Ranking Big Ten schools on recruiting appeal

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GoldenAle

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I apologize if this has been posted elsewhere, but found the Gopher snippet from Dienhart at BTN both interesting and left me feeling optimistic! Full article: http://btn.com/2014/02/06/ranking-big-ten-schools-on-recruiting-appeal/

"9. Minnesota. Look, it’s the Golden Gophers’ state. There are no other major football-playing schools, just like for Wisconsin and Nebraska. And coaches have something to sell that no other public Big Ten school can: A major metro area. Yes, Columbus, Ohio, is big, but it can’t compare to Minneapolis-St. Paul. Still, the recruiting base is small. Yes, TCF Bank Stadium is sweet. But the other facilities are among the Big Ten’s worst. Once those get improved, this sleeping giant could fully awake. Why can’t Minnesota be as good as Wisconsin and Iowa? It’s a mystery in the Big Ten universe."

I think Jerry has us on the right path...and boy oh boy do I like that we are considered a sleeping giant!
 

Hayden Fry called us a sleeping giant 30 years ago. Gotta wake up sometime, right?
 

GoldenAle said:
I apologize if this has been posted elsewhere, but found the Gopher snippet from Dienhart at BTN both interesting and left me feeling optimistic! Full article: http://btn.com/2014/02/06/ranking-big-ten-schools-on-recruiting-appeal/

"9. Minnesota. Look, it’s the Golden Gophers’ state. There are no other major football-playing schools, just like for Wisconsin and Nebraska. And coaches have something to sell that no other public Big Ten school can: A major metro area. Yes, Columbus, Ohio, is big, but it can’t compare to Minneapolis-St. Paul. Still, the recruiting base is small. Yes, TCF Bank Stadium is sweet. But the other facilities are among the Big Ten’s worst. Once those get improved, this sleeping giant could fully awake. Why can’t Minnesota be as good as Wisconsin and Iowa? It’s a mystery in the Big Ten universe."

I think Jerry has us on the right path...and boy oh boy do I like that we are considered a sleeping giant!
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It's not that big of a mystery. In this town, Vikes and Twins rule the sports scene. Everyone else is far behind. Wild are probably third. I wish U of M athletics was bigger here, but this state has a ways to go in terms of support to get the football and basketball programs to the top tier level.
 

Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
It's not that big of a mystery. In this town, Vikes and Twins rule the sports scene. Everyone else is far behind. Wild are probably third. I wish U of M athletics was bigger here, but this state has a ways to go in terms of support to get the football and basketball programs to the top tier level.
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This is a myth. The Gopher's long history of not being very good has very little to do with the Vikings or any other sports teams. It's a convenient excuse to make us feel a little better. It relates much more to an almost unimaginable string of poor hires within the University in all areas; Presidents, ADs and coaches who have really kinda sucked when it comes to supporting and enabling the football team to be the best that it can be. I really do believe that we have just hired really badly for the better part of 40 years. It seems like we're on track here, health permitting, with Kill and Teague seems to have a decent idea of what needs to be done. If Louie Nanne can bring home the bacon and get us our facilities, then we can put all of this behind us once and for all.
 

Facilities, facilities, facilities. Man, I can't wait until we don't have to hear about how ****ty they are.
 


Hates Monikers said:
Hayden Fry called us a sleeping giant 30 years ago. Gotta wake up sometime, right?
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Holtz said the same thing about Minnesota when he left Notre Dame. Wosre, Tim Cohane, of Look magazine, did a story on new Gopher coach, Wes Fesler, in 1951; the headline? "Can Fesler Rouse the Sleeping Giant of the North?"
 


Indi1006 said:
This is a myth. The Gopher's long history of not being very good has very little to do with the Vikings or any other sports teams. It's a convenient excuse to make us feel a little better. It relates much more to an almost unimaginable string of poor hires within the University in all areas; Presidents, ADs and coaches who have really kinda sucked when it comes to supporting and enabling the football team to be the best that it can be. I really do believe that we have just hired really badly for the better part of 40 years. It seems like we're on track here, health permitting, with Kill and Teague seems to have a decent idea of what needs to be done. If Louie Nanne can bring home the bacon and get us our facilities, then we can put all of this behind us once and for all.
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Maybe you hang with a crowd that bleeds maroon and gold. I can tell you that the people I come in contact for the most part get a bored look on their faces when I talk Gopher sports. Yes, I agree that the administration support is better than it has been in a real long time. There really isn't wide fan support yet and I believe it will be sometime before we close the gap between the pro franchises and Gopher athletics.
 




Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
Maybe you hang with a crowd that bleeds maroon and gold. I can tell you that the people I come in contact for the most part get a bored look on their faces when I talk Gopher sports. Yes, I agree that the administration support is better than it has been in a real long time. There really isn't wide fan support yet and I believe it will be sometime before we close the gap between the pro franchises and Gopher athletics.
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I agree with Indi. The Gopher's drought has little to do with pro sports. There are a lot of reasons, with pro sports only being a small one among many. I think Indi sums it up very well.

The Gopher football team got the attention of the masses this year. Note: I did not say won over the masses or wildly grow the fan base. I said the team got some attention. For growth, it will take the football version of the 1997 final four run for the basketball team, without the corresponding scandal. Other ingredients include those facilities and the admin finding a way to grow tailgating.
 

Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
It's not that big of a mystery. In this town, Vikes and Twins rule the sports scene. Everyone else is far behind. Wild are probably third. I wish U of M athletics was bigger here, but this state has a ways to go in terms of support to get the football and basketball programs to the top tier level.
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I couldn't disagree more. In my opinion Gopher Football is clearly the 3rd most popular sports team in this state, more popular than the Wild and T-Wolves. I've always thought Gopher fans, particularily the ones on this board, largely underestimate how popular the Gophers actually are. Whenever I'm around town I see more Gopher apparel than any other Minnesota sports team besides maybe the Twins. I see far more Gopher gear around town than I do Vikings, Wild, and T-Wolves combined. I've never understood the notion that the Gophers aren't popular and are basically an afterthought after the Vikes and Twins, when it's simply not true.
 

DMB123 said:
I couldn't disagree more. In my opinion Gopher Football is clearly the 3rd most popular sports team in this state, more popular than the Wild and T-Wolves. I've always thought Gopher fans, particularily the ones on this board, largely underestimate how popular the Gophers actually are. Whenever I'm around town I see more Gopher apparel than any other Minnesota sports team besides maybe the Twins. I see far more Gopher gear around town than I do Vikings, Wild, and T-Wolves combined. I've never understood the notion that the Gophers aren't popular and are basically an afterthought after the Vikes and Twins, when it's simply not true.
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One of the media guys stated a few weeks ago:
1. Vikings
2. Twins
3. Whoever is winning at the time.

Probably pretty accurate................Why can't the NBA and NHL just go away? They're both annoying.
 

DMB123 said:
I couldn't disagree more. In my opinion Gopher Football is clearly the 3rd most popular sports team in this state, more popular than the Wild and T-Wolves. I've always thought Gopher fans, particularily the ones on this board, largely underestimate how popular the Gophers actually are. Whenever I'm around town I see more Gopher apparel than any other Minnesota sports team besides maybe the Twins. I see far more Gopher gear around town than I do Vikings, Wild, and T-Wolves combined. I've never understood the notion that the Gophers aren't popular and are basically an afterthought after the Vikes and Twins, when it's simply not true.
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You couldn't be more wrong. I have lived in the Twin Cities for over 40 years. I have worked for over a dozen employers during that period of time and got to know many hundreds of their employees. While the Vikings were always a constant source of discussion during football season, not one conversation about the Gophers ever happened where I worked unless it was initiated by me. I have had Gopher season tickets for 15 years. Whenever I wasn't able to use them I never once succeeded in giving them away to anyone I knew. While they liked the Gophers and wore their gear they just weren't interested enough in them to actually make the effort to go to one of their games.
 



station19 said:
One of the media guys stated a few weeks ago:
1. Vikings
2. Twins
3. Whoever is winning at the time.

Probably pretty accurate................Why can't the NBA and NHL just go away? They're both annoying.
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Really? Describe how?
 


scools12 said:
problem is by the time they get built they will already be outdated.
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Bingo. The top Big 10 schools will already have plans in place to build new facilities to compete with the best programs in the country. We will still be lagging behind.
 

UpnorthGo4 said:
You couldn't be more wrong. I have lived in the Twin Cities for over 40 years. I have worked for over a dozen employers during that period of time and got to know many hundreds of their employees. While the Vikings were always a constant source of discussion during football season, not one conversation about the Gophers ever happened where I worked unless it was initiated by me. I have had Gopher season tickets for 15 years. Whenever I wasn't able to use them I never once succeeded in giving them away to anyone I knew. While they liked the Gophers and wore their gear they just weren't interested enough in them to actually make the effort to go to one of their games.
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All I am saying is that the Gophers are more popular than the Wild and T-Wolves, no doubt in my mind. I don't think it's even close.
 

Indi1006 said:
This is a myth. The Gopher's long history of not being very good has very little to do with the Vikings or any other sports teams. It's a convenient excuse to make us feel a little better. It relates much more to an almost unimaginable string of poor hires within the University in all areas; Presidents, ADs and coaches who have really kinda sucked when it comes to supporting and enabling the football team to be the best that it can be. I really do believe that we have just hired really badly for the better part of 40 years. It seems like we're on track here, health permitting, with Kill and Teague seems to have a decent idea of what needs to be done. If Louie Nanne can bring home the bacon and get us our facilities, then we can put all of this behind us once and for all.
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It is not a myth. We have sucked since the Vikings came here and took over. All of the money and interest has gone to the pros. Look at our record pre and post Vikings. If you haven't noticed they are quite different. It will take someone special, hopefully Kill to change things here.
 


loki said:
It is not a myth. We have sucked since the Vikings came here and took over. All of the money and interest has gone to the pros. Look at our record pre and post Vikings. If you haven't noticed they are quite different. It will take someone special, hopefully Kill to change things here.
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Definitely not a myth. It's a fact.

The Vikings and Twins came to town. Then all the public interest went to pro sports. Guess what, if there are no pro sports, people fixate on collegiate sports. They'd want a winning team, and they'd be willing to spend what it takes to win.

If the Vikings never came to Minnesota, Gophers football would be much better.
 

loki said:
It is not a myth. We have sucked since the Vikings came here and took over. All of the money and interest has gone to the pros. Look at our record pre and post Vikings. If you haven't noticed they are quite different. It will take someone special, hopefully Kill to change things here.
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That was also right around the time southern schools started admitting black students (Vikings in 1961, desegregation around 1965). Does Bobby Bell come here from North Carolina if he had his pick of schools in the south? I read that Bell helped recruit Carl Eller and Charlie Sanders from his home state as well.
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
Definitely not a myth. It's a fact.

The Vikings and Twins came to town. Then all the public interest went to pro sports. Guess what, if there are no pro sports, people fixate on collegiate sports. They'd want a winning team, and they'd be willing to spend what it takes to win.

If the Vikings never came to Minnesota, Gophers football would be much better.
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You think it's that simple? The Vikings haven't hurt Gopher Football one bit. The U needs to look in the mirror as to why the program declined, not blame the pro football team across town.
 

Snake oil salesman Holtz comes in and recruits a couple of good classes and hypes the product and the Dome is bursting at the seams and the Gophers are the talk of the town with a couple of just OK teams. As clear as the sky is today, at least for me, a quick look at the list of folks who have run things around here for the past four decades explains everything.
 

DMB123 said:
You think it's that simple? The Vikings haven't hurt Gopher Football one bit. The U needs to look in the mirror as to why the program declined, not blame the pro football team across town.
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That is so naive and illogical it makes one spin their head.

Yes the U needs to look in the mirror, but to say the Vikings(and the other 3 pro sports) have had no effect on the Gophers is utterly ridiculous.

Without the pro sports there would be more disposable income and more corporate spending directed at Gopher sports. Along with that a demand for improved product. Are the Vikings the sole reason for Gopher Football decline? No, of course not, but they did contribute to it and they are an obstacle to overcome.

Pointing out challenges and making excuses are not the same.
 

DMB123 said:
You think it's that simple? The Vikings haven't hurt Gopher Football one bit. The U needs to look in the mirror as to why the program declined, not blame the pro football team across town.
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The weight of the evidence says otherwise. The 45 years of success of the Vikings since Bud Grant first became coach made it much easier for Minnesota football fans to accept a below average Gopher team during that period of time. If the Viking never existed along with their four Super Bowl appearances and many conference championships football fans would have found the 45 years of substandard results by the Gophers to be totally unacceptable and they would have been much more demanding for better results. Gopher Head Coaches, AD's, and U Presidents would not have had anywhere near the comfortable existence that they had during that period of time because they had the Vikings to divert attention from their failures.
 

I think a great barometer of fan support is look who's wearing Gopher Gear. It's either the old-timers that were alive during the glory years, Alums and season ticket holders (me), and current U of M students. You really don't see teenagers or young adults wearing the stuff.
 

GopherJack said:
I think a great barometer of fan support is look who's wearing Gopher Gear. It's either the old-timers that were alive during the glory years, Alums and season ticket holders (me), and current U of M students. You really don't see teenagers or young adults wearing the stuff.
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"Fans, Saturday night is diehard night at TCF Bank Stadium. Free admission to anyone who was actually alive the last time the Gophs won the conference" -Bob Uecker as Harry Doyle (slightly altered to fit Minnesota)
 

GopherJack said:
I think a great barometer of fan support is look who's wearing Gopher Gear. It's either the old-timers that were alive during the glory years, Alums and season ticket holders (me), and current U of M students. You really don't see teenagers or young adults wearing the stuff.
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I see young people wearing Gopher gear everywhere I go.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
"Fans, Saturday night is diehard night at TCF Bank Stadium. Free admission to anyone who was actually alive the last time the Gophs won the conference" -Bob Uecker as Harry Doyle (slightly altered to fit Minnesota)
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:clap:
 

DMB123 said:
I see young people wearing Gopher gear everywhere I go.
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I wonder if it's their Alum parents buying it for them, or are they actually seeking out Gopher gear and asking for it?
 

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