Nadine Babu STrib blog: USC over the Gophers - a moral victory. What does that mean?

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It means that she probably doesn't deserve that Strib blog.
 






Good Blog, Nadine!

I think you've covered the feelings and thoughts that most Gopher fans have about coach Kill and this year's team. I, for one, am very hopeful about this year and the future of Gopher football. I was excited before the game, and more so now after yesterday's play in the 2nd half. You're correct, Nadine, Kill's approach and responses about Gopher football is indeed refreshing.

As to moral victories, I think back to Hayden Fry's first year at Iowa (1979). He had replaced Bob Commings, and the last winning season for the Iowa Hawkeyes was in 1961. Hawkeye football was at it's depth of mediocrity. Fry came in and said some of the things coach Kill has been saying i.e., We'll work hard . . . it'll take time . . . we're all in this together . . . we have to learn how to win, etc.

In their second or third game of that first season, the Hawks almost upset heavily favored Oklahoma. After the game, the fans were euphoric and all sorts of superlatives were being pronounced. The first thing Hayden Fry said when he arrived for the post game press conference, "If anyone comes up to my players and say how wonderful they played, I'll bust them in the mouth." In short, moral victories are still a loss and the players shouldn't accept defeat as a positive. That said, i'm sure the coaches and players can take a lot from yesterday's game and build on the apparent positives and correct the negatives.

The fans can take whatever they want from the game . . . disappointment, yes . . . hope for a team that didn't quit and one that was the stronger of the two teams at game end, yes. Hope springs eternal. And I'm extremely hopeful and looking forward to an exciting season and watching coach Kill's plan/system unfold.

Go Gophers!!
 


Let's face it. The Gophers were not very good the first half. Mrs Bayfield said they looked like Brewster was still the coach.

You can't ignore that even though both the coaches and the players got their act together and played much better, especially after the alley-oop snap and turnover.

Moral victory? No way. The guys know that they did not play well enough to win. The veterans have been there before and should know it takes four solid quarters of football to beat a good team. I hope not one player or coach is satisfied with their performance.
 



Bayfieldgopher said:
Let's face it. The Gophers were not very good the first half. Mrs Bayfield said they looked like Brewster was still the coach.

You can't ignore that even though both the coaches and the players got their act together and played much better, especially after the alley-oop snap and turnover.

Moral victory? No way. The guys know that they did not play well enough to win. The veterans have been there before and should know it takes four solid quarters of football to beat a good team. I hope not one player or coach is satisfied with their performance.
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Ok, lets be real here. For the team, this was NOT a moral victory. There are no such things as moral victories when you are a player/coach.

But there IS a moral victory for us fans. I don't know if that's how I choose to take it, but I definitely won't blame others if that's how they take it.

What I'm saying is.. Moral victories are for the media and fans only. Not for the team themselves.
 



When you are in transition, I think it is OK for fans to take a moral victory and enjoy it, but agree that the players cannot. I was there in the stands for Alvarez' 1-10 inaugural season and it sucked to lose 10 games, but it was obvious to anyone in the stands that the team was playing better, even if the record didn't reflect it (Morton's last season was 2-9, 2 of his six (6) wins in three years at Wisconsin). For a fan, I think the manner of play and how players react to wins/losses is a good way to judge the team, although the W-L record is always paramount.
 



I don't always agree with Nadine's thoughts, but I thought she did an excellent job with this blog. I liked the quotes she chose to use from various GopherHolers as I thought they really accurately conveyed the thoughts of many fans. I also agree with Nadine that it was good to hear Coach Kill (or in my case read about) say that the team was disappointed and that their was work to be done. It would not be good for the future of the program if people involved with the prorgram (coaches, players, etc) were satisfied with a loss.

Nice work Gopher Lady
 

Gopher4life15 said:
HOLY CRAP I'M FAMOUS!! :clap:

Thanks Nadine-Very cool! :)
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Glad I could help make you famous! :)

DL65 said:
I think you've covered the feelings and thoughts that most Gopher fans have about coach Kill and this year's team. I, for one, am very hopeful about this year and the future of Gopher football. I was excited before the game, and more so now after yesterday's play in the 2nd half. You're correct, Nadine, Kill's approach and responses about Gopher football is indeed refreshing.

As to moral victories, I think back to Hayden Fry's first year at Iowa (1979). He had replaced Bob Commings, and the last winning season for the Iowa Hawkeyes was in 1961. Hawkeye football was at it's depth of mediocrity. Fry came in and said some of the things coach Kill has been saying i.e., We'll work hard . . . it'll take time . . . we're all in this together . . . we have to learn how to win, etc.

In their second or third game of that first season, the Hawks almost upset heavily favored Oklahoma. After the game, the fans were euphoric and all sorts of superlatives were being pronounced. The first thing Hayden Fry said when he arrived for the post game press conference, "If anyone comes up to my players and say how wonderful they played, I'll bust them in the mouth." In short, moral victories are still a loss and the players shouldn't accept defeat as a positive. That said, i'm sure the coaches and players can take a lot from yesterday's game and build on the apparent positives and correct the negatives.

The fans can take whatever they want from the game . . . disappointment, yes . . . hope for a team that didn't quit and one that was the stronger of the two teams at game end, yes. Hope springs eternal. And I'm extremely hopeful and looking forward to an exciting season and watching coach Kill's plan/system unfold.

Go Gophers!!
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Thank you - as always, for the recap on the Sports Huddle - it was great to be able to look over that and use your quotes.

Dr.Don said:
That happened a long time ago. :)
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True - Dr. Don has been creeping me out for many years ;)

EG#9 said:
I don't always agree with Nadine's thoughts, but I thought she did an excellent job with this blog. I liked the quotes she chose to use from various GopherHolers as I thought they really accurately conveyed the thoughts of many fans. I also agree with Nadine that it was good to hear Coach Kill (or in my case read about) say that the team was disappointed and that their was work to be done. It would not be good for the future of the program if people involved with the prorgram (coaches, players, etc) were satisfied with a loss.

Nice work Gopher Lady
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Thanks, appreciate it. I love reading GH because it really is reflective of what our fanbase is saying. It really is a gauge for the fan temperature.
 

GopherLady said:
Thanks, appreciate it. I love reading GH because it really is reflective of what our fanbase is saying. It really is a gauge for the fan temperature.
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You can take Dr.Don's temperature ANYtime. =D
 

Formo said:
You can take Dr.Don's temperature ANYtime. =D
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I prefer oral temperature versus rectal.

The difference between an oral thermometer and a rectal thermometer........................The Taste!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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