prepare for disappointment

KD6-3.7

credulous skeptic
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and i don't mean, "because we're minnesota after all!"

i am optimistic about the direction of the team.

what i mean is that the team is still young. the system is still not fully implemented. upsets happen to even the best of teams.

there's going to be at least one really disappointing loss. a loss that should have been a win. a loss that looks bad on paper.

but if you look at last season with 20/20 hindsight, the losses to illinois and maryland don't sting as bad.

and when those losses come, the posters who only come out after a disappointing loss will be starting threads and trolling. keep your perspective. for a lot of teams with minnesota's potential, having five losses at the end of the year could be a real disappointment. for the gophers i think it could be real progress.
 

and i don't mean, "because we're minnesota after all!"

i am optimistic about the direction of the team.

what i mean is that the team is still young. the system is still not fully implemented. upsets happen to even the best of teams.

there's going to be at least one really disappointing loss. a loss that should have been a win. a loss that looks bad on paper.

but if you look at last season with 20/20 hindsight, the losses to illinois and maryland don't sting as bad.

and when those losses come, the posters who only come out after a disappointing loss will be starting threads and trolling. keep your perspective. for a lot of teams with minnesota's potential, having five losses at the end of the year could be a real disappointment. for the gophers i think it could be real progress.

7-5 real progress?

Respectfully, I'm not buying that. 8-4, above .500 in the Big Ten? Sure.
 

and i don't mean, "because we're minnesota after all!"

i am optimistic about the direction of the team.

what i mean is that the team is still young. the system is still not fully implemented. upsets happen to even the best of teams.

there's going to be at least one really disappointing loss. a loss that should have been a win. a loss that looks bad on paper.

but if you look at last season with 20/20 hindsight, the losses to illinois and maryland don't sting as bad.

and when those losses come, the posters who only come out after a disappointing loss will be starting threads and trolling. keep your perspective. for a lot of teams with minnesota's potential, having five losses at the end of the year could be a real disappointment. for the gophers i think it could be real progress.

Well... I guess you could say it's "optimistic" to predict the Gophers will have one more regular season win than last they had last year. You're not exactly uber-bullish on their prospects, but one more win is (technically) an improvement.

But here's a (sincere, respectful) question for you and all the other posters here who worry about "disappointment": what's your reaction going to be if the team happened to finish, say, 3-9? Would you then be forced to deal with the dreaded "disappointment"? And if so, would that mean that you yourself failed to "prepare for disappointment" properly?

Maybe you had better recalibrate your expectations. You could be setting yourself up for... who knows what?
 
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the system is still not fully implemented.

What part isn't implemented yet? I hope they have the defense in. Things would be awful without a defense.

I have predicted 8-4 all along. Anything worse than that would be a disappointment to me. Anything better would be a pleasant surprise. With this schedule, with what returns on this team, 8-4 is a reasonable expectation in my opinion.
 

7-5 real progress?

Respectfully, I'm not buying that. 8-4, above .500 in the Big Ten? Sure.

This is exactly the point the OP is trying to make, people get so caught up in the number of wins, but there is more to it then that.

Yes winning is important, yes the record means something, but there absolutely are scenarios that exist where a 7-5 season this year could still be progress. There are also scenarios that exist where 7-5 would be a major disappointment. Until the teams all take the field and start playing games the reality is that we are all just guessing on how good a team should or should not be.

All you have to do is look at all the pre-season prognostications for the West to understand that this could be a very chaotic year.
 


and i don't mean, "because we're minnesota after all!"

i am optimistic about the direction of the team.

what i mean is that the team is still young. the system is still not fully implemented. upsets happen to even the best of teams.

there's going to be at least one really disappointing loss. a loss that should have been a win. a loss that looks bad on paper.

but if you look at last season with 20/20 hindsight, the losses to illinois and maryland don't sting as bad.

and when those losses come, the posters who only come out after a disappointing loss will be starting threads and trolling. keep your perspective. for a lot of teams with minnesota's potential, having five losses at the end of the year could be a real disappointment. for the gophers i think it could be real progress.

Geeze. There is one at EVERY party. (see title of post)
 

This is exactly the point the OP is trying to make, people get so caught up in the number of wins, but there is more to it then that.

Yes winning is important, yes the record means something, but there absolutely are scenarios that exist where a 7-5 season this year could still be progress. There are also scenarios that exist where 7-5 would be a major disappointment. Until the teams all take the field and start playing games the reality is that we are all just guessing on how good a team should or should not be.

All you have to do is look at all the pre-season prognostications for the West to understand that this could be a very chaotic year.

Yes. Sports fans get "caught up" in the wins and losses thing. Maybe we should do away with standings based on wins and losses, and instead use some other metric...?

And, yes; this season (like all seasons) is looking difficult to predict in any precise way.

So the harsh reality is: my team may or may not win many games, and I have no reliable way to know, in advance, how they will perform.

Sigh. Nothing buy unsolvable problems, everywhere we look.

I think I need a new hobby...
 

What part isn't implemented yet? I hope they have the defense in. Things would be awful without a defense.

I have predicted 8-4 all along. Anything worse than that would be a disappointment to me. Anything better would be a pleasant surprise. With this schedule, with what returns on this team, 8-4 is a reasonable expectation in my opinion.

I to am in the 8-4 camp, but lets say we go 7-5, keep the axe or get Floyd, don't have embarrassing losses (maryland, neb, illinois) I'll consider it progress, not as much as I'd like, but I won't be WE NEED TO FIRE FLECK RIGHT NOW, TRACY CLAEYS GOT US 9 WINS IN 2016 WE'RE GOING BACKWARDS
 

I to am in the 8-4 camp, but lets say we go 7-5, keep the axe or get Floyd, don't have embarrassing losses (maryland, neb, illinois) I'll consider it progress, not as much as I'd like, but I won't be WE NEED TO FIRE FLECK RIGHT NOW, TRACY CLAEYS GOT US 9 WINS IN 2016 WE'RE GOING BACKWARDS

Has anyone, ever, said the part in bold?
 



too many people in the 8-4 camp

I want to start the camp that is 9-3!
 


That was more the case last year than this year ... wasn't disappointed last year.
 

This is a year of opportunity. We have several really talented “knowns” on the roster that aren’t going to be here next year. Fourth most experienced team in America. We have a favorable schedule with crossovers and home games. Opponents are in rebuilding mode. The best predictive analytics have us at 8.5 regular season wins. I’m going to hang on to my 8 win expectation and hope for more.
 




Yes. Sports fans get "caught up" in the wins and losses thing. Maybe we should do away with standings based on wins and losses, and instead use some other metric...?

And, yes; this season (like all seasons) is looking difficult to predict in any precise way.

So the harsh reality is: my team may or may not win many games, and I have no reliable way to know, in advance, how they will perform.

Sigh. Nothing buy unsolvable problems, everywhere we look.

I think I need a new hobby...

Maybe we could ask to not keep score an then use the most optimistic team stat available at the end of the season to define success.
 

I'll camp with you at 9-3. But I don't sleep on the ground anymore. I need a cot.

Not including a possible bowl win. From specifically an outside perspective, 7-5 would be disappointing for Minn fans but nationally would still show slight improvement. 8-4 regular season is a good season. Still disappointing to most fans though im sure. 9 wins should be accepted gladly. The same could be said about Nebs teams. Fans wouldnt be happy with 8 wins but doubling wins is never seen as a bad thing.

Its hard to see when koolaid is in full effect but as long as your team continues to improve the record and in turn improve recruiting and depth. You will get there eventually. 10 win regular seasons are hard to accomplish in the first few years especially when you have to build from ground up.
 

I to am in the 8-4 camp, but lets say we go 7-5, keep the axe or get Floyd, don't have embarrassing losses (maryland, neb, illinois) I'll consider it progress, not as much as I'd like, but I won't be WE NEED TO FIRE FLECK RIGHT NOW, TRACY CLAEYS GOT US 9 WINS IN 2016 WE'RE GOING BACKWARDS

Would GSU be an embarrassing loss?
 

Not including a possible bowl win. From specifically an outside perspective, 7-5 would be disappointing for Minn fans but nationally would still show slight improvement. 8-4 regular season is a good season. Still disappointing to most fans though im sure. 9 wins should be accepted gladly. The same could be said about Nebs teams. Fans wouldnt be happy with 8 wins but doubling wins is never seen as a bad thing.

Its hard to see when koolaid is in full effect but as long as your team continues to improve the record and in turn improve recruiting and depth. You will get there eventually. 10 win regular seasons are hard to accomplish in the first few years especially when you have to build from ground up.

Pardon me?
 



Always do. Doesn't mean we can't be disappointed at the end.

Well of course not.
I'm 80% confident you will be disappointed in the end, but we'll take it week by week.
 

I'm very high on this team. I'm very high on Fleck. The offense will be really fun to watch. The defense will be good enough in most games.

I'm looking at the schedule and I see 9-3. 8-4 is acceptable, 9-3 is good, 10+ wins is excellent. Anything under 8 and I'm going to be disappointed.
 

Over under Gopher wins on fanduel is 7.5
Currently -140 on the over
+120 on the under


Nebraska and Wisconsin both at 8.5
Iowa at 8
Purdue at 7
Northwestern at 6


Anyone feeling strongly can drive to Iowa and make some easy cash.
(or hedge bets to hedge your disappointment)
 

The OP is afraid to be a legend. I refuse to prepare for disappointment.
 


Well... I guess you could say it's "optimistic" to predict the Gophers will have one more regular season win than last they had last year. You're not exactly uber-bullish on their prospects, but one more win is (technically) an improvement.

But here's a (sincere, respectful) question for you and all the other posters here who worry about "disappointment": what's your reaction going to be if the team happened to finish, say, 3-9? Would you then be forced to deal with the dreaded "disappointment"? And if so, would that mean that you yourself failed to "prepare for disappointment" properly?

Maybe you had better recalibrate your expectations. You could be setting yourself up for... who knows what?

If Tanner Morgan is injured and we have true freshmen for QB1 and QB2, I could see us underperforming and going 3-9. But if the assumption is everyone stays healthy and we have that record...I would be disappointed. Adjust expectations accordingly, I suppose.
 

If Tanner Morgan is injured and we have true freshmen for QB1 and QB2, I could see us underperforming and going 3-9. But if the assumption is everyone stays healthy and we have that record...I would be disappointed. Adjust expectations accordingly, I suppose.

You said it better then I have been to this point.

Right now today, with the team healthy (ZA injury aside), the schedule looking the way it does, and the experience we have returning, 8-4 or something like that feels like a minimum expectation. But when we get to December and look back on the season there are many reasons why a record under that might not be the disaster many feel it would be right now.

If we end up going 7-5 or 6-6 there may very well be good reason for those that expected 8 wins to feel disappointed in the team however to sit here in August and say "the team needs to win X number of games or the season is a bust" just isn't realistic because so much will happen and change as the weeks go on.

Today - I am totally with those that expect 8+ wins and the team to compete for the West title. But as you mention in your post, there are things that could happen that would drastically change that outlook quickly. Morgan going down being the most obvious one of course.
 

If Tanner Morgan is injured and we have true freshmen for QB1 and QB2, I could see us underperforming and going 3-9. But if the assumption is everyone stays healthy and we have that record...I would be disappointed. Adjust expectations accordingly, I suppose.

I was thinking similar.
Or if Tanner just has a really bad season, worse than anything we saw last year, we don't have that other option and I don't think PJ would be quick to pull the plug to burn a redshirt on the two freshmen.
We're in an odd situation now where our season really depends on his play. The only way yo circumvent a bad TM season is with a running game and going one-dimensional.
Hopefully it's a scenario that doesn't materialize, but the season hinges on him now.
 

and i don't mean, "because we're minnesota after all!"

i am optimistic about the direction of the team.

what i mean is that the team is still young. the system is still not fully implemented. upsets happen to even the best of teams.

there's going to be at least one really disappointing loss. a loss that should have been a win. a loss that looks bad on paper.

but if you look at last season with 20/20 hindsight, the losses to illinois and maryland don't sting as bad.

and when those losses come, the posters who only come out after a disappointing loss will be starting threads and trolling. keep your perspective. for a lot of teams with minnesota's potential, having five losses at the end of the year could be a real disappointment. for the gophers i think it could be real progress.

I 100% agree that we are likely to have a bad loss. But 5 losses would not show any progress. Unless Maryland Rutgers and PSU each finish in the top 4 in the east.
 





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