boy born in Bronx, NY and raised in Carson, California. I have no loyalty to USC. I just have always loved their football team. But like I said….to each his own.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. We’re both glad & lucky to have you! I’m an alumnus and I only follow the big 2, with women’s volleyball and baseball being a distant 3 & 4. But when it comes to SUCLA, I love hearing about us beating them in ANYTHING… badminton, checkers, you name it!!

        Like

    3. OK, I get what you are trying to say here, but professionals often use terms that are from their profession. To me, the point about that comment is that it demonstrates that Sosna is a professional, not an amateur.

      In terms of his job, USC is a brand. He probably just shouldn’t use that term when speaking to fan audience.

      My point is that a professional administrator, who refers to the Trojans as a brand, will do exactly what we need. He will make smart investment decisions, like hiring coaches that can win, building great facilities, market the events so that they get fan support and build a great organization that is professional, etc.

      This contrasts with all the previous sports administrations that were part of the Trojan Family and were fans, but were inept and left the programs devastated.

      So Sosna, target your communications to audiences better. End of story.

      Like

      Reply

  3. Pretty sure he meant a brand like the kind you brand on cattle with a branding iron. Thanks to the fans, rustlers are steering clear.

    Like

    Reply

  4. Scott, Scott–

    You are a man. You also are a homo sapien. And you are an earthling

    Likewise, SC football and basketball are Trojan sports, SC brands, and part of the Trojan family

    Actually, this is much ado over nothing. Or ‘nickle and dime’ stuff. Or not worth fretting over.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. Would Brendan admit his responsibility along with Bohner and Flo and their managed decline strategy for the football program brand the last two years!?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Sandy Koufax never talked about his brand. Muhammed Ali never talked about his brand (neither did Howard Cosell, btw). Jon Arnett never talked about his brand.
      #ScottMakesASolidPoint..
      #Sosna’sStatementIsABitTooEntrepreneurial

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      2. Ali was a brand; not only because of his boxing talent, because of charisma and showmanship. Also to some, because of his anti-war position and for converting to Islam. Many didn’t like those things about Ali which is also part of his brand.

        Like

      3. Ali also a brand because of all the hype leading up to the first Frazier fight, Rumble in the Jungle, Thrilla in Manila, breaking Ken Norton’s jaw, etc. And don’t underestimate Howard Cosell’s role. Ali made Cosell.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Ali … so many things contributed to his brand … to Liston “I’m a bad man!” … to Ernie Terrell: “what’s my name!?”

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Good call on the Frazier/David Frost/Jim Brown commentary —they were all so surprised and impressed with what Ali was pulling off. Joe might have been most impressed of all cuz he knew what it would take to beat George.
        [Watch George’s trainer, Sandy Saddler, telling George between the 3rd and 4th rounds to try to pull down Ali’s hands with his own left arm & glove— dumbest thing you can do when someone is throwing right hand leads—when your pawing motion is at it’s lowest point you are completely open to getting hit with a right hand—which is exactly what happens to George in the 4th round —it was the beginning of the end for poor George]….
        #WhoseSideWasSaddlerOn?

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Let’s Go, Brandon!!

    Hey! It actually fits with this article. Did anyone really think at least one of us wouldn’t jump all over that? 🙂

    Like

    Reply

    1. I did. But I wanted to stay away from politics on this site as the one thing we all have in common is our love of the USC brand, Trojan Family, Trojan Nation, etc. I’d rather post and read posts about USC. I could do without the personal insults that politics provokes.

      Like

      Reply

      1. A Biden-Harris world is far too ugly to ignore. A person would have to be really dumb to try and claim much of what is going on hasn’t been caused by their poor decisions and the weakness he exudes.

        Let’s all pray we can make it through another 1,055 days. Although I do like MG’s optimism about impeachment.

        Liked by 4 people

    2. TRUMP FOR PRISON 2022!….
      (NOTE TO TRUMP) “REGARDING ORANGE JUMPSUITS” BIG BUBBA LIKES THE ZIPPER IN THE REAR, EASY ACCESS……OUCH!

      Like

      Reply

  8. Once a Trojan always a Trojan unless you were never a Trojan. It is simple, you win, no matter who you are and people are going to join the “Brand”
    I will still have a USC sticker on my car long after the car gets crushed in a junk yard-whatever that means-

    Like

    Reply

  9. In other news,

    “Nothing changes,” Helton said during his weekly Sunday night call with reporters, “and so it is status quo here right now.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. SOME ARE BORN AND BRED SC… some naturally develop an affinity for SC…some are just dead. I don’t see it as a brand

    Like

    Reply

  12. The wolfman(bark @ the moon) has an anchor strapped to his waist with the bottom nowhere in sight. What a miserable life he lives

    Like

    Reply

  13. I disagree with Sosna’s statement at face value. Fans don’t typically create the brand. It’s the coaching staff, the players, how they play, the style they play, their competitiveness, and wins and losses as well as how they’re able to sustain that over time. I suppose the Cameron Crazies contribute Duke’s brand. The Marching Band, the Song Girls, and Traveller contribute USC football’s brand as those are things that the public associates USC football.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a reply to gotroy22 Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.