The table is being set for Kill

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Rog

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It is the 3rd inning and its 7 to 0 Toronto. I turned off the TV in disgust.

Where are winning or decent pro sports in MN. Vikings Maybe but they may not even play.

Coach Kill, your team could be the bright spot in Minnesota sports this year.

GO GET 'EM!!
 

The table is wide open

The opportunity is there for the Gopher football team to capture everyone's attention. Coach Kill has endeared himself to many with his Midwest honesty. I'm optimistic, but anything better than 6 and 6 is going to be really difficult.

Can you capture the town with that? Probably not, I'd answer. But you can get people's attention and launch from there.

I certainly have guarded optimism in the Gopher football team. But the Twins are done. The Twolves are rudderless. The Vikings like you say...hard to get excited until you know they will play or even be Vikings. Wild, Gopher hockey and Gopher basketball all add no inspiration as well. Wide open table. Run it Jerry!
 

Especially if the Vikings leave Minnesota and the Twins hit a couple years of mediocrity. Gopher football will have a chance to be the premiere sport in a major TV market like maybe they've never had.
 

Are we turning into Cleveland? I've not seen this level of universal multi-sport ineptitude over an entire year ever. Maybe we've been spoiled by mid-level success that we don't truly appreciate what we've had as Minnesota sports fans, but good grief, this kind of pathetic performance across every single sport in Minnesota is just disgusting. Our men's track team just gave away their title to......IOWA???

On the bright side, we eked out a third consecutive win in the Border Battle, so....we suck just a little less than Bucky.

*sigh*

Okay, I'll go back to being sickeningly positive. Go Coach Kill, and Go Football Gophers!
 

I'll be O.K. Coach Kill & Co. will make MN proud. Now go to bed and sleep soundly.
 


We suck less in financially and emotionally irrelevant sports, in relevant sports we suck a lot more.
 

The table is set and the cupboard is empty. Coach Kill is going to need a lot of luck to make the Twin Cities care about the Gophers.
 

I'm seeing a lot more interest in the Gophers since Kill was hired.
 

I agree...

RodentRampage said:
I'm seeing a lot more interest in the Gophers since Kill was hired.
Click to expand...

The key will be retention. I hope the admin is really ready to get behind this coach. Improve game day experience, etc.
 



A win over USC, and the likely 4-0 start that would follow, would be huge. Even a close loss would help. Go to LA and get thumped by 20 and most casual fans will be tuned out until you win a B1G game.
 

I agree with Rog, there is an opportunity for Kill to assert the Gophers Football program as a more important part of the MN sports market.
However, a fast start isn't enough IMO.
Upset victories carry more perception weight than fast starts, which we've seen over and over.
Upset USC, Michigan, or Nebraska and you'll get heads turning and eyebrows raising in interest.
Beat the badgers and you'll stir the MN/wisky rivalry that most true Minnesotans crave.
Finish strong and play exciting football late into the NFL season while the Vikings fade or dwell in the cellar and you will gain a foothold.
 

Ole said:
Upset victories carry more perception weight than fast starts, which we've seen over and over.
Click to expand...

I couldn't have said it better myself. We are conditioned as Minnesota sports fans to get excited as teams put themselves in position to contend, and then choke like Linda Lovelace when things "get real". The pattern has repeated itself time and again over the last couple decades - Gophers football, 1999 and 2003; Vikings, 1998, 2001, and 2009; T-wolves, practically every year from 1997-2004; Twins, almost every year from 2002 to the present. The Twins managed to avoid the pratfall in 1987 and 1991 because they had one of the most ridiculous homefield advantages in the history of sports.

Your post got me to thinking, Ole - how long has it been since Gopher football has won a game they weren't supposed to, when the stakes were high? The Iowa win last year was great, but its net effect was to elevate the 2010 squad from "historically terrible" to just "pretty bad". Brewster certainly never won a meaningful game that he wasn't supposed to. I suppose the closest thing was the regular-season-ending win over a pedestrian 6-5 Iowa squad that elevated us into the Insight Bowl. Any win over a decent Big Ten team this season would probably become the biggest Gopher win in at least 5 years.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I couldn't have said it better myself. We are conditioned as Minnesota sports fans to get excited as teams put themselves in position to contend, and then choke like Linda Lovelace when things "get real". The pattern has repeated itself time and again over the last couple decades - Gophers football, 1999 and 2003; Vikings, 1998, 2001, and 2009; T-wolves, practically every year from 1997-2004; Twins, almost every year from 2002 to the present. The Twins managed to avoid the pratfall in 1987 and 1991 because they had one of the most ridiculous homefield advantages in the history of sports.

Your post got me to thinking, Ole - how long has it been since Gopher football has won a game they weren't supposed to, when the stakes were high? The Iowa win last year was great, but its net effect was to elevate the 2010 squad from "historically terrible" to just "pretty bad". Brewster certainly never won a meaningful game that he wasn't supposed to. I suppose the closest thing was the regular-season-ending win over a pedestrian 6-5 Iowa squad that elevated us into the Insight Bowl. Any win over a decent Big Ten team this season would probably become the biggest Gopher win in at least 5 years.
Click to expand...

I will give Brewster credit for winning a VERY high pressure game to open the stadium, losing that game simply wasn't an option. Air force is built to win games like that, play mistake free, wear down the D and clock, etc. Not an upset though obviously.

It's been a very long time since we've upset anyone with any clout. I guess 2005 at Michigan or against #11 Purdue? How sad is that?
I do think the Iowa win last year has to be considered, even thought the season was a bust, perception was a very unexpected and quality win, or it cemented the perception of iowee dumping all over itself late in the season. Either way good for the Gophs.
 



I agree with the OP. The Twins are finished and those games in September will mean nothing. At this point some "experts" do not think the NFL season will start until October-ish. The Gophers have a real opportunity to gain much more attention.

To DP's point, I would have to go with 2005 Michigan and Gary Russell busting down the sidelines...
 

Ole said:
I will give Brewster credit for winning a VERY high pressure game to open the stadium, losing that game simply wasn't an option. Air force is built to win games like that, play mistake free, wear down the D and clock, etc. Not an upset though obviously.

It's been a very long time since we've upset anyone with any clout. I guess 2005 at Michigan or against #11 Purdue? How sad is that?
I do think the Iowa win last year has to be considered, even thought the season was a bust, perception was a very unexpected and quality win, or it cemented the perception of iowee dumping all over itself late in the season. Either way good for the Gophs.
Click to expand...

I'm going to have to disagree with 2005 Michigan being a win that mattered in the grand scheme of the season. While, a good one we were a disappointing 7-5 that year. Plus, we had every reason given the knowledge of the time that we could win that game.

I would guess the one I remember given the critera of "no business winning" and had national affect on both the season and well top 25 would be the 1999 win over Penn State. I think they were #2 that year and we ended up 8-3 before the bowl loss. It was kind of a season changer and went from losing to a bunch of ranked big ten opponents to beating a consensus powerhouse and changing from lost season to reason for excitement.
 

I agree with much that is being said here.

We need to surprise people, raise eyebrows. Like the PSU win in 1999 and start people believing again. I have said this before, but there was a time when we were feared, not chalked up as another win. We need to build up to this I understand, but to jump start it, an upset this year and next year would really help our program get going again.

If our fans realize that we are in any game and that anything is possible…interest will rise.
 

atsgopher said:
I'm going to have to disagree with 2005 Michigan being a win that mattered in the grand scheme of the season. While, a good one we were a disappointing 7-5 that year. Plus, we had every reason given the knowledge of the time that we could win that game
Click to expand...

I can a see you point given that fact that we had lost the past two games to Michigan by 3 points a piece. However, you cannot discount the fact that we finally got over the hump, won on the road and for the first time since 1986.

Plus, responding gave me a reason to post the run. Check out the blocks by Spaeth and Ellerson. Beautiful!
 

Thanks Stan. I was in South Africa at that time and have never seen that game footage.
 

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