Are there some Cat fans hoping we lose? Insidenu has a article

[Turk]

The seed of thought is posted on insidenu.com

https://www.insidenu.com/2017/10/25...n-mick-mccall-pat-fitzgerald-offense-coaching

Here are my thoughts. I simply don't understand it. Why in the hell support a team only to see them lose so supposed changes can be made?

Every single year as a cat fan, it was easy to see from the stands how our coaches are very human with very human deficiencies. I absolutely hated Barnett prostituting himself to every other school but I loved the man and he was our coach. Great coach on the field, but you never knew whose 'boardroom' he would be in afterwards. I took the good with the bad. Along the way, we had some fun and won 2 Big Ten Championships.

With Walker, a helluva offensive mind who never understood defense. He simply wouldn't fire Colby. It was moronic but even in bad seasons, he wasn't going to fire Colby. So it made no sense for others to hope that we lost. We did, yet Colby stayed. Along the way we had some fun, and won a Big Ten Championship.

Fitzgerald, doesn't respect offense and is a Walker reverse. As long as they hike the ball and don't turn it over then he good. Sure it is mind boggling and very boring, even when we win, but he isn't going to fire anyone if we lose to MSU. In fact, we could lose out, as bad as that seems, and he won't fire anyone. As a fan, I give Fitzgerald the same respect I gave those before him. And he compares favorably to Barnett and Walker. You couldn't get a better coach, 'off the field'. I think he is better for the players than those before him. He hasn't won a championship or even a division but I think he has offered more consistency than Barnett and Walker. I think the average bet will be that we are a program that can average 7 wins a year. In context, that's decent enough. And it helps that the big ten isn't as good as it used to be. We have a legit shot at 9 wins.

What is weird is that there has been a drop off of fans. It's easy to see when I went to my first home game this year. The Iowa game had a canvas over 2 sections, and just got 40,000 fans. I had a fun time but the game was boring and honestly I'd rather just watch it at home this week and I will.
Don't get me wrong, our defense is awesome and getting better, but our offense is the same ole dysfunctional unit.

The question is, why do I and other fans just not get excited with football as we used to? If I had to say, I'd say it's because of hope. Hope in a championship or division crown. It just isn't interesting to me anymore to see a 4th place ribbon in a division and know that we are already out of the division after the 3rd game of the year....again. Maybe that's it. Certainly it is a reason. I have other things nowadays that compete with my time and I can watch us beat up on Purdue or Minny or Illinois at home.

But that's not it. Because I am truly excited for NU Basketball. Collins has built a team that actually can give us a lot of hope. It's not a foreign thought that we could win the Big ten but that we can go dancing and have some fun. Collins also addresses glaring problems and doesn't seem to employ a holistic approach as Fitz. Not knocking Fitz but I'm a fan who wants to see problems fixed.

At the end of the day, NU Football will NEVER be able to do what NU Basketball aims to do, i.e., have supporters reach deep into their pockets to support the program. I stopped supporting NU football a few years back because I felt I was contributing to embracing mediocracy. I switched my giving to NU Basketball because of its determination to be the best. I have little doubt that the arena will be sold out and that people like myself will toss in thousands to support it. Never going to happen with our football. In fact, if they even tried to tie in donations to seats, we prolly wouldn't have 10,000 season ticket holders in football, if that.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

The seed of thought is posted on insidenu.com

https://www.insidenu.com/2017/10/25...n-mick-mccall-pat-fitzgerald-offense-coaching

Here are my thoughts. I simply don't understand it. Why in the hell support a team only to see them lose so supposed changes can be made?

Every single year as a cat fan, it was easy to see from the stands how our coaches are very human with very human deficiencies. I absolutely hated Barnett prostituting himself to every other school but I loved the man and he was our coach. Great coach on the field, but you never knew whose 'boardroom' he would be in afterwards. I took the good with the bad. Along the way, we had some fun and won 2 Big Ten Championships.

With Walker, a helluva offensive mind who never understood defense. He simply wouldn't fire Colby. It was moronic but even in bad seasons, he wasn't going to fire Colby. So it made no sense for others to hope that we lost. We did, yet Colby stayed. Along the way we had some fun, and won a Big Ten Championship.

Fitzgerald, doesn't respect offense and is a Walker reverse. As long as they hike the ball and don't turn it over then he good. Sure it is mind boggling and very boring, even when we win, but he isn't going to fire anyone if we lose to MSU. In fact, we could lose out, as bad as that seems, and he won't fire anyone. As a fan, I give Fitzgerald the same respect I gave those before him. And he compares favorably to Barnett and Walker. You couldn't get a better coach, 'off the field'. I think he is better for the players than those before him. He hasn't won a championship or even a division but I think he has offered more consistency than Barnett and Walker. I think the average bet will be that we are a program that can average 7 wins a year. In context, that's decent enough. And it helps that the big ten isn't as good as it used to be. We have a legit shot at 9 wins.

What is weird is that there has been a drop off of fans. It's easy to see when I went to my first home game this year. The Iowa game had a canvas over 2 sections, and just got 40,000 fans. I had a fun time but the game was boring and honestly I'd rather just watch it at home this week and I will.
Don't get me wrong, our defense is awesome and getting better, but our offense is the same ole dysfunctional unit.

The question is, why do I and other fans just not get excited with football as we used to? If I had to say, I'd say it's because of hope. Hope in a championship or division crown. It just isn't interesting to me anymore to see a 4th place ribbon in a division and know that we are already out of the division after the 3rd game of the year....again. Maybe that's it. Certainly it is a reason. I have other things nowadays that compete with my time and I can watch us beat up on Purdue or Minny or Illinois at home.

But that's not it. Because I am truly excited for NU Basketball. Collins has built a team that actually can give us a lot of hope. It's not a foreign thought that we could win the Big ten but that we can go dancing and have some fun. Collins also addresses glaring problems and doesn't seem to employ a holistic approach as Fitz. Not knocking Fitz but I'm a fan who wants to see problems fixed.

At the end of the day, NU Football will NEVER be able to do what NU Basketball aims to do, i.e., have supporters reach deep into their pockets to support the program. I stopped supporting NU football a few years back because I felt I was contributing to embracing mediocracy. I switched my giving to NU Basketball because of its determination to be the best. I have little doubt that the arena will be sold out and that people like myself will toss in thousands to support it. Never going to happen with our football. In fact, if they even tried to tie in donations to seats, we prolly wouldn't have 10,000 season ticket holders in football, if that.

Horrible article! McCall is solid! The Bears on passed six times and beat a 4-2 team last week! No one can stop Jordan Howard!

 

[NJCat]

The seed of thought is posted on insidenu.com

https://www.insidenu.com/2017/10/25...n-mick-mccall-pat-fitzgerald-offense-coaching

Here are my thoughts. I simply don't understand it. Why in the hell support a team only to see them lose so supposed changes can be made?

Every single year as a cat fan, it was easy to see from the stands how our coaches are very human with very human deficiencies. I absolutely hated Barnett prostituting himself to every other school but I loved the man and he was our coach. Great coach on the field, but you never knew whose 'boardroom' he would be in afterwards. I took the good with the bad. Along the way, we had some fun and won 2 Big Ten Championships.

With Walker, a helluva offensive mind who never understood defense. He simply wouldn't fire Colby. It was moronic but even in bad seasons, he wasn't going to fire Colby. So it made no sense for others to hope that we lost. We did, yet Colby stayed. Along the way we had some fun, and won a Big Ten Championship.

Fitzgerald, doesn't respect offense and is a Walker reverse. As long as they hike the ball and don't turn it over then he good. Sure it is mind boggling and very boring, even when we win, but he isn't going to fire anyone if we lose to MSU. In fact, we could lose out, as bad as that seems, and he won't fire anyone. As a fan, I give Fitzgerald the same respect I gave those before him. And he compares favorably to Barnett and Walker. You couldn't get a better coach, 'off the field'. I think he is better for the players than those before him. He hasn't won a championship or even a division but I think he has offered more consistency than Barnett and Walker. I think the average bet will be that we are a program that can average 7 wins a year. In context, that's decent enough. And it helps that the big ten isn't as good as it used to be. We have a legit shot at 9 wins.

What is weird is that there has been a drop off of fans. It's easy to see when I went to my first home game this year. The Iowa game had a canvas over 2 sections, and just got 40,000 fans. I had a fun time but the game was boring and honestly I'd rather just watch it at home this week and I will.
Don't get me wrong, our defense is awesome and getting better, but our offense is the same ole dysfunctional unit.

The question is, why do I and other fans just not get excited with football as we used to? If I had to say, I'd say it's because of hope. Hope in a championship or division crown. It just isn't interesting to me anymore to see a 4th place ribbon in a division and know that we are already out of the division after the 3rd game of the year....again. Maybe that's it. Certainly it is a reason. I have other things nowadays that compete with my time and I can watch us beat up on Purdue or Minny or Illinois at home.

But that's not it. Because I am truly excited for NU Basketball. Collins has built a team that actually can give us a lot of hope. It's not a foreign thought that we could win the Big ten but that we can go dancing and have some fun. Collins also addresses glaring problems and doesn't seem to employ a holistic approach as Fitz. Not knocking Fitz but I'm a fan who wants to see problems fixed.

At the end of the day, NU Football will NEVER be able to do what NU Basketball aims to do, i.e., have supporters reach deep into their pockets to support the program. I stopped supporting NU football a few years back because I felt I was contributing to embracing mediocracy. I switched my giving to NU Basketball because of its determination to be the best. I have little doubt that the arena will be sold out and that people like myself will toss in thousands to support it. Never going to happen with our football. In fact, if they even tried to tie in donations to seats, we prolly wouldn't have 10,000 season ticket holders in football, if that.

Fitz's dream game is when NU wins 3-2, getting a FG in the first quarter off an INT and giving up a safety running out of the end zone burning clock on the last play of the game.

 

[Catreporter]

As someone who grew up on up-and-down NU football (with Voights,Saban,Ara,Agase) only to see it blown up in the terrible 70s and 80s, I am very happy with Fitz's 81-64 record that includes two bowl wins. To say the Big Ten is worse now is laughable. It used to be the Big 2 and Little 8 until scholarship limits came in. And with BTN, every school has put lots of money into its football facilities. And Penn State is off probation now, so no, it's gotten much more competitive. With our small student body and being in a "pro" town, filling a 47,000 seat stadium is always going to be more of a challenge than filling 7,700, but attendance has been pretty solid lately. No, we are never going to be Ohio State, Michigan or the like, and yet the last time we played those teams, we lost by 4 and 1 point. Would I like to see a champion? Yes, but face it, we are always going to be underdogs in the Big Ten and I kinda embrace that role.

 

[StreamCat]

The seed of thought is posted on insidenu.com

https://www.insidenu.com/2017/10/25...n-mick-mccall-pat-fitzgerald-offense-coaching

Here are my thoughts. I simply don't understand it. Why in the hell support a team only to see them lose so supposed changes can be made?

Every single year as a cat fan, it was easy to see from the stands how our coaches are very human with very human deficiencies. I absolutely hated Barnett prostituting himself to every other school but I loved the man and he was our coach. Great coach on the field, but you never knew whose 'boardroom' he would be in afterwards. I took the good with the bad. Along the way, we had some fun and won 2 Big Ten Championships.

With Walker, a helluva offensive mind who never understood defense. He simply wouldn't fire Colby. It was moronic but even in bad seasons, he wasn't going to fire Colby. So it made no sense for others to hope that we lost. We did, yet Colby stayed. Along the way we had some fun, and won a Big Ten Championship.

Fitzgerald, doesn't respect offense and is a Walker reverse. As long as they hike the ball and don't turn it over then he good. Sure it is mind boggling and very boring, even when we win, but he isn't going to fire anyone if we lose to MSU. In fact, we could lose out, as bad as that seems, and he won't fire anyone. As a fan, I give Fitzgerald the same respect I gave those before him. And he compares favorably to Barnett and Walker. You couldn't get a better coach, 'off the field'. I think he is better for the players than those before him. He hasn't won a championship or even a division but I think he has offered more consistency than Barnett and Walker. I think the average bet will be that we are a program that can average 7 wins a year. In context, that's decent enough. And it helps that the big ten isn't as good as it used to be. We have a legit shot at 9 wins.

What is weird is that there has been a drop off of fans. It's easy to see when I went to my first home game this year. The Iowa game had a canvas over 2 sections, and just got 40,000 fans. I had a fun time but the game was boring and honestly I'd rather just watch it at home this week and I will.
Don't get me wrong, our defense is awesome and getting better, but our offense is the same ole dysfunctional unit.

The question is, why do I and other fans just not get excited with football as we used to? If I had to say, I'd say it's because of hope. Hope in a championship or division crown. It just isn't interesting to me anymore to see a 4th place ribbon in a division and know that we are already out of the division after the 3rd game of the year....again. Maybe that's it. Certainly it is a reason. I have other things nowadays that compete with my time and I can watch us beat up on Purdue or Minny or Illinois at home.

But that's not it. Because I am truly excited for NU Basketball. Collins has built a team that actually can give us a lot of hope. It's not a foreign thought that we could win the Big ten but that we can go dancing and have some fun. Collins also addresses glaring problems and doesn't seem to employ a holistic approach as Fitz. Not knocking Fitz but I'm a fan who wants to see problems fixed.

At the end of the day, NU Football will NEVER be able to do what NU Basketball aims to do, i.e., have supporters reach deep into their pockets to support the program. I stopped supporting NU football a few years back because I felt I was contributing to embracing mediocracy. I switched my giving to NU Basketball because of its determination to be the best. I have little doubt that the arena will be sold out and that people like myself will toss in thousands to support it. Never going to happen with our football. In fact, if they even tried to tie in donations to seats, we prolly wouldn't have 10,000 season ticket holders in football, if that.

I don't even know where to start. Wait. Yes, I do. The great thing about college football is that every game is a season unto itself. I can watch the game and forget about the record. We are playing Michigan State this week. You say you want fun? It would be great fun to beat them. That's all I will care about. After the game, I will think about records and whatnot, but during the game, nope.

Oh, there's more. Lousy attendance only hurts recruiting. Thanks for helping us out, Turk.

 

[Frabjous]

If Turk’s point is that some NU fans hope for the best but expect the worst, he may be on to something. If so, just relax and light up a Kemel, and do not yell Ataturk.

 

[Mr Wickerpark]

The seed of thought is posted on insidenu.com

https://www.insidenu.com/2017/10/25...n-mick-mccall-pat-fitzgerald-offense-coaching

Here are my thoughts. I simply don't understand it. Why in the hell support a team only to see them lose so supposed changes can be made?

Every single year as a cat fan, it was easy to see from the stands how our coaches are very human with very human deficiencies. I absolutely hated Barnett prostituting himself to every other school but I loved the man and he was our coach. Great coach on the field, but you never knew whose 'boardroom' he would be in afterwards. I took the good with the bad. Along the way, we had some fun and won 2 Big Ten Championships.

With Walker, a helluva offensive mind who never understood defense. He simply wouldn't fire Colby. It was moronic but even in bad seasons, he wasn't going to fire Colby. So it made no sense for others to hope that we lost. We did, yet Colby stayed. Along the way we had some fun, and won a Big Ten Championship.

Fitzgerald, doesn't respect offense and is a Walker reverse. As long as they hike the ball and don't turn it over then he good. Sure it is mind boggling and very boring, even when we win, but he isn't going to fire anyone if we lose to MSU. In fact, we could lose out, as bad as that seems, and he won't fire anyone. As a fan, I give Fitzgerald the same respect I gave those before him. And he compares favorably to Barnett and Walker. You couldn't get a better coach, 'off the field'. I think he is better for the players than those before him. He hasn't won a championship or even a division but I think he has offered more consistency than Barnett and Walker. I think the average bet will be that we are a program that can average 7 wins a year. In context, that's decent enough. And it helps that the big ten isn't as good as it used to be. We have a legit shot at 9 wins.

What is weird is that there has been a drop off of fans. It's easy to see when I went to my first home game this year. The Iowa game had a canvas over 2 sections, and just got 40,000 fans. I had a fun time but the game was boring and honestly I'd rather just watch it at home this week and I will.
Don't get me wrong, our defense is awesome and getting better, but our offense is the same ole dysfunctional unit.

The question is, why do I and other fans just not get excited with football as we used to? If I had to say, I'd say it's because of hope. Hope in a championship or division crown. It just isn't interesting to me anymore to see a 4th place ribbon in a division and know that we are already out of the division after the 3rd game of the year....again. Maybe that's it. Certainly it is a reason. I have other things nowadays that compete with my time and I can watch us beat up on Purdue or Minny or Illinois at home.

But that's not it. Because I am truly excited for NU Basketball. Collins has built a team that actually can give us a lot of hope. It's not a foreign thought that we could win the Big ten but that we can go dancing and have some fun. Collins also addresses glaring problems and doesn't seem to employ a holistic approach as Fitz. Not knocking Fitz but I'm a fan who wants to see problems fixed.

At the end of the day, NU Football will NEVER be able to do what NU Basketball aims to do, i.e., have supporters reach deep into their pockets to support the program. I stopped supporting NU football a few years back because I felt I was contributing to embracing mediocracy. I switched my giving to NU Basketball because of its determination to be the best. I have little doubt that the arena will be sold out and that people like myself will toss in thousands to support it. Never going to happen with our football. In fact, if they even tried to tie in donations to seats, we prolly wouldn't have 10,000 season ticket holders in football, if that.

When was our last sellout? I dont remember the tarps being on sections for big iowa games over the years but i doubt iowa ever sold out here. I think we have always averaged 30,000 fans Turk. And its still the cheapest ticket in town. If i dont bum a free ticket then im usually only out about $10. And we are capable of a division crown. We beat wisconsin before. I will admit, like everyone but fitz, that getting a new ol coach that can attract better ol talent would help but that isnt goin to happen.

 

[JournCat]

I wasn't hoping we'd lose more games after the Penn State debacle, but the thought that a 4-8 season would force changes was a silver lining. The stats are clear, and the results on field are clear. Our offense has been unoriginal and easy to stop for good teams basically since the OSU game in 2013. There are current seniors (speaking to the "I'm embarrassed by our student attendance" threads) who have never seen us do anything more than sputter against top competition. The best programs don't need debacles to make changes. I know Fitz isn't going to fire McCall if we win 8 games this year, but he probably wouldn't at 4 wins either. Might as well root for the best short-term result you can get.

 

[hdhntr1]

As someone who grew up on up-and-down NU football (with Voights,Saban,Ara,Agase) only to see it blown up in the terrible 70s and 80s, I am very happy with Fitz's 81-64 record that includes two bowl wins. To say the Big Ten is worse now is laughable. It used to be the Big 2 and Little 8 until scholarship limits came in. And with BTN, every school has put lots of money into its football facilities. And Penn State is off probation now, so no, it's gotten much more competitive. With our small student body and being in a "pro" town, filling a 47,000 seat stadium is always going to be more of a challenge than filling 7,700, but attendance has been pretty solid lately. No, we are never going to be Ohio State, Michigan or the like, and yet the last time we played those teams, we lost by 4 and 1 point. Would I like to see a champion? Yes, but face it, we are always going to be underdogs in the Big Ten and I kinda embrace that role.

Most teams are going to be the underdog against them.

 

[Alaskawildkat]

The seed of thought is posted on insidenu.com

https://www.insidenu.com/2017/10/25...n-mick-mccall-pat-fitzgerald-offense-coaching

Here are my thoughts. I simply don't understand it. Why in the hell support a team only to see them lose so supposed changes can be made?

.

I asked the same question this morning when I heard Senator Flake's comments.

 

[NUCat320]

For what it's worth, the writer states that he always wants NU to win.

I think most of us would hope for a more dynamic offense. But most of us don't handle the hiring and firing of the coaching staff.

NU should target the offensive coordinator at mid-major, high scoring programs.

This one has the advantage of having been born in Big Ten country and of having attended an academic-oriented university. He also leads the nation's top scoring offense. (Except he'll probably be OC at Nebraska next year.)
http://ucfknights.com/staff.aspx?staff=288

This one is a tougher sell:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Craddock
http://www.ponyuptempo.com/staff/joe-craddock

This guy is also a tougher sell:
http://www.astateredwolves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7200&ATCLID=210632632

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Personally, I have seen enough from my remote perch looking in that at least one change is needed. Even if we run the table, the change is warranted. I also, think there could easily be a couple more made that could easily be justified. I hope we do run the table, but the hopes of a title were dashed early in the process and we can't forget this.

There has been an extremely long leash on this. It's time to make the call. The timing is actually good with the extra coach being added, the new facilities, the improved perception of NU as athletically competitive ( mainly driven by CCC's success), and the isolated success of specific units on Fitz's team. It's becoming a common theme in outside reporting that it impacts recruiting, both good and bad. Good D recruits now want to come here. Not as much on the Offense. The upcoming class is a good example as we landed many of our A list guys on D, while significantly less on O.

I know history doesn't support this, but I am going out on a limb and say this year there will be at least 1 change made no matter what happens the remainder of the season. I actually think there will be more. I really like Fitz and will continue to support the program either way. However, making a few changes IMO would really energize the fan base and frankly I think the team too.

 

[SimpsonElmwood]

This kind of thinking is crazy. Winning >>>>>> losing. And my enthusiasm for NU Sports only wanes marginally based on in-season performance.

 

[mikewebb68]

Lol InsideNU. Last week, the writers were all in meltdown mode,since they had obviously written articles in anticipation of an Iowa win. But, hey, no worries, they essentially ran the SAME articles, just changing as little content as possible to reflect the win. Just horrific.

The site reminds me of when I covered our basketball team in high school. One week, I let my emotions get the best of me (I was a student manager as well, so I was a bit too close to things to be writing about objectively) and I wrote was essentially a hit piece on the team after a difficult loss.

My editor read the artcile, said it was excellent writing and was glad that I wrote it to "get it out of my system" but that I must have known there was absolutely no way they would be printing it. At InsideNU, the difference is they actually PRINT those articles. And not only after losses, but after wins as well....

 

[IGNORE2]

I don't even know where to start. Wait. Yes, I do. The great thing about college football is that every game is a season unto itself. I can watch the game and forget about the record. We are playing Michigan State this week. You say you want fun? It would be great fun to beat them. That's all I will care about. After the game, I will think about records and whatnot, but during the game, nope.

Oh, there's more. Lousy attendance only hurts recruiting. Thanks for helping us out, Turk.

There are many things that hurt recruiting. Perhaps we start with coaching ability that leads to nfl opportunities. We had some real highly wr and ol recruits recently, and highly regarded by this coaching staff, and how many play on sundays? That speaks louder than attendance.

 

[StreamCat]

There are many things that hurt recruiting. Perhaps we start with coaching ability that leads to nfl opportunities. We had some real highly wr and ol recruits recently, and highly regarded by this coaching staff, and how many play on sundays? That speaks louder than attendance.

Your answer does not negate my point.

 

[Turk]

Lol InsideNU. Last week, the writers were all in meltdown mode,since they had obviously written articles in anticipation of an Iowa win. But, hey, no worries, they essentially ran the SAME articles, just changing as little content as possible to reflect the win. Just horrific.

The site reminds me of when I covered our basketball team in high school. One week, I let my emotions get the best of me (I was a student manager as well, so I was a bit too close to things to be writing about objectively) and I wrote was essentially a hit piece on the team after a difficult loss.

My editor read the artcile, said it was excellent writing and was glad that I wrote it to "get it out of my system" but that I must have known there was absolutely no way they would be printing it. At InsideNU, the difference is they actually PRINT those articles. And not only after losses, but after wins as well....

Are they students? The problem may be that they mirror the student population, and that would be concerning. It doesn't seem like the students are that much behind this team, not sure why. Something happen on campus? I went to the Io_a game as it was the first game at Ryan Field that I attended in about 2 years and it looked like only about half the students that normally showed up a few years back, from my perspective. A nice sunny day, dunno the story, but maybe insidenu is just reflecting a perspective that is a little more supported than we think.

For years I suggested that they get rid of Jerry Brown. In my mind he was limiting progress. But, my perspective became baseless when our dbacks reversed and started becoming a strength. I couldn't believe it but it was a good thing. So, although I firmly believe that we can't recruit any good OL because of Cushing, who knows? I fully believe Cushing should be gone along with maybe McCall due to a OL lack for several years that has hurt our offense. And I don't see any solid recruits joining us on the horizon. But, I was wrong about Jerry, then again we were all right about Colby. Tricky indeed but no matter who is right or wrong, it makes no sense in hoping we lose. Our team and our coaches aren't the damn enemy. Enjoy the game, hope we win, and don't expect perfection. I don't think that is embracing mediocracy, just a fact.

What I do find interesting is the support level of the football program. I think we have had a suck schedule at Ryan field playin Purdue, Minny, Illinois, etc., just suck teams. PSU almost never travels well and then only Iowa. Every other game pretty much is worthless but a win. Next year, things will get more intense around here with Nebraska, Michigan, Wisconsin, Notre Dame here. We may have a season that averages 40,000+. Especially if us and Notre Dame keep winning this year. As sports fans, we are always looking towards next season. It's a thing fans do. In doing so, we have to hope we do good this year. Insidenu opinion is common though, especially when it comes to coaches.

I remember MSU fans all wanted us to win against Jl Smith. . He saved his job a few games when his team came back from being 30 pts behind. MSU fans were heartbroken. Some NU fans wanted Carmody to lose so NU BB could ultimately have progress instead of same ole every year. I wasn't one of those fans but I understood that the job performance was meant to get us into the post season. Ultimately, Phillips made the right call and the rest is history as we now have progress and the constant mediocracy is over. It's called fixing the problems.

 

[Cat In The Cradle]

The seed of thought is posted on insidenu.com

https://www.insidenu.com/2017/10/25...n-mick-mccall-pat-fitzgerald-offense-coaching

Here are my thoughts. I simply don't understand it. Why in the hell support a team only to see them lose so supposed changes can be made?

Every single year as a cat fan, it was easy to see from the stands how our coaches are very human with very human deficiencies. I absolutely hated Barnett prostituting himself to every other school but I loved the man and he was our coach. Great coach on the field, but you never knew whose 'boardroom' he would be in afterwards. I took the good with the bad. Along the way, we had some fun and won 2 Big Ten Championships.

With Walker, a helluva offensive mind who never understood defense. He simply wouldn't fire Colby. It was moronic but even in bad seasons, he wasn't going to fire Colby. So it made no sense for others to hope that we lost. We did, yet Colby stayed. Along the way we had some fun, and won a Big Ten Championship.

Fitzgerald, doesn't respect offense and is a Walker reverse. As long as they hike the ball and don't turn it over then he good. Sure it is mind boggling and very boring, even when we win, but he isn't going to fire anyone if we lose to MSU. In fact, we could lose out, as bad as that seems, and he won't fire anyone. As a fan, I give Fitzgerald the same respect I gave those before him. And he compares favorably to Barnett and Walker. You couldn't get a better coach, 'off the field'. I think he is better for the players than those before him. He hasn't won a championship or even a division but I think he has offered more consistency than Barnett and Walker. I think the average bet will be that we are a program that can average 7 wins a year. In context, that's decent enough. And it helps that the big ten isn't as good as it used to be. We have a legit shot at 9 wins.

What is weird is that there has been a drop off of fans. It's easy to see when I went to my first home game this year. The Iowa game had a canvas over 2 sections, and just got 40,000 fans. I had a fun time but the game was boring and honestly I'd rather just watch it at home this week and I will.
Don't get me wrong, our defense is awesome and getting better, but our offense is the same ole dysfunctional unit.

The question is, why do I and other fans just not get excited with football as we used to? If I had to say, I'd say it's because of hope. Hope in a championship or division crown. It just isn't interesting to me anymore to see a 4th place ribbon in a division and know that we are already out of the division after the 3rd game of the year....again. Maybe that's it. Certainly it is a reason. I have other things nowadays that compete with my time and I can watch us beat up on Purdue or Minny or Illinois at home.

But that's not it. Because I am truly excited for NU Basketball. Collins has built a team that actually can give us a lot of hope. It's not a foreign thought that we could win the Big ten but that we can go dancing and have some fun. Collins also addresses glaring problems and doesn't seem to employ a holistic approach as Fitz. Not knocking Fitz but I'm a fan who wants to see problems fixed.

At the end of the day, NU Football will NEVER be able to do what NU Basketball aims to do, i.e., have supporters reach deep into their pockets to support the program. I stopped supporting NU football a few years back because I felt I was contributing to embracing mediocracy. I switched my giving to NU Basketball because of its determination to be the best. I have little doubt that the arena will be sold out and that people like myself will toss in thousands to support it. Never going to happen with our football. In fact, if they even tried to tie in donations to seats, we prolly wouldn't have 10,000 season ticket holders in football, if that.

Dr. Pangloss would say: It's not like we lose out on drafting higher ranked recruits by winning. So may as well win since there's nothing to lose.

 

[mikewebb68]

Are they students? The problem may be that they mirror the student population, and that would be concerning. It doesn't seem like the students are that much behind this team, not sure why. Something happen on campus? I went to the Io_a game as it was the first game at Ryan Field that I attended in about 2 years and it looked like only about half the students that normally showed up a few years back, from my perspective. A nice sunny day, dunno the story, but maybe insidenu is just reflecting a perspective that is a little more supported than we think.

For years I suggested that they get rid of Jerry Brown. In my mind he was limiting progress. But, my perspective became baseless when our dbacks reversed and started becoming a strength. I couldn't believe it but it was a good thing. So, although I firmly believe that we can't recruit any good OL because of Cushing, who knows? I fully believe Cushing should be gone along with maybe McCall due to a OL lack for several years that has hurt our offense. And I don't see any solid recruits joining us on the horizon. But, I was wrong about Jerry, then again we were all right about Colby. Tricky indeed but no matter who is right or wrong, it makes no sense in hoping we lose. Our team and our coaches aren't the damn enemy. Enjoy the game, hope we win, and don't expect perfection. I don't think that is embracing mediocracy, just a fact.

What I do find interesting is the support level of the football program. I think we have had a suck schedule at Ryan field playin Purdue, Minny, Illinois, etc., just suck teams. PSU almost never travels well and then only Iowa. Every other game pretty much is worthless but a win. Next year, things will get more intense around here with Nebraska, Michigan, Wisconsin, Notre Dame here. We may have a season that averages 40,000+. Especially if us and Notre Dame keep winning this year. As sports fans, we are always looking towards next season. It's a thing fans do. In doing so, we have to hope we do good this year. Insidenu opinion is common though, especially when it comes to coaches.

I remember MSU fans all wanted us to win against Jl Smith. . He saved his job a few games when his team came back from being 30 pts behind. MSU fans were heartbroken. Some NU fans wanted Carmody to lose so NU BB could ultimately have progress instead of same ole every year. I wasn't one of those fans but I understood that the job performance was meant to get us into the post season. Ultimately, Phillips made the right call and the rest is history as we now have progress and the constant mediocracy is over. It's called fixing the problems.

Yes, they are students. Don't know if they mirror the student population.