Bornhoft: PJ Fleck Etches Himself Into Minnesota Sports Lore

BleedGopher

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per Bornhoft:

It may not be fair, but years from now, most Gopher fans won't remember Tracy Claeys' bringing the Holiday Bowl trophy to Minnesota. They won't remember making it to the 2015 Citrus Bowl under Jerry Kill.

They will, however, remember Fleck ending the exasperating losing streak against the Wisconsin Badgers in his second year. It doesn't matter that Wisconsin had a "down year" in 2018. Obviously, so did we, considering the awful losses against Nebraska and Illinois.

For seasons, bowl games and decent wins for Minnesota came and went, but the Axe stayed in Madison. I couldn't have been the only Gopher fan worried that it was never coming back.

But somehow, during an otherwise bleak season, it did.

Does the win over the Badgers guarantee anything for next season? No, not at all, as Fleck himself has noted since the win. The charismatic coach will have to prove himself through more on-field victories.

But for me, a university alum and Minnesota native, the 37-15 drubbing of the Badgers Saturday will go down as a Top-5 Minnesota sports memory.

https://patch.com/minnesota/southwe...pj-fleck-etches-himself-minnesota-sports-lore

Go Gophers!!
 

It's ok to remember all of them.
 

per Bornhoft:

It may not be fair, but years from now, most Gopher fans won't remember Tracy Claeys' bringing the Holiday Bowl trophy to Minnesota. They won't remember making it to the 2015 Citrus Bowl under Jerry Kill.

They will, however, remember Fleck ending the exasperating losing streak against the Wisconsin Badgers in his second year. It doesn't matter that Wisconsin had a "down year" in 2018. Obviously, so did we, considering the awful losses against Nebraska and Illinois.

For seasons, bowl games and decent wins for Minnesota came and went, but the Axe stayed in Madison. I couldn't have been the only Gopher fan worried that it was never coming back.

But somehow, during an otherwise bleak season, it did.

Does the win over the Badgers guarantee anything for next season? No, not at all, as Fleck himself has noted since the win. The charismatic coach will have to prove himself through more on-field victories.

But for me, a university alum and Minnesota native, the 37-15 drubbing of the Badgers Saturday will go down as a Top-5 Minnesota sports memory.

https://patch.com/minnesota/southwe...pj-fleck-etches-himself-minnesota-sports-lore

Go Gophers!!

PST
 

Top 5 MN sports memory? Really? I would rank the '93 and '94 wins over Wisconsin higher than this one.
 

It was a nice win, but it's being all blown out of proportion. We beat a mediocre Wisconsin at the end of a .500 campaign. Let's not pretend it's more than that.
 



Depends how old you are.:D

Sid beats me by quite a bit. I won't forget the 9-4 season under Claeys, and I certainly will remember the 37-15 drubbing of Wiscy in Madison!
 

It was a nice win, but it's being all blown out of proportion. We beat a mediocre Wisconsin at the end of a .500 campaign. Let's not pretend it's more than that.

I prefer to think of it as the exclamation point on maybe the most disappointing season for the badgers ever.
 

It was a nice win, but it's being all blown out of proportion. We beat a mediocre Wisconsin at the end of a .500 campaign. Let's not pretend it's more than that.

It's a monkey off the back of the program. It's a momentary repair in the space-time continuum. It's more than just an ordinary win.
 



It's a monkey off the back of the program. It's a momentary repair in the space-time continuum. It's more than just an ordinary win.

Yup, it was a huge deal.

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It was a nice win, but it's being all blown out of proportion. We beat a mediocre Wisconsin at the end of a .500 campaign. Let's not pretend it's more than that.

All you have to do is look at the reaction to the win to understand it was more than just a "nice win". There may or may not be an long term ramifications from the game but the win over Wisconsin was a big deal.
 





You must be pretty young.

I didn't say worst, most disappointing.

It's not disappointing when you expect to be bad and are bad. Expectation for these Badgers was top 4 and a CFB berth.
 

I didn't say worst, most disappointing.

It's not disappointing when you expect to be bad and are bad. Expectation for these Badgers was top 4 and a CFB berth.
Yep. I agree with your view 100%.
 

I'm not pretty young and I agree it was likely the most disappointing season in Wisconsin's football history. I am not a Wisconsin football historian however, and I could be wrong. What other season of theirs would be more disappointing than this one? They started the year out as a favorite to reach the college football playoff, and ended it losing to their rival who they hadn't lost to since 2003 to limp in at 7-5. That is pretty bad in terms of expectations vs results. They have had worse seasons of course, but I can't think of one that was more disappointing.
 

I didn't say worst, most disappointing.

It's not disappointing when you expect to be bad and are bad. Expectation for these Badgers was top 4 and a CFB berth.

Most Badger fans I know did not think they were a Playoff team, but I get what you are saying.
 

All you have to do is look at the reaction to the win to understand it was more than just a "nice win". There may or may not be an long term ramifications from the game but the win over Wisconsin was a big deal.

Listen up, I didn't say it wasn't fun, or rewarding, or a great experience for a Gophers fan. But the Axe game is not my Super Bowl. It rubs me the wrong way to have Gopher fans suggesting that this is one of the most significant moments in recent Gophers history. Winning the Jug (a far more lopsided rivalry) on the road in 2014 was more significant. Beating Penn State when they were #2 in the country was bigger. The unlikely victory over WSU in the Tracy Claeys bowl was bigger. Beating Nebraska for the first time in about fifty years (2013) was bigger, as was going to Nebraska the next year and beating a ranked Huskers team. Beating #1 Michigan in 1977 was bigger, though many of us don't remember that one. Beating Michigan in 2005 and 1986 was also bigger than this Wisconsin win. And I will remember the Citrus Bowl more vividly than I'll ever remember Wiscy 2018.

This was just a nice win (very nice, if you like) by a mediocre Minnesota team against a mediocre Wisconsin rival. I enjoyed it on Saturday and I was still glowing on Sunday, but it isn't a program changer and it's far from a "top-5 Minnesota sports memory."
 

Listen up, I didn't say it wasn't fun, or rewarding, or a great experience for a Gophers fan. But the Axe game is not my Super Bowl. It rubs me the wrong way to have Gopher fans suggesting that this is one of the most significant moments in recent Gophers history. Winning the Jug (a far more lopsided rivalry) on the road in 2014 was more significant. Beating Penn State when they were #2 in the country was bigger. The unlikely victory over WSU in the Tracy Claeys bowl was bigger. Beating Nebraska for the first time in about fifty years (2013) was bigger, as was going to Nebraska the next year and beating a ranked Huskers team. Beating #1 Michigan in 1977 was bigger, though many of us don't remember that one. Beating Michigan in 2005 and 1986 was also bigger than this Wisconsin win. And I will remember the Citrus Bowl more vividly than I'll ever remember Wiscy 2018.

This was just a nice win (very nice, if you like) by a mediocre Minnesota team against a mediocre Wisconsin rival. I enjoyed it on Saturday and I was still glowing on Sunday, but it isn't a program changer and it's far from a "top-5 Minnesota sports memory."

You say it rubs you the wrong way to call this one of the more significant moments in recent Gophers history, and then give examples of wins from the 90's, 80's and 70's that are bigger to you. So, two important things here: "RECENT" can obvioulsy mean different things to different people. For me, "recent" doesn't include things prior to 10 years ago. Next, the term "one of" is very different than claiming something is "the most" or "biggest" etc.

So long story short, by my own definition this was indeed one of the biggest moments in recent Gopher history. I put it up there with the last victory over Michigan, and that 2013 win over Nebraska, making it one of the biggest moments in recent Gopher (football) history. Sorry to rub you the wrong way.
 

Winning the Axe was bigger for the program than the win against Washington State.

I was as surprised and ecstatic after the win over The Pirate and company as anybody, especially after what transpired that December...

The Axe Game just feels like more of a statement for the future for me...a positive one at that.

What's great is we now have another game that rises to this kind of discussion...isn't football grand?
 


The unlikely victory over WSU in the Tracy Claeys bowl was bigger.

Beating a 4-loss Washington State team coming off a 28 point beatdown against its rival is bigger than ending a 14-year drought to Wisconsin? Minnesota was able to accomplish something Eastern Washington also did in '16.
 

A little perspective is in order. The 37-15 loss to the Gophers is their worst loss to the Gophers in Madison since 1932! So yes it is a big deal historically speaking.
 

to some extent, I think the importance of the WI victory will ultimately depend on what comes next.

If the Gophers use this game as a stepping-stone to bigger and better things, then the WI game will be seen as a turning point for the program, and gain in historical importance.

But, on the other hand, if the Gophers are unable to follow up on this game, then I think it loses some "big-picture" importance, and remains a nice moment, but more of a detour as opposed to the first step in a rewarding journey.

So, if you're looking for historical perspective, the story is still being written. next step is the 2019 recruiting class and the bowl game.
 

This win is far bigger than Wazzu, it isn’t even close. Fleck did something in year 2 that Kill and Claeys couldn’t accomplish in 6.

I’d also argue that Rossi had 2 defensive performances as good or better than anything we saw from Claeys...
 

to some extent, I think the importance of the WI victory will ultimately depend on what comes next.

If the Gophers use this game as a stepping-stone to bigger and better things, then the WI game will be seen as a turning point for the program, and gain in historical importance.

But, on the other hand, if the Gophers are unable to follow up on this game, then I think it loses some "big-picture" importance, and remains a nice moment, but more of a detour as opposed to the first step in a rewarding journey.

So, if you're looking for historical perspective, the story is still being written. next step is the 2019 recruiting class and the bowl game.

It will forever be remembered as a huge win. We crushed our rival in their stadium for the first time in a long time. You can’t steal our joy SON...
 

Listen up, I didn't say it wasn't fun, or rewarding, or a great experience for a Gophers fan. But the Axe game is not my Super Bowl. It rubs me the wrong way to have Gopher fans suggesting that this is one of the most significant moments in recent Gophers history. Winning the Jug (a far more lopsided rivalry) on the road in 2014 was more significant. Beating Penn State when they were #2 in the country was bigger. The unlikely victory over WSU in the Tracy Claeys bowl was bigger. Beating Nebraska for the first time in about fifty years (2013) was bigger, as was going to Nebraska the next year and beating a ranked Huskers team. Beating #1 Michigan in 1977 was bigger, though many of us don't remember that one. Beating Michigan in 2005 and 1986 was also bigger than this Wisconsin win. And I will remember the Citrus Bowl more vividly than I'll ever remember Wiscy 2018.

This was just a nice win (very nice, if you like) by a mediocre Minnesota team against a mediocre Wisconsin rival. I enjoyed it on Saturday and I was still glowing on Sunday, but it isn't a program changer and it's far from a "top-5 Minnesota sports memory."

I'm as big of a Tracy Claeys backer as you'll find here, and this was absolutely a MUCH more important win than WSU. It's not even close. To even compare the two is silly.

Some may disagree, but there's at least a strong argument to be made that this was the biggest win since PSU in 1999. That would be 19 years, roughly equivalent to a generation, ergo it's easily defensible to advance the position that this is the biggest Gopher football win in a generation.
 

The unlikely victory over WSU in the Tracy Claeys bowl was bigger.

A win over a disinterested WSU in a meaningless bowl game is bigger than beating one of the biggest rivals to get the Axe back for the first time in 15 years?

That’s utterly ridiculous.


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Don't care what anyone else thinks. I'm still giddy about it!
 

Don't care what anyone else thinks. I'm still giddy about it!

Yep. Ever since Saturday, whenever I see somebody walk past me with a UW sweatshirt on, I giggle a little bit inside. I expect to enjoy that sensation for about 51 more weeks.
 




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