Hope Springs Eternal with Gopher Football.
We've had 11 coaches in 45 years. The longest stretch was the 10-year Glen Mason era. As Gopher Football fans, we are psychologically damaged. We can't handle extremes zigging with Nebraska and zagging with Northwestern.
I can take the zig and the zag of PJ's chart if he will deliver a B1G West title in four years. I know I know that I need to be patient. Part of me want to say no more. I don't ever want to watch Gopher Football anymore. The next day, I get over it. My gut feeling tells me there is something there with our new coaching staff and if they can dial in the recruiting...
Minnesota was a frigid football landscape until Eric Kaler who IMHO is the first to be fully committed to not only Gopher Football, but to university athletics in general.
The Nothing Short Of Greatness Campaign is the first time ever that we have a huge commitment to sports at the U top to bottom. There has been other campaigns, but nothing like the size of the current commitment. The six previous presidents did not give the type of support to Gopher Athletics like it is being done today to put us in a better position to succeed in football and other sports.
The success of the athletic programs would bring in more endowments and donations. I think it does also help in student enrollment.
Hang in there. I think we are in a much better position to recruit the type of athletes needed to compete in the B1G and hopefully win championships. Whether PJ Fleck and Richard Pitino stay for the long haul or leave, we are in a better place to attract coaches and recruits.
It is what it is. Wisconsin got lucky with Donna Shalala who hired Barry Alvarez in 1990. In his firs year, he went 1-10 (0-8 Big Ten). In 1993, his team went 10-1-1 (6-1-1 Big Ten) and they went on to win the Rose Bowl.
It is even tough in the winter time while ice fishing. You can't escape the fact that we feel like losers in sports until the Twins won the two world series titles. Sure, we've got four titles with the Lynx and numerous ones with Gopher Men's and Women's Hockey. But, it is nothing like the feeling that I would get IF we ever win a B1G Football Title in my lifetime! Vikings too.
Winning the B1G Title in football would mean the whole world to me. We have not been able to count on the Vikings who also broke our hearts and hopes too many times. Do we stop watching Vikings Football? No.