BleedGopher
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per the Des Moines Register:
Randy Johnson covers the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He posed five questions to HawkCentral beat writer Mark Emmert about Saturday's Minnesota-Iowa showdown. Those are here.
Johnson was kind of enough to reciprocate by sharing his insights into this year's Gophers squad, which is 4-3 under first-year coach P.J. Fleck. Read on:
Question: P.J. Fleck seems like a master salesman when it comes to drumming up interest in a program that operates in the shadow of the Minnesota Vikings. Have you sensed that people in the Twin Cities are getting more invested in Gopher football? If so, in what ways do you see that playing out?
Answer: I sense a mixture of curiosity and caution with fans in the Twin Cities. You’ll always have the Gophers die-hards in the season-ticket base, but attracting the casual fan is the difficult part, especially with so many other options for sporting events here. Attendance hasn’t been great — an announced average of 44,649 — but a lot has to do with having Buffalo and Middle Tennessee as the two nonconference home opponents. The losses to Maryland and Purdue also have hurt momentum in attracting more fans. Fleck is building the program from the ground up his way, and that has ruffled some feathers of those who were expecting a nine-win season. Also, the fact that Fleck is selling his program reminds some people too much of Tim Brewster, the failed former Gophers coach. Fleck, though, has a much better track record than Brewster, and his time at Western Michigan shows that.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...arterback-one-inspiring-linebacker/799744001/
Go Gophers!!
Randy Johnson covers the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He posed five questions to HawkCentral beat writer Mark Emmert about Saturday's Minnesota-Iowa showdown. Those are here.
Johnson was kind of enough to reciprocate by sharing his insights into this year's Gophers squad, which is 4-3 under first-year coach P.J. Fleck. Read on:
Question: P.J. Fleck seems like a master salesman when it comes to drumming up interest in a program that operates in the shadow of the Minnesota Vikings. Have you sensed that people in the Twin Cities are getting more invested in Gopher football? If so, in what ways do you see that playing out?
Answer: I sense a mixture of curiosity and caution with fans in the Twin Cities. You’ll always have the Gophers die-hards in the season-ticket base, but attracting the casual fan is the difficult part, especially with so many other options for sporting events here. Attendance hasn’t been great — an announced average of 44,649 — but a lot has to do with having Buffalo and Middle Tennessee as the two nonconference home opponents. The losses to Maryland and Purdue also have hurt momentum in attracting more fans. Fleck is building the program from the ground up his way, and that has ruffled some feathers of those who were expecting a nine-win season. Also, the fact that Fleck is selling his program reminds some people too much of Tim Brewster, the failed former Gophers coach. Fleck, though, has a much better track record than Brewster, and his time at Western Michigan shows that.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...arterback-one-inspiring-linebacker/799744001/
Go Gophers!!