But, that aside, I'll try to address the issue of my being a cbb fan or not. Honestly, I do enjoy watching cbb a lot, but I also enjoy following all aspects of the sport. Both cbb and cfb fascinate me in ways that no other sports do. Following the vast # of different rating systems, keeping track of stats, looking into the history of both sports, and they are very different in a lot of ways as well, which keeps each fresh when going from one season to the next.
Also, I'm a gambler. Been playing Hold Em for 15 years now, and I'm not too bad at it, either. I've bet on cbb more than any other sport, and found that avoiding actually watching games helped in my ability to be able to pick the winners and losers, and who would and would not cover the spreads. When I am betting on cbb, which I don't do every season, probably only 1 season out of every 6 which coincidentally correspond to my once every 6 years appearances here at GH, I make an exception and allow myself to watch Gopher bb games, but then I don't bet on Gopher bb. The eye test is the worst way to determine how a team will do in future matchups, imo.
So I've watched plenty of cbb in the past few years, but not so much this year. But I have watched Gopher bb games. But as a gambler, as a betting man, and cbb being the sport I focus my betting attentions on, yeah, I have concentrated far more on the statistics and numbers and avoided watching games other than Gopher games, and so along with that mindset, during a season like this one, I approach the game the way a betting man would. Letting my emotions get the best of me is a sure fire way to lose my entire bankroll that I've worked hard for the last 15 years to build up. So I do approach the Gophers and their season from a different perspective than many in here do.
And I sometimes try to let that differing perspective have a voice here at the GH, to bring some balance to the discussions. But that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy watching the Gophers when they are playing well, and that I don't get frustrated when I see them struggling, or when I see Tubby do things that even I know are not good coaching moves, or when I see Tubby or the players, OR THE FANS, give up. That pisses me off a ton.
But what I've learned playing Texas Hold Em, and betting cbb, is that not getting emotional, sticking to your game, playing the odds, will get you through losing streaks and slumps. Sometimes you run into a player who is smarter than you, and you just don't realize it until its too late. You get used to playing against suckers and taking their money, and then this guy sneaks in and totally catches you off guard and totally outplays you and takes you for a big stack of cash. But if you play smart, and stay on your toes, you can either make up your losses vs other players, or get your money back from that guy in another game. But losing your cool and getting emotional will only lead to you losing even more money.
I've also learned that as much as I gamble, I'm not actually a gambler. I play for the long haul. I play for the consistent and ever rising bankroll, I don't make big risky gambles hoping for the big payoff. So yeah, I'm a little hesitant to back the firing of Tubby and take a risk and hope we get a good coach to replace him. I'm also reluctant to get too emotional or upset over each and every loss that I feel we deserved because of bad play, lack of concentration, lack of good coaching or like the last game, lack of good effort when I know that I still have a big stack of chips in front of me and the skills and opportunity to turn my losing streak around and take down a big pot.
