KFAN Knuckleheads a little sensitive today regarding...

[RailBaronYarr]

I think you've mischaracterized the Gopher fan base on desires for media coverage. We don't want 'praise' or sunshine and rainbows blown up our collective rear-ends. We want knowledegable, even-handed coverage. Not clueless hacks taking cheap shots. The decades worth of cheap-shottery is the cause for the media hatred.

Thank you. The media fails to acknowledge the challenges the U faces in being successful as a football program. Given our conference schedule, the challenge of going 4-0 in nonconf even with a mediocre slate of opponents (and god help the team if they drop a quality BCS team for a year). They fail to acknowledge the challenges we face having so many other MN or out-state alums living here in the Twin Cities, and how their entertainment dollars are competed for by so many other sports and venues. They fail to acknowledge that going 1-7 in the BT doesn't guarantee first pick at a couple 4-5* recruits.

With all these challenges, losing is still not acceptable, but their coverage is not knowledgeable, even-handed, or anything else. But the constant cheap shots do nothing to help the program or provide a conversation that helps move the program or problem forward. In fact, I can guarantee you that, while the football program and athletic dept have made enough poor decisions on their own, the over-the-top negativity and cheap shots by the media have more than likely cost us an in-state recruit or two that may have made a difference.

 

[EG#9]

Thank you. The media fails to acknowledge the challenges the U faces in being successful as a football program. Given our conference schedule, the challenge of going 4-0 in nonconf even with a mediocre slate of opponents (and god help the team if they drop a quality BCS team for a year). They fail to acknowledge the challenges we face having so many other MN or out-state alums living here in the Twin Cities, and how their entertainment dollars are competed for by so many other sports and venues. They fail to acknowledge that going 1-7 in the BT doesn't guarantee first pick at a couple 4-5* recruits.

With all these challenges, losing is still not acceptable, but their coverage is not knowledgeable, even-handed, or anything else. But the constant cheap shots do nothing to help the program or provide a conversation that helps move the program or problem forward. In fact, I can guarantee you that, while the football program and athletic dept have made enough poor decisions on their own, the over-the-top negativity and cheap shots by the media have more than likely cost us an in-state recruit or two that may have made a difference.

I'd hate the media if they made excuses for the Gopher program like the ones that exist in this post. There's no reason for Minnesota to be less successful than Iowa in football and they should be able to compete with Wisconsin. To give the Gophers a pat on the back for going 4-0 against the non-conference slate would be disingenuous. For the most part, the Gophers have gotten negative coverage because they've produced negative results. I could live without the snark that exists in the coverage of almost all the sports teams in Minnesota and I could really live without the preferred status that some manager/players/coaches get for being nice to the media while other guys (often the elite guys, but not always) get blamed for the teams failures.

Even if the media took your view point and wrote articles educating the public as to why Minnesota is such a hard place to win at and fans should be happy with less than contending for B1G titles, would that make a difference in attendance/interest? I think that most everyone would just choose to use their discretionary income on teams that don't have such disadvantages and can win titles.

Wisconsin had to win before they started seeing regular sellouts, that will probably be the case at Minnesota too. I don't know what the media was like in Milwaukee/Madison during prior to Alvarez, but I doubt they were the reason for the lack of interest in the Badger football program.