Collective glass is less than half empty

[Unregistered User]

I don't mind the media ripping the program when it is deserved. What I hate is that most of the chatter they spew is totally uninformed. They don't know players names 1/2 the time.

 

[Unregistered User]

Was this a known Simpsons reference or were you seriously using the word "cromulent"? The way you used it lead me to believe that you were serious, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Either way, hilarious.

I'll work a Simpson's reference in wherever I feel it is perfectly cromulent.

 

[WAGopher]

Mediocre and average do mean the same thing, although mediocre does have far more negative connotations.

Average and mediocre do not always mean the same thing. For instance, say you came to my town where we had 2 restaurants and you asked me which one was better. I reply that one is average and the other mediocre. Which one are you going to? By far, most people will go to the average restaurant.

Definitions from Dictionary.com:
Average
–adjective
6. of or pertaining to an average; estimated by average; forming an average: The average rainfall there is 180 inches.
7. typical; common; ordinary: The average secretary couldn't handle such a workload. His grades were nothing special, only average.

Mediocre
-adjective
1. of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate.
2. rather poor or inferior.

I maintain that the Gophers have an average football team and are not mediocre.

 

[RodentRampage]

Average and mediocre do mean that same thing. But there is more to words than what they denote, the connotation, what a word implies, of words means quite a lot. You can call a 6-6 team average or you can call it mediocre. They both are technically accurate. One has more negative implications than the other.

 

[WAGopher]

One has more negative implications than the other.

Exactly

 

[RodentRampage]

Such words play on emotions. When you say mediocre, it means a 6-6 team, but feels like a 4-8 team. When you say average, it means a 6-6 team, but it feels like an 8-4 team.

 

[monk10]

This is why I like 2fer1s. When one glass is less then half full I usually have another full glass waiting for me.

 

[GoGophers2005]

I get into arguments all the time when I talk gophers football with people. The first thing out of their mouth is the Gophers suck. My first question back to them is where did Adam Weber go to high school. If they can't answer that they have no right to talk about Gopher football because they really don't pay attention.

In addition I am amazed at the fact that no one seems to understand the difference between the revenue of an Ohio State vs. Minnesota. Most people think they are all even and Minnesota just flushes their money down the toilet while OSU uses it to build a winning football team.
I'm not making excuses, but the recruiting budget of an OSU is hard to match yet everyone thinks we should be on par with them.

 

[ruralgopher]

I get into arguments all the time when I talk gophers football with people. The first thing out of their mouth is the Gophers suck. My first question back to them is where did Adam Weber go to high school. If they can't answer that they have no right to talk about Gopher football because they really don't pay attention.

This is why I post here. There are 4 people I talk Gophers with face to face, otherwise, just here.

 

[RodentRampage]

These people are going to say "Gophers suck" regardless of what the Gophers actual record is. Their too stupid to pay attention. When I realize that I am speaking to a low-grade degenerate moron, I move on. They don't really care whether the Gophers are any good or not, they just like to get under your skin, it's about the only thing they have in their lives.

 

[Stargenes]

Actually, the general attitude you speak of is an inferiority complex that reasonates in older fan base and apathy in the youths. However, it presents an excellent opportunity for this team to BUNKER IN and Surprize folks. Norwestern did it in '95 and '96 with a surprize run to the Rose Bowl. Remember me saying this, THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM! Take a look at what team has been the top rushing big ten squad in the past ten years. Answere: Minnesota followed by Wisconsin. The running game returns in '10 and as a consequence the Gophers will more frequently WIN. Don't worry, I'm saving room on the bandwagon for a bunch of folks. However, you have to shed the ugly girl complex to get on. GO GOPHERS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[AhliBobwa]

Brewster hasn't helped the cause regarding the Gophers as he has overly hyped the Gophers by making dumb statements, lost far more games than won, made lots of poor coaching decisons, changed his offense and coaches several times and is now recruiting similarily to what Mason was.

If you honestly think that Brewster´s recruiting is similar to that of Mason´s you are either

1) a troll

2) extremely stupid and-or ignorant


Brewster´s so called worst class 2010 is as good as the best class Mason ever put together. And before you start blathering about how recruiting rankings don´t mean anything I have a question.

Did you watch the young guys play last year? (Carter, Tinsley, Cooper, etc).

Did you watch the Gophers practice this spring?

Nearly everyone who did these things and has even a modicum of intelligence will tell you that the Gophers have collected a group of athletes the caliber of which hasn´t been seen around here in quite a long time. Certainly not in my lifetime.

Also notice the most negative posts on this thread come from someone with less than a hundred posts, and is clearly a troll of some variety.

 

[maxwellsmart]

good points and I agree with you. but to the average sports and non-Gopher football Minnesota sports fan that we hope to engage, its true breakout season or bust. that means beating two of the following usc, ohio state and penn state and beating one of the following wisconsin, iowa. going 3-1 in non-conf without a usc win and beating illinois, northwestern and purdue might as well be 'horrible' as the non Gopher football fan could care less.

break out season or bust.

No. I doubt if the average non-Gopher sports fan could tell you who we're playing this coming season. Sounds more like your own standard to me.

 

[loki]

If you honestly think that Brewster´s recruiting is similar to that of Mason´s you are either

1) a troll

2) extremely stupid and-or ignorant


Brewster´s so called worst class 2010 is as good as the best class Mason ever put together. And before you start blathering about how recruiting rankings don´t mean anything I have a question.

Did you watch the young guys play last year? (Carter, Tinsley, Cooper, etc).

Did you watch the Gophers practice this spring?

Nearly everyone who did these things and has even a modicum of intelligence will tell you that the Gophers have collected a group of athletes the caliber of which hasn´t been seen around here in quite a long time. Certainly not in my lifetime.

Also notice the most negative posts on this thread come from someone with less than a hundred posts, and is clearly a troll of some variety.

I think you are a troll! Regardless, I am not a troll and I'm pretty smart. I also have had season tickets for a long time for hockey and football and go to one or two basketball games every year so actually I am a big Gopher fan. Brewster's recruiting started off well but was Mason like last year. His team was avg. last year. He has made alot of mistakes over the past few years and his teams have played avg to poorly since he has been here....even a blindly optimistic Gopher fan can see that. We will see how Brewsters team play next year, I hope well but based on the past I am not as hopeful as you. Try not to attack people on a personal level it is quite an immature way of debating or discussing issues!

 

[SonOfTheVarsity]

THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM! Take a look at what team has been the top rushing big ten squad in the past ten years. Answere: Minnesota followed by Wisconsin. The running game returns in '10 and as a consequence the Gophers will more frequently WIN.

To be fair, the rushing game under Brewster has not contributed to us being the top rushing team in the past decade. I think the rushing game will improve, but it won't be to the level that it was during the Mason years. This is a different team.

 

[EG#9]

Horrible fits. Since '93 the Gophers have the second worst conference record! That is humiliating, pathetic, horrible.. choose your adjective. They've been losing to Wisconsin and Iowa which is completely unacceptable. This is one of the biggest underachieving programs in the nation and has been for a long, long time now. In the last 13 years (Mason's 10 and Brewster's 3), the Gophers have something in common with Indiana: They are the only two programs to not finish as high as 3rd in the Big Ten. I don't know how you could call the program anything other than horrible.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/stewart_mandel/06/22/expansion-divisions/index.html

 

[GhostofBronko]

Remember me saying this, THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM! Take a look at what team has been the top rushing big ten squad in the past ten years. Answere: Minnesota followed by Wisconsin.

That's really awesome. Who do you think is going to start this year Maroney or Barber?

 

[loki]

and who is going to coach the running attack? Mason?

 

[RodentRampage]

If it were up to me, I would go with the triple option. That only a few teams, the service academies and Georgia Tech run it isn't a problem, people wouldn't be used to it, and we wouldn't be competing for the same kind of recruits, trying to run the same offense as everyone else. Just think of all those fullbacks that are out of fashion these days.

If we did go to the triple option, it would pretty much just be Georgia Tech we would be competing with. People don't go to the service academies to play football, they just happen to be playing football while they are there.

 

[Stargenes]

That's really awesome. Who do you think is going to start this year Maroney or Barber?

I'm sure you know this, but both of them are in the NFL now. However, the names will change but the commitment to the RUN will elicit similar results; the thousand yard rusher(s) will return to Gopher football in '10. Again, write it down and check back with me the week of the MSU game.

 

[Stargenes]

and who is going to coach the running attack? Mason?

Coach Mason was fired some time ago because he could not seem to field a decent defense. He was made a very rich man though to step asside. By the way, are you suggesting Coach Hammock is not a good RB coach. If so, you are wrong. MSU tried to recruit him from here to replace Dan Enos who took the Head Coaching job at Central Michigan University. Actually, Coach Brewster has a very solid staff now that has great chemistry. This is an intangible that folks like you likely underestimate. Don't you recall after the MSU game, Coach Dantonio stated that he was "OUTCOACHED." I am certain we are better off now than we were with Mason. Let go man; Just let go.

 

[GopherGod]

Coach Mason was fired some time ago because he could not seem to field a decent defense. He was made a very rich man though to step asside. By the way, are you suggesting Coach Hammock is not a good RB coach. If so, you are wrong. MSU tried to recruit him from here to replace Dan Enos who took the Head Coaching job at Central Michigan University. Actually, Coach Brewster has a very solid staff now that has great chemistry. This is an intangible that folks like you likely underestimate. Don't you recall after the MSU game, Coach Dantonio stated that he was "OUTCOACHED." I am certain we are better off now than we were with Mason. Let go man; Just let go.

How do you know how the chemistry of the staff is?

 

[bankonit]

I don't think most Minnesotans think the Gophers are horrible, truthfully they are just indifferent to them. Unfortunately most Minnesotans have tuned the the Gophers out for a long time. The last time the Gophers were good was when they collapsed against Michigan and that is the last times that most Minnesotans cared. Brewster hasn't helped the cause regarding the Gophers as he has overly hyped the Gophers by making dumb statements, lost far more games than won, made lots of poor coaching decisons, changed his offense and coaches several times and is now recruiting similarily to what Mason was. Bottom line, the program has been more hype under him than positive reality and Minnesotans are still waiting for the "proof to be in the pudding" as they say. Further, in the fall, the avg Minnesotan can watch the Twins and Vikings contend or watch the Gophers pretend. We are big fans but most people would rather watch a winner and until the Gophers change the corner most Minnesotan's wont care or will put them down as below avg or worse.

Most of these claims are unfounded and show why people think the team is not good, most of the "fan" base are very poorly informed and the casual people who only see the box score or read the paper are ill informed as well

 

[Stargenes]

How do you know how the chemistry of the staff is?

If you read up on them, you will notice that many of them worked together before and had success.

 

[bankonit]

I think you are a troll! Regardless, I am not a troll and I'm pretty smart. I also have had season tickets for a long time for hockey and football and go to one or two basketball games every year so actually I am a big Gopher fan. Brewster's recruiting started off well but was Mason like last year. His team was avg. last year. He has made alot of mistakes over the past few years and his teams have played avg to poorly since he has been here....even a blindly optimistic Gopher fan can see that. We will see how Brewsters team play next year, I hope well but based on the past I am not as hopeful as you. Try not to attack people on a personal level it is quite an immature way of debating or discussing issues!

you may not be a troll but you certainly are not a fan. You have nothing but negative things to say about the program even though we have better players than we have had in decades and the program is on the rise and everyone outside of Minnesota can see that.

 

[loki]

you may not be a troll but you certainly are not a fan. You have nothing but negative things to say about the program even though we have better players than we have had in decades and the program is on the rise and everyone outside of Minnesota can see that.

Why the personal attack? Whether I am optimistic like you or more realistic (or negative as you percieve it) like me WE are all fans and I hope, just like you that the Gophers have a great season and go to the Rose Bowl. I just have a harder time believing it will happen based on the history of this coach and team. So, color me a doubter because that is the truth but i am just a big fan as you. Further, I have a feeling that there are quite a few fans on this site who have concerns just like I do. By the way, I check out other sites quite often and no one sees the Gophers "as on the rise." In fact no one is talking about the Gophers at all this year (except the usual mocking by the Wisconsin and Iowa fans) as they are far under the radar....sorry but that is the truth. Hopefully, we suprise some teams.

 

[Word]

These kinds of debates always make me wonder how many gopher "fans" actually went to the U. I went to the U and even when things are going bad for a team I am still a fan and don't go around bashing them - I just don't see the point. It's my school, my team. Just wondering if more of the negativity comes from those that didn't go to the U...
Back to the glass half empty discussion - I think this year's team has the potential to be better than last year's, but with one of the 5 most difficult schedules in the country, the results might be worse than last year's. Most of my optimism is based on the thought that our offense couldn't possibly any worse than last year...it's just not possible!

 

[ulfr]

I'm sure you know this, but both of them are in the NFL now. However, the names will change but the commitment to the RUN will elicit similar results; the thousand yard rusher(s) will return to Gopher football in '10. Again, write it down and check back with me the week of the MSU game.

I am sorry but I am calling shenanigans...

]

I'll buy you a beer if we have a thousand yard rusher, much less two. I will buy you a frickin case if we are in the top 3 rushing in conference.

 

[ulfr]

I for one am sick of the local media getting ripped for poor Gopher play. The local media rips the Twins,Vikings, Wild and Timerwolves when they lose or play poorly if you haven't noticed.

Calling shenanigans here too...

The glass being empty is fueled, in my opinion, mostly by the Twin Cities media. It has bothered me to no end the disparity of the media in covering the Gophers versus the other sports in the ten years I've been up here. Minnesota as a whole is not exactly golden in the post-season. In the last decade the Pre-Farve Vikings weren't exactly world beaters (in fact I would say mediocre to be a fairly accurate term), the Twins have never shown up in the playoffs, the Wild are disgraceful considering this allegedly being 'the State of Hockey', and the Timberwolves are in utter shambles. Despite all this I challenge anybody to find more demeaning or disparaging op-eds than that you'll find on the Gophers. Every year is met with weeks of preseason Vikings coverage so deluded that even with a 6-6 year prior you'd think for sure the Vikings were going to win the Superbowl this time! [and I can't wait to suffer through it now that they actually came close] What's more, there cannot be enough disparagement for a team that plays as poorly as the Timberwolves! Hell, the Twins are in absolute free fall, and you won't see nearly the doom and gloom a month of such sh#t worthless play will garnish the Gophers.

The problem is that the Gophers are an open target. Years of perceived failure have set the general public to apathy. Whereas one will alienate target audiences by similarly haranguing on the Vikings, you can can assume no such backlash from a dilapidated Gopher Nation. That is compounded with deeper economic ties to the Twins and Vikings. The two sports radio stations in town are financially tied and it is fairly obviously at play in their 'analysis' of their respective partners. Further unlike a draft oriented professional sport, routine negativity and general apathy actually further feeds a feedback loop of lack of success. If you don't think we are loosing our top instate talent due to the local media and the general perception of the populace it helps engender, you're fooling yourself. Further if you think that failing to land top in-state recruits isn't retarding on-field success you are a fool. Out of state top-tier talent isn't going to come to Minnesota. Our only chance at the Henderson's and the Floyd's of the world will be by keeping some home.

That being said, we in the mean time can only hope to get lucky with a break out. The media isn't calling off the dogs anytime soon. Only two things then will raise the beleaguered Gophers in the public eye:

A Rosebowl trip or two

OR

A New Viking Stadium... in LA

 

[howeda7]

Gee, back to wishing for the Vikings to move away. Yes, that's the answer.

It's really not that complicated. Certainly 40 years of bad-to-medicore football has landed Gopher Football pretty solidly in 5th place in the market (I still think they're ahead of the Wild).

But the current apathy is worse then it was under Mason, even though the end result (6-6, trip to Insight Bowl) is the same. Why? The quality of the wins is the main culprit. Yes, we've gone 13-13 the last two years. But which of those 13 wins really got average MN fan excited? Illinois? Purdue? Three years in, those are Brewster's signature victories. No Iowa, no wisconsin, no PSU, no Michigan, no Cal. Even at the end Mason beat Iowa in 2006, Michigan in 2005, etc. Combine this with Brewster's mouth turning some people off (whether it's fair or not) and average Joe fan is basically saying 'wake me when you beat someone exciting.'

It may not be fair, but it's the truth. The people on this board are die-hards and care about all wins a lot. The Iowa's, and Wisconsins are just that much more important. But when you've been here 3 years and your biggest triumph is still a road win in Champaign over a bad Illinois team, you've got work to do. A win over USC or any of the big names that follow will make a huge difference. Should we beat USC and make it through N. Ill and Northwestern, the bandwagon will be fully hopping for the game at Madison. The question is can he make it happen.