Help me to understand something

dpodoll68

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Historically, our football program is much, much better than our basketball team. It isn't even close.

Going into the 1997 season, our all-time Big Ten record in football was 325-311-30 (.511). Our recently-fired coach had a Big Ten record of 8-32 (.200), incredibly below our historical standards, with no winning conference seasons, and no bowl appearances. We went out and hired a coach who had a fair amount of previous success, winning multiple coach of the year awards in multiple conferences. We paid him a high salary by Minnesota standards, and very competitive relative to his peers. Despite accumulating a 32-48 (.400) Big Ten record, better than his predecessor but well below our historical standards, he was allowed to last 10 years in his position, and a significant portion of our fanbase bitches and moans on a daily basis that he was ever fired at all while all the time thinking he should still be in the position, wherein he would be beginning his 16th season this fall in an alternate universe. Again, as a reminder, for doing better than his predecessor but far below historical standards, many wish he was still employed here as the head coach.

Going into the 2008 season, our all-time Big Ten record in basketball was 618-694 (.471). Our recently-fired coach had a Big Ten record of 44-68 (.392), far below our historical standards, with two winning conference seasons, and one NCAA Tournament appearance. We went out and hired a coach who had a great amount of previous success, winning multiple coach of the year awards in multiple conferences, multiple national coach of the year awards, multiple conference titles, and a national championship. We paid him a high salary by Minnesota standards, and very competitive relative to his peers. Although he has accumulated a Big Ten record of 37-44 (.457), just below historical standards but still much better than his predecessor, many (most?) of the fans want him fired when he has yet to complete 5 full seasons. In other words, for being slightly below historical precedent, and much better than his predecessor, many fans want him to have a tenure half as long as his football counterpart (a third as long in the alternate universe many wish existed) who drastically underperformed historical precedent.

The basketball coach is seen as a scourge, a plague, and an evil beset upon our program for slightly underperforming historical precedent. The football coach is fondly remembered, many calling him the best coach in half a century and wishing he were still here, for drastically underperforming historical precedent. Can someone help me to understand this? I think of myself as a relatively smart fellow, but there is clearly something I am missing here.
 


To answer your question though, coaches, presidents and CEOs, are often judged on the basis of the person who follows them. That is why Mason's reputation has gotten better over the last few years. It's also why Bill Clinton's approval #'s have gone way up with R's in the years after he was in office than when he was in office due to the ineptitude of W. Happens all the time in many facets, no different with Mason.
 

Mason was very overrated coach. He was smug, lazy and deserved his fate. Thise that lomg for him and the good old days of 3-5 and going to second tier bowls are only those that celebrate mediocrity and are happy to just be competitive. Count me out of that group. I wold rather fail trying to get better than accept mediocrity.
 

Well, for one you are creating a straw man.

Tubby is currently facing much less heat on this board than Mason did. Only the lunatic fringe would want him fired. These are the same people who will call for Jerry Kill's head next year if they struggle.

You must have not been yet around the gopherhole because Mason hate the last few years was intense and non-stop. Mason's only real defenders were Loon and Wren. The support for Mason started only after Brewster was here awhile. I wish the board archives were around because it was brutal.

Tubby came in as a saviour after a perceived incompetent coach ran the program into the ground. After 5 years, Tubby's results and Monson's results are not hugely different (and in fact, Monson had two years where his Big ten record is better than Tubby has had- his problem was his bad years were really bad).

To sum up, I think people expected more from Tubby. I think Tubby expected more as well.

If it makes you feel better, if the coach after Tubby falters, the Tubby love will be huge.
 


Help me to understand why Gopher fans should be happy that the craptastic basketball team is now outperforming and up and coming but still miserable football team when historically the now miserable team used to outperform the craptastic team.
 

Help me to understand why Gopher fans should be happy that the craptastic basketball team is now outperforming and up and coming but still miserable football team when historically the now miserable team used to outperform the craptastic team.
Could you rephrase that please? Thanks.
 

Well, for one you are creating a straw man.

Tubby is currently facing much less heat on this board than Mason did. Only the lunatic fringe would want him fired. These are the same people who will call for Jerry Kill's head next year if they struggle.
You must have not been yet around the gopherhole because Mason hate the last few years was intense and non-stop. Mason's only real defenders were Loon and Wren. The support for Mason started only after Brewster was here awhile. I wish the board archives were around because it was brutal.

Tubby came in as a saviour after a perceived incompetent coach ran the program into the ground. After 5 years, Tubby's results and Monson's results are not hugely different (and in fact, Monson had two years where his Big ten record is better than Tubby has had- his problem was his bad years were really bad).

To sum up, I think people expected more from Tubby. I think Tubby expected more as well.

If it makes you feel better, if the coach after Tubby falters, the Tubby love will be huge.


+1
 




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