Teague hints that big fundraising gifts are coming, on track for August

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station19 said:
To me it sounds like a personal vendetta.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but GW's constant degrading of the project is beyond informative.
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He also said that Kill would be gone so his vendetta covers a wide sweep. The problem is that he never really gives any bad ground information why he has this vendetta.
 

Killjoy said:
He also said that Kill would be gone so his vendetta covers a wide sweep. The problem is that he never really gives any bad ground information why he has this vendetta.
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Maybe he's just an asshole.
 

Instead of incessant b#tch$ng about Norwood Teague and the fundraising, why not root for a successful fundraising?

If they pull this off, it will be epic.

"I call it blind faith. Sooner or later somebody’s got to have blind faith. They got to believe in somebody." Jerry Kill.
 

I thnk what bothers some of us is the quasi-dishonesty amongst the principal players here. I keep hearing that they've raised 70 M in one year but the original plan was announced in July 2013 signaling the silent fundraising phase. Typically they want to secure some larger seed gifts during the silent phase before they "go public". additionally, Anyone following gopher football knows this has been in the works since 2012. It's communication for politicians 101 and everything he says is full of weasel phrases. Lets just hope he gets it done and keeps Jerry happy.

If they have solid commitments, seems like it would be foolish to hold back the news when Jerry is trying to secure recruits. The logical conclusion is that they are not solid for any large number of reasons (as teague said in a roundabout way) and it's curious Teague is not approaching the mysterious group of plan B donors. It also seems logical he wouldn't mention plan B donors if Plan A was solid. Maybe I'm just not seeing it.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
I thnk what bothers some of us is the quasi-dishonesty amongst the principal players here. I keep hearing that they've raised 70 M in one year but the original plan was announced in July 2013 signaling the silent fundraising phase. Typically they want to secure some larger seed gifts during the silent phase before they "go public". additionally, Anyone following gopher football knows this has been in the works since 2012. It's communication for politicians 101 and everything he says is full of weasel phrases. Lets just hope he gets it done and keeps Jerry happy.

If they have solid commitments, seems like it would be foolish to hold back the news when Jerry is trying to secure recruits. The logical conclusion is that they are not solid for any large number of reasons (as teague said in a roundabout way) and it's curious Teague is not approaching the mysterious group of plan B donors. It also seems logical he wouldn't mention plan B donors if Plan A was solid. Maybe I'm just not seeing it.
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Go with your very last sentence. [emoji106]
 


Well, could join the cult here I suppose. Jim Jones ~ Woody? Keep drinking, don't question.

I don't like his style of communication. It also so happens I am a huge fan of the team and the college football model in general and want this to happen in a responsible way. Just get it done.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Well, could join the cult here I suppose. Jim Jones ~ Woody? Keep drinking, don't question.

I don't like his style of communication. It also so happens I am a huge fan of the team and the college football model in general and want this to happen in a responsible way. Just get it done.
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Oh, clever, just because people are willing to be patient and let things play out, we are in a cult and drink Kool-Aid. You, on the other hand, don't care for Norwood so you see what's really happening. Your questioning doesn't shed a damn bit of light on this, by the way.
 

Those who bitch also don't contribute.
 

I could be wrong - but it seems to me that the best way to create momentum for the project would be to announce major gifts - get the donors thinking, "hey if they are giving to the project, maybe I should, too." I realize it can be a long, drawn-out process, and as somebody noted, there could be tax implications- but it just seems like there were several announcements early in the process, and nothing since. The longer it goes without an announcement, it gives the perception - true or not - fair or not - that no progress is being made.

Again - I hope they are making progress - I hope they meet the goal and there are shovels in the ground this fall.

But, to be honest, I just get a vibe from Teague that sets off my BS detector. I could be dead wrong, but something about the guy just rubs me the wrong way.
 




Pompous Elitist said:
I thnk what bothers some of us is the quasi-dishonesty amongst the principal players here. I keep hearing that they've raised 70 M in one year but the original plan was announced in July 2013 signaling the silent fundraising phase. Typically they want to secure some larger seed gifts during the silent phase before they "go public". additionally, Anyone following gopher football knows this has been in the works since 2012. It's communication for politicians 101 and everything he says is full of weasel phrases.
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Absolutely fair comments. The "we've raised $70MM in less than a year" is b.s.

The reality is that I AM "rooting" for new facilities. My issue is that the path Teague has decided to take to get there is wrong and has wasted more valuable time.

The sources of funding, the total costs, etc... all done wrong for what is needed - improved facilities, NOW.

The HOPE is that Teague and the U continue to change course and change the rules.

I'd like to see:
Scrap the "only private funding" crap.. the reality is it won't EVER be all privately funded. They can pretend there is an 80% rule and "short term debt," but the facts remain they won't have all cash in the door for a decade+. For example, Land O Lakes (which is often misreported as a $25MM donation to the project - it most certainly is not), is being paid over a decade. Be aggressive - own the revenues that athletics bring in - yes, there are large TV contracts with growing revenues. "We brought that in. We are going to use some of it to upgrade facilities." - THIS is what I'd like to see and hear. Not, "oh there's a meeting in 6 weeks.. August should be good to go for breaking ground.. and uh... there are like.. a group of people that we haven't even talked to yet! But they know we're coming! Sometime! It's only been like 10 months!! hehehe"

Start building now - even in earnest, because it can help further fundraising when people see things are starting. For example, start building the outline of bball and football practice facilities. Do it tomorrow.

It's beyond frustrating. More importantly, it's wrong.

Again, I'm hopeful things get done soon - and they might. But I believe it will require Teague to change the rules even more than he already has. Not sure if he's ready to do so yet. Needs more pressure from the right people.

Math exercise:
Was: $190MM project, including the tear down of Bierman
Is: $150MM project, with an additional $40MM later for re-purposing old buildings... no tear down of Bierman
= Same price, no new buildings specifically for the non-bball and football sports.

That's fine, but you've changed and it hurts your case with some people (and brings about 'equal rights' complainers).

Have a GOOD vision and work DILIGENTLY and HONESTLY to get it done.

Good vision? Nope. Dollars are way too high. Plans have already changed.
Working diligently? Nope. You've got a great group you haven't gone to yet? But you want to have groundbreaking approved in 6 weeks? What?
Honestly? Nope. Claims about the fundraising (timing, dollar amounts) haven't been truthful. Plans have changed.

Go Gophers!!
 

GW: no offense, but I'll go out on a limb and put more faith in NT's approach than in what you would do. Based on, well you know, everything.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

GW: NT says that there are donations being finalized. How in the hell would you know whether that is true or not? Answer: you don't know ****.
 



stocker08 said:
GW: NT says that there are donations being finalized. How in the hell would you know whether that is true or not? Answer: you don't know ****.
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Actually, Gopher Warrior has raised funds for similar projects by universities large and small. He has years of corporate fundraising under his belt and the U failed in not utilizing his firm's skills in getting this thing done.
 

I think we can agree to disagree without resorting to personal attacks. My comments on "The People's Temple" were only directed at the people who think it's not okay to dissent. This is an opinion board.

I don't understand the venom towards Gopher Warrior. I don't follow the basketball threads. Maybe there was something over there.

The facts are this: Teague himself envisioned 80 MM for the project before hiring Populous in October of 2012. The numbers obviously shot up for arguable reasons. The 80M could be simply naivete on Teague's part but it's been shown elsewhere that large facilities can be built for much less than the 190 or 150 MM numbers being thrown around. Obviously the U went with the bidders they were most comfortable working with and sometimes it does pay to guarantee success rather than take chances with unknown parties. That said, there is no way this project will be funded without public dollars now. The only question is how much.

I think the "facilities" arguments have to include the wide view of the university as a whole, the neighborhood, the classroom facilities, the city, etc etc. Almost every recruit we get talks about the great facilities we have, unprompted. They are coming out of high schools. Yes, we need better dining areas etc and a dedicated weight room and a field house and a basketball training court but I question the need for some of the fluff. This is 2015. We don't need an enormous library or study area. Students barely need lecture halls anymore. These are vestiges of the past with the advent of the internet.

Fact of the matter is, if we put guys in the NFL they will come here. That's it. They want to win and they want to play in the NFL. Facilities are way, way down the list.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
I thnk what bothers some of us is the quasi-dishonesty amongst the principal players here. I keep hearing that they've raised 70 M in one year but the original plan was announced in July 2013 signaling the silent fundraising phase. Typically they want to secure some larger seed gifts during the silent phase before they "go public". additionally, Anyone following gopher football knows this has been in the works since 2012. It's communication for politicians 101 and everything he says is full of weasel phrases. Lets just hope he gets it done and keeps Jerry happy.

If they have solid commitments, seems like it would be foolish to hold back the news when Jerry is trying to secure recruits. The logical conclusion is that they are not solid for any large number of reasons (as teague said in a roundabout way) and it's curious Teague is not approaching the mysterious group of plan B donors. It also seems logical he wouldn't mention plan B donors if Plan A was solid. Maybe I'm just not seeing it.
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The same guy also said he didn't think it was a good idea for athletes to have the NFL or NBA as a goal. Yet his coaches are recruiting players and encouraging players to sign here because the U of M is the path to their dreams. Jerry talks about the NFL draft a lot. Richard wishes he could ... but that's another story. My point, Norwood is like a politician or used car salesman.
He definitely uses deception. And he says stuff where you go huh? I just believe him when he says they plan to break ground in August. That's as close as he is going to get to putting his neck out there.
 

60's Guy said:
The same guy also said he didn't think it was a good idea for athletes to have the NFL or NBA as a goal. Yet his coaches are recruiting players and encouraging players to sign here because the U of M is the path to their dreams. Jerry talks about the NFL draft a lot. Richard wishes he could ... but that's another story. My point, Norwood is like a politician or used car salesman.
He definitely uses deception. And he says stuff where you go huh? I just believe him when he says they plan to break ground in August. That's as close as he is going to get to putting his neck out there.
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Thats not what he said.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Well, could join the cult here I suppose. Jim Jones ~ Woody? Keep drinking, don't question.

I don't like his style of communication. It also so happens I am a huge fan of the team and the college football model in general and want this to happen in a responsible way. Just get it done.
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That's too bad because he is a big fan of your style.:rolleyes:
 

He said there were maybe 2 or 3 players on the team that would go on to play in the NFL. Even at the time, a preposterous statement.
 

Norwood is being very cautious due to the inter politics of the U. Nothing will be announced until they are ready to go. Things are progressing behind the scenes.
 

This wasn't some interview sprung on Norwood as he got out of a car. It was on a Gopher podcast. Norwood's communication style might offend a few folks greatly, but the man isn't stupid. He's not going to go further out on a limb needlessly in a forum he has planned and controls. This agitation about him is awfully premature. The guy does strike me as a car salesman, but that still doesn't mean this isn't getting done.
 

Mulligan said:
This wasn't some interview sprung on Norwood as he got out of a car. It was on a Gopher podcast. Norwood's communication style might offend a few folks greatly, but the man isn't stupid. He's not going to go further out on a limb needlessly in a forum he has planned and controls. This agitation about him is awfully premature. The guy does strike me as a car salesman, but that still doesn't mean this isn't getting done.
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I agree that it doesn't mean this isn't getting done, but it also doesn't mean it is. I don't want to speak for anyone else (which I recognize is something usually said right before trying to speak for someone else), but years of disappointments and what I have referred to as "fool's gold" with reasons to be excited for the future of Minnesota pro and college sports has me very defensively skeptical. Regardless of whether it is a highly touted college recruit/pro free agent, a new coaching hire, a coach taking us through a rebuilding phase, or a facilities plan like this, I tend to protect myself from getting hurt by adopting a "put up or shut up" approach, where I won't get excited or optimistic until after I see the wins, the trophies, or the shovels in the grounds. Its probably likely that others feel the same way.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
I agree that it doesn't mean this isn't getting done, but it also doesn't mean it is. I don't want to speak for anyone else (which I recognize is something usually said right before trying to speak for someone else), but years of disappointments and what I have referred to as "fool's gold" with reasons to be excited for the future of Minnesota pro and college sports has me very defensively skeptical. Regardless of whether it is a highly touted college recruit/pro free agent, a new coaching hire, a coach taking us through a rebuilding phase, or a facilities plan like this, I tend to protect myself from getting hurt by adopting a "put up or shut up" approach, where I won't get excited or optimistic until after I see the wins, the trophies, or the shovels in the grounds. Its probably likely that others feel the same way.
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Interesting choice for a username then. I'd have suggested something like bleedspessimismandskepticism.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Interesting choice for a username then. I'd have suggested something like bleedspessimismandskepticism.
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I'm pretty happy with it as it is, there has just been a lot of maroon and gold blood spilled since I started school back in 2006. I live and die with the Gopher football, basketball, and hockey teams, and I have unfortunately done a lot more dying than living.
 


bleedsmaroonandgold said:
I'm pretty happy with it as it is, there has just been a lot of maroon and gold blood spilled since I started school back in 2006. I live and die with the Gopher football, basketball, and hockey teams, and I have unfortunately done a lot more dying than living.
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So would you think someone who started school back in 1964 should be long dead by now instead of being optimistic? :)
 


Mulligan said:
So would you think someone who started school back in 1964 should be long dead by now instead of being optimistic? :)
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How about someone who started in 1958. I think it's going to happen.
 

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