One of my favorite things I hear on the radio, tv, or in football stadiums is the fan saying "I could coach better than him, I could recruit better, this is what needs to be done with the program..." etc. Really?
So, "Joe fan" would be willing to give up so many parts of his life to run a division one program in college football. I HIGHLY doubt that. Most fans are not that dedicated to the program they root for unless their team is having a winning season. In all honesty, I catch myself doing the "what the heck is the coach thinking?" thought from time to time, but I get myself out of those thoughts quickly because I am a coach young football men. Albeit, on the high school level and not the college level, but I hear those screams from the stands as well and wonder why can't the fans just root for the team and not yell all sorts of things at the coaches or players.
College coaches have so much responsibilities to the university it is insane. They have to manage around 100 student/athletes, a full coaching staff, kiss alumni's ass on Saturdays, deal with administration, recruit, recruit, recruit, deal with sub standard referees, and oh, you, know... win a college football game! His days are approximately 16-18 hours long during the season and maybe, just maybe, just a little shorter in the off-season.
My thought about "Joe fan" taking over a program is that he could not do it. Not even finish the first day or first week of being the man in charge. Talking with some college coaches in the past, most coaches get chased out of the profession by alumni or these unreal expectations that fans put on them. They say most fans have an unrealistic view of their program. I agree. Unless, you are Alabama, Florida State, or possibly Auburn fans think their school are going to win the National Championship. I root for Oregon State and by no means do I EVER think they are going to be in the running for a title in football. They can't get the talent up there to Corvallis to win and hopefully Beaver fans don't think we are winning the title anytime soon.
In the end, every fan wants the best for their team, but fans have to stay away from the unreal expectations that they may have for their university. Alumni can throw all sorts of money at the university, but if you don't have the talent, you won't win. Period. End of story. Fans, just enjoy the game and cheer on team and don't think you could EVER step in and take over the program. Just saying....
Friday, June 13, 2014
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Tradition and the Pac-12
I heard this being discussed the other day on a local radio talk show and it struck me as strange that the radio people were talking about the Sun Devils and most of the rest of the Pac-12 having all this tradition going on at their school(s). I just do not see it that way.
West Coast football is a pretty "what have you done for me lately" kind of fan base. It is a band-wagon culture to me because if your team is not winning then there is no support for the programs. Growing up in Oregon, support for either Oregon State or Oregon was not even close to what it is now. The football programs were terrible, had many seasons where the only competitive game for either school was the Civil War game. I attended the Civil War game that ended in 0-0 tie and the most interesting play was the last play where the Ducks were trying to pull off a Stanford-California ending. It didn't work, but made the last 20 seconds more interesting than the rest of the game. Tradition was non existent for either school. Fans were not vocal about their teams like they are now. It's funny how winning cures that.
The tradition of winning was really regulated to three schools Washington, UCLA, and USC back in the day. It seemed like those three schools were the ones on a rotating basis for the Rose Bowl. Other than that, no other school had any tradition in terms of winning and thinking that they were the next "up and coming" program. Sure, an ASU might sneak into the Rose Bowl or a University of Arizona make a push every four years, but that does not make for any kind of tradition.
Since I live down here in the desert I often hear Sun Devil fans talk about this tradition that they have of winning. What? What kind of blinders do you have on? Eventually, the conversation goes back to Frank Kush era down here. Ok, that was a LONG time ago. Tradition means, it is consistent, not just a period of time. Don't get me wrong, other school fans are like this as well. UCLA and Washington fans are you listening? The Bruins fell off the map for awhile as well. Some people didn't even realize there was another university in town besides USC while the Trojans were squashing everybody and winning National Title and competing for other championship titles. Washington has disappeared from any talk of winning anything. The Dawgs are mired in mediocrity currently. As for my Oregon State Beavers, a school that is more or less known for having 30 losing seasons in row, we should be under no illusions of any kind of tradition in Corvallis. We are just happy we win more than 3 games a year now.
About a year ago, I had a good high school friend of mine come into town from back east we had this conversation about how disillusioned many Pac-12 program fans are when they talk about winning tradition. My buddy is a graduate of the University of Oregon and he supports his Ducks all the time, but he knows there is not this huge tradition of winning in Eugene. He told me that Duck fans have forgotten how bad it was because of the recent success and the help that Phil Knight has provided. We both agreed that when you talk about winning tradition you need to look no further than teams in the south. The fans are not "fair weather" like they are here out West. The support for them is unwavering ALL the time.
Would I like to see the winning tradition take over in the Pac-12? You bet I would, but lets be realistic about things. We are little more relaxed out here in the West and look at our football programs a little differently in terms of winning. If they win we go to games, they don't win, well, we don't. It really is that simple... just saying.
West Coast football is a pretty "what have you done for me lately" kind of fan base. It is a band-wagon culture to me because if your team is not winning then there is no support for the programs. Growing up in Oregon, support for either Oregon State or Oregon was not even close to what it is now. The football programs were terrible, had many seasons where the only competitive game for either school was the Civil War game. I attended the Civil War game that ended in 0-0 tie and the most interesting play was the last play where the Ducks were trying to pull off a Stanford-California ending. It didn't work, but made the last 20 seconds more interesting than the rest of the game. Tradition was non existent for either school. Fans were not vocal about their teams like they are now. It's funny how winning cures that.
The tradition of winning was really regulated to three schools Washington, UCLA, and USC back in the day. It seemed like those three schools were the ones on a rotating basis for the Rose Bowl. Other than that, no other school had any tradition in terms of winning and thinking that they were the next "up and coming" program. Sure, an ASU might sneak into the Rose Bowl or a University of Arizona make a push every four years, but that does not make for any kind of tradition.
Since I live down here in the desert I often hear Sun Devil fans talk about this tradition that they have of winning. What? What kind of blinders do you have on? Eventually, the conversation goes back to Frank Kush era down here. Ok, that was a LONG time ago. Tradition means, it is consistent, not just a period of time. Don't get me wrong, other school fans are like this as well. UCLA and Washington fans are you listening? The Bruins fell off the map for awhile as well. Some people didn't even realize there was another university in town besides USC while the Trojans were squashing everybody and winning National Title and competing for other championship titles. Washington has disappeared from any talk of winning anything. The Dawgs are mired in mediocrity currently. As for my Oregon State Beavers, a school that is more or less known for having 30 losing seasons in row, we should be under no illusions of any kind of tradition in Corvallis. We are just happy we win more than 3 games a year now.
About a year ago, I had a good high school friend of mine come into town from back east we had this conversation about how disillusioned many Pac-12 program fans are when they talk about winning tradition. My buddy is a graduate of the University of Oregon and he supports his Ducks all the time, but he knows there is not this huge tradition of winning in Eugene. He told me that Duck fans have forgotten how bad it was because of the recent success and the help that Phil Knight has provided. We both agreed that when you talk about winning tradition you need to look no further than teams in the south. The fans are not "fair weather" like they are here out West. The support for them is unwavering ALL the time.
Would I like to see the winning tradition take over in the Pac-12? You bet I would, but lets be realistic about things. We are little more relaxed out here in the West and look at our football programs a little differently in terms of winning. If they win we go to games, they don't win, well, we don't. It really is that simple... just saying.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Rich Rod and the Cats
I am believer in Rich Rod and the Wildcats down there at the University of Arizona. I think his Big 10 experiment at Michigan was just the wrong fit for him. Michigan was not ready for a spread type of offense as well. With that being said, Rodriguez is a perfect fit for the Wildcats and the Pac-12 because his spread attack is just like the wild, wild west. Open and free! Football in the West is all about quick strikes and putting pressure on the defense on every play.
I, for one, would love to see the Cats continue to rise in the Pac-12 south division because it would create a better rivalry with the Sun Devils. The rivalry is good, but it should be great and if the two major Division one programs in the state are winning and consistently winning then everybody benefits in Arizona. The University of Arizona is finishing up a major remodel of the football stadium and that'll help bring in better recruiting classes. Let's face the truth, that remodel was sorely needed down there because going to football game there was like stepping inside a mausoleum. The stadium will be more "attractive" to recruits.
Next, his offense is the wide open spread. Very fan friendly. Watching teams execute a play about 12-15 seconds is fun to watch. Personally, I'm not sure why it took this long for this type of offense to take hold like it has
in the 5-7 years. I like the Rich Rod's aggressive personality and style on the field. The take no prisoner approach, if you are up by 20 points, make it 30 points. If people get upset with this type of football, sit down and shut up people. If you think Rich Rod is running up the score, then obviously your team isn't doing anything to stop the lopsided score.
One of his challenges this year will be to find a replacement for Ka'deem Carey, who was probably the best running back in the Pac-12 and probably a top five running back in college football last year. Most people don't know who this guy is because he played in Arizona, the Pac-12 and not the SEC or on the East Coast. Look for Rodriguez to find a suitable replacement for Carey.
With back to back 8-5 seasons the Wildcats are looking to do big things in 2014. Here's to hoping they can accomplish those high aspirations! Just saying....
I, for one, would love to see the Cats continue to rise in the Pac-12 south division because it would create a better rivalry with the Sun Devils. The rivalry is good, but it should be great and if the two major Division one programs in the state are winning and consistently winning then everybody benefits in Arizona. The University of Arizona is finishing up a major remodel of the football stadium and that'll help bring in better recruiting classes. Let's face the truth, that remodel was sorely needed down there because going to football game there was like stepping inside a mausoleum. The stadium will be more "attractive" to recruits.
Next, his offense is the wide open spread. Very fan friendly. Watching teams execute a play about 12-15 seconds is fun to watch. Personally, I'm not sure why it took this long for this type of offense to take hold like it has
in the 5-7 years. I like the Rich Rod's aggressive personality and style on the field. The take no prisoner approach, if you are up by 20 points, make it 30 points. If people get upset with this type of football, sit down and shut up people. If you think Rich Rod is running up the score, then obviously your team isn't doing anything to stop the lopsided score.
One of his challenges this year will be to find a replacement for Ka'deem Carey, who was probably the best running back in the Pac-12 and probably a top five running back in college football last year. Most people don't know who this guy is because he played in Arizona, the Pac-12 and not the SEC or on the East Coast. Look for Rodriguez to find a suitable replacement for Carey.
With back to back 8-5 seasons the Wildcats are looking to do big things in 2014. Here's to hoping they can accomplish those high aspirations! Just saying....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)