You may have seen this a couple of weeks ago but it was too good to pass up…especially since the timing coincided with Lee Fowler’s last day in Raleigh.
Some Texas A&M Aggie fans are disappointed about the results – or lack thereof – of the recent expansion merry-go-round as they were hoping that the Aggies would leave the Big 12 for a spot in the SEC. Although this move may not have produced any more in the win column, it would have let the Aggie faithful get out-and-about a bit more.
Amidst some of this angst, an e-mail was sent to A&M AD Bill Byrne. It read:
Hey assholes
I am a third generation aggie and class of ’06. my family and I, including many extend family members have had season tickets at kyle field for up to 20 yrs. We also tailgate spending a lot of time and money during the fall in college station. That all ended today.
We are canceling our season tickets and will never again donate to the 12th man until there is all new board of regents minus Gene Stallings, a new ad, new president (that guy is a disgrace).
Dollar bill, I hope you have time to pull your tongue out of dodds butt to read this emailSincere regards
Richard Rogge
Hilarious, I know, but maybe not so appropriate? Nonetheless, that is the beauty of e-mail and any communication void of face-to-face interaction. You can say pretty much whatever you want and it is just written off into the annals of cyberspace. Well, apparently Byrne did not feel this e-mail be taken lightly, and promptly responded with a voice mail message to Mr. Rogge.
The voice mail was not becoming of Byrne, who basically called Rogge a sissy for voicing his anger in an e-mail instead of in person, like any decent man of course. He gave Rogge his direct office line and told him that he deserved to have his ass kicked. Can’t really say that I blame him too much though, given the almost bullying e-mail he received.
Was Bill Byrne completely unprofessional? (He apologized, naturally.) Of course. But is he any worse than a guy who starts of a poorly formatted email with “hey assholes”? I want to hear the phone conversation between the emailer and the AD. The one where he tells school officials off directly to their ears or sets up a face-to-face meeting so they can write the fan a check for his wounded Aggie Pride. In fact, I encourage more personal interaction between the tough guys of the internet and the tougher guys who still think beefs should be settled in the parking lot. Enough of the gutless name calling. Let’s get it on!
Maybe the pressure has been getting to Byrne. Some Aggies contend that Byrne’s response was merited, given the raw e-mail he received, but maybe he should not have left a voice mail. Regardless, Byrne should probably work on thickening up the skin and learn to handle punk critics a little more diplomatically.
