With so many people talking about what the coaches and players did wrong, I think a change that can be made and started by many of us on the board is to try and change the crowd's attitude. It seems the majority of Minnesota fans are bandwagon fans who only cheer when their team gives them something to cheer about. The people on the board are not in that majority, so why not make the extra effort to lead by actions on how real fans behave. All to often during the Badger game, I looked around and saw fans sitting on their hands in a quiet stadium resigned to the fate that the Gophers were going to find a way to lose the game. As soon as Wisconsin had that 10 point lead, it was like the game was already over. Here's what needs to be done:
1. Yell at the correct times, even if when it looks like the momentum is on the other side. A little crowd noise can kill a visiting team's momentum. That means yelling on all third downs at any time in the game. Yelling on all downs inside the redzone. Yelling on basically every defensive series in the fourth quarter. Certainly, noise is welcome for all defensive series throughout the entire game, but considering that is likely asking too much of our bandwagon fans, at least make noise during the times I mentioned.
2. Encourage the rest of your section to cheer, even when it looks like the team is going to pull another Gophers choke job. It's like the fans have the attitude that the Gophers are going to give the game away, so why even try? Of course, that attitude makes it easier for the visiting to run their offense during key times throughout the game, and it also robs the Gopher defense of what should be a good home-field advantage. Yes, many past Gopher teams did not rise to the challenge, but if the crowd keeps waiting for the Gophers to do something great and the Gophers team keeps looking for crowd support that doesn't exist, then we're just going to be stuck in the current status quo of an apathetic crowd and a team that doesn't come through in the clutch.
3. Yell support for players who do the little things throughout a play that might go unrecognized. All to often, people are focused on Weber or Decker or whomever has the ball or makes the tackle, instead of noticing a big block, someone clogging up the middle by taking on a doubleteam on defense, someone keeping outside contain and funneling a ballcarrier to the LBs, etc. If you see someone else who didn't get the ball or who didn't make the tackle but did something big to make the play happen, be sure to cheer for them. It might be wishful thinking, but I figure that if we find more things to be positive about other than just the obvious situations, then the easier it will be in key moments for people to keep the fan volume high.
There are many more items that could be added to the list, but the key is the same... As fans, we can't change how the coaches coach or the players play, so we might as well change how we support the team and, by leading by example, how the rest of the crowd supports the team when adversity strikes. Even though I personally have some problems with our coaching staff (particularly Cosgrove and his read-and-react, huge cornerback cushion and inability to teach proper tackling fundamentals that plagued his time at Nebraska and is rearing its ugly head here in Minnesota), the decision on their fate rests with Maturi and the powers that be. The decision on how we support our team is up to us.
1. Yell at the correct times, even if when it looks like the momentum is on the other side. A little crowd noise can kill a visiting team's momentum. That means yelling on all third downs at any time in the game. Yelling on all downs inside the redzone. Yelling on basically every defensive series in the fourth quarter. Certainly, noise is welcome for all defensive series throughout the entire game, but considering that is likely asking too much of our bandwagon fans, at least make noise during the times I mentioned.
2. Encourage the rest of your section to cheer, even when it looks like the team is going to pull another Gophers choke job. It's like the fans have the attitude that the Gophers are going to give the game away, so why even try? Of course, that attitude makes it easier for the visiting to run their offense during key times throughout the game, and it also robs the Gopher defense of what should be a good home-field advantage. Yes, many past Gopher teams did not rise to the challenge, but if the crowd keeps waiting for the Gophers to do something great and the Gophers team keeps looking for crowd support that doesn't exist, then we're just going to be stuck in the current status quo of an apathetic crowd and a team that doesn't come through in the clutch.
3. Yell support for players who do the little things throughout a play that might go unrecognized. All to often, people are focused on Weber or Decker or whomever has the ball or makes the tackle, instead of noticing a big block, someone clogging up the middle by taking on a doubleteam on defense, someone keeping outside contain and funneling a ballcarrier to the LBs, etc. If you see someone else who didn't get the ball or who didn't make the tackle but did something big to make the play happen, be sure to cheer for them. It might be wishful thinking, but I figure that if we find more things to be positive about other than just the obvious situations, then the easier it will be in key moments for people to keep the fan volume high.
There are many more items that could be added to the list, but the key is the same... As fans, we can't change how the coaches coach or the players play, so we might as well change how we support the team and, by leading by example, how the rest of the crowd supports the team when adversity strikes. Even though I personally have some problems with our coaching staff (particularly Cosgrove and his read-and-react, huge cornerback cushion and inability to teach proper tackling fundamentals that plagued his time at Nebraska and is rearing its ugly head here in Minnesota), the decision on their fate rests with Maturi and the powers that be. The decision on how we support our team is up to us.
