WHEN IS IT GONNA BE OUR TURN !?!?!?

Donate To GopherHole
jrb27

jrb27

Active member
Joined
Sep 11, 2009
Messages
159
Reaction score
65
Points
28
ive been a diehard gopher fan since i was 5 ( now 27) as i sit here watching OSU hoist the sugar bowl trophy it makes me wonder WHEN IS IT GONNA BE OUR TURN !!!!
 

Soon, young Jedi. Soon....

Actually I have no idea, but I'm 44, so I can feel your pain but even more acutely, because I've had to suffer through it even longer. :p
 

You will learn quickly that this is considered "whining" by a segment of the Gopher fan base. We are not to expect the Gophers to compete for BCS bowl berths a couple times a decade or to beat Iowa and Wisconsin consistently. In fact, we are no longer even supposed to win half of our games against our rivals. You should look at a 5-3 year in the Big Ten as something memorable and realize that the Insight Bowl is much better than the Motor City bowl.

Our turn? It doesn't exist. We are supposed to support the team like it's relevant, but not expect it to actually be relevant. It's quite an interesting concept.
 

This is why being a fan is so frustrating. This one's out of our control. It's up to the coaching staff and those men on the field. They've got to be committed to working for it, they've got to be focused and want it more than their opponents. On top of that, you've got to have luck on your side, whether it be from injuries to your opponents, avoiding injuries on your squad, breaks in the schedule, turnovers, etc. I don't want to be knocking at death's door in 40 or 50 years still clenching my fists thinking that 2003 was that chance and that squad blew it, but when it comes down to it, all I can do is cheer as loud as I can, get disappointed when the Gophs lose and dance on the ceiling when the win. Here's hoping for more of the latter.
 

It will take a couple years longer now that the Badgers lost the rose bowl, but I'm sure they will be good next year which will then some how help us (I don't know how but ask some of the Genius's on here about 30% of them).
 


jrb27 said:
ive been a diehard gopher fan since i was 5 ( now 27) as i sit here watching OSU hoist the sugar bowl trophy it makes me wonder WHEN IS IT GONNA BE OUR TURN !!!!
Click to expand...

jerb, surely you must realize there are many regular posters in GopherHole who have waited 43 years (almost twice as long as you) to win a Big 10 Championship, and 49 years to win a significant bowl game of any kind. There are more than a few of us who are facing the possibility neither one will happen in our remaining lifetimes.

Although the Chicago Cubs have not won a World Series in 102 years (the longest championship drought in professional sports), they have at least won division titles from time to time. This makes Gopher football fans just about the most most long suffering fan base in all of sports. 2003 was going to be our year and Grinning Glen didn't get it done one more time.

Now that Nebraska has joined the Legends Division the Gophers chances of winning a Big 10 Championship seem further away than they ever have been. And we all need to face up to the possibility that if and when our turn ever does come it may just be a one time thing and the Gophers will go on another 40 plus year run without a title.

The only time it has ever been easy for Gopher football fans was in the 1930's and 1940's when they won multiple national championships. Otherwise, it has always been about trophy games against Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Winning trophy games and minor bowl games are what we have had to content ourselves with for longer than we care to remember. That is the hand we have been dealt as Gopher fans.

Those of us who have stuck by the team for the large majority of our lives are among the best fans anywhere in sports. Every year we are hopeful this will be the year things start to change for the better and we come away disappointed almost every time. But we always come back again the next year. It is a burden we have carried for a very long time but I like to think we are the better for it in the long run. We are more prepared to face life's disappointments than most other people.

Go Gophers!
 

NoelJenkeGo4 said:
Now that Nebraska has joined the Legends Division the Gophers chances of winning a Big 10 Championship seem further away than they ever have been. And we all need to face up to the possibility that if and when our turn ever does come it may just be a one time thing and the Gophers will go on another 40 plus year run without a title.
Click to expand...

Yeah right, rather than having to run the gauntlet and beat out 10 other teams (including Ohio State) we have to beat out 5 other teams (not including Ohio State) and win a single game.
 

NateDawgUM said:
Yeah right, rather than having to run the gauntlet and beat out 10 other teams (including Ohio State) we have to beat out 5 other teams (not including Ohio State) and win a single game.
Click to expand...

Thanks for making an issue of the most insignificant point in my entire post and ignoring everything else.
 

NateDawgUM said:
Yeah right, rather than having to run the gauntlet and beat out 10 other teams (including Ohio State) we have to beat out 5 other teams (not including Ohio State) and win a single game.
Click to expand...

That was a fun argument on the board a while back - hearing people's futile explanations about how having to beat out 5 other teams (+1 game) is more difficult than having to beat 11 other teams. High comedy indeed.
 



NoelJenkeGo4 said:
Thanks for proving one of my points, Nate. Only long time diehard Gopher fans would find a way to convince themselves the Gophers will have an easier time winning the Big 10 Championship by playing Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan State every year and then having to beat the champion of the Leaders Division.
Click to expand...

Nebraska isn't that good! They are a nice team but currently their program is in no better shape than either Wisconsin or Iowa. They are better than the gophers yes, are they equal to OSU? No.
 

jrb27 said:
ive been a diehard gopher fan since i was 5 ( now 27) as i sit here watching OSU hoist the sugar bowl trophy it makes me wonder WHEN IS IT GONNA BE OUR TURN !!!!
Click to expand...

2062 seems to be a good number. It would be very symmetric.
 

I think the Gophers will play in the B1G Championship game in the next three years.
 

I think we're well positioned for the near term. Wisconsin and Iowa lose a lot of significant players and will take a step back and Michigan is in a state of flux. I think our toughest games next year will be USC, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa and MSU. None of those teams seem at this moment to be in the same tier as tOSU (also I am not saying the other games are sure wins). What gives me hope for next season is Gray in Kill's offense and our front seven on defense, since Kill's defense emphasizes stopping the run. We should be able to eke out 6 or 7 wins.
 



Old photo's

When I was a kid going through my parent's memorabilia, I would go through their game day guide from the 1962 Rose Bowl and especially remembering Carl Eller's photo. I remember looking at their Rose Bowl parade pictures. I still can't believe we haven't made it. 1999 and 2003 were each a game away, but no go. We used to have the tie breaker of having not been to the Rose Bowl the longest, but that isn't used anymore. Plus, with the Championship game, a great season can still be stopped by a bad day.

The coach who brings the Gophers to the Rose Bowl will be instantly imortal.
 

Note to eg#9...

So, what the heck are you going to do? The lackluster administrations at the U of M over the years...the decades...the half-centuries have tried to "fire their way to success..." in the management of the Football Program. Heck, they even fired coaches who won National Championships at Minnesota. Since they fired Murray Warmath, following the 1971 season 39 years ago, the administrators have burned their way through seven coaches and are now on their 8th coach to usher in the 2011 Big Ten Season. (In the case of lou hoax, HE fired our lack-luster administrators.) So, 7 coaches in 39 years means that our erstwhile below average administrators have brought in a new "savior" every 5.57 years. What more can they do eg#9????????

You go right ahead and EXPECT wildly successful football teams. Be my guest. Knock yourself out. You are mr. smart guy. You have all the answers. So, get it done.

As for me, I'll still lament the fact that our administrators found it fitting to fire a guy who won 5 National Championships and another one who won a single NC. I'll lament that they also fired coaches who were darn good coaches and were hanging in there in being competetive (Stoll and Mason.) I'll forever look at 1961 as the darkest day for the University of Minnesota Football Program. As they were playing in the Rosebowl, the nfl moved in on their territory and brought an expansion team to Minnesota. And it has been downhill ever since that fateful day.

The answer is simple: the old wilfster needs to sell the vikings to the highest out of town bidder who also has to have deep enough pockets to build his/her own stadium in LA and move the team out of the Twin Cities. When the vikings bag for greener pastures and places that will be stupid enough to build them a stadium, the evil curse of the nfl will be broken. Healing can begin. The U of M Golden Gopher Football Program can be reborn and rise from the ashes.

If you don't want that to happen, eg#9, you don't have a clue as to what it will take to win a Big Ten Championship in Football here in Minnesota. ; 0 )
 

So, people think it will be easier to win a Big Ten Championship because it will only take 5 divisional wins plus a win in the championship game? It seems to me that there are 8 games to play in Conference play, and most likely, that will increase to 9. It looks to me as though any team that seriously will have any kind of chance to compete for a divisional title had better be good enough to run the table in Big Ten play PLUS win the championship game. That could mean having to win 9 or 10 Big Ten games in a single season. (assuming that eventually the Big Ten will go to a 9 game Conference Schedule.)

Stroll back through memory lane and see how far you have to go back to see how long it has been since the Gophers beat iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, MSU and NU in a single season. And, that is just the start. wisky will always be on the schedule. Then take your pick of any one or two of the following: OSU, Purdue, PSU, Indiana, Illinois. Get that done and then beat the best of the best from the grouping that includes: wisky, OSU, PSU, Purdue, Illinois and Indiana. That is what it will most likely take to win the championship. Maybe you can get by with one loss to another Big Ten team earlier in the season. But it is going to be TOUGH to be deep enough and lucky enough and good enough all at the same time to win between 9 and 10 games against Big Ten teams in a season.

They way it has been, most teams that have broken through have tied for the championship with another one or two Big Ten Teams. The formula for getting to the Rosebowl has been going 6-2 in Big Ten play and having the Big Ten Rosebowl Rule punch your ticket to California. It seems to me that the new system is going to make it that much tougher and just with the addition of still another team, the chances dwindle And so it goes...
 

dpodoll68 said:
That was a fun argument on the board a while back - hearing people's futile explanations about how having to beat out 5 other teams (+1 game) is more difficult than having to beat 11 other teams. High comedy indeed.
Click to expand...

I remember that thread, and I completely agree that it's easier to beat 5 (+1) teams than 11 straight up. But something I didn't consider at that time is a shared title. With WI, MSU, and OSU splitting the title, 27% of Big Ten teams won the conference this year. That will never be able to happen again, so in that sense it can be more difficult. I didn't feel like looking that thread up again, so sorry if that was already brought up.
 

Holtz was the only coach that we hired since Warmath who had a winning record as a D-I head coach. Stoll had a losing record as a D-I HC. Salem was a D-II head coach. Gutekunst had just two years experience as a DC. Wacker had a losing record a losing record as a D-I HC. Mason had a losing record as a D-I HC. Brewster was only a position coach.

Our problem has been with the wrong hires than in wrong fires. Now, we've hired a coach with a winning record in D-I. That's a refreshing change of pace.
 

RodentRampage said:
Holtz was the only coach that we hired since Warmath who had a winning record as a D-I head coach. Stoll had a losing record as a D-I HC. Salem was a D-II head coach. Gutekunst had just two years experience as a DC. Wacker had a losing record a losing record as a D-I HC. Mason had a losing record as a D-I HC. Brewster was only a position coach.

Our problem has been with the wrong hires than in wrong fires. Now, we've hired a coach with a winning record in D-I. That's a refreshing change of pace.
Click to expand...

We can perhaps take comfort from looking at Stanford's turnaround. They were in an even worse spot 5 years ago than we were this last year, but this has shown that great coaches can make a HUGE difference in a program. Is Kill that man? We'd all like to think so, and I for one choose to be optimistic (as always). It can't be avoided that we have made some terrible hires in the past, but this guy has won at every single level he's coached at. He's a winner. We just have to have patience.

Minnesota wants a winner. Not just us die-hards, but even those casual fans who are waiting for something good to happen. We are in an infinitely better position now than we were 15-20-30 years ago. People rag on us, but that's because they're trying to get their jabs in because they know we are a sleeping giant. With our stadium and population base, we can turn this around. We will probably not reach an OSU level of consistent greatness, but a singular Rose Bowl is certainly within our reach- and that quite frankly would be a dream come true for most of us.
 

I find solace in reading DowngoesBrown.com. One person's hilarious take on cheering for a loser. One day we will walk in that golden sun
 

Conference Titles

I don't know when, but I don't think the answer is 20 years or 40, I think it's sooner. I look at UConn this year. They had a down division and took advantage of that. You won't to have to run the B1G to win a conference title. Two years ago, most the teams in our division were pretty mediocre or bad.

MI St - 6-2/9-4
NE - 5-3/9-4
NW - 5-3/9-4
IA - 5-3/9-4
MN - 3-5/7-6
MI - 2-6/3-9

Years like that will happen again. The big thing is that you have to take advantage of them. The differnce now is that specifically the teams in your division have to be a little down. Then a lucky win or two and you have a one game shot at going to infamy. I wouldn't say it's easier or harder, just different.

If you look at our schedule next year, it could have been a great opportunity. MI St and NE are obviously favorites but if MN got lucky and beat one of them they could still have been in a good position to win the division if MI St or NE have a loss or two more to their Leaders opponents(basing that off the rest of the Legends division being beatable). Obviously we're probably not where we need to be to take advantage of that, but don't think that in the next few years it's impossible to end up on top of the division...
 

Lakeville Goldy said:
I don't know when, but I don't think the answer is 20 years or 40, I think it's sooner. I look at UConn this year. They had a down division and took advantage of that. You won't to have to run the B1G to win a conference title. Two years ago, most the teams in our division were pretty mediocre or bad.

MI St - 6-2/9-4
NE - 5-3/9-4
NW - 5-3/9-4
IA - 5-3/9-4
MN - 3-5/7-6
MI - 2-6/3-9

Years like that will happen again. The big thing is that you have to take advantage of them. The differnce now is that specifically the teams in your division have to be a little down. Then a lucky win or two and you have a one game shot at going to infamy. I wouldn't say it's easier or harder, just different.

If you look at our schedule next year, it could have been a great opportunity. MI St and NE are obviously favorites but if MN got lucky and beat one of them they could still have been in a good position to win the division if MI St or NE have a loss or two more to their Leaders opponents(basing that off the rest of the Legends division being beatable). Obviously we're probably not where we need to be to take advantage of that, but don't think that in the next few years it's impossible to end up on top of the division...
Click to expand...

There were no division in the Big East.

I also didn't know that a 6-2 big ten record was mediocre to bad. I have a quess if it was Michigan with that record you whould be talking about how tough they will be to beat in the division.
 

Silvio said:
Nebraska isn't that good! They are a nice team but currently their program is in no better shape than either Wisconsin or Iowa. They are better than the gophers yes, are they equal to OSU? No.
Click to expand...

I agree not in the same league as OSU right now, and a notch below Wisconsin as well.
 


Whenever the U decides to renovate its campus to get it out of the 70s, when Minneapolis becomes a major US city, and when Minnesota becomes a recruiting hotbed for football talent.
 


You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom