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Message: [QUOTE="OttoinGrotto, post: 75726, member: 297"] A couple of things. Whether people choose to believe it, being a Syracuse fan is part of my identity. Labeling me as a bandwagon fan for football is inaccurate, because even though I now refuse to watch the games (at least in their entirety, I always get sucked in a little bit and end up pouring over the game stories, box score and play-by-play) I haven't ever stopped caring. I care a lot. I haven't ever disappeared. I've stopped watching for a few reasons. The first is because football should be fun. It's been a very long time since football has been fun for us, and really, between GRob's incompetence and Marrone's lack of entertainment I can't take it anymore. I work pretty long hours. My wife and I have a 4 month old son, and he's awesome. If I'm going to dedicate 3 or 4 hours on a weekend to something that pretty much serves only me, it has to be a great time. Even when we win more often than not I end up feeling so frustrated and discouraged that I'm in a worse state than when I started watching. That's probably not healthy, so now I find it's much better if I catch snippets of games from teams with aesthetic styles on a Saturday. Being a fan is a self-serving experience. I realize some of you think that there's some other, more noble higher purpose to your fandom, but you're lying to yourself if you claim that you're a fan for anyone but yourself (I'm using the royal you here). I've recently come to the realization that people need more than just laundry to root for. They need their fandom to be a bright spot in their life. It's not a bright spot to me anymore, GRob weakened me and Marrone is pretty much finishing me off, so I'm not willing to make the time for Syracuse football. [IMG]http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgbinlBeoY1qf8yek.gif[/IMG] The part that is sick and twisted though is that I still care, and that's why I post. I want my fandom to be fun. Watching games is not anymore, but coming on here during my work day to shoot the breeze about Syracuse football, that is. It's funny you mention credibility. I never claim to be credible. In fact, at times I go out of my way to point out that I'm not a credible source, have no insider info, am the Thickburger guy, yadda yadda yadda. But what does bother me is how quickly some people dismiss some of what I and others try to contribute to the discussion, without really reading what is written. If I have any credibility hopefully it comes from writing what should clearly be thoughtful posts, even if a lot of people disagree with the ideas. One last thing that I think a lot of people on this board need to realize - there are a lot of people that feel like I do, and they're pretty easy to win back. They want to be won back. But you need to remember that you've lost them once people start talking about how they should behave, or placing expectations on them, or demanding things from them. You want to win them back, make it fun. Coach is great at making it fun for the people that can go to luncheons and for alumni reportedly, but he can't meet with everyone face to face. Coach needs to get better at making it fun to watch his team play, because the vast majority of people are only ever going to interact with the program through the bleachers or their tv. That fan needs a voice, and our program needs that fan. I know some people don't like it, but I do sometimes kinda feel like I can provide that voice because I do have access to the forum where some people that can encourage change also happen to be. Most of those fans don't go as far as I do to seek out a fun outlet for the sport, so you get me posting for better or worse. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?