STrib: 5-1 Vikings vs. 5-2 Gophers: a massive gap in perception

Donate To GopherHole
BleedGopher

BleedGopher

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
60,741
Reaction score
16,083
Points
113
per Rand:

A disclaimer, first: Like many of you, I’ve watched enough Gophers football and Vikings football this year to know the relative eye test winner between the two is clearly the purple.

So what follows is not an attempt to argue otherwise. But it is an exercise in perceptions at an interesting point in both the Gophers’ and Vikings’ seasons.

Records: Vikings are 5-1, Gophers are 5-2.

Scheduling break: The Vikings’ crossover games against AFC opponents are against the South, easily the worst division in that conference. The Gophers had a favorable non-conference slate and avoided several top Big Ten foes.

Public perception: The Vikings are one of the best teams in the league and their head coach is halfway to a statue outside of U.S. Bank Stadium. The Gophers are mediocre and their head coach is halfway to losing his job.

http://www.startribune.com/5-1-vikings-vs-5-2-gophers-a-massive-gap-in-perception/398358371/

Go Gophers!!
 

The local sports media loves the Vikings and is lukewarm on the Gophers? Weird.
 


I was thinking you could do a similar breakdown on our 5-2, 2-2 vs. Wisconsin's 5-2, 2-2 same records but the teams are in very different places right now from a perception/reality standpoint.

Their 5-2 includes wins over LSU, Iowa (at Kinnick), and Michigan State (also on the road although beating them doesn't hold same weight as it would have last year given how they have played). Their 2 loses were both to top 10 teams and both by a single TD.

On the flip side our 5-2 doesn't really include any quality wins or bad losses. Road win over Maryland is solid, close loss to Penn State on the road doesn't look terrible especially after they knocked off OSU, however really struggling to beat a bad Rutgers team at home doesn't reflect well on us either.

Really goes to show there is so much more to it then just what the standings say. That said if it works out for us to be sitting atop those West Division standings at the end of the year I could care less who we beat to get there.
 

It is clear Zimmer is in over his head after that putrid showing in Philly. He has no business being a head coach at any level. I wouldn't hire him to coach a rec league flag football team. He was outcoached and outclassed badly. The positive is he doesn't have a weight issue to make fun of.
 


The media does nothing but drive the negative Gopher perceptions. Right or wrong, I'm usually annoyed by this.

Case in point, Joe Christensen's article 8 days prior to this weekends game in Champaign all but predicting a repeat of our 2014 visit there.

That crap does not help anything.
 

The media did nothing to improve or diminish the product on the field.
For example one Jan ! bowl game in a decade, a long losing streak to a hated rival, a mediocre BIG record, decreasing attendance, etc.all of these things add up in the public's perception.
One is reminded of a political figure who blames the media for the poor perception most of the public has of him.
Ignoring what he nimself has said over the decades and the nefarious deeds he has been accused of doing.
The name escapes me but it starts with a T.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I was thinking you could do a similar breakdown on our 5-2, 2-2 vs. Wisconsin's 5-2, 2-2 same records but the teams are in very different places right now from a perception/reality standpoint.

Their 5-2 includes wins over LSU, Iowa (at Kinnick), and Michigan State (also on the road although beating them doesn't hold same weight as it would have last year given how they have played). Their 2 loses were both to top 10 teams and both by a single TD.

On the flip side our 5-2 doesn't really include any quality wins or bad losses. Road win over Maryland is solid, close loss to Penn State on the road doesn't look terrible especially after they knocked off OSU, however really struggling to beat a bad Rutgers team at home doesn't reflect well on us either.

Really goes to show there is so much more to it then just what the standings say. That said if it works out for us to be sitting atop those West Division standings at the end of the year I could care less who we beat to get there.
Click to expand...

Wisconsin struggled to beat Georgia State at home.
 




Ski U Mah Gopher said:
Wisconsin struggled to beat Georgia State at home.
Click to expand...

I suppose those two games would be somewhat comparable. Still that Georgia State game is really the only knock on their schedule to this point in the season so it doesn't change my point that their 5-2 feels very different then our 5-2.
 

The Viking crowds remind me of the 'Trump crowds, but they're the " Little Darlings' that can do no wrong.
 

olddoc said:
The media did nothing to improve or diminish the product on the field.
For example one Jan ! bowl game in a decade, a long losing streak to a hated rival, a mediocre BIG record, decreasing attendance, etc.all of these things add up in the public's perception.
One is reminded of a political figure who blames the media for the poor perception most of the public has of him.
Ignoring what he nimself has said over the decades and the nefarious deeds he has been accused of doing.
The name escapes me but it starts with a T.
Click to expand...

If you choose to believe that there are not many, many casual sports observers, casual football fans, who limit their exposure to an occasional game, if invited, but read the newspapers regularly, do not have their perceptions set or enhanced by several of the local (hack) scribes, then sir, I cannot help you.
 

It's a very apples and oranges comparison, of course. Part of it is also that in the NFL, most teams are viewed within a narrow band of talent. Some are better than others, but "better" is usually like 7-10 points on the max end. When you win an NFL game, you're winning a game that - most of the time - is about a touchdown either way, and a lot of times closer than that. Each win is over a closely matched opponent in the eyes of the media and in the eyes of the fans, for the most part.

In college, there's a pretty wide band of talent. 20-30 point spreads are commonplace, even among conference opponents. That leads to a lot more discounting of wins than you'd ever see in the NFL (x team is so much worse than y team, if y team doesn't win by a huge margin it's not a "good" win).

There's also the fact that qualifying for the race to the championship (playoffs) usually only requires you to win 63% of your games in the NFL. Typically you need to win more than that in college, even to play for your conference title. More teams vying for fewer spots means that measure of success isn't comparable.
 



Might not be the correct place for this but it bugs me that the schedule is such an issue for some people and that playing teams like purdue, rutgers, etc doesnt interest them enough to come to games. Newsflash, we play in the big ten and play big ten teams. I get that they arent powerhouse teams but they are who they are and it isnt going to change. Playing a bunch of top ten teams would possibly bring in more fans but would not make the gameday experience better since we would all have to listen to them whine that it is the same old goofers that cant get over the hump or compete with top teams when they lose. I would rather those fans just stay home then and not bother coming to complain. Rant over.
 

Remember ---

The best college teams get the best (usually) high school kids.

but

the best NFL teams get the last pick of the best college players. All to balance things out.

To bad that it can't be done at the college level.
 

Vandy said:
If you choose to believe that there are not many, many casual sports observers, casual football fans, who limit their exposure to an occasional game, if invited, but read the newspapers regularly, do not have their perceptions set or enhanced by several of the local (hack) scribes, then sir, I cannot help you.
Click to expand...

olddoc is well known as a badger troll. Just ignore all of his posts. He is far beyond help.
 

There should be a massive gap in perception because one is a college team and the other is a pro team.

Another hack article by the unreadable Strib.
 

My perception is that the Vikings are legitimate contenders to win the Super Bowl and though they probably won't be favored, will be expected to play a close game with the Packers at Lambeau, while the Gophers have virtually no chance to win the B1G and will be huge dogs at Wisconsin. I don't think that perception gap is unreasonable.
 

Rog said:
Remember ---

The best college teams get the best (usually) high school kids.

but

the best NFL teams get the last pick of the best college players. All to balance things out.

To bad that it can't be done at the college level.
Click to expand...

Plus, I just can't see Mike Zimmer having a slumber party at a possible draft pick's house.
 





Vandy said:
The media does nothing but drive the negative Gopher perceptions. Right or wrong, I'm usually annoyed by this.

Case in point, Joe Christensen's article 8 days prior to this weekends game in Champaign all but predicting a repeat of our 2014 visit there.

That crap does not help anything.
Click to expand...

True, but on the same sense, if someone never saw an article and they watched any combination of three games of each team, do you really think anyone could walk away from that thinking that the Gophers are in a better situation than the Vikings? Even if you took ISU, Maryland and one other game for the Gophers vs. Philly and any two other games for the Vikes I don't know how the Vikings don't come away looking like the team in the better situation. The Gophers have looked mediocre at best in most of their games. Even the wins. To sit there and think that the media is to blame is fooling themselves. Even if the Gophers had pulled out a win at PSU and the Vikings had lost vs. Green Bay (thus basically reversing their records), watching both teams I would have more hope for the rest of the Vikings season than the Gophers.

For example, both teams are playing poor teams in the state of Illinois this week. If I told you only one would win (I'm hoping both win personally, but just to make a point), which would you bet on? I know if I had to bet it'd be on the Purple. Could be wrong, but after watching both teams this season, even after the debacle last Sunday I think the Vikings are in a much better position to win games than the Gophers.
 


ruppertflywheel said:
The loss Sunday was unexpected. Is this the start of the " Swan Dive"?
Click to expand...

How's that working out for you?

You know...somehow hoping that the Vikings will fail, and that will magically make the Gophers better.

Going well?
 

Lakeville Goldy said:
For example, both teams are playing poor teams in the state of Illinois this week. If I told you only one would win (I'm hoping both win personally, but just to make a point), which would you bet on? I know if I had to bet it'd be on the Purple. Could be wrong, but after watching both teams this season, even after the debacle last Sunday I think the Vikings are in a much better position to win games than the Gophers.
Click to expand...

Will the Vikings beat an NFL team that plays in Maryland on November 13 by 21 points?
 

Unregistered User said:
How's that working out for you?

You know...somehow hoping that the Vikings will fail, and that will magically make the Gophers better.

Going well?
Click to expand...

Nope....Just don't like the Vikings and the NFL in particular.Belive it or not I was a Viking fan when it was "old time " football and players actually stayed with the teams for several years. Now with all the player problems, the greedy owners, and boring football I'd rather go to an insurance seminar.
 


You are part of Gopherhole. You are saying we will lose to Georgia Southern? Let's keep it real.

Your crusade to shout down any real or perceived critics of the program is really pretty futile. Casual fans will flock to a winner. This has been covered ad infinitum before. All things follow from winning. Beat PSU, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Nebraska, Wisconsin and the needle will jump as it did for Kill. Pretty simple. How do we get there?
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom