Reusse: I’m not a Gophers football hater. I’m an old-timer with standards.

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gopherbadgerman said:
Isn't he kind of saying exactly that. The performance on the field matches the support of the program...I actually think the on-field performance is better than the support behind the program.
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There seems to be some confusion as to what Reusse is trying to say — several different interpretations. I definitely did not get the impression that Reusse was calling for more and better support for Gopher football.

I agree with you that the on-field performance often seems to exceed the support behind the program — especially the financial support.
 

RememberMurray said:
What would you say was Reusse's over-arching point in this column?
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There are multiple points that can be gleamed to the column.

He has loved Gopher football for multiple decades. There are several things for the Fleck football program to be proud of but the 2025 season left lots of room for improvement, thus he takes exception to being termed a "hater".

Indicating there is room for improvement is no way remotely suggesting Fleck should be dismissed which is what I originally responded to you about. Nary a hint.

He indicated that the one real achievement in 2025 was beating Nebraska.

If I were to offer a critique, they did not just beat them they pounded the snot out of the Huskers. Also, I think beating Wisconsin is also noteworthy, no matter how much they suck in any given season.

GophersInIowa said:
Ultimately sports are supposed to be fun. Do I wish for more? Absolutely. Do I wish my favorite teams did bigger and better things? Of course.

But if you can't at least enjoy some of the big moments and wins, what's the point of being a fan to begin with? It's very possible it's 2050 and this program has still never done more than it has under Fleck so far. What a waste of time that would be then if you missed out on some of the successes along the way.
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RememberMurray said:
Brilliant post. Well said.
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Reusse's column indicated there was only 1 big moment and win (vs Nebraska) in 2025.

Again, I would argue there were 2, adding the Badger victory. I have to admit there was just as much relief as celebration in that one. However, having experienced a 15 season drought, I do not take such wins for granted.
 

Murray is butt-hurt over anything and everything that doesn't worship all things Gophers/Fleck.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Yawn.
 


Ope3 said:
There are multiple points that can be gleamed to the column.

He has loved Gopher football for multiple decades. There are several things for the Fleck football program to be proud of but the 2025 season left lots of room for improvement, thus he takes exception to being termed a "hater".

Indicating there is room for improvement is no way remotely suggesting Fleck should be dismissed which is what I originally responded to you about. Nary a hint.

He indicated that the one real achievement in 2025 was beating Nebraska.

If I were to offer a critique, they did not just beat them they pounded the snot out of the Huskers. Also, I think beating Wisconsin is also noteworthy, no matter how much they suck in any given season.




Reusse's column indicated there was only 1 big moment and win (vs Nebraska) in 2025.

Again, I would argue there were 2, adding the Badger victory. I have to admit there was just as much relief as celebration in that one. However, having experienced a 15 season drought, I do not take such wins for granted.
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What was the whole "standards" thing about? How about "lousy" as a description for an 8-win season?
 


Pat started covering the Gophers for KSTP in 1980.

Our Big 10 record in 80s was 28-55-2 (.337) and we played multiple FCS programs (Wichita State, Montana, losing to Pacific (they may have been FBS), Northern Iowa and Indiana State).

When were these good ole days? When he was a chubby little boy in Fulda?
 

It's amazing how people who have standards, or set boundaries, are called "haters" by those who disagree with them. It must feel bad to know you don't get free access to change their minds, to take agency away from them and get them to behave correctly (according to your comfort level).

Maybe NIL donors aren't flocking to the DTA bucket because of programs not meeting standards, or expecting their standards to be lowered and give more money than they have decided to? Who wants their agency subverted in order to spend more money than they want to?
 
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Bob_Loblaw said:
Pat started covering the Gophers for KSTP in 1980.

Our Big 10 record in 80s was 28-55-2 (.337) and we played multiple FCS programs (Wichita State, Montana, losing to Pacific (they may have been FBS), Northern Iowa and Indiana State).

When were these good ole days? When he was a chubby little boy in Fulda?
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Apparently, the good old days were epitomized by an 8 win team in the very early 60s that went to a Rose Bowl.

An 8-win team in 2025, however, is "lousy". You and I would know that — we wouldn't need Pat to tell us — if you and I had "standards", which Pat clearly has.
 

RememberMurray said:
So this was a review of the 2025 Gopher football season? It was lousy, according to Reusse. His word.

What was the whole "standards" thing about?
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Losing to Iowa 41-3 falls short of his standards.

80% of their Big 10 wins coming against teams with a combined Conference record of 6-39 along with Buffalo, Northwestern St & New Mexico plus a noteworthy win over Nebraska does not elevate it beyond "lousy" in his purview.

I guess my standards are lower, because I would say "average".

However, I do not have the same perspective of being alive for either Rose Bowl appearance nor the last Big 10 Tri-Championship. I missed by a little more than a year.
 



Ope3 said:
Losing to Iowa 41-3 falls short of his standards.

80% of their Big 10 wins coming against teams with a combined Conference record of 6-39 along with Buffalo, Northwestern St & New Mexico plus a noteworthy win over Nebraska does not elevate it beyond "lousy" in his purview.

I guess my standards are lower, because I would say "average".

However, I do not have the same perspective of being alive for either Rose Bowl appearance nor the last Big 10 Tri-Championship. I missed by a little more than a year.
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So Pat is feeling it's necessary to remind us that losing to Iowa by 41-3 is a bad result? I already knew that. Seems pretty obvious.

The fact that I enjoy Gopher football and found good moments this season and even had fun being a fan does not mean that I lack standards. Sorry, Pat. Sorry, Ope3.
 

Ope3 said:
There are multiple points that can be gleamed to the column.

He has loved Gopher football for multiple decades. There are several things for the Fleck football program to be proud of but the 2025 season left lots of room for improvement, thus he takes exception to being termed a "hater".

Indicating there is room for improvement is no way remotely suggesting Fleck should be dismissed which is what I originally responded to you about. Nary a hint.

He indicated that the one real achievement in 2025 was beating Nebraska.

If I were to offer a critique, they did not just beat them they pounded the snot out of the Huskers. Also, I think beating Wisconsin is also noteworthy, no matter how much they suck in any given season.




Reusse's column indicated there was only 1 big moment and win (vs Nebraska) in 2025.

Again, I would argue there were 2, adding the Badger victory. I have to admit there was just as much relief as celebration in that one. However, having experienced a 15 season drought, I do not take such wins for granted.
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Even though they weren't big wins overall, the ending of both Purdue and Michigan St were exciting.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Pat started covering the Gophers for KSTP in 1980.

Our Big 10 record in 80s was 28-55-2 (.337) and we played multiple FCS programs (Wichita State, Montana, losing to Pacific (they may have been FBS), Northern Iowa and Indiana State).

When were these good ole days? When he was a chubby little boy in Fulda?
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Covering the Gophers for KSTP has never been in Reusse's job description.

The specific dates of the good ole days listed would be when he was a freshman/sophomore in High School at indeed Fulda. I know he graduated from Prior Lake though.
 

RememberMurray said:
So Pat is feeling it's necessary to remind us that losing to Iowa by 41-3 is a bad result? I already knew that. Seems pretty obvious.

The fact that I enjoy Gopher football and found good moments this season and even had fun being a fan does not mean that I lack standards. Sorry, Pat. Sorry, Ope3.
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Nobody said you lacked standards.
 





RememberMurray said:
Again, I think you and I had completely different interpretations of the column.
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No doubt, but there was nothing in there to suggest Fleck should be replaced. None.

Terming 2025 results as "lousy" to leaping to that conclusion is misguided.
 

Ope3 said:
Covering the Gophers for KSTP has never been in Reusse's job description.

The specific dates of the good ole days listed would be when he was a freshman/sophomore in High School at indeed Fulda. I know he graduated from Prior Lake though.
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Well, he has been covering sports in the cities for almost 50 years and the "good ole days" predate that timeline. This feels a little like complaining the forward pass ruined the NFL.
 

Ope3 said:
No doubt, but there was nothing in there to suggest Fleck should be replaced. None.

Terming 2025 results as "lousy" to leaping to that conclusion is misguided.
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What was the point of the article then? He is saying that the football program doesn't meet his standards and haven't since the 1960s when he didn't have to sit down to tie his shoes.

So what's the point? Could you imagine if people just wrote articles on things they don't really feel strongly about one way or the other?

He doesn't like PJ and his dislikes Gopher fans because we're the only ones who give him any attention anymore. This is all this is.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
What was the point of the article then? He is saying that the football program doesn't meet his standards and haven't since the 1960s when he didn't have to sit down to tie his shoes.

So what's the point? Could you imagine if people just wrote articles on things they don't really feel strongly about one way or the other?

He doesn't like PJ and his dislikes Gopher fans because we're the only ones who give him any attention anymore. This is all this is.
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Spot on. Truth!
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
What was the point of the article then? He is saying that the football program doesn't meet his standards and haven't since the 1960s when he didn't have to sit down to tie his shoes.

So what's the point? Could you imagine if people just wrote articles on things they don't really feel strongly about one way or the other?

He doesn't like PJ and his dislikes Gopher fans because we're the only ones who give him any attention anymore. This is all this is.
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Your response seems to suggest any column that is not fawning over Fleck completely should thereby be an insistence that Fleck be fired.

There is a middle ground. Vast.
 

Ope3 said:
Your response seems to suggest any column that is not fawning over Fleck completely should thereby be an insistence that Fleck be fired.

There is a middle ground. Vast.
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No, not at all. I think most people write an article when they have a point. It's odd to write an article that says "it's fine but it wasn't as good as 1960 and it could be better". That's a strange choice of an article.

Think of the things in your life that you usually would think were "newsworthy". For example, if you saw a movie and it was so bad you had to walk out or a movie that was so good you wanted to tell someone. Would you really think it was newsworthy that you watched a show and it was OK?

Think of the posts on Gopherhole. There will be a ton of posts about players/coaches who are awesome and tons of posts about players/coaches who are struggling. Which thread do you think will get more clicks "Fire Harbaugh" or "Jayden Everett is decent but not great".

He can't all out rip on Fleck because he would look bizarre. So he writes an article about what he would consider successful and imply that he somehow has higher standards than other people because we had a decent year. Look at Reusse, he is arguing he has higher standards than the average person. That's wild.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
He can't all out rip on Fleck because he would look bizarre. So he writes an article about what he would consider successful and imply that he somehow has higher standards than other people because we had a decent year. Look at Reusse, he is arguing he has higher standards than the average person. That's wild.
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Truth-telling. Beautiful.
 


RememberMurray said:
There seems to be some confusion as to what Reusse is trying to say — several different interpretations. I definitely did not get the impression that Reusse was calling for more and better support for Gopher football.

I agree with you that the on-field performance often seems to exceed the support behind the program — especially the financial support.
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There’s no chance that the on field performance has been better than the support. I think it’s the opposite. During this last game did I admire how Maverick and the Smith boys played and did I enjoy that – – absolutely it was fun. The offense scheme and everything else that goes with it was awful and painful to watch. A lot of our games are like that and we won’t capture better fan support without that changing. The fact that a lot of folks on here pretend like the games aren’t probably mostly like nails on a chalkboard is I guess consistent if nothing else.
 

Kitzmann57 said:
I love you Pat, but the Gophers had a huge advantage in the 1960's. They were one of a few schools who were recruiting Afican-American players. We'll never get back to the glory days of the 60's. Accept the facts or be called a Gopher hater.
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Segregation was the glory days?
 

Gopherchase said:
There’s no chance that the on field performance has been better than the support. I think it’s the opposite. During this last game did I admire how Maverick and the Smith boys played and did I enjoy that – – absolutely it was fun. The offense scheme and everything else that goes with it was awful and painful to watch. A lot of our games are like that and we won’t capture better fan support without that changing. The fact that a lot of folks on here pretend like the games aren’t probably mostly like nails on a chalkboard is I guess consistent if nothing else.
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Speaking of nails on a chalkboard, listen to the beautiful sound of axe-grinding.
 



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