USC legend tries to clap back at Texas Tech but he only proves Joey McGuire's point

As expected, the remarks Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire made on Monday about the laughable attendance at USC's home opener last week have made the rounds on social media. And to no one's surprise, Trojan fans have taken offense. That includes all-time USC wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who fired back at McGuire and Texas Tech with a social media post of his own on Thursday.

"When you live in L.A.," Johnson says, "you got a million different things that you can do besides sit up and watch USC get out to a 28-0 halftime lead against San Jose State when you was favored by 30-something."

Johnson then goes on to cite the attendance number as 57,000 people, which was the official number USC claimed. However, that was based on ticket sales, not on butts in the seats. Anyone who saw images of the L.A. Coliseum last Saturday could easily tell that the actual attendance would have been lucky to hit 20,000 (and that's being kind).

What comes next from Johnson is laughable because, as he makes excuses for USC, he does nothing but prove McGuire's point. In the 3-minute video, Johnson cites the 100-degree weather, the poor opponent, and the plethora of things to do in the L.A. area as justifications for why his school's fans should be excused for their game-one no-show.

Then, as a true college football figure should do, he goes on the attack and turns his vitriol at Texas Tech and Lubbock.

"And to those coaches and other programs," he says, "like Coach McGuire at Texas Tech, talking about it's always going to be crowded at Texas Tech. Yeah, that's true 'cause ya'll ain't got [expletive] else to do."

He continues to pile on by saying that he's been to Lubbock and knows that there is nothing going on there. Then he tries to really hit hard by referencing Tommy Tuberville leaving "in the middle of the night" to coach at Cincinnati as proof that West Texas is lacking.

Finally, in a move that only a now-irrelevant former athlete could make, Johnson tries to put an exclamation point on his argument by pointing out the big performance he had against the Red Raiders in the 1995 Cotton Bowl. That's laughable because a game that took place over 30 years ago has no bearing on the issue at hand, and also because most of the Texas Tech fans who will see this video on social media are not old enough to remember that game in the first place.

In other words, Johnson is using ancient history to try to dig at Tech fans. But the joke is really on him because near the end of his video, he actually validates the exact point that McGuire was making in the first place.

Johnson's rant does nothing but prove that McGuire was correct

McGuire's point is that Texas Tech fans care far more about their team than USC fans do. That is hard to argue.

Texas Tech, situated in a town of around 300,000 people, will fill its 60,000-seat stadium to at least 95% capacity for almost every home game. For instance, the Red Raiders have sold out this Saturday's opener against FCS opponent Abilene Christian. That's impressive because it takes an equivalent of 20% of the Lubbock population to fill the stadium formerly known as The Jones.

Meanwhile, USC can't find enough people in a metro area of over 18 million people to fill a 77,000-seat stadium. In order to have a sellout, all the Trojans need is 0.42% of the L.A. Metro population to show up, and yet that is often asking too much. It's the difference between being in a college town in the heart of a football-crazed state and being an afterthought in a city and state that cares little about college sports.

McGuire is proud to be a Texan and proud to call Lubbock home. That's because he knows that the people of West Texas have a passion for college football that USC fans can't match, despite the Trojans' glorified past.

Johnson, in his arrogance, misses that point. In his rant, he says to pay attention to the crowds in L.A. when the Trojans play on a Friday night or when they host teams like Oregon, Ohio State, and Washington.

Again, all he's doing is proving McGuire right. McGuire's point is that he is proud that his fan base will show up to support his team regardless of the opponent. Unlike USC fans, Texas Tech fans care about seeing their team. Johnson makes it sound as if Trojan fans only show up to see the opponent.

Ultimately, we knew that McGuire's remarks would irk some of the USC faithful. So it is no shock to see a brash personality like Johnson stick up for his school.

Next time, though, he needs to craft a better argument than "We have better things to do in L.A." When he says that, all he does is galvanize Texas Tech football fans who are proud to live in an area where faith, family, and football outweigh anything else. Besides, most of us know what else goes on in L.A. these days, and we want no part of that anyway.

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