Reusse: Soft schedule? Too much hot air? Regardless, it's time to endorse P.J. Fleck and 2022 Gophers; "I'm buying P.J. Fleck."

[50PoundHead]

Reusse has always been an extremely talented writer. It's just a shame how he chooses to utilize his talent.

He's older now (like me) and he's slowed down some (again, like me), but he's at his best he's always been the most talented writer on the sports opinion beat in the Twin Cities' fish wraps. It can be difficult to swallow a lot of his takes, but he's brutally honest and people have to remember he writes opinions. I think the thing with Fleck is that when he hit town, he came across a lot like Brewster (even though Fleck had success at Western Michigan) with the slogans and the over-the-top energy and that really rubs guys like Reusse the wrong way. It's a generational thing to some extent.

 

[Word]

He's older now (like me) and he's slowed down some (again, like me), but he's at his best he's always been the most talented writer on the sports opinion beat in the Twin Cities' fish wraps. It can be difficult to swallow a lot of his takes, but he's brutally honest and people have to remember he writes opinions. I think the thing with Fleck is that when he hit town, he came across a lot like Brewster (even though Fleck had success at Western Michigan) with the slogans and the over-the-top energy and that really rubs guys like Reusse the wrong way. It's a generational thing to some extent.

Reusse is in the business of getting readers/clicks. A lot of it is probably an act and not even his real opinions. He certainly has had an agenda against the Gophers (again, probably just related to readers/clicks). He's basically a newspaper version of an internet troll.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Reusse is in the business of getting readers/clicks. A lot of it is probably an act and not even his real opinions. He certainly has had an agenda against the Gophers (again, probably just related to readers/clicks). He's basically a newspaper version of an internet troll.

There is no agenda specific to the U....Reusse is paid to be amusing and to piss people off by being opinionated. He isn't paid to write the happy puff piece, his gig is getting people fired up.

 

[Word]

There is no agenda specific to the U....Reusse is paid to be amusing and to piss people off by being opinionated. He isn't paid to write the happy puff piece, his gig is getting people fired up.

I disagree with the first part and agree with the 2nd part. He's been consistently anti-Gopher his whole career. He's more selective with the other teams. I also think he's somewhat pro-Twins.

 

[#2Gopher]

There is no agenda specific to the U....Reusse is paid to be amusing and to piss people off by being opinionated. He isn't paid to write the happy puff piece, his gig is getting people fired up.

Kind of remind me of Howard Cosell in a sense.

 

[Iceland12]

I disagree with the first part and agree with the 2nd part. He's been consistently anti-Gopher his whole career. He's more selective with the other teams. I also think he's somewhat pro-Twins.

Kinda sorta. He was very Pro Musselman, Dutcher, Clem & Tubby. Not the Sid "They can do no wrong, it's the refs!" But he was very supportive of all those guys. He's not a cheerleader.

On the Football side, just Stoll, occasionally Mason, Kill, Claeys and now Fleck were guys he supported. Though if we're being honest, they've been pretty bad for a long time. Going back to 1971 when they started playing 11 games, they've won more that 8 games, 8 times! It explains the lack of general support among the general public too.

5 of those 8+ seasons have came in the last 9 years. Courtesy of Kill, Claeys and now Fleck.

 

[MaxyJR1]

I have said before, if you truly listen to what Fleck says, he says a ton. He doesn't blow smoke. He speaks in football and his culture language, but he says a lot.

Some think the truth is excuses, but typically if you look back he was right on much of the information he puts out and what he says, happens.

He has said since January that he really likes this team. He likes the depth. He's excited about the future.

...but you lost your OL from last year. "These guys have played and people will be surprised." is one example.

 

[Com_Cool]

I disagree with the first part and agree with the 2nd part. He's been consistently anti-Gopher his whole career. He's more selective with the other teams. I also think he's somewhat pro-Twins.

Not true that he's consistently anti-Gopher. I heard him say he's grabbing an oar this week /s

 

[RememberMurray]

This got me wondering:

Do any of these guys ever have an original thought when it comes to Gopher football?

I mean, really — haven't we heard the following insightful observations more than a few times from several other sources?...

Insightful Observation #1) The schedule thus far has been all cupcakes, and we don't learn anything from playing this type of opponent, haven't proved anything yet. Blah blah blah.

Insightful Observation #2) Fleck is a salesman, "schtick", hot air, 'rowing' puns. Blah blah blah.

But then, I guess the fresh new take here is Pat's 'endorsement' of Fleck. Well, hey... hurrah.

 

[MNVCGUY]

This got me wondering:

Do any of these guys ever have an original thought when it comes to Gopher football?

I mean, really — haven't we heard the following insightful observations more than a few times from several other sources?...

Insightful Observation #1) The schedule thus far has been all cupcakes, and we don't learn anything from playing this type of opponent, haven't proved anything yet. Blah blah blah.

Insightful Observation #2) Fleck is a salesman, "schtick", hot air, 'rowing' puns. Blah blah blah.

But then, I guess the fresh new take here is Pat's 'endorsement' of Fleck. Well, hey... hurrah.

Depends on where you are looking for the original thoughts. If you are looking for that from the talking heads or opinion guys like Reusse you are unlikely to find it because they are just skimming the surface and on the surface we have played really well against bad teams. And Fleck is kind of flashy and talks fast (though not as fast as he used to).

Guys like Chip and other beat writers are the ones who dig deeper and provide more context and insight. Those guys rarely go with the boring surface takes like the ones you referenced because they know more about the program.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

I have said before, if you truly listen to what Fleck says, he says a ton. He doesn't blow smoke. He speaks in football and his culture language, but he says a lot.

Some think the truth is excuses, but typically if you look back he was right on much of the information he puts out and what he says, happens.

He has said since January that he really likes this team. He likes the depth. He's excited about the future.

...but you lost your OL from last year. "These guys have played and people will be surprised." is one example.

Yup, PJ says way more than Jerry ever said. Gotta actually watch the press conferences but he says a lot. Coordinators too.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

This got me wondering:

Do any of these guys ever have an original thought when it comes to Gopher football?

I mean, really — haven't we heard the following insightful observations more than a few times from several other sources?...

Insightful Observation #1) The schedule thus far has been all cupcakes, and we don't learn anything from playing this type of opponent, haven't proved anything yet. Blah blah blah.

Insightful Observation #2) Fleck is a salesman, "schtick", hot air, 'rowing' puns. Blah blah blah.

But then, I guess the fresh new take here is Pat's 'endorsement' of Fleck. Well, hey... hurrah.

Nope, no ideas at all.

Sports media "personalities" inevitably just get lazy and it all becomes a context of "them". After that it has less and less to do with the actual team, players, sports ... any useful observations.

I don't bother with reading any of them anymore, there's no value there at all.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Yup, PJ says way more than Jerry ever said. Gotta actually watch the press conferences but he says a lot. Coordinators too.

Have made this comment before....for many coaches, dealing with the media is a chore and something they don't like doing. Fleck is the opposite and seems to really enjoy interacting with the media. His press conferences are full of the usual coach speak but he also tends to go more in depth than a lot of coaches and give more thoughtful answers than a lot of coaches will.

Rossi comes across very similar to Fleck in his press conferences. KC on the other hand skews more the other direction and I think would gladly never talk to the media if he didn't have to. For that reason KC comes across as someone who will be a coordinator their whole career and not pursue being a head coach, whereas Rossi comes across as someone who will be a head coach at some point.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Have made this comment before....for many coaches, dealing with the media is a chore and something they don't like doing. Fleck is the opposite and seems to really enjoy interacting with the media. His press conferences are full of the usual coach speak but he also tends to go more in depth than a lot of coaches and give more thoughtful answers than a lot of coaches will.

Rossi comes across very similar to Fleck in his press conferences. KC on the other hand skews more the other direction and I think would gladly never talk to the media if he didn't have to. For that reason KC comes across as someone who will be a coordinator their whole career and not pursue being a head coach, whereas Rossi comes across as someone who will be a head coach at some point.

Agreed PJ and Co. really do seem to want to share to some extent. I think they're going beyond just chatting with the press / want to get their message out.

KC tends to repeat himself a bit, I think for him public speaking just isn't his big thing. Still things like his philosophy of "you have to show me in practice before I call that play in the game" and "players make plays" does tell you something about how he works. He's thinking about the players so much he's not there to talk about himself and etc.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Reusse has been one of the biggest boosters of Gopher Volleyball among the local media.

and unlike some of the Twin Cities media who only talk about the pro teams, Reusse will cover different topics - Town Team baseball, MIAC and smaller-college sports, High Schools, etc.

I find that more entertaining than the 5,000th discussion on Kirk Cousins.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

and unlike some of the Twin Cities media

I feel like that is such a low bar that ... you can still be bad and surpass that easily

 

[WAGopher]

Kind of remind me of Howard Cosell in a sense.

I don’t recall Cosell being negative or making people mad. He liked word play with Ali, otherwise he let the game and players speak for themselves.

 

[Word]

Reusse has been one of the biggest boosters of Gopher Volleyball among the local media.

and unlike some of the Twin Cities media who only talk about the pro teams, Reusse will cover different topics - Town Team baseball, MIAC and smaller-college sports, High Schools, etc.

I find that more entertaining than the 5,000th discussion on Kirk Cousins.

I think we all know why Reusse likes Gopher volleyball.

 

[Ope3]

Reusse has been one of the biggest boosters of Gopher Volleyball among the local media.

and unlike some of the Twin Cities media who only talk about the pro teams, Reusse will cover different topics - Town Team baseball, MIAC and smaller-college sports, High Schools, etc.

I find that more entertaining than the 5,000th discussion on Kirk Cousins.

Amen.

 

[howeda7]

I think we all know why Reusse likes Gopher volleyball.

It's better than "tip toed ball throwing"?

 

[WAGopher]

I think we all know why Reusse likes Gopher volleyball.

They let him watch the game with his shirt off?

 

[Dakota2]

This got me wondering:

Do any of these guys ever have an original thought when it comes to Gopher football?

I mean, really — haven't we heard the following insightful observations more than a few times from several other sources?...

Insightful Observation #1) The schedule thus far has been all cupcakes, and we don't learn anything from playing this type of opponent, haven't proved anything yet. Blah blah blah.

Insightful Observation #2) Fleck is a salesman, "schtick", hot air, 'rowing' puns. Blah blah blah.

But then, I guess the fresh new take here is Pat's 'endorsement' of Fleck. Well, hey... hurrah.

Pat can't name six DBs on the roster or more than a couple LBs. He doesn't know the young guys on the DL. He knows about JMS and remembers somebody from Edina transferred back from some place. He knows Mo and Tanner and that's about it.

Don't expect anything but superficial swipes in his writings about Gopher football. He is not a fan and would never buy a ticket.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Pat can't name six DBs on the roster or more than a couple LBs. He doesn't know the young guys on the DL. He knows about JMS and remembers somebody from Edina transferred back from some place. He knows Mo and Tanner and that's about it.

Don't expect anything but superficial swipes in his writings about Gopher football. He is not a fan and would never buy a ticket.

and - if true - that means he still knows more about the Gophers than PA and Barreiro.

 

[btowngopher]

Pat can't name six DBs on the roster or more than a couple LBs. He doesn't know the young guys on the DL. He knows about JMS and remembers somebody from Edina transferred back from some place. He knows Mo and Tanner and that's about it.

Don't expect anything but superficial swipes in his writings about Gopher football. He is not a fan and would never buy a ticket.

None of the main stream media know anything about the Gophers. Like none of them are even familiar with the roster and are lacking awareness of CFB in general.

 

[Dakota2]

and - if true - that means he still knows more about the Gophers than PA and Barreiro.

Very possible. None of these guys are real fans who follow the team.

 

[USAF]

Pat can't name six DBs on the roster or more than a couple LBs. He doesn't know the young guys on the DL. He knows about JMS and remembers somebody from Edina transferred back from some place. He knows Mo and Tanner and that's about it.

Don't expect anything but superficial swipes in his writings about Gopher football. He is not a fan and would never buy a ticket.

This is such a lazy take.

Reusse has been a Gopher fan for his entire life.

 

[Spoofin]

Every time Pat writes an article about Gopher FB, pages and pages are written on GH discussing it. Mission Accomplished. Love him or hate him - everyone here is reading and discussing him….. that is his goal

 

[MNVCGUY]

Every time Pat writes an article about Gopher FB, pages and pages are written on GH discussing it. Mission Accomplished. Love him or hate him - everyone here is reading and discussing him….. that is his goal

Yep....and it amazes me that there are still people here that seem genuinely shocked when he says something negative or sarcastic about the program. You would think people would get the bit by now but some still haven't figured it out.

 

[RememberMurray]

Very possible. None of these guys are real fans who follow the team.

But I'm not expecting Reusse or any other opinion writer/commentator to be fan. Not at all; in fact, I prefer that they be unbiased.

All I'm asking for is: A) Do some actual work, some research, and follow the team (so you know what they're talking about), and, B) Try to come up with an original thought/wrinkle/perspective — something we haven't already heard or read 100 times before. I mean, I already know the non-conference schedule was weak, and I've heard all about 'Row the Boat'. But there are other aspects of this team to talk about; let's explore those, please.

I don't think that's asking too much.

 

[El Amin Fan]