ESPN rips Iowa- goes too far

Donate To GopherHole
H

Handsome Pete

Wartime Hero Fool
Joined
Nov 12, 2008
Messages
1,530
Reaction score
0
Points
36
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=6069090

Depending on your point of view, Pat Forde may be 99.9999% correct on this savagery of the Iowa football program. One thing I personally cannot abide however is this ridiculous cheap shot passage:

"You won't find many coaches with a better reputation than Ferentz among his peers and among his fans. He has been both wildly successful and wildly popular in Iowa City, compiling an 89-60 record at a school that shouldn't be able to win consistently at the highest level. The reward has been a contract extended last year through 2020 and paying him well in excess of $3 million a year."

This kind of cheap shot crap by Forde (and Dennis Dodd against Minnesota), only lends credence to the skepticism that Big Ten fans at schools other than OSU, Michigan and PSU of the national sports media's scrutiny of their program.

If you ask me, the Big Ten Network is a big driver behind this kind of garbage. The ESPN bobos natually think they are top dog and since the Big Ten has its own network it must be devalued. Ridiculous.
 

The bolded part is absolutely factual. Outside of Northwestern, Indiana, and Purdue, that is the toughest job in the conference. It's an embarassment that Ferentz (and Fry) have accomplished so much more than Gopher coaches have the last two decades. I don't know how that's a cheap shot. I think most people accept that it's much easier to win consistently at places with larger populations and better access to recruits.
 

Captain Kirk is only 89-60? the way these Iowa fans talk I figured he had to have a better record then that.
I bet he reaches 70 losses before he reaches 100 wins.
 

EG#9 said:
I think most people accept that it's much easier to win consistently at places with larger populations and better access to recruits.
Click to expand...

OK, like where, like Utah? Boise State? Nebraska? How is Iowa different than these schools/places that compete almost every year? How is Minnesota different? Forde is suggesting there are only a handful of teams in the nation that "deserve" to be competitive. My question is who does Forde believe have some sort of birthright to a competitive team year in and year out? I am going to go out on a limb and say he thinks Minnesota does not deserve to field a competitive team either. Where did this clown go to school?

Edit: I unlazied and found out Forde went to Missouri. Big shock.
 

It took you guys this long to realize that "journalists" like Forde, Dennis Dodd, and Gregg Doyel are complete attention whore/hacks. I don't believe one-half of what they write and the rest is just their jaded opinions.
 


I personally don't have a problem with this article. Not sure what the big deal is.:confused:
 

Handsome Pete said:
OK, like where, like Utah? Boise State? Nebraska? How is Iowa different than these schools/places that compete almost every year? How is Minnesota different? Forde is suggesting there are only a handful of teams in the nation that "deserve" to be competitive. My question is who does Forde believe have some sort of birthright to a competitive team year in and year out? I am going to go out on a limb and say he thinks Minnesota does not deserve to field a competitive team either. Where did this clown go to school?
Click to expand...

It's not, Utah and Boise State don't compete in the Big Ten. Minnesota is different than Iowa as it has a larger population, Minneapolis, NBA and NFL teams, a major airport, etc, etc. What's been done at Iowa reflects just how poor a job has been done by everyone associated with Minnesota football (not just coaches, but Presidents and Athletic Directors too) since before most of us have been born. There's a reason why Ferentz was a hot name for coaching jobs for years, and it's not because he won, it's because he won at Iowa.
 

EG#9 said:
It's not, Utah and Boise State don't compete in the Big Ten. Minnesota is different than Iowa as it has a larger population, Minneapolis, NBA and NFL teams, a major airport, etc, etc. What's been done at Iowa reflects just how poor a job has been done by everyone associated with Minnesota football (not just coaches, but Presidents and Athletic Directors too) since before most of us have been born. There's a reason why Ferentz was a hot name for coaching jobs for years, and it's not because he won, it's because he won at Iowa.
Click to expand...

I hear what you are saying but Minnesota just got the same comment from Dennis Dodd, who said Jerry Kill should just try to get to 7-5 here and then "get the hell out" or something to that effect. Exact same sentiment. That is my issue.
 

not once does the story mention the University of Minnesota but yet it is a cheap shot at the U? holy crap. it is sad that a poster to this board is so paranoid that an article not even about the U is somehow finding a cheap shot against the football program.

Handsome Peter is right. it is a national conspiracy against the U that every story no matter what the content is a cheap shot at our school.
 



Handsome Pete said:
I hear what you are saying but Minnesota just got the same comment from Dennis Dodd, who said Jerry Kill should just try to get to 7-5 here and then "get the hell out" or something to that effect. Exact same sentiment. That is my issue.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's the same sentiment at all. Going 7-5 is far different than "winning consistently at the highset level". Dodd claimed Kill should leave Minnesota ( a school with more advantages) as soon as he achieved a 7-5 record. We know that nobody wants a coach who goes 7-5 at Minnesota, that's not thought of as an accomplishment. Glen Mason and Tim Brewster both were around that mark and neither has sniffed another job. We know that what Ferentz has done at Iowa is an accomplishment and has made him wanted by other schools and several NFL teams. Dodd spoke out of ignorance, I just think Forde spoke factually. It would be different if Forde said that Iowa should not ever expect to win at the highest level, then I could see how it would be insulting.
 


Arbogast said:
I personally don't have a problem with this article. Not sure what the big deal is.:confused:
Click to expand...

I don't either, although in the past Forde has been shown to be a bit of a shill for certain coaches and programs. That being said, some of the retorts from the Iowa faithful as it relates to this particular article were ridiculous.

For me, it comes down to this: There is cause for major concern as it relates to the Iowa football program. The Iowa fans can try and dance around the issue all they want, but when 13 players simultaneously need hospitalization after a workout, it's a major problem. Whether it can be blamed on the players, the coaches, Ferentz or somebody else on his or the school's staff, there were major major mistakes made. And taking into account what has happened with the drugs and suspensions recently, something is definitely broken in Iowa City.

Iowa fans can come back with insults and name-calling, which they have done ad naseum in the comments section of this article, but the fact remains that recent appearances point to serious problems. And that's basically the bottom line here.
 

Captain Kirks Iowa fun boat is taking on water and he better bail faster then ever before.
 



I don't have a problem with the article. Iowa had a ton of problems winning consistently until Hayden Fry took over.

The criticism of Ferentz not returning sooner is also valid in my opinion.
 

EG#9 said:
I don't think it's the same sentiment at all. Going 7-5 is far different than "winning consistently at the highset level". Dodd claimed Kill should leave Minnesota ( a school with more advantages) as soon as he achieved a 7-5 record. We know that nobody wants a coach who goes 7-5 at Minnesota, that's not thought of as an accomplishment. Glen Mason and Tim Brewster both were around that mark and neither has sniffed another job. We know that what Ferentz has done at Iowa is an accomplishment and has made him wanted by other schools and several NFL teams. Dodd spoke out of ignorance, I just think Forde spoke factually. It would be different if Forde said that Iowa should not ever expect to win at the highest level, then I could see how it would be insulting.
Click to expand...

I have read this a couple times now and I am sorry but I have no idea what you are saying.
 

I'm with the majority here, don't see the problem with the statement.
 

50PoundHead said:
I don't have a problem with the article. Iowa had a ton of problems winning consistently until Hayden Fry took over.

The criticism of Ferentz not returning sooner is also valid in my opinion.
Click to expand...

As I stated in the OP, I no problem with the article at all except for the cheap shot about Iowa being a school that is not supposed to be winning consistently. I find that obnoxious beyond words. Would he say the same thing about Nebraska? Nebraska has about half as many people as Iowa does and is no closer to any recruiting hotbeds than Iowa is. And yet Forde in all his craptastic glory (he is a Missouri alum) believes he is the authority on which programs around the country "should be" winning. What about Minnesota? Wisconsin? Do they "deserve" to" according to this oracle of cosmic football justice?

And as for not winning consistently until Hayden Fry, he arrived there some 30 years ago so I would say that is some decent consistency for the past 3 decades. I would love for Minnesota to put together a 30 year run like that with 4-5 conference titles. I'm sure Pat Forde would be be disappointed if we did. In his pea brain, I am sure Missouri "should be" winning it all every year, even though they have never won a championship in their history and just got beat by lower ranked Iowa in their bowl game.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom