jkm54
Scout Team
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2011
- Messages
- 251
- Like
- 413
I will start by saying... I love this god damn football team.
I am a silent, but rather frequent visitor to this board. I check in pretty regularly though because as a fan, I want to stay as connected as I can to what's going on with the team, which I get from the insight by folks who are much closer to the program than I. The preseason practice reports, spring practice, the ins and outs of the season...it's all a drug, and I'm pretty unhealthily addicted to it. So to all of those who provide that insight and dedicate their time to this site, a hearty thank you.
So I want to take the time to say as an alum and fan of college football, I love this god damn football team for everything it has been, is now, and could be in the future. So often we focus on the nitty gritty of the games, recruiting, coaching decisions, we bitch, we moan, but we need to say it more so I'm going to take the time to say it now and again...I love this god damn football team.
In as much as I love this program, I loved this season and this team more than most, blemishes and all. The agony of the Northwestern and Rutgers losses (any loss to Rutgers is agonizing) only made the Missouri and Louisville wins that much greater, and the Pinstripe Bowl and the systematical dismantling of an overly arrogant West Virginia team in perfect northeastern football weather was the cherry on top. I was lucky enough to make it to the Cincinnati, Missouri and Temple games this year, along with going to Yankee Stadium for the Pinstripe Bowl (3-1 this year, not too bad, although the Cinci game was a tough pill to swallow) and I lost my at everyone of them. What I really loved was the continual formulation of an actual identity that we can associate with this program.
This may all seem a puff piece that many will say "of course...we all love this god damn football team. That's why we all take the time to participate on this board. Why does this a-hole feel the need to write a touchy, feel-y diatribe about it?" But I think, in order to be the fanbase we all want to be, in addition to all the griping, let's take a step back and make sure we make it known what we love about this program. For Christ's sake, I saw posts relating to the potential departure of an alum and head coach in the last 24 hours devolve into whether Andy Reid should credit Donovan McNabb for his career or vice versa and the merits of Social Security! At that point, it's time for everyone to take a deep breath. But our program is at a crossroads, and we all, understandably so, are freaking the f*** out over it.
As an Eagles fan, I've seen what a negative, gripe-y, vocal minority can do to a player's experience in a city (McNabb/Cunningham), and it made me sick. Also, if there is a stream (no matter how big) of negative correspondence going to the administration/athletic department/football coaches, I would like at least to have it on record somewhere where maybe mods/readers of this board who do have close contact with the program can point to and say, look here...there is overwhelmingly positive support out there for this program.
However, this support does not come without a cost. For my support, I expect the BoT, the administration, the athletic department, and the alumni (myself included) to do everything possible to make this program what we want it to be, and I think the last thing we want is a program without an identity. I take such a sense of pride about having fellow alum coach our football and basketball teams. No one sells Syracuse University like an alum can. I love what I'm hearing from recruits regarding the atmosphere that HCDM has created over the past 4 years. It's the type of team that a fanbase, with the improvement that has taken place, can easily get behind and grow (even though we all may need some slight convincing and patience during rough patches). It's the type of team that can make a program and a fanbase truly special, but it comes at a cost. Doesn't have to be a top-tier team cost, but a cost nonetheless.
To be clear, I'm not looking to be a year-in, year-out national contender; I understand and respect the different priorities amongst universities when it comes to academics vs. athletics, but at the very least, our university's decision-makers should be able to create a team with a rock-solid identity, and I think, prior to HCDM, we got off track for a while there. HCDM has helped bring that back, and I don't want to lose it now.
The point is...whatever the hang-up here is...please whoever makes this call...if HCDM, in fact wants to stay, with conditions that would only help the university attached, let's do whatever we can to make this happen. It will send the right message to recruits, current students and the alumni, which can only help the university as a whole. I think our university has the opportunity to build a program with a strong identity that we can all be truly proud of. Let's reward the guy who helped bring that identity back and, if possible, do whatever it takes to get this done. The pieces are in place.
Like I said, I love this god damn football team.
Restore #44.
Screw ESPN.
Go Orange.
Sorry this is so long.
I am a silent, but rather frequent visitor to this board. I check in pretty regularly though because as a fan, I want to stay as connected as I can to what's going on with the team, which I get from the insight by folks who are much closer to the program than I. The preseason practice reports, spring practice, the ins and outs of the season...it's all a drug, and I'm pretty unhealthily addicted to it. So to all of those who provide that insight and dedicate their time to this site, a hearty thank you.
So I want to take the time to say as an alum and fan of college football, I love this god damn football team for everything it has been, is now, and could be in the future. So often we focus on the nitty gritty of the games, recruiting, coaching decisions, we bitch, we moan, but we need to say it more so I'm going to take the time to say it now and again...I love this god damn football team.
In as much as I love this program, I loved this season and this team more than most, blemishes and all. The agony of the Northwestern and Rutgers losses (any loss to Rutgers is agonizing) only made the Missouri and Louisville wins that much greater, and the Pinstripe Bowl and the systematical dismantling of an overly arrogant West Virginia team in perfect northeastern football weather was the cherry on top. I was lucky enough to make it to the Cincinnati, Missouri and Temple games this year, along with going to Yankee Stadium for the Pinstripe Bowl (3-1 this year, not too bad, although the Cinci game was a tough pill to swallow) and I lost my at everyone of them. What I really loved was the continual formulation of an actual identity that we can associate with this program.
This may all seem a puff piece that many will say "of course...we all love this god damn football team. That's why we all take the time to participate on this board. Why does this a-hole feel the need to write a touchy, feel-y diatribe about it?" But I think, in order to be the fanbase we all want to be, in addition to all the griping, let's take a step back and make sure we make it known what we love about this program. For Christ's sake, I saw posts relating to the potential departure of an alum and head coach in the last 24 hours devolve into whether Andy Reid should credit Donovan McNabb for his career or vice versa and the merits of Social Security! At that point, it's time for everyone to take a deep breath. But our program is at a crossroads, and we all, understandably so, are freaking the f*** out over it.
As an Eagles fan, I've seen what a negative, gripe-y, vocal minority can do to a player's experience in a city (McNabb/Cunningham), and it made me sick. Also, if there is a stream (no matter how big) of negative correspondence going to the administration/athletic department/football coaches, I would like at least to have it on record somewhere where maybe mods/readers of this board who do have close contact with the program can point to and say, look here...there is overwhelmingly positive support out there for this program.
However, this support does not come without a cost. For my support, I expect the BoT, the administration, the athletic department, and the alumni (myself included) to do everything possible to make this program what we want it to be, and I think the last thing we want is a program without an identity. I take such a sense of pride about having fellow alum coach our football and basketball teams. No one sells Syracuse University like an alum can. I love what I'm hearing from recruits regarding the atmosphere that HCDM has created over the past 4 years. It's the type of team that a fanbase, with the improvement that has taken place, can easily get behind and grow (even though we all may need some slight convincing and patience during rough patches). It's the type of team that can make a program and a fanbase truly special, but it comes at a cost. Doesn't have to be a top-tier team cost, but a cost nonetheless.
To be clear, I'm not looking to be a year-in, year-out national contender; I understand and respect the different priorities amongst universities when it comes to academics vs. athletics, but at the very least, our university's decision-makers should be able to create a team with a rock-solid identity, and I think, prior to HCDM, we got off track for a while there. HCDM has helped bring that back, and I don't want to lose it now.
The point is...whatever the hang-up here is...please whoever makes this call...if HCDM, in fact wants to stay, with conditions that would only help the university attached, let's do whatever we can to make this happen. It will send the right message to recruits, current students and the alumni, which can only help the university as a whole. I think our university has the opportunity to build a program with a strong identity that we can all be truly proud of. Let's reward the guy who helped bring that identity back and, if possible, do whatever it takes to get this done. The pieces are in place.
Like I said, I love this god damn football team.
Restore #44.
Screw ESPN.
Go Orange.
Sorry this is so long.