Souhan: Minnesota athletic director faces issues regarding coach Tim Brewster

[harrys ghost]

OK, on campus was a bit too strong.

I think you are making the point for those objecting to this article (and other similar things). Gray has been on campus for a little less than one year total. Your counter to this is saying he has been here for two year is "a bit too strong". This kind of crap on a board like this is one thing. Publishing this garbage (my terminology is not strong enough) is another thing altogether.

 

[50PoundHead]

Doogie, I don't have a problem with Souhan's stance. I don't agree with it, but I am tiring of his laziness. Maybe the radio gig is wearing him out. But the Gray mistake is inexcusable, even if it can be explained, because it clearly--as you admit--is not a workably credible statement. I was trained as a journalist and my prof would have docked Souhan a grade for that miscue.

Gopher God, I think Brewster's 70% negative rating is pretty much attributable to the constant droning on in the press about him. Casual fans still read Reusse, Souhan, and Sansevere and actually think those guys know something they couldn't figure out for themselves. KFAN, which is probably a step-up from the casual fan to the somewhat interested fan, rips Brewster at every juncture. Heck, even Eric Nelson rips Brewster on the Gophers' flagship. Given all the background noise, I'm surprised the 70% isn't higher.

And I'm not saying that the opinions of serious fans would be a turnaround in terms of percentages, but it would more likely be closer to 50/50.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Or you could look for instance at the Star Tribune website which has a poll on Brewster and over 70% of the people want him fired. It can be argued that those people are not "fans", but it does give a pretty good representation of what many minnesotans think.

I had a friend over Thanksgiving tell me he thinks Brewster should get fired after he told me he watched parts of 4 or 5 games this season. He's a Minnesotan, and calls himself a Gophers fan. I would guess a majority of "very casual fans" like my buddy want him fired because all they do is look at the record and don't really watch the games, don't follow recruiting, and don't understand college football. He tends to listen to what the media says instead of making decisions on his own because he doesn't follow it that closely.

I would also guess that if they asked all season ticket holders and fans who watched every game this past season, it would not be 70%. That's just speculation however, similar to howeda7's and yours.

 

[howeda7]

I had a friend over Thanksgiving tell me he thinks Brewster should get fired after he told me he watched parts of 4 or 5 games this season. He's a Minnesotan, and calls himself a Gophers fan. I would guess a majority of "very casual fans" like my buddy want him fired because all they do is look at the record and don't really watch the games, don't follow recruiting, and don't understand college football. He tends to listen to what the media says instead of making decisions on his own because he doesn't follow it that closely.

I would also guess that if they asked all season ticket holders and fans who watched every game this past season, it would not be 70%. That's just speculation however, similar to howeda7's and yours.

It might not be 70%, but I venture to say it would be over 50%. Even 90% of season ticket holders likely do not post on this board and are far more likely to read the Strib. Even many season ticket holders likely didn't see 'every game.'

 

[GophersInIowa]

Yet when Brewster makes an honest mistake to bolster his point, (i.e. winning at Iowa as a player or Julius Peppers playing for Dean Smith) it is okay for him because it is just an honest mistake. So Brewster can make honest mistakes but others cannot, got it. It was honest mistakes by both Brewster and Souhan.

Souhan wrote a story, he was not interviewed. I doubt Brewster had his laptop with him when asked the question about Peppers. I bet Souhan and his people have a computer with internet access.

 

[GophersInIowa]

It might not be 70%, but I venture to say it would be over 50%. Even 90% of season ticket holders likely do not post on this board and are far more likely to read the Strib. Even many season ticket holders likely didn't see 'every game.'

You may be right, it may be over 50%, but we don't know. I just don't know why you dismiss the fact that a majority of GopherHoler's don't want Brewster fired right now. I would bet that a majority of GopherHoler's follow the program pretty close. Who knows what type of Gopher fans or non-fans vote on a startibune online poll.

 

[howeda7]

You may be right, it may be over 50%, but we don't know. I just don't know why you dismiss the fact that a majority of GopherHoler's don't want Brewster fired right now. I would bet that a majority of GopherHoler's follow the program pretty close. Who knows what type of Gopher fans or non-fans vote on a startibune online poll.

I don't dismiss it. But the # of people who post on here regularly is an awfully small sample size to determine anything from. They may follow the program more closely, but that doesn't mean those who don't post on here have less valid opinions. They may be less informed in some instances, but also might be better to able see the forest for the trees. They still pay for thier tickets and thier BTN inflated cable bill just like the rest of us.

 

[craw0092]

I really don't care, but I do wonder if these guys will ever see the light if Brew really gets us going. I have a feeling their pride and arrogance will not allow them to do so, and that they will continue to find something to nit-pick even if we are winning ten games per year and going to big-time bowls.

Thanks for your insight GopherBeef. Your opinions are always so interesting...

 

[harrys ghost]

Doogie, I don't have a problem with Souhan's stance. I don't agree with it, but I am tiring of his laziness. Maybe the radio gig is wearing him out. But the Gray mistake is inexcusable, even if it can be explained, because it clearly--as you admit--is not a workably credible statement. I was trained as a journalist and my prof would have docked Souhan a grade for that miscue.

Gopher God, I think Brewster's 70% negative rating is pretty much attributable to the constant droning on in the press about him. Casual fans still read Reusse, Souhan, and Sansevere and actually think those guys know something they couldn't figure out for themselves. KFAN, which is probably a step-up from the casual fan to the somewhat interested fan, rips Brewster at every juncture. Heck, even Eric Nelson rips Brewster on the Gophers' flagship. Given all the background noise, I'm surprised the 70% isn't higher.

And I'm not saying that the opinions of serious fans would be a turnaround in terms of percentages, but it would more likely be closer to 50/50.

They did a poll like this over on GI this week. Last time I looked it was 77% to 23% in Brewster's favor.

 

[dayjoh]

Saying something off the cuff and writing something for publishing are worlds apart. Being about the same age as Brewster, I can state with some experience, that 30 year old memories are not always sharp.

Thank you for saying this so that I didn't have to. I guess I thought god would be able to understand that. If you are writing a column, you are expected to be held to facts that are accurate. If I'm gonna talk to my friends about a topic that I'm not expected to know EVERYTHING about (Julius Peppers) I don't think they would be too concerned if I missed by a year. if you're gonna publish it, you'd better get it right.

 

[DLguy]

That Strib poll cannot be counted on. It only allows you to vote on an Extension or Fire Him right now. It doesnt have "Wait to see how the bowl turns out" or anything like that. It states you have 1 choice right now. Fire or give an extention.

 

[bankonit]

Not exactly. But I do know that most casual Gopher fans I know only care if they win, if they embarrass themselves off the field and if the coach seem to have a clue. They don't care a lick where his recruiting classes rank.

Most of these folks think Brew is a blow-hard and it's hard to argue that most of the time. Take a look at the poll on the Strib website. 75% say fire him. I don't even agree at this time. But don't brush that off by saying 'everyone that votes on those polls is a moron' etc. The Strib, whatever it's faults, probably has 1,000x the traffic of this website and is much more representative of the casual Gopher fan, who admittedly would be hard-pressed to name more then 5 players on the team. This website is made of much more hard-core fans who Brew has obviously done a better job of winning over.

I agree that Souhan is beating a dead horse in this case. But generally he's still a decent writer, Gophers or otherwise. This column had some errors, but he's a columnest not a beat writer and he's not writing to the Gopherhold audience. It doesn't matter whether Gray's been on campus for 2 years or not, it doesn't change his point. The JUCO thing is a bit more relevant and he should have chosen a different point there. Reusse is past the point of no return with Brew, but is still generally decent on other subjects, and downright excellent at times.

If you can't name 5 players on the team you are not a "fan", you are an uninformed idiot who should not be voting in a poll in which you know nothing about. "The goofers lost some games, they suck, fire the coach, Souhan and Reusse say he's no good so he must be no good." Is that the casual fan you are talking about?

 

[bankonit]

Souhan wrote a story, he was not interviewed. I doubt Brewster had his laptop with him when asked the question about Peppers. I bet Souhan and his people have a computer with internet access.

+1

 

[howeda7]

If you can't name 5 players on the team you are not a "fan", you are an uninformed idiot who should not be voting in a poll in which you know nothing about. "The goofers lost some games, they suck, fire the coach, Souhan and Reusse say he's no good so he must be no good." Is that the casual fan you are talking about?

Some of them. And some who simply don't dedicate thier life to memorizing the roster or watching every second of every game. 5 is an exaggeration perhaps. But there are plenty of people who watch or even go to all/part of most of the games, but miss 2 or 3 games a year and could probably only name the QB, RB, WR's and 2 or 3 defensive players. Does that make them terrible fans? Not to me. Obviously to you. But if you disqualify everyone in this group as an 'idiot' who should not be going to games or voting in polls about the team, you end up with 35,000 people in the stands and terrible TV ratings. Maybe that's how you prefer it. Only let the band of die-hards into the stadium so they can cheer in a properly informed manner.

 

[GopherGod]

If you can't name 5 players on the team you are not a "fan", you are an uninformed idiot who should not be voting in a poll in which you know nothing about. "The goofers lost some games, they suck, fire the coach, Souhan and Reusse say he's no good so he must be no good." Is that the casual fan you are talking about?

You can say they are not a "fan" but you cannot simply discount these people because many of these people whether viewed as a "fan" or not in your book are the ones that are attending the games/buying the tickets. Let's be realistic here, there are no where near enough hard core gopher "fans" to sell out the gopher stadium so even if you do not like what they have to say you cannot simply discard their opinions, nor can the university simply turn away their money in ticket sales.

 

[gopher pops]

This is what stinks

I don't live in Minnesota so i don't know who these guys are that writes these articles.

what i do know is that this crap gets quoted around the nation like these wipes are experts.

what i am offended by as a parent is that this bag of garbage writes and says that these kids that have been recruited are not talented enough to carry a program.

he is entitled to his opinion but when he wraps his opinion up in a package and tries to pass it off as factual it is offensive as he claims Brewster as a coach is...

 

[bankonit]

I never said they should not go to games or follow the game, more of them should/could follow the team a little closer. I just don't think they should say he should or should not be fired. They should say "I don't know enough about the Gopher football program to say Brewster is or is not the guy to turn things around". It is like my 67 year old parents who watch some games and enjoy Gopher football but don't really know players or recruiting or even watch more than 2 or 3 games saying the coach is terrible and should be fired. They don't know enough to form that opinion.

by the way they don't have that opinion, they think he needs more time.

 

[bankonit]

Souhan is an idiot for thinking any of Brewster's players have enough experience to "carry the team" These kids will be good and some great. Many need more experience and more strength and conditioning and time to mature into their bodies, and some think that Brewster and these kids don't deserve more time. Patience please Mr. Souhan.

 

[eker0016]

Souhan is an idiot for thinking any of Brewster's players have enough experience to "carry the team" These kids will be good and some great. Many need more experience and more strength and conditioning and time to mature into their bodies, and some think that Brewster and these kids don't deserve more time. Patience please Mr. Souhan.

Once again, I find myself agreeing with someone I usually disagree with. The notion that Brewster's recruits should be carrying the team is a fallacy. He recruited a handful of guys in the couple of weeks before signing day, 2 of which played important roles in the last couple of years (Kyle Theret and Derrick Onwuachi). The other recruits from 2007 were either Mason's recruits or have left.

Of the players Brewster has signed, the oldest is the Green, Gray, Wilhite etc. crew. To say they should be carrying the team as redshirt freshmen and sophomores is ridiculous. Can't believe Souhan published that.

 

[Schnoodler]

He's not engaged in journalism anymore but propaganda. He's army building. He thinks it's a game. he's lost touch with his mission, bored with talking about the news, he wants to create it.

 

[maxwellsmart]

Thanks again, Schnoodler. Every time I hit this board and think it's the Twilight Zone you come along with a bit of common sense and turn it back into something worthwhile.

 

[Bo Darville]

Souhan faces issues regarding column topics. Details at ten.

 

[cncmin]

I had a friend over Thanksgiving tell me he thinks Brewster should get fired after he told me he watched parts of 4 or 5 games this season. He's a Minnesotan, and calls himself a Gophers fan. I would guess a majority of "very casual fans" like my buddy want him fired because all they do is look at the record and don't really watch the games, don't follow recruiting, and don't understand college football. He tends to listen to what the media says instead of making decisions on his own because he doesn't follow it that closely.

I would also guess that if they asked all season ticket holders and fans who watched every game this past season, it would not be 70%. That's just speculation however, similar to howeda7's and yours.

This all sounds eeriliy similar to how the drones that suck up the drivel of Republican Radio think and act - somebody tells them something, so without the basis of actual facts, they accept the rhetoric and feed the frenzy. If some of these people paid any attention to the details behind that which they bitch about, they probably would have different attitudes.

Never downplay the part that media has in controlling the thoughts of the public. The American Revolution was actually begun due to the spread of propaganda and misinformation. Spread a few little lies, repeat them, the lies become fact, and the next thing you know, Tim Brewster is fired after doing just as well as his predecessor. There's really no need for fact when it comes to just about any media - the "news" is there to make money. If you want fact, NPR and science/technical journals are about the only ones that will come close. And they don't do Gopher football.

As for the rest, "facts" about Gopher football will likely have to be nitpicked from mounds of misinformation and opinionated columns. The casual "Gopher football fan" is not going to nitpick for this information. Thus, the media, in this situation will always win. That's why I get upset at Doogie when he feeds the frenzy - you can see the talent potential, yet it's wasted on drivel, bandwagon jumping, and, way too often, opinionated nonsense based on their personal opinions of the coach. Take away those personal opinions, look only at fact, and there would be very little reason for there to be any drumbeating at the current time over Brewster's job. But, the media remains a capitalistic institution based not on spreading the truth that we desire, but on the dirt that we also desire, which sadly lines the pocketbooks of what is now entertainment news, not just the news.