I have realized something about Gopher Football and Minnesota in general!

[RodentRampage]

A true "laughing stock" football program would be euphoric about back to back bowl games.

A laughing stock would be one that doesn't even get to bowl games. You see, not getting to a bowl game is worse than getting one. A worse team is more a candidate for a laughing stock than a better one. It's not that complicated.

 

[MrGopher]

Why the hell are people so ashamed of winters?? If a player is so much of a pu$$y that he wont come here because it gets a little cold.... do we really want him on our field?? And yeah, the autumn weather here isnt that cold at all. But why don't people see the cold winters as an opportunity to finally gain an identity. Brewster (or whoever the coach is in the future) needs to use that as a strength in recruiting. Our only truly cold game was the one against purdue and that worked out well for us.

 

[WAGopher]

This has amazed me as I've moved around the country: generally smart people think Minneapolis is basically in Canada - even though its probably about five hours South.

That's because Minneapolis is north of Toronto ... so Minnesota must be in Canada!

 

[maxwellsmart]

This has amazed me as I've moved around the country: generally smart people think Minneapolis is basically in Canada - even though its probably about five hours South.

I know Canada. Canada is a friend of mine and I can tell you Minnesota, you're no Canada. Again, why does it matter what they think or say?

 

[RodentRampage]

This has amazed me as I've moved around the country: generally smart people think Minneapolis is basically in Canada - even though its probably about five hours South.

They hear about the cold in International Falls, and assume the whole state is like that. That's like assuming that Northern California must be really hot because Death Valley is really hot. Or assuming that Dallas must be a great winter vacation site because Corpus Christi is nice in the winter. Or assuming that the weather in northern Florida is just like the Keys.

The problem is that this state is just too humble. Look over at Wisconsin - we make cheese, they make cheese. But they have promoted Wisconsin cheese as being something extra special. Minnesotans are too "aw shucks" to do that. In Wisconsin, they will put up a tourist attraction at the drop of a hat. Minnesotans have an attitute of "Oh, no one would want to see that." For once, I'm not bashing Wisconsin (don't get used to it!), I respect the willingness to shamelessly self-promote.

Minneapolis for a time adopted the motto "The Minneapple". It was a clever motto, but they dropped it quickly. Too much self-promotion for Minnesotans to cope with.

Instead, all we seem to hype up is the cold, which other states have too. About all that we do promote is hunting and fishing. These are fine activitites, but there is more to do here than just hunting and fishing.

 

[MNCH]

First of all, welcome back, Bronko. I know some people think you might have been banned for issues dealing with self-control, rational thought, and anger management, but I don't think that's fair at all. Like with Tiger, I'm going to respect your need for privacy. Just glad you didn't end up buried in the end zone of TCF Bank Stadium like our own Jimmy Hoffa because of those obvious issues.

Secondly, I'd like to put a little gray shading into your extremely black and white world. There's a thing out there called Title IX. It's a federal law. It states basically that males and females have equal opportunities in education and activities in institutions that receive federal money. I think most people with a daughter in sports would think Title IX is a good law.

The U of M has added some sports because of Title IX. They need to balance the number of scholarships men and women receive. Some schools, like Wisconsin, did it by cutting men's sports like baseball. Our university did it by adding women's sports like rowing. Since college athletics are also about personal growth and providing opportunities, I'm glad the U of M is taking this approach. Just because you'll never see me out on the banks of the Mississippi watching a rowing race, isn't any reason to deny those athletes a scholarship or a chance to be a college athlete.

I'll also add that TCF Bank Stadium probably doesn't get built without Title IX. It was partially (mainly?) sold on the idea that the U of M needs more football revenue. Yes, it's needed to support other sports, but it's still needed, and a new stadium would help with that. To keep twisting the connections, football is the sport that has made it difficult to comply with Title IX. It's easy to balance basketball, hockey, baseball/softball, etc., but how do you balance a sport women generally don't play but gives out 85 scholarships? Women's rowing and soccer, perhaps? Since there is a balance now, you won't have to worry about all of that money you give going to badmitton someday.

Got to basically agree with you on the need for Ridder Arena, but there's a rather prominent Minnesota family associated with the name. If you notice, Bronko, there's about an equal number of women around. Their support of our university is awfully important even if they obviously don't count for much in your world.

Stop posting! You're too rational for this board!

 

[Gophers09]

I know Canada. Canada is a friend of mine and I can tell you Minnesota, you're no Canada. Again, why does it matter what they think or say?

Because some of the "they" are good football players or people that have influence on good football players that we would like to play for us.