Something all our opponents seem to have in common

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Schnauzer

Schnauzer

Pretty Sure You are Wrong
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Their fans hate Fleck.

It nearly never fails, after the Gophers play a game, there is either a message board thread or at least multiple in-game thread comments from opposing fans related to how much they can't stand Fleck's sideline antics. This week was no different with several Fleck comments in Purdue's in-game message board thread.

The weird thing is, he nearly never (or actually never?) says anything disrespectful of other programs and in fact seems to me to go out of his way to compliment opponents and talk about how good they are, nearly to a fault. But, his tennis shoes, quarter zips, sunglasses, and especially his quarter break sprints and exuberance are just too much for many opposing fans to take. He leaves an impression, no doubt.

And, those hard feelings don't seem to be limited to fans. He seems to have acquired an above average number of other coaches that also don't like him. Exhibit #1 is this past Saturday's handshake flyby that was heard around the world, not to mention the old ball coach Kill taking shots and not hiding his disdain for Fleck. I can remember whispers of "he wears on you" coming out of Western Michigan when MN hired him and he himself has often said he is not for everyone.

Most of this is just harmless observation and a footnote to his program. But, with all the hard feelings it does make me wonder how many recruits he turns off because quite frankly, so far he has not recruited as well as I thought he would.
 

I really like PJ. Not saying he is the greatest coach in America but I like how he carries himself, promotes the University, the Twin Cities/Minnesota at large and especially his team. They do great work in the community and all that.

Not a fan of the sunglasses, VERY jealous of his shoes/quarter zip game though.
 


He's an acquired taste... but really not that different than most coaches.
 

We needed unique. Given our history, we needed to take a chance in a coach who doesn’t fit the mold. We need to zig when others zag, and it is working out.

I’m excited about our record.
I like that we have the Ax.
I hopeful for the future when I look at the other offers a lot of our recruits have.
 


My opinions on Fleck and his personality:

— I would guess the energy and enthusiasm and sprinting are perceived differently according to age group. I'd bet that Minnesota students and student athletes view this favorably in general. Especially the athletes.

— "He wears on you" — yeah, I could see how that might be the case. But if you're a Gopher football player, wouldn't you be thinking, "If this guy in his late thirties has this much juice all the time, I should at least be able to keep up."?

— The Golden Gophers are 8-2 in their last 10 games. That is a definite trend, the likes of which hasn't been seen at Minnesota for some time now. I guarantee that watching Minnesota win is going to irritate opposing teams' fans, coaches and players. After all, the Gophers are supposed to be perennial doormats! This new paradigm is just... so upsetting to other B1G teams! See Badger fans, especially, for reference.
 
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Replacement Gopher said:
We needed unique. Given our history, we needed to take a chance in a coach who doesn’t fit the mold. We need to zig when others zag, and it is working out.

I’m excited about our record.
I like that we have the Ax.
I hopeful for the future when I look at the other offers a lot of our recruits have.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. I just find it odd how consistently other fans display negativity toward Fleck while he doesn't seem to say the wrong things - the type of things that typically build up fan animosity toward a coach.
 

All of our opponents this year have lost to us. That's why we are unbeaten. - Captain Obvious

I don't care if Fleck stripteases and runs to the opposite end of the field naked. 8-2 in our last ten games! He's not nearly annoying enough to outweigh the benefits.
 

I've never been able to understand why so many opposing teams fans dislike him so much (and some of our own).

I can see why people don't like the Bo Pelini types that absolutely tear into their own players and the refs on the sideline, and constantly rip and fight the media. Coaches that are just flat out not nice people.

I can also see why people might not like an Urban Meyer with the whole Zack Smith situation. There have also been things that have came up with Dantonio. I of course understand why people don't like the Art Briles and Joe Paterno's of the world with the huge coverups.

I understand if the coach runs up the score on opposing teams or goes for 2 when he shouldn't have (Bielema) and when a teams gets into a fight with another team before kickoff. I was reading a Penn State forum and they vividly remember when Maryland didn't shake their hands at the coin toss.

I also understand why fans don't like coaches who they suspect of cheating (SEC coaches).

But PJ is none of those. As Schnauzer said, PJ is always very complimentary of the opposing teams, he is ver friendly to the media and never loses his cool at press conferences, he hasn't had a big off the field scandal at the U since he's been here and the off the field problems at WMU weren't too bad. You never see him tear into his own players or absolutely melt down on the sideline. He has been a little more vocal to the refs recently but overall, still very tame compared to other HC's IMO. He is a very positive, upbeat and friendly person in general. He also has been classy, tries to educate his players on issues such as sexual assault and consent by bringing in guest speakers, volunteers, makes his players volunteer etc.

I also don't remember other fans having this much disdain for him when he was at WMU. I thought he was pretty popular there but I could be wrong.
 
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I think it's fear and jealousy. I feel it a bit towards Brohm and Frost - since they're contemporaries of Fleck, I don't want them to do better. I was not a big Fleck fan when we hired him because everyone was saying he's the greatest, and I tend to rebel in those situations. But, I really like what I'm seeing from the players and in the community. He seems to practice what he preaches. I feel like he's mellowed on his speaking intensity, but maybe I've just become more amenable to it. Perhaps the animosity is a good sign for the Gopher program.
 

There are a lot of gopher fans that can't stand Fleck too

I tolerate his quirks because:

He's not doing to impress old gopher fans (sadly at 40, I'm now in that group)
He seem genuine

Where opposing fans drive me nuts, is they talk about PJ being about PJ. Badger fans used a gopher marketing poster featuring PJ as "proof" PJ only cares about PJ

I don't think PJ is just about PJ.

I think he cares about his players, the community, and bringing attention to being good men on and off field is part of PJ. Sure, we tire of use word "elite" "Culture" "RTB" but that is who he is.

if he continues to win, he can do every press conference and only say above buzz words to respond to every question and I wouldn't care

If he doesn't succeed, he'll be mocked for all of his fleckism's and gophers will do the 180 and hire a coach with personality of a stale cracker
 

Schnauzer said:
It nearly never fails, after the Gophers play a game, there is either a message board thread or at least multiple in-game thread comments from opposing fans related to how much they can't stand Fleck's sideline antics. This week was no different with several Fleck comments in Purdue's in-game message board thread.

The weird thing is, he nearly never (or actually never?) says anything disrespectful of other programs and in fact seems to me to go out of his way to compliment opponents and talk about how good they are, nearly to a fault. But, his tennis shoes, quarter zips, sunglasses, and especially his quarter break sprints and exuberance are just too much for many opposing fans to take. He leaves an impression, no doubt.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of a lot of GH'ers.
 

salzie said:
There are a lot of gopher fans that can't stand Fleck too

He's not doing to impress old gopher fans (sadly at 40, I'm now in that group)
He seem genuine
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If if the measure is age of Season ticket holders, at 40 your are still well below the mean. I am 50, I might there, but not quite.
 



PJ is polarizing. You love him or you hate him. Very few are in the middle.

I don’t like PJ - but as soon as he stops being himself he will fail. Lucky for all of us that PJ cares far less about how people perceive him than his fans do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Well, I don't, didn't like: Bielema, Fitzgerald, Franklin, Lovie, Brohm, Harbaugh, Tressel, Meyer, Frost and so on. And if Goldys Locker Room sold the shoes Fleck wears, I'd probably be first in line. And if his players and the recruits he wants like him... it does not matter one iota what others think.
 

Something one of his QB's from his first season here in 2017 told me about Fleck: His personality & actions do NOT change when there aren't cameras around. He really is like how he seems all the time, every single day.

I can see why some opposing fan bases don't care for him. But it's definitely not because of things he says about opponents.
 


PJ can be cringe-worthy ... at a distance, especially for those of us who remember the Brewer "dynasty." I didn't dislike him immediately, but I was certainly wary. Who likes a fake or a phony?

Part of what turned me around was the mini-documentary, where so many people said, "That's him. That's who he is. Really." His mother taking him to the doctor when he was a kid, because she thought there was something wrong with him.

The most I could offer was a wait-and-see attitude. But I like what I've seen. For the most part, I really like what I've seen. Glad we've got him, and I hope he has a long, long, successful run at Minnesota.

JTG
 

Other teams loved Brewster.



If we want the goal to be liked by other fanbases, we need to start losing a lot more.


My favorite Packer QB was Randy Wright.
 

This is not unique to Fleck. Betting most opposing B1G fans do the same to Harbaugh, Franklin, and probably Frost.
 

Schnauzer said:
Their fans hate Fleck.

It nearly never fails, after the Gophers play a game, there is either a message board thread or at least multiple in-game thread comments from opposing fans related to how much they can't stand Fleck's sideline antics. This week was no different with several Fleck comments in Purdue's in-game message board thread.

The weird thing is, he nearly never (or actually never?) says anything disrespectful of other programs and in fact seems to me to go out of his way to compliment opponents and talk about how good they are, nearly to a fault. But, his tennis shoes, quarter zips, sunglasses, and especially his quarter break sprints and exuberance are just too much for many opposing fans to take. He leaves an impression, no doubt.

And, those hard feelings don't seem to be limited to fans. He seems to have acquired an above average number of other coaches that also don't like him. Exhibit #1 is this past Saturday's handshake flyby that was heard around the world, not to mention the old ball coach Kill taking shots and not hiding his disdain for Fleck. I can remember whispers of "he wears on you" coming out of Western Michigan when MN hired him and he himself has often said he is not for everyone.

Most of this is just harmless observation and a footnote to his program. But, with all the hard feelings it does make me wonder how many recruits he turns off because quite frankly, so far he has not recruited as well as I thought he would.
Click to expand...

How well did you expect him to recruit? And why did you think that?
 

Schnauzer said:
I completely agree. I just find it odd how consistently other fans display negativity toward Fleck while he doesn't seem to say the wrong things - the type of things that typically build up fan animosity toward a coach.
Click to expand...

I'm sure part of it has to do with other fan bases in the Big Ten wanting to contain the Gophers in the mediocre to less than mediocre category, but there are also just certain people that he pisses off including our own fanbase. My brother for example gave up his season tickets that he shared with me, but we watched the game together on Saturday and he is starting to complain a lot less about PJ.
 

I know I am not the only one that thinks it is a good thing that the opposing fans dislike our coach. It means they are worried about him and the way he has the team playing. If we are losing the fans from other teams would care less about our coach and how he carries himself.

Been well played out that Fleck is going to rub some people the wrong way. In the end it doesn't matter if people like him as long as he is getting the job done.

I for one love what I am seeing out of this football team. The wins this year have not been pretty but we are winning games in situations that historically have not gone well for us over the years.
 


FireDaveLee said:
Something one of his QB's from his first season here in 2017 told me about Fleck: His personality & actions do NOT change when there aren't cameras around. He really is like how he seems all the time, every single day.

I can see why some opposing fan bases don't care for him. But it's definitely not because of things he says about opponents.
Click to expand...

I've heard this many times too. Not everyone is going to like his personality, how he does things, etc. And that's fine of course. But it seems for the most part that the people that say he's a phony, used car salesmen, only cares about himself, etc. are people that have never been around him or spent time with him.
 

I'd be more skeptical about PJ if he wasn't doing a good job at the non-football stuff.

He's doing a great job marketing the team, which some still might think is about PJ.

But he's done an excellent job with getting the players in class and getting record GPA's.
Also his amount of philanthropy is incredible and is incredibly hard to fake. You can only fake caring about others so long before you probably might care about people.
 

He's kinda annoying.

Winning 6 of 7 means I don't have many complaints right now.
 

btowngopher said:
How well did you expect him to recruit? And why did you think that?
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I expected him to recruit better than the recruiting rankings we have had each of the past two seasons, with a higher percentage of 4 stars. He had brought in the top classes in the MAC so if I were to spitball that kind of recruiting success into the B1G, I was hoping to see classes outrank our biggest rivals, Purdue, Maryland, etc. It isn't like I have given up on him. I still have hopes to see his future classes regularly fall within the top 30 nationally. Perhaps more winning will be required to get there.
 

On the Recruiting, it depends on what your expectations were when Fleck was hired.

Make no mistake, Fleck was hired in part because he was perceived as a recruiter who could bring in better talent.

And the talent level is improving. the question is whether it's improving as much as people expected.

at WMU, Fleck was bringing in classes that were at or near the top of the conference. I don't think anyone expected him to have the top class in the B1G.

but - I do think some people expected more - more 4* players and fewer lower-level 3* players.

If the Gophers are really going to contend for Conference titles, the overall level of talent still needs to be higher.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
On the Recruiting, it depends on what your expectations were when Fleck was hired.

Make no mistake, Fleck was hired in part because he was perceived as a recruiter who could bring in better talent.

And the talent level is improving. the question is whether it's improving as much as people expected.

at WMU, Fleck was bringing in classes that were at or near the top of the conference. I don't think anyone expected him to have the top class in the B1G.

but - I do think some people expected more - more 4* players and fewer lower-level 3* players.

If the Gophers are really going to contend for Conference titles, the overall level of talent still needs to be higher.
Click to expand...


I'd like to see few more 4 star kids, but if PJ can keep getting on high 3 star kids early before they blow up, I'll take it
 

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