Lots of critics lately about "message board" comments

[phatcat]

paraphrasing - some activity 'caused message boards to explode', or some coach 'isn't concerned about tweets and message boards'. Admittedly, a percentage of people are trolling, but think about it - we're Northwestern. Very few people care enough to troll us. It's mostly comments by people who care about the school and the program...a lot.

So let's say that coaches/writers/whoever don't like negative comments. (comment withheld about not causing them to happen by doing stupid sh1t). What do they prefer? Apathy? Indifference? #dontcare? Sure, there are some inane comments, trolling, and "I hit you last" contests. But consider this - someone that cares enough about the program to make TEN THOUSAND comments - do you really want to alienate this person? Not to mention that this person probably viewed 100k comments by others.

This attitude toward online commenters exists in all levels of sport, but NUFB is the one that I care about, so...
Fitz has a job for life. He has taken the "tortoise" route vs the "hare" route that others took. He runs a clean program, takes care of the kids, ensures they graduate, does all the right things. He is universally respected in the industry. The kids are and should be his main focus. Notwithstanding these points, I feel that the team's fans, particularly the passionate/vocal ones, are treated with disrespect and scorn. It is a bad business strategy.

 

[Rebel_]

paraphrasing - some activity 'caused message boards to explode', or some coach 'isn't concerned about tweets and message boards'. Admittedly, a percentage of people are trolling, but think about it - we're Northwestern. Very few people care enough to troll us. It's mostly comments by people who care about the school and the program...a lot.

So let's say that coaches/writers/whoever don't like negative comments. (comment withheld about not causing them to happen by doing stupid sh1t). What do they prefer? Apathy? Indifference? #dontcare? Sure, there are some inane comments, trolling, and "I hit you last" contests. But consider this - someone that cares enough about the program to make TEN THOUSAND comments - do you really want to alienate this person? Not to mention that this person probably viewed 100k comments by others.

This attitude toward online commenters exists in all levels of sport, but NUFB is the one that I care about, so...
Fitz has a job for life. He has taken the "tortoise" route vs the "hare" route that others took. He runs a clean program, takes care of the kids, ensures they graduate, does all the right things. He is universally respected in the industry. The kids are and should be his main focus. Notwithstanding these points, I feel that the team's fans, particularly the passionate/vocal ones, are treated with disrespect and scorn. It is a bad business strategy.

Respect is earned. Denigrate and you will receive some push back. We are all 'Cats and want to win. Peace.

 

[Go Catz]

So let's say that coaches/writers/whoever don't like negative comments. (comment withheld about not causing them to happen by doing stupid sh1t). What do they prefer? Apathy? Indifference? #dontcare?

I get it when the team has one bad game or a regular tough stretch or something like that.

This team, however, is 1-7, on a six game losing streak, and hasn't scored a touchdown in a month. We went from winning the division to last in the division. What kind of comments do people expect to find here?

 

[Hungry Jack]

Apparently Mitch Trubisky doesn't want to hear the crap either.

No one wants to hear / read the same $hit over and over again. If you were Fitz or a member of the "PKD crowd" you would feel the same way. You come here hoping to find some insightful conversation, and you encounter a boatload of kvetching and pissing and moaning. It seems w have multiple threads each week on:

• Fire McCall already
• Stale offensive schemes
• Crappy o line play
• Receivers who don't separate
• Fitz misplaced loyalty (the Problem of Fitz)
• unprepared QBs
• recruiting non-P5 worthy QBs
• sham two-deeps
• lack of disclosure on injuries
• Fitz demeanor during pressers
• Fitz being dismissively arrogant toward critics
• longtime STH being disregarded
• Fan apathy
• DJ at games
• yadda yadda yadda

Fan boards are for fans being fanatics, so you have to accept it all. But it's patently obvious where the problems are, what could be done to fix it, and how much it sucks to watch the Cats right now.

No one here is enjoying this season.

No one wants this.

No one is happy right now.

We get it. But the crescendo of complaining on the heels of this flaming crapwagon of a season is sometimes too much to bear. I mostly stay away from those threads, but like Whack a Mole, they keep popping up, and I lost my mallet.

It's good that we care enough to suffer. Apathy would be worse. Much worse. So if people need to emote, it's their right.

 

[Fitz51]

Having posted here for years now, I can assure you that none of us posting here deserve any respect.

 

[DaCat]

I lost my mallet.

Does Selma know this?

 

[Aging Booster]

paraphrasing - some activity 'caused message boards to explode', or some coach 'isn't concerned about tweets and message boards'. Admittedly, a percentage of people are trolling, but think about it - we're Northwestern. Very few people care enough to troll us. It's mostly comments by people who care about the school and the program...a lot.

So let's say that coaches/writers/whoever don't like negative comments. (comment withheld about not causing them to happen by doing stupid sh1t). What do they prefer? Apathy? Indifference? #dontcare? Sure, there are some inane comments, trolling, and "I hit you last" contests. But consider this - someone that cares enough about the program to make TEN THOUSAND comments - do you really want to alienate this person? Not to mention that this person probably viewed 100k comments by others.

This attitude toward online commenters exists in all levels of sport, but NUFB is the one that I care about, so...
Fitz has a job for life. He has taken the "tortoise" route vs the "hare" route that others took. He runs a clean program, takes care of the kids, ensures they graduate, does all the right things. He is universally respected in the industry. The kids are and should be his main focus. Notwithstanding these points, I feel that the team's fans, particularly the passionate/vocal ones, are treated with disrespect and scorn. It is a bad business strategy.

I had vowed to stop posting for awhile, but you sparked enough interest to respond. My issue with all of the negative posts is the purpose they are intended to serve. I frequently sense that some posters want to discourage potential recruits from coming here, anger the loyal fanbase enough that it either responds in pointless arguing or merely turns the board over to them, or actually influence decision makers. The first and second alternatives are possible; the third is not. Therefore, I see them as doing harm in potentially two ways. By bitching about how bad our coaches, facilities, and fan base are, they could possibly limit interest in NU. This would be a real shame for those of us who are not merely football fans, but love the school more than our grandchildren - sniffly little brats that they are - and for prospective students who would miss a chance to attend this great institution. Less serious, but still problematic, is that these few people, definitely a minority on the board, post the same stuff so often that they drown out everything else and render visiting this site unappealing.

 

[Mr Wickerpark]

paraphrasing - some activity 'caused message boards to explode', or some coach 'isn't concerned about tweets and message boards'. Admittedly, a percentage of people are trolling, but think about it - we're Northwestern. Very few people care enough to troll us. It's mostly comments by people who care about the school and the program...a lot.

So let's say that coaches/writers/whoever don't like negative comments. (comment withheld about not causing them to happen by doing stupid sh1t). What do they prefer? Apathy? Indifference? #dontcare? Sure, there are some inane comments, trolling, and "I hit you last" contests. But consider this - someone that cares enough about the program to make TEN THOUSAND comments - do you really want to alienate this person? Not to mention that this person probably viewed 100k comments by others.

This attitude toward online commenters exists in all levels of sport, but NUFB is the one that I care about, so...
Fitz has a job for life. He has taken the "tortoise" route vs the "hare" route that others took. He runs a clean program, takes care of the kids, ensures they graduate, does all the right things. He is universally respected in the industry. The kids are and should be his main focus. Notwithstanding these points, I feel that the team's fans, particularly the passionate/vocal ones, are treated with disrespect and scorn. It is a bad business strategy.

We are treated with disrespect.
And scorn.
The evolution of Fitzgerald is complete. He has become corporate $$ and thinks that fans should shut up and sit in their seat on Saturday.
In doing so, he has gutted the traditional longtime supporters.
Fans are now tossed into the golf lots, tailgates split up, in return for a half empty west lot and a $2500 price tag.
Willycat refused to dish out $600 for a west lot pass, now it takes over $2,000.
And 1-7 is what this is all about? Really Fitz?

 

[Fitz51]

I had vowed to stop posting for awhile, but you sparked enough interest to respond. My issue with all of the negative posts is the purpose they are intended to serve. I frequently sense that some posters want to discourage potential recruits from coming here, anger the loyal fanbase enough that it either responds in pointless arguing or merely turns the board over to them, or actually influence decision makers.

I hate to defend some of them, but they are sports fans who want to vent. That's what sports fans do on team message boards. That really ends this huge mystery.

 

[Hungry Jack]

We are treated with disrespect.
And scorn.
The evolution of Fitzgerald is complete. He has become corporate $$ and thinks that fans should shut up and sit in their seat on Saturday.
In doing so, he has gutted the traditional longtime supporters.
Fans are now tossed into the golf lots, tailgates split up, in return for a half empty west lot and a $2500 price tag.
Willycat refused to dish out $600 for a west lot pass, now it takes over $2,000.
And 1-7 is what this is all about? Really Fitz?

Oh Jeez. Spare me all the drama and faux outrage. Not that the U hasn't been ham-fisted in its approach to ST renewals, but you make it sound like the collapse of civilization.

 

[Fitz51]

Oh Jeez. Spare me all the drama and faux outrage. Not that the U hasn't been ham-fisted in its approach to ST renewals, but you make it sound like the collapse of civilization.

I find that assholes are more likely to feel as if they have been mistreated. Strange world.

 

[AtlantaCat]

I had vowed to stop posting for awhile, but you sparked enough interest to respond. My issue with all of the negative posts is the purpose they are intended to serve. I frequently sense that some posters want to discourage potential recruits from coming here, anger the loyal fanbase enough that it either responds in pointless arguing or merely turns the board over to them, or actually influence decision makers. The first and second alternatives are possible; the third is not. Therefore, I see them as doing harm in potentially two ways. By bitching about how bad our coaches, facilities, and fan base are, they could possibly limit interest in NU. This would be a real shame for those of us who are not merely football fans, but love the school more than our grandchildren - sniffly little brats that they are - and for prospective students who would miss a chance to attend this great institution. Less serious, but still problematic, is that these few people, definitely a minority on the board, post the same stuff so often that they drown out everything else and render visiting this site unappealing.

While I don't disagree with your post, were I a recruit or lifelong fan or just a casual visitor to the Board, I would expect to see healthy debate, if not abject disgust, surrounding the abysmal Cats season (particularly the offense) and contributing factors (readiness of Johnson, quality of backups, reasons for subpar performances from a number of players on D, quality of our OL and WR and related recruiting and/or development concerns, etc.). After all, this season - - particularly after winning the West by 3 games last year - - has been colossally craptastic.

So, while I wish we didn't have broken-record "Fire McCall" posts/exchanges and the like, on margin it is better to have numerous posters arguing/pissing and moaning over the reasons for our plummet (our version of "tastes great, less filling"), whether they have confidence in Fitz and staff going forward, etc., than apathy. What would really be unappealing (and surprising to recruits, etc.) would be a Board with only a handful of posters repeating "In Fitz we trust, let's go get a W this weekend, darn it". Fitz and Jim should understand that, with Program fans/relationships, the danger isn't angry fans, but "fans" who no longer care.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I had vowed to stop posting for awhile, but you sparked enough interest to respond. My issue with all of the negative posts is the purpose they are intended to serve. I frequently sense that some posters want to discourage potential recruits from coming here, anger the loyal fanbase enough that it either responds in pointless arguing or merely turns the board over to them, or actually influence decision makers. The first and second alternatives are possible; the third is not. Therefore, I see them as doing harm in potentially two ways. By bitching about how bad our coaches, facilities, and fan base are, they could possibly limit interest in NU. This would be a real shame for those of us who are not merely football fans, but love the school more than our grandchildren - sniffly little brats that they are - and for prospective students who would miss a chance to attend this great institution. Less serious, but still problematic, is that these few people, definitely a minority on the board, post the same stuff so often that they drown out everything else and render visiting this site unappealing.

So now the fan base on this message board may be a reason that a recruit isn’t interested in NU? If that’s the point you are trying to make, I don’t think you read many fan boards. Yes, the overload of fire McCall posts are getting tiring. What else can be said about it? However, if a offense recruit doesn’t choose NU it Is far more likely to because of what they see on the field and not based on what they see on a message board.

 

[julescat]

NU needs to play a lot better and look like a program with decent talent in the pipeline (it kinda doesn't to me). Push back is part of the Dr. Jim New Deal and this goes with the territory. Unconditional love is no more.

 

[ashley0623]

Browsing various boards, WildcatReport’s negativity seems like preschool compared to other P5’s imo. Recruits/families would likely find other boards more negative if comparing the boards from offered teams.

I’ve yet to find a board that’s slanted positive. Pretty much every board skews negative. Reading is like a window into water cooler talk except the people don’t know/forget there’s flies on the wall listening.

 

[NCPurplecat]

This board is comprised of a smaller group of mostly very loyal NU fans that support the school for the long term. Larger school boards have so many posts and members.. no Purple like community... that is hard to even connect. After 3 Bowl wins.. a Senior class that graduated with 4 winning seasons.. 7-6 counts..and a first ever BBall tourney win.. the rebuild is hard to take. Other than the pitiful 3 man rush which was missed on the list above.. the pain points are clear. But better days to come soon
Talent on O didnt sync this year. It will soon and defenses are harder to build and we have that.. Look for a couple Nov wins.