Kirk Ferentz on Brews firing and if MN can be as good as IA and WI

[DocfromDarwin]

do a spell check dude

 

[FrothyGopher]

While winning will GREATLY improve the gameday experience, it is simply never going to be a selling point for our program. You guys saw the OSU vs UW game, it was insanity the entire day there. And then the team showed up as big as the fans. I simply cannot envision that type of environment at TCF - maybe I'm all wrong, but I doubt we'll be landing Gameday anytime soon.

I think you're wrong. Michigan 2003 was insane for hours at the tailgate lot and for the pre-game. The first three quarters were pretty solid too. And that was the Dome. A sustained run of success for a couple of years would work wonders for the program and the energy surrounding it.

Admittedly, it's tough to say, since I haven't seen sustained success in my lifetime. It may never be Madison or Iowa City, but it will be the Minneapolis take on that. We'll get Gameday when we regain some measure of national relevance.

Just my take.

 

[josh087]

I think you're wrong. Michigan 2003 was insane for hours at the tailgate lot and for the pre-game. The first three quarters were pretty solid too. And that was the Dome. A sustained run of success for a couple of years would work wonders for the program and the energy surrounding it.

All that 2003 2-game stretch proved is unless we win EVERY GAME nothing drastic is going to change. We still controlled our own destiny in the B10 race with 5 games to play and at most 30K show up to the dome on 10/18 to watch the team against Michigan State.

That is the intrinsic advantage Wisconsin and Iowa have. As long as they have just halfway decent teams, they have far more fans that have their life revolve around the team than we will. They have no pro sports teams in their local TV market. The coverage revolves around them, thus it is that way in the minds of the citizens. The college game will always be the show. That is something that is not lost on recruits. They want a big time atmosphere, a place where the fans treat them like idols. They will never get that here. In Minneapolis, the pro sports athletes are the icons. Don't take my word for it. Mr. Royston has spoken on here many times on how the atmosphere and the love for the recruits matter.

You can argue about how much of an advantage this is, and this is not a "woe is me" post - we can win here. However, there is absolutely no way you can say it is not some form of an intrinsic advantage.

My mission is that people stop thinking that being in a pro sports town does not matter at all. It needs to be addressed by the University. They have to figure out how this can be overcome in the best way possible. If you're the #4 retailer in town - you don't just sit back and keep operating as usual. You must come up with a competitive advantage to compete with the big boys. That has not been done here. Since 1960 they have just sat back and been content with being an afterthought, hoping to strike lightning in a bottle. That's all they've done is hope. People on Gopherhole talk constantly about "all the team has to do is win." "If the Gophers win, it will solve everything."

Again, if you're the #4 retailer in town, what good does it do to say "all we have to do is start outselling the other guys and we'll get more customers?" You can't just want to be the best and not change anything to get there. It doesn't work that way. The U must show it wants to compete, and they need to figure out a way to get this team at the top of the pecking order other than just hoping to win. There needs to be a fundamental change in ideology.

End of rant.

 

[FrothyGopher]

All that 2003 2-game stretch proved is unless we win EVERY GAME nothing drastic is going to change. We still controlled our own destiny in the B10 race with 5 games to play and at most 30K show up to the dome on 10/18.

That is the intrinsic advantage Wisconsin and Iowa have. As long as they have just halfway decent teams, they have far more fans that have their life revolve around the team than we will. They have no pro sports teams in their local TV market. The coverage revolves around them, thus it is that way in the minds of the citizens. The college game will always be the show.

You can argue about how much of an advantage this is, but there is absolutely no way you can say it is not some form of an intrinsic advantage.

You'll note that I said sustained success for a couple of years. I'm not saying three Rose Bowls in a row; but I am saying two top 3 BT finishes in a row, at a minimum. I doubt things went from a 40% full Camp Randall to a packed house every time they won a high-profile game during their 33-year run of ineptitude. People abandoned the Gophers in 2003 because it was a story they had seen many, many times before and they all knew the ending.

You and I will just never agree on the impact the Vikings have on the Gophers, so it's not even worth getting into it. I do know we haven't had any sustained success (or ANY success, if you define that by a top 1,2 or 3 BT finish) for a very long time. Until we see that, I'll keep my opinion that people will glom onto the Gophers like flies on poo once they start winning with some consistency.

 

[tjgopher]

While winning will GREATLY improve the gameday experience, it is simply never going to be a selling point for our program. You guys saw the OSU vs UW game, it was insanity the entire day there. And then the team showed up as big as the fans. I simply cannot envision that type of environment at TCF - maybe I'm all wrong, but I doubt we'll be landing Gameday anytime soon.

It would be nice to pull this off someday at TCF Bank. Notice the atmosphere and the color coordination:

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Or to have a moment like this someday at TCF Bank Stadium:

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[50PoundHead]

Shaffer is at St. Thomas now. Not sure of the story on Gilreath. He had committed to the U at one point and I don't know whether he de-committed and changed to Wisconsin before or after Mason was fired.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

I think you're wrong. Michigan 2003 was insane for hours at the tailgate lot and for the pre-game. The first three quarters were pretty solid too. And that was the Dome. A sustained run of success for a couple of years would work wonders for the program and the energy surrounding it.

Admittedly, it's tough to say, since I haven't seen sustained success in my lifetime. It may never be Madison or Iowa City, but it will be the Minneapolis take on that. We'll get Gameday when we regain some measure of national relevance.

Just my take.

I was at that game and it was probably the best atmosphere at the Dome ever for a game. That being said, it pales in comparison to game day in Madison, Iowa City, Lincoln, and Ann Arbor. I've been to games in all those towns, it just feels different.

I do think a big part of it is those are college towns, and Minneapolis will probably never feel the same way.

 

[disco]

That is the intrinsic advantage Wisconsin and Iowa have. As long as they have just halfway decent teams, they have far more fans that have their life revolve around the team than we will. They have no pro sports teams in their local TV market. The coverage revolves around them, thus it is that way in the minds of the citizens.

I think while that's part of it, I think it's way overstated as a problem. It's true for Iowa, which has no major metro area, or pro teams, but Madison is really only a little over an hour from Milwaukee, much like Ann Arbor isn't really that far from Detroit.

I think the far bigger problem is what was stated before. A lot of people don't want to go to college in the town they grew up in, and if you consider that 3/4 of the population of MN (and thus the most good football players) is in the Twin Cities area, going to school at the U, is more or less, going to school in the "town" you grew up in. People want to get away from their parents and their home for a few years, and by going to Iowa or Wisconsin (or the Dakota schools), they're close enough to drive home in a few hours, but just far enough to where they're "away from home."

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

I think while that's part of it, I think it's way overstated as a problem. It's true for Iowa, which has no major metro area, or pro teams, but Madison is really only a little over an hour from Milwaukee, much like Ann Arbor isn't really that far from Detroit.

I think the far bigger problem is what was stated before. A lot of people don't want to go to college in the town they grew up in, and if you consider that 3/4 of the population of MN (and thus the most good football players) is in the Twin Cities area, going to school at the U, is more or less, going to school in the "town" you grew up in. People want to get away from their parents and their home for a few years, and by going to Iowa or Wisconsin (or the Dakota schools), they're close enough to drive home in a few hours, but just far enough to where they're "away from home."

Using your theory, if the U was located in St. Cloud, St. Peter or Northfield, more Twin Cities football stars would choose the U.

 

[Wahoo McDaniel]

These "Stiff's" Have Been Crossed Off "The List!"

Very true. Gilreath, Anderson, and Sorenson were all gets against Mason not Brewster. I think in 2008 Wisconsin only got Joe Schafer from CDH and then it took a couple years before they nabbed Beau Allen who is the offspring of two badgers. Iowa has been even less impressive. Klug was on few people's radars and I think Binns is a 2007 guy.

We don't have to hire Urban Meyer to close the borders. We just have to not hire a stiff.