Reusse column: P.T. Barnum would love U football fans

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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P.T. Barnum would love U football fans

This is the state of the fan bases of Minnesota's major half-dozen sports entities, as evaluated by an astute veteran sports reporter:

• Vikings fans are hopeful. They were fatalists for a couple of decades, but that changed with the arrival of Randy Moss in 1998. Since then, the Purple crowd has been dominated by a rowdy, devoted group that makes a case for success at the start of every season and rationalizes failure.

• Twins fans are angry. The idea they were following a collection of mid-market overachievers ended with last season's move to Target Field. Disillusionment arrived with another sweep at the hands of the Yankees last October. And that has festered into anger over the course of a 2011 season that stands as the No. 1 flop in franchise history.

• Wild fans are happy. They were that way for the home opener in 2000 and nothing has changed. They make no demands on performance. They shrug off the team's failures. They celebrate all changes in administrators, coaches and players as positives.

• Timberwolves fans are lonely. There's never been a significant hunk of the local sporting public that lives and dies with the Wolves. They certainly were trendy during the playoff run of 2004, but long-term emotional involvement? All you need to know is the Wolves home opener wasn't sold out the next fall.

• Gophers [men's] hoop fans are worn out, just like Williams Arena. When much younger, the faithful would turn the Barn into a snake pit for visiting teams. Now, the voices croak, the din is gone, and there's no snake left, simply a pit.

• And then there is the fan base to which this column is dedicated: The loyal followers of the University of Minnesota football team.

Gophers football fans are funny. They are this way because of a combination of delusion and amnesia.

The stereotype is that Gophers football has the same demographic of golden agers as in hoops. That's partially true, but a sizable group of 25- to 45-year-olds has sprung up.

My theory is they have embraced maroon and gold in a search for individuality, rather than to be devoured in the mass of Purple devotees.

Some members of the younger generation of Gopher boosters might have cut their teeth by joining in the students' occasional "Fire Mason" chants during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

For sure, the bulk of fans seemed all for it when President Robert Bruininks and athletic director Joel Maturi suddenly pulled the plug on Glen Mason on Jan. 1, 2007, following the historic blown lead vs. Texas Tech in the Insight Bowl.

Here is where it gets comical:

Maturi hired Tim Brewster, a tight ends coach with the Denver Broncos, in mid-January. He never had been a head coach or coordinator above the high school level, but that mattered not to Maturi and other university officials.

They were looking for someone to sell the Gophers to the public and to recruits. And it worked, temporarily, since every single new-age Gophers zealot swallowed whole Coach Brew's sales pitch.

They went to their fan sites and exchanged lofty predictions on what Brewster was going to do with "the program."

You can deny it publicly, Gophers fans, but you know in your heart you believed everything Coach Brew told you.

You blamed it on Mason when Brewster's first team went 1-11 in 2007. You demanded apologies from the skeptics when he started 7-1 in 2008. And when the collapse came later that season -- climaxed by a record Big Ten loss of 55-0 to Iowa in the Metrodome -- you still tried to blame Mason.

"Wait until he gets his own players," was the excuse.

And then Coach Brew did, and things got worse, until he was fired last October. You were so relieved, because you had amnesia for all those words of praise that you aimed at Coach Brew.

And now there's a new coach, Jerry Kill, and we're all hoping he's going to be fine after last Saturday's seizure.

When he is, and he starts working his plan, you just know Country Jer is the guy to get it done, because he's a real coach, not a phony like Coach Brew.

Please, Gopher fan, keep those theories coming, because you and your buddies are a hoot.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/129850213.html

Go Gophers!!
 

Reusse needs to retire. Bashing your audience is not good for business.
 

Yes, Pat. Life would be so much more enjoyable if I were a complete pessimist about my favorite team. Who doesn't enjoy sitting around thinking about how everything is crap and how everything will always be crap until the end of time?
 

I think the pick and the season following Favre's pick returned Viking fans to their fatalist ways.
 

Patrick's got it all figured out. Writing mean-spirited crap is way easier than investing the work to write a quality column. Probably took him all of 5 minutes to throw that garbage together.
 


I think Gophers fans need to start bashing on his joke of journalism skills. I never want to say this about anyone, but everytime I read one of his columns I just get a glimpse of hope that he will be fired. A guy can dream, right?
 

I thought it was a good piece. I for one would rather have a group of dellusional, dediated and diehard fans than what it used to be. Before the end of the Mason era most gopher fans consisted of the 70+ crowd and a few families. This new group of young, diehard fans (most of whom are on this board) is great. At least the team now has a few fans with passion.

I've said it before but when TCF Bank Stadium was built (maybe even a year or two before) this passionate group started to get pissed off that the team stunk. Then they got passionate about having a new coach (Brewster) and then they got pissed off when the team didn't improve. This passionate group also got pissed at Maturi and President Bruininks for hiring Brewster. Then this group got upset when the gophers hired Kill because he wasn't a big name. Then this group got behind Coach Kill because they want the team to succeed.

It may be a bit delusional, it may be a crazy but at least somebody cares now!!!


...go gophers.
 

What's the point of writing a piece like this? Even if true, I just don't understand the need to pile on.
 




Couple of comments...

I'm in the 25-45 age group. I've loved the Gophers since I was a kid - I'm not some latecomer. Despite what Reusse said, I never thought Brewster was a good hire. I was willing to give him a chance, because I had no choice, but I always always always thought he was a snake oil salesman from the first interview I heard with him, so Reusse is wrong on that point, at least with me.

He may sort of be right as far as people following the Gophers to be an alternative to the Vikings. I more or less gave up on the Vikings after 41-donut. I have better things to do on fall Sundays than watch the NFL. I also can't put any emotion behind a team that could leave us after this year. If they get a new stadium, perhaps I'll come back. In addition, for all the crap that people have given Packer fans over the years about being rubes, Viking fans are just as much of drunken hicks as Packer fans - the Vikings just play in a bigger city.

And I'd say that Wild fans are happy (myself included) because the team made a lot of really good moves this offseason, after years of doing very little.
 

Comedy is subjective. Reusse finds Gopher fans funny. I find cynical, bitter old turds who don't have the willpower to stop drinking or eating comical. To each their own. Every single fan of a team wants their team to win. Nobody roots for their squad to lose. That's what being a fan is all about. Cheering for your favorite team is never something that you should be ashamed of. I hope that Kill is successful. I hoped that Brewster would be successful. The Gophers can lose every game until the day I die, I'll still be there rooting them on, hoping they win the next one. If the losses don't hurt and the wins don't feel great, you're missing the point.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Comedy is subjective. Reusse finds Gopher fans funny. I find cynical, bitter old turds who don't have the willpower to stop drinking or eating comical. To each their own. Every single fan of a team wants their team to win. Nobody roots for their squad to lose. That's what being a fan is all about. Cheering for your favorite team is never something that you should be ashamed of. I hope that Kill is successful. I hoped that Brewster would be successful. The Gophers can lose every game until the day I die, I'll still be there rooting them on, hoping they win the next one. If the losses don't hurt and the wins don't feel great, you're missing the point.
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You have definitely posted the best comment on here. kudos!
 

To Kill A Badger said:
What's the point of writing a piece like this? Even if true, I just don't understand the need to pile on.
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Because he doesn't get paid to invest himself in a quality column, he gets paid to sell advertising and he can do that just as (maybe more) effectively with a tenth of the work writing crap.
 





Sometimes I think he just writes columns to get a rise out of some of the posters here.
 

Yes, it's just hilarious that Gopher fans gave Brewster the benefit of the doubt. And it's just hilarious that, given Kill's track record, Gopher fans are optimistic about the future.

Apparently, Reusse would have us jump off the bandwagon, and wait until he gives us permission to get back aboard. Just think how many more papers could be sold if he was replaced by a real writer.
 

He openly trolls this forum, and doesn't lack for attention.
 

Who is delusional, those who believed the Gophers would be better under Brewster or Kill or Reusse who describes himself as an astute veteran sports reporter in this column? I'd take the sports knowledge of 75% of this board over Pat Reusse. Wasn't it just a few months ago that Reusse loved "country Jer" because they both pronounced the word "tour" the same way?

Speaking only for myself, I was not happy when Brewster was hired. I heard his press conference and thought he was saying the right things and thought he had a good blueprint for where to take the program. I was tired of years of no expecations and seeming satistfaction from the staff with where the Gopher program was at. We were overdue for a change and I was willing to support whoever became the coach. When recruiting picked up significantly, that was a sign that some of Brewster's words rang true. My point of no longer believing Brewster could turn the program around came when he completely changed offenses a 3rd time and decided to play a smashmouth, conservative brand of football. That would never be my choice on how to play the game, but more than that it was his 3rd offense in four years and completely contradicted many of the philosophies he shared in his first year or two on the job (i.e. no fat guys on the Oline, play a style a football that is attractive to recruits).

A vocal number of Gopher fans see Kill as a "real football coach" and like having an experienced staff that has worked together for years. This group believes (I think) that the Gophers will now outcoach their opponents and overachieve with lesser regarded recruits. I personally don't see that as a sustainable way to success and have not been encouraged with what I've seen so far. Still, I don't think it is fair to call anyone delusional at this point, especially with people who watch a lot more college footbal than Pat Reusse (or myself) considering Jerry Kill one of the best hires of the offseason (Sporting News and, I believe Athlon's).
 

It's not crazy Pat, it's sports.

Welcome to the topic you are paid to write about.
 

What a horrible way to go through life. He now lives to generate clicks to produce advertising revenue rather than generate ideas or points of discussion. I know that he reads this (or has some lackey reading it for him), so this site does mean something to him.

"My theory is they have embraced maroon and gold in a search for individuality, rather than to be devoured in the mass of Purple devotees." I would really love to pen something about the passion and pageantry of college football and how it it the antithesis of the NFL, but I lack those skills, so I'll be a little more succinct and just state "*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# you FatPrick"
 

zambam said:
Reusse needs to retire. Bashing your audience is not good for business.
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Are you kidding me? Its great for business. He gets more widely read and talked about this way. It's the Paul Finebaum school of commentary. Get everyone mad at you and rake in the website hits and attention.
 


By the way...thanks Bleed for posting the text of the article rather than the link. I really would hate to see readers here give him an extra click.
 

The truth hurts, he would need to retire if he wrote to please his audience. 1962 last Rose Bowl. One national championship since 1941.
 

Reusse perfectly describes the people around here who want to try to control thought.

You know, the people who want to create a "company" line. You people know exactly who you are. It is always good to have contrast and dissention from that "company" line, mob mentality.

I am hopeful that some day Coach Kill will be able to return this program to the level of competetivness that we used to see from the Stoll era...the Mason era. That was much more fun than the past four years were. That brewball era was not exactly a memorable one.

All in all...Reusse described the 25 to 40 something crowd adequately.

; 0 )
 


imthewalrus said:
You know, the people who want to create a "company" line. You people know exactly who you are. It is always good to have contrast and dissention from that "company" line, mob mentality.

I am hopeful that some day Coach Kill will be able to return this program to the level of competetivness that we used to see from the Stoll era...the Mason era. That was much more fun than the past four years were. That brewball era was not exactly a memorable one.

All in all...Reusse described the 25 to 40 something crowd adequately.

; 0 )
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Turnabout is fair play. Reusse gave his take on the Minnesota Gopher Fan-Base, how about we talk about the Patrick Reusse Fan-Base. Here's my take:

One word: Bitter.

It's easier to be pessimistic because when times get tough you can smugly say, "I told you so". I don't know what happened to Pat (the Pied Piper of Pessimism), but I think it might go back to his childhood. Perhaps he didn't get that pedal car for Christmas that he so desperately wished for. Or perhaps one of the hotties from Fulda caught his eye and he struck out on a prom date. In any sense, he feels the need to spread his grumpiness to anyone that will listen. He attracts a 60+ age group, cynical about everything, that could star in Grumpy Old Men Part 3. These people don't see the glass half empty, they can't even see the glass without their readers.

They claim to be fans of Minnesota sports, but they meerly want to rain on everyone's parade and label those that fans that follow as delusioned dreamers who will take the bait; hook, line, and sinker. They speak of the "good old days" like it was yesterday and live life looking back rather than looking forward. They're not hopeful, they're hopeless thinking that they're realistic (and worse yet)....wise.

No, I never want to be part of this hopeless group of negativity.

I cheered on Mason as he brought us out of the perpetually cellar and raised us up to mediocrity. I cheered on Brewster as he had a vision for the team to be great while failing miserably at leadership. I will cheer on Jerry Kill as he brings to the Gophers disicpline, experience, and a track record.

I saw the humanity of Coach Kill last Saturday as he gave every bit he had to make this team successful. I saw his wife, worried and loving; praying that her husband would get through this once again. He expects the players to leave it all on the field and he modeled it much to the dismay of everyone around.

Count me out of the Pied Piper of Pessimisms Fan Club.
 

tjcdas said:
The truth hurts, he would need to retire if he wrote to please his audience. 1962 last Rose Bowl. One national championship since 1941.
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Sports fans are irrational about their love for their team that's what it is. That's life. There are Deroit Lions fans, Cleveland Browns fans, etc.
Vikings fans are much more irrational than Gopher fans and they've NEVER won a championship, not even once.

Sports are irrational, the attachment people feel to their teams is not a thought out determined choice. No one sits and measures the pros and cons of which team to root for.

Pat apparently does not understand sports fans and has an unrealistic hate for the Gophers and their fans.
 

He is not only right, he can write a good piece

Yesterday I promised I would not be back (writing) for 2 months. Broke my promise.

This guy is so spot on. It is funny and oh, so true. I especially find the posts here to be an example of mass hysteria on a daily basis. Group think is enforced by a cabal of loopy enthusiasts who can only see through the optics of faith. Reason is often expressed in the "I know more than you" fashion and seems reasonable on its factual basis, except it isn't about the program, but the poster. So, reason rarely finds a fertile home when the righteous are patrolling the boards like little mullahs and short-thuggish tyrants. Like wolves they circle the unfaithful, who don't see the 8-4 record or the 10-2. For that matter, the little fish will join the hunt when they see a 3 win prediction or less.

The troll hunters, which I think are former snipe hunters, roam the web looking for the unwelcome non-Gopher, often non-Gophers themselves. Their xenophobia can only be framed by their loathing of anything non-Gopher Hole approved, as if this site actually has a credo. For some reason the Bangle's come to mind in Rock Like an Egyptian... Rock Like a Holer.... except not quite as fun as the Bangles.
 

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