STrib: Holiday Bowl official: "We actually felt like we got a steal with the Gophers"

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SamSquatch said:
It's not self loathing - I don't hate myself, other fans, or this program. I think if we're sincere in our discussion of the programs current state, we can improve our strengths and mitigate our weaknesses. I also don't particulaly love this town's media.

Deluding ourselves about who we currently are as a squad makes us seem like foolish fans, and we're not. We're a proud squad that should aspire but we're not close to breaking through right now - at least not based on recent evidence. You can fully support the Gophers and still be critical of program flaws that a coach or administrator can and should address.

Now dude read my post and stop having reactive conniptions.
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I get what you're saying, but I disagree with the bolded. We're close. A few more plays from our QB and who knows. Things happen quickly in CFB. Did you think Iowa would go 12-0 last year? Have you ever predicted 10 wins for NW? Did you think MSU would be 3-9 this year?

This year MN lost in OT to the B1G East champs. They led at half on the road at Nebraska and Wisconsin. Last year they were a foot from beating Mich. Have recently beaten Iowa, Mich, Nebraska. I'd say that's about as close to breaking through as you can get. Win a couple of more of those games and we're on cloud 9 as fans.

It's very reasonable to believe that won't happen -- you're entitled to that opinion. But to say we're not close -- perhaps as close as we've been in the past 50 years -- seems disingenuous.
 

Spoofin said:
You think wrong. What we discuss on this board will have zero (as in zip, nada, none) effect. It won't improve our strengths nor mitigate our weaknesses. It is delusional to think any different.

As a fan it can only be for your enjoyment. You can be disappointed and frustrated, but you are spending your time and money on it so if this team pains you so much then why are you doing it? Your solution is easy and we all win.


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General fan sentiment does matter.

I spend my time and money on the program because I love it. It doesn't pain me to discuss the weaknesses the way it seems to pain others. It's just football. I'll support the Gophs win or lose, we've all had to prove that fandom because the team hasn't tasted a high level of success in a long time.
 

SamSquatch said:
Apologies for any offense. I took the underlying point to be that others outside of Gopher fandom - the general college football fan - believe that this program is about to break through. That's not true. We are not thought of highly nationally but that could change with a season like what Colorado put together this year, and I think it's completely fair to think we can do it in a future season.

No need for name calling. We're both Gopher fans mate.
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And yet again, you got it wrong. Couldn't even just apologize. Maybe read his post again...
 

MGGopher said:
I get what you're saying, but I disagree with the bolded. We're close. A few more plays from our QB and who knows. Things happen quickly in CFB. Did you think Iowa would go 12-0 last year? Have you ever predicted 10 wins for NW? Did you think MSU would be 3-9 this year?

This year MN lost in OT to the B1G East champs. They led at half on the road at Nebraska and Wisconsin. Last year they were a foot from beating Mich. Have recently beaten Iowa, Mich, Nebraska. I'd say that's about as close to breaking through as you can get. Win a couple of more of those games and we're on cloud 9 as fans.

It's very reasonable to believe that won't happen -- you're entitled to that opinion. But to say we're not close -- perhaps as close as we've been in the past 50 years -- seems disingenuous.
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But we didn't win those games this season or last. Sporadically winning those baby fist's worth of games mentioned over the last five years doesn't cut it. I appreciate your tact but disagree that we can be considered close - not until we can win important games with some level of regular cadence.
 

MGGopher said:
I get what you're saying, but I disagree with the bolded. We're close. A few more plays from our QB and who knows. Things happen quickly in CFB. Did you think Iowa would go 12-0 last year? Have you ever predicted 10 wins for NW? Did you think MSU would be 3-9 this year?

This year MN lost in OT to the B1G East champs. They led at half on the road at Nebraska and Wisconsin. Last year they were a foot from beating Mich. Have recently beaten Iowa, Mich, Nebraska. I'd say that's about as close to breaking through as you can get. Win a couple of more of those games and we're on cloud 9 as fans.

It's very reasonable to believe that won't happen -- you're entitled to that opinion. But to say we're not close -- perhaps as close as we've been in the past 50 years -- seems disingenuous.
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Completely logical and I agree...but his glass is never half full, it's not even half empty.
 


S
SamSquatch said:
But we didn't win those games this season or last. Sporadically winning those baby fist's worth of games mentioned over the last five years doesn't cut it. I appreciate your tact but disagree that we can be considered close - not until we can win important games with some level of regular cadence.
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Squaf..king****** baby fists,regular cadence.Horse piss
 


SamSquatch said:
But we didn't win those games this season or last. Sporadically winning those baby fist's worth of games mentioned over the last five years doesn't cut it. I appreciate your tact but disagree that we can be considered close - not until we can win important games with some level of regular cadence.
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you understand why people are dogging you right? be a normal person and judge this program soberly - with the way our defense has improved alone i would move mountains to keep claeys/sawvel in place here for years.
 

This is why I love and hate Gopher Hole. Someone comes on here and says: "fans from other parts of the country have the perception that the Gophers' program is improving."

And how do the Gopher Hole "fans" respond: "No, we're not that good!"

Reminds me of a Roger Ebert movie review that included the phrase: "Charles Laughton, rotting in his masochistic hell......"

There is a sub-set of Gopher Fans that love to hate their program. I don't get it - but it's a free country. If ripping the Gophers makes you happy, rip away.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
This is why I love and hate Gopher Hole. Someone comes on here and says: "fans from other parts of the country have the perception that the Gophers' program is improving."

And how do the Gopher Hole "fans" respond: "No, we're not that good!"
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im telling you man its something in the water, the weather, whatever - its unfortunate we have so many miserable f***s as fans
 


westcoastgopher11 said:
you understand why people are dogging you right? be a normal person and judge this program soberly - with the way our defense has improved alone i would move mountains to keep claeys/sawvel in place here for years.
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People can dog all they want. My posts have been cogent and on-topic while being critical of a team that has greatly missed my (and fans in general) hopes and expectations during and after my undergrad and grad degrees from the U. I'm just as much a fan as those who believe we're about to take off.

For many fair reasons, I've shared why I don't believe Claeys is the guy, or that we should assume we're about to move into a tier we've been unable to attain prior.

I post about the perceptions of the rest of the country because I've now lived in Tennessee and Colorado since leaving MN, and I travel a lot for work. I think it's a material mistake to think we've earned the respect of the rest of the country. We have not.

It does suck that the most common response to program criticism is immediate vitriol and name calling.

I sincerely hope I have to eat crow and Claeys wins at least two big games next year. But I don't expect it. Not believing in the current admin is not the same as turning on your squad. I'll always pull for the maroon and gold.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
This is why I love and hate Gopher Hole. Someone comes on here and says: "fans from other parts of the country have the perception that the Gophers' program is improving."

And how do the Gopher Hole "fans" respond: "No, we're not that good!"

Reminds me of a Roger Ebert movie review that included the phrase: "Charles Laughton, rotting in his masochistic hell......"

There is a sub-set of Gopher Fans that love to hate their program. I don't get it - but it's a free country. If ripping the Gophers makes you happy, rip away.
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It's not hatred. Discussion of Claeys' in-game gaffes, team readiness, Leidner's play, OLine weakness, etc., are fair criticisms that belong on a gopher fan board. You can fully support a team, be disappointed in components of it, and it doesn't equate to hatred.
 



SamSquatch said:
We're a proud squad that should aspire but we're not close to breaking through right now - at least not based on recent evidence.
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8 wins in three out of four years. No bad losses and close in all of those games. So how is that not close to "breaking through"?
 

stocker08 said:
8 wins in three out of four years. No bad losses and close in all of those games. So how is that not close to "breaking through"?
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We've played close with a lot of teams. But we don't win. Win against higher ranked teams.
 


SamSquatch said:
People can dog all they want. My posts have been cogent and on-topic while being critical of a team that has greatly missed my (and fans in general) hopes and expectations during and after my undergrad and grad degrees from the U. I'm just as much a fan as those who believe we're about to take off.

For many fair reasons, I've shared why I don't believe Claeys is the guy, or that we should assume we're about to move into a tier we've been unable to attain prior.

I post about the perceptions of the rest of the country because I've now lived in Tennessee and Colorado since leaving MN, and I travel a lot for work. I think it's a material mistake to think we've earned the respect of the rest of the country. We have not.

It does suck that the most common response to program criticism is immediate vitriol and name calling.

I sincerely hope I have to eat crow and Claeys wins at least two big games next year. But I don't expect it. Not believing in the current admin is not the same as turning on your squad. I'll always pull for the maroon and gold.
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idk what to say to ya man - you just sound hella miserable good luck to you
 


With "fans" like this program has, who needs enemies? Think back on how many threads have been started over the years talking about the number of Iowa and wisconsin fans in the stands for those games. Ultimately, it doesn't even matter - the program's worst enemies are right in its own "fan"base.
 

I live deep in the heart of SEC/ACC country...NW Florida. My county voted for Trump 78% and has a gun ownership rate of over 300% (meaning there are 3 times as many guns as people). Half my friends are Bama fans, 30% FSU and then 8% Florida, 6 % LSU and the rest some **** hole in MS school.

So here is what they say about the Big Ten...best conference this year by far. Yes, Alabama will probably win the National Title, but you look at the ACC or the SEC except for Alabama and none of them are better than PSU, scUM, tOSU, Wisconsin and if you look at the also rans in the West (MN, IA, NE)...all three would have had a shot at winning the SEC East and/or finishing runner up to Alabama in the West.

That the Gophers are at the bottom of the also rans in the Big Ten right now says a lot about how well our program is doing. Yes we played like crap against Iowa and our Sconnie second half was dog **** and the PSU game was a missed opportunity...and we still finished above 500 in the conference, won 8 games and get a shot at redemption against the pirate with a defense that is leaps and bounds better than the one we lost with in 2006. We were 2 players away from being a top tier big ten team when being in the top tier means a top 10 ranking and big time bowl. (QB & stud Offensive Lineman)
 

westcoastgopher11 said:
idk what to say to ya man - you just sound hella miserable good luck to you
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Well you saying it doesn't make it true and putting the word hella next to it certainly doesn't make it any more true. Football doesn't make me miserable because it's only football.

Calling someone miserable because they disagree with you is just a reactionary conniption. Good luck to you also.
 

SamSquatch said:
We've played close with a lot of teams. But we don't win. Win against higher ranked teams.
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A few years back....we weren't even playing close. Second half leads in all four losses this year. That's damn close to breaking through.
 

SamSquatch said:
People can dog all they want. My posts have been cogent and on-topic while being critical of a team that has greatly missed my (and fans in general) hopes and expectations during and after my undergrad and grad degrees from the U. I'm just as much a fan as those who believe we're about to take off.

For many fair reasons, I've shared why I don't believe Claeys is the guy, or that we should assume we're about to move into a tier we've been unable to attain prior.

I post about the perceptions of the rest of the country because I've now lived in Tennessee and Colorado since leaving MN, and I travel a lot for work. I think it's a material mistake to think we've earned the respect of the rest of the country. We have not.

It does suck that the most common response to program criticism is immediate vitriol and name calling.

I sincerely hope I have to eat crow and Claeys wins at least two big games next year. But I don't expect it. Not believing in the current admin is not the same as turning on your squad. I'll always pull for the maroon and gold.
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First, you took a few postings about comments from friends to mean the rest of the country. That's not even close to what people have been posting.

Second, I think what you really meant most common response to my nearly constant criticism of the program...
 

westcoastgopher11 said:
aight dude then just be a front runner like most MN sports fans and bail - nothing holding you here and we dont need the negative nancys
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I've never bailed on a Minnesota team and never will. It's funny how you constantly say MN has sh**ty fans, yet any other program with our lack of success in a major metropolitan area would draw far fewer fans than the Gophers do.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I've never bailed on a Minnesota team and never will. It's funny how you constantly say MN has sh**ty fans, yet any other program with our lack of success in a major metropolitan area would draw far fewer fans than the Gophers do.
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I think Pitt draws about the same as us. Similar success, city with lots of pro teams. I think it really boils down to what you deem "success". For me, and 8-4 record this year was less than what it could have been, but still a decent season with some fun moments. I'll gladly watch the bowl game and cheer for the Gophers.

Anyway - I think what people are trying to say is that if a fan is constantly negative about their team why would you even be a fan? Sports are supposed to be fun. If you're so down on things that your are incessantly negative and not enjoying the games, why put yourself through that? Maybe just step back and take a couple years off until the team is meeting your standards?
 

Word said:
I think Pitt draws about the same as us. Similar success, city with lots of pro teams. I think it really boils down to what you deem "success". For me, and 8-4 record this year was less than what it could have been, but still a decent season with some fun moments. I'll gladly watch the bowl game and cheer for the Gophers.

Anyway - I think what people are trying to say is that if a fan is constantly negative about their team why would you even be a fan? Sports are supposed to be fun. If you're so down on things that your are incessantly negative and not enjoying the games, why put yourself through that? Maybe just step back and take a couple years off until the team is meeting your standards?
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Great post, thanks.

It's the old adage of the glass being half full or half empty, really. I'm in the former camp, but also a realist. Like you, I felt this could be a 10 win season but knew that meant Gophs would need to win every game they should win, and one or two they probably shouldn't win. Gophs always seem to do one or the other, not both. The fact that they came very close to accomplishing both this year tells me they are close. Eight wins feels good, nine will feel even better. Go Gophers!
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
It's funny how you constantly say MN has sh**ty fans, yet any other program with our lack of success in a major metropolitan area would draw far fewer fans than the Gophers do.
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Link?

Seriously dude - stop spending your time here if you are so unhappy, hate our coach, bitter about everything Gopher FB, etc. I'm worried about you - you need to be happy and clearly aren't. Stop punishing yourself.


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Spoofin said:
Link?

Seriously dude - stop spending your time here if you are so unhappy, hate our coach, bitter about everything Gopher FB, etc. I'm worried about you - you need to be happy and clearly aren't. Stop punishing yourself.


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You're a fan so please continue posting. You can dislike components of a program and still be a full-scale fan. The dismissive language around being worried about someone's mental health because there are voiced concerns is weak thought.

I would be more concerned about fans that immediately attack anyone who disagrees with their take.
 

SamSquatch said:
You're a fan so please continue posting. You can dislike components of a program and still be a full-scale fan. The dismissive language around being worried about someone's mental health because there are voiced concerns is weak thought.

I would be more concerned about fans that immediately attack anyone who disagrees with their take.
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You get the responses you do because you are consistently negative in your posts. It seems you are going out of your way to find even the smallest thing that allows you to respond negatively. You have that reputation, so I'm not at all surprised that you do not get the benefit of the doubt with responses to your posts.

It's really not that complicated.
 

dpodoll68 said:
With "fans" like this program has, who needs enemies? Think back on how many threads have been started over the years talking about the number of Iowa and wisconsin fans in the stands for those games. Ultimately, it doesn't even matter - the program's worst enemies are right in its own "fan"base.
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Yeah every fanbase has some of those guys who are just relentless on the negativity. I don't even get what they're around for, I assume it has something to do with life for them, otherwise it makes no sense.
 

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