ComoGopher, That does makes sense. Fans want their teams to win and they should. Winning makes sports more entertaining.
I don’t know Jamie and I can’t tell you that I think we will be in the top tier if the Big Ten 2-3 years from now. Maybe, maybe not. I guess my own philosophy on coaching and players has changed some over the years. I generally want Gopher coaches to be people that view their job as their dream job. I think that is Jamie Trachsel in our softball program. It sure wasn’t Jess Allister, unfortunately. Coaches can still deserve firing if they pass this threshold but I can say that is a big plus for Jamie in my mind.
Secondly, I think Gopher fans on the baseball side give John Anderson quite a bit of leash to rise and fall as we understand that it is tough to be continuously good in baseball (and softball) for a far northern team. Yet most people believe, over the long run, that Anderson has given us more wins and more Big Ten championships than our fair share. That seems like a fair way of judging success to me.
Finally, I want players that wear the maroon and gold to want to be on the team. I want them to live their team. If they don’t want to be on the team, and if they don’t bleed Marion and Gold, well there are just too few scholarships in these non-revenue sports to be giving away U of M goodies to players that don’t appreciate what our University provides them.
In a nutshell, that is part of my philosophy that has caused me to make the posts that I have. I sure do value fans who love college softball. Reading passionate fans also makes sports fun.