Reusse: This is not the golden era of Golden Gophers football, despite P.J. Fleck's claim

[Dave H]

Not true. I despise that PJ plays and shoves down our throat “his guys” like 55 and 2. I give that a very hard time plus 22 who was a disaster. Gave 77 mild grief but I don’t think you could find other swipes at players.

Again, you are making it quite clear you are not in fact a Gopher fan. What a sad existence to pretend to be one online...

 

[Dave H]

Anyone that thinks a coach who's paid to win games, is not playing what he considers the players giving the best chance to win, I don't know to say. You can disagree with his choices, but you lose credibility with the other statement.

Can you lose what you never had?

 

[noamfromm]

Usually the article writers don’t write the headlines. Usually the headline is written by the editor.

The tired cliche of he’s a fat alcoholic is so old. He may be overweight but he has been sober for something like 40 years. If you want to combat his stance why not use facts and logic as opposed to cheap personal shots.

I wonder how the startribune feels about a paid article being copy and pasted for free on a website. Seems a little like theft.

If someone quotes a couple paragraphs is that acceptable for these paywalled newspapers?

 

[Gopherchase]

Can you lose what you never had?

Oh, OK Dave. It always makes my heart warm that we have smart guys like you around to keep the rest of us in line. And call out fake fans as you see them. 8 is way better than 2. 45 is way better than 55 they played them together later on so step in the right direction and anyone on the roster is better than 22. Can’t imagine we wouldn’t have won more games with different personnel choices from day 1 this year. The players are who they are—the coaches chose to play them as they did and it hurt us this year.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Saying we are doing things that haven’t been done in 115 years is not the same thing as saying this is the best it’s been in 115 years.

Serious question, what are those amazing things?

 

[Some guy]

Serious question, what are those amazing things?

You can go look up the quote.
I’m sure fleck said them.
But even winning 11 games in a season is a simple one.

Hasn’t been done in 115 years. Which tells you this is the first time in an era with 11+ games the gophers have been nationally relevant.

Everyone all pissed because the team was 8-2 in 1967….but that should be proof enough of his statement. last Time the gophers were nationally relevant was in a completely different time. That’s his whole point. If you are going to get caught up on an 8-0 1940 season that’s your deal. We are closer to 2100 than 1940. If you’re going to be offended by his statements all I can do is laugh at you.

 

[Tommyboy]

The Golden Period was in the early 80's in the Metro Dome. Give PJ another million dollar raise for going 500 against teams with losing records.

 

[PMWinSTP]

You can go look up the quote.
I’m sure fleck said them.
But even winning 11 games in a season is a simple one.

Hasn’t been done in 115 years. Which tells you this is the first time in an era with 11+ games the gophers have been nationally relevant.

Everyone all pissed because the team was 8-2 in 1967….but that should be proof enough of his statement. last Time the gophers were nationally relevant was in a completely different time. That’s his whole point. If you are going to get caught up on an 8-0 1940 season that’s your deal. We are closer to 2100 than 1940. If you’re going to be offended by his statements all I can do is laugh at you.

You are precious. Never said I was offended. Asked a serious question and got this in response. Says a lot about you.

 

[Some guy]

You are precious. Never said I was offended. Asked a serious question and got this in response. Says a lot about you.

Lol
Ok

 

[btowngopher]

Oh, OK Dave. It always makes my heart warm that we have smart guys like you around to keep the rest of us in line. And call out fake fans as you see them. 8 is way better than 2. 45 is way better than 55 they played them together later on so step in the right direction and anyone on the roster is better than 22. Can’t imagine we wouldn’t have won more games with different personnel choices from day 1 this year. The players are who they are—the coaches chose to play them as they did and it hurt us this year.

You might be wishing we still had 55 next year unless we find a portal addition.

 

[DarthGopher]

Come on Dave! Be fair. It's his first post. He got the Toilet Bowl and Maturi cliches in early. Managed to wait and get NE & WI and his hero Barry Alvarez's name until the middle of the post. Though missed Barry's dalliance with a coed and Nebraska needing to fire two guys because of misconduct before they hired Matt Ruhle.

What a remarkable example of self-restraint.

Gotta give them credit for coming in with guns blazing to try and get attention.

 

[DarthGopher]

Saying we are doing things that haven’t been done in 115 years is not the same thing as saying this is the best it’s been in 115 years.

It is almost like you are suggesting context is important here.

Unless anyone on the board fondly remembers the '40 and '41 seasons. Nice piece of history, but in regards to how that plays today when trying to recruit kids out of high school, quite frankly, they could care less. To me the comment isn't about tooting his own horn, it is about tooting the program's horn.

Reusse is old school and doesn't understand why people don't buy newspapers anymore. The whole concept of branding is lost on people like him who pine for things to be the way they once were.

 

[Word]

It is almost like you are suggesting context is important here.

Unless anyone on the board fondly remembers the '40 and '41 seasons. Nice piece of history, but in regards to how that plays today when trying to recruit kids out of high school, quite frankly, they could care less. To me the comment isn't about tooting his own horn, it is about tooting the program's horn.

Reusse is old school and doesn't understand why people don't buy newspapers anymore. The whole concept of branding is lost on people like him who pine for things to be the way they once were.

Yeah, I'm almost 50 and for me, my earliest memories of Gopher football are basically the Darrell Thompson years. I was a student during the Wacker years. I appreciate all of the older Gopher history and it's something we should be proud of, but to the vast majority of our fans, this truly is the golden age of Gopher football. I remember the days when we'd be thrilled to go to any bowl game. Now we've been to bowl games in (I think) 14 out of the last 20 years.

 

[DarthGopher]

Yeah, I'm almost 50 and for me, my earliest memories of Gopher football are basically the Darrell Thompson years. I was a student during the Wacker years. I appreciate all of the older Gopher history and it's something we should be proud of, but to the vast majority of our fans, this truly is the golden age of Gopher football. I remember the days when we'd be thrilled to go to any bowl game. Now we've been to bowl games in (I think) 14 out of the last 20 years.

We are of the same era, then. The Wacker years. Bad teams. Bad environment. Never went to a single game until I started dating my wife. She got me into the games for free where I could watch from the sidelines on the field. Only reason I went.

Mason showed up the year after I graduated. I remember the Sun Bowl in 1999 against Oregon. People were absolutely pumped for that game. We road tripped down there along with many others. Survived Y2K in scenic El Paso.

Now it would be seen as a crap bowl by some on this board and proof PJ should be fired.

I would say the expectations have changed considerably, and in that context, that has not happened in a long, long time.

When he first took the job, he talked about the national championships the program won. Outside of Minnesota, hardly anybody even knows this and even fewer care. Talking about the '60 and '67 teams, let alone the '40 and '41 teams, to recruits whose parents may not have even been born yet would be idiotic imho. The program has to be sold in terms of recent relative success. It is marketing talk. PJ has to be an infomercial, not a historian.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Yeah, I'm almost 50 and for me, my earliest memories of Gopher football are basically the Darrell Thompson years. I was a student during the Wacker years. I appreciate all of the older Gopher history and it's something we should be proud of, but to the vast majority of our fans, this truly is the golden age of Gopher football. I remember the days when we'd be thrilled to go to any bowl game. Now we've been to bowl games in (I think) 14 out of the last 20 years.

The Golden Age - so, if we're talking about the Fleck years only, that means during the Golden age of Gopher Football........the Gophers have:
---no B1G West Division titles
-- no conference championship games
-- no Rose Bowl
-- one January 1st Bowl game
-- one season with a final AP top-25 ranking

and this is what the Coach calls "amazing."

oh - I forgot to mention.......0-6 vs Iowa......

 

[Word]

The Golden Age - so, if we're talking about the Fleck years only, that means during the Golden age of Gopher Football........the Gophers have:
---no B1G West Division titles
-- no conference championship games
-- no Rose Bowl
-- one January 1st Bowl game
-- one season with a final AP top-25 ranking

and this is what the Coach calls "amazing."

oh - I forgot to mention.......0-6 vs Iowa......

You are truly a glass half empty kind of guy.

I will reiterate. It's the best age of Gopher football in my memory and I'm almost 50 (Mason and Kill were decent too, but I would put PJ's Gophers ahead of them). That's why we're calling it the golden age. You probably should just quit being a Gopher fan if you're expecting us to return to the 1940's.

You do realize in this day and age that the coach can't be saying "yeah we're just ok compared to what we used to be in the 1940's". That doesn't exactly sell tickets and bring in the recruits. You have to highlight the positive (which I think might be impossible for you to do).

 

[1983]

Just did a search and your memory is correct.

"“This is all about cultural sustainability,” said Fleck. “We have talked about that from day one, and this new contract is a commitment to continuing to change our best academically, athletically, socially and spiritually. It is also a commitment to our elite staff and our tremendous fans. During the last six years, we have been able to do some amazing things at Minnesota, some of which have not been accomplished in more than 115 years. It is a tremendous honor to lead this football program, and our goal is to compete for championships every year."

Though Fleck could be talking about this:

Off the field, Fleck’s program has posted record GPAs and continually gives back to the community by hosting diaper drives, turkey drives, a school supply drive and a canned food drive. Fleck and the team also have a strong philanthropic connection to M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital.

P.J. Fleck signs a new seven-year contract with Minnesota

A one-year extension and a $1 million bump in salary

www.thedailygopher.com

Thanks Iceland, I did not really like that comment. Fleck likes to snub the past and that's fine but its better to just not mention instead of making it sound like your the greatest coach ever to lead the program. I don't care if the coach is an arrogant ass who flaunts his narcissism but if that is the coach, best you beat Iowa and Wisconsin like they have beaten us with an occasional trip to Indy and NY day bowls if not the Rose Bowl. Reusse is pretty accurate here.

Maybe Fleck's statement could be what you said in disguise

 

[howeda7]

Usually the article writers don’t write the headlines. Usually the headline is written by the editor.

The tired cliche of he’s a fat alcoholic is so old. He may be overweight but he has been sober for something like 40 years. If you want to combat his stance why not use facts and logic as opposed to cheap personal shots.

I wonder how the startribune feels about a paid article being copy and pasted for free on a website. Seems a little like theft.

I like Pat, he's arguing against a straw man. He's been complaining about it since the Wisconsin game, so PJ's quotes about his extension didn't start this. No one is saying this is the best Gopher football has ever been or that its a "golden era". The Gopher Football twitter sent out a tweet about # of 8 win season or consecutive 8 win seasons and he's raging against that. A PR tweet.

 

[restovich]

It does seem to me like Pat R. writes about three or four columns every year which are specifically intended to get a rise out of Gopher Hole posters.

 

[Panthadad2]

The Golden Age - so, if we're talking about the Fleck years only, that means during the Golden age of Gopher Football........the Gophers have:
---no B1G West Division titles
-- no conference championship games
-- no Rose Bowl
-- one January 1st Bowl game
-- one season with a final AP top-25 ranking

and this is what the Coach calls "amazing."

oh - I forgot to mention.......0-6 vs Iowa......

Who called it the golden era? That was a made up quote from a dishonest editor from an industry that is full of dishonest people. It's false rage created from false quotes.

BTW, Fleck has a West title (2019) that's just as valid as several Big Ten co-championship banners ringing the stadium from when the team ended up tied in the standings.

Fleck literally holds the best Big Ten record for MN in 55 years (1967) and the best full season winning percentage in 81 years (1941). Even the vaunted 1960 and 1961 teams lost 2 games each including a loss to Wisconsin. Even though the "golden era" quote was made up, like it or not, this is the golden era of Gopher football for fans that aren't receiving social security. Hopefully it gets better so we can bitch about even better seasons.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Thanks Iceland, I did not really like that comment. Fleck likes to snub the past and that's fine but its better to just not mention instead of making it sound like your the greatest coach ever to lead the program. I don't care if the coach is an arrogant ass who flaunts his narcissism but if that is the coach, best you beat Iowa and Wisconsin like they have beaten us with an occasional trip to Indy and NY day bowls if not the Rose Bowl. Reusse is pretty accurate here.

Maybe Fleck's statement could be what you said in disguise

When has Fleck tried to snub the past or prop himself up as the greatest coach to ever lead the program? Actual examples, not Reusse's made up Golden Era BS.

He touts the programs current accomplishments....the same way every single coach in the country touts the accomplishments of their program. Does Fleck have an ego....yep....but his ego is no more healthy or pronounced than the egos of head coaches all over the country. And Fleck emphasizes life outside of football way more than a lot of coaches do.

Get so tired of these weak self promotor attacks people try to lob at Fleck with nothing to back them up. People will still try to claim Row the Boat is just about PJ Fleck but it has become synonymous with the University of Minnesota football program.

 

[Dave H]

Thanks Iceland, I did not really like that comment. Fleck likes to snub the past and that's fine but its better to just not mention instead of making it sound like your the greatest coach ever to lead the program. I don't care if the coach is an arrogant ass who flaunts his narcissism but if that is the coach, best you beat Iowa and Wisconsin like they have beaten us with an occasional trip to Indy and NY day bowls if not the Rose Bowl. Reusse is pretty accurate here.

Maybe Fleck's statement could be what you said in disguise

He does not snub the past...good lord.

 

[Dave H]

When has Fleck tried to snub the past or prop himself up as the greatest coach to ever lead the program? Actual examples, not Reusse's made up Golden Era BS.

He touts the programs current accomplishments....the same way every single coach in the country touts the accomplishments of their program. Does Fleck have an ego....yep....but his ego is no more healthy or pronounced than the egos of head coaches all over the country. And Fleck emphasizes life outside of football way more than a lot of coaches do.

Get so tired of these weak self promotor attacks people try to lob at Fleck with nothing to back them up. People will still try to claim Row the Boat is just about PJ Fleck but it has become synonymous with the University of Minnesota football program.

I'm old enough to remember half this board denigrating Kill for DOWNPLAYING the team quite often.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Let's do this again.

I think Fleck is a good coach.

good. not great.

When Claeys was fired and Fleck was hired, there were plenty of people on this board proclaiming that what Mason did, what Kill and Claeys did was not good enough. That this program can and should be better.

well, after 6 years of Fleck, the Gophers have one 11-2 season. A season in which they did not win the Division or the conference. everything else has been comparable with Mason's and Kill's better seasons.

under Fleck, the Gophers are better. But they're not a lot better. Is that good enough? some people seem to think so.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Let's do this again.

I think Fleck is a good coach.

good. not great.

When Claeys was fired and Fleck was hired, there were plenty of people on this board proclaiming that what Mason did, what Kill and Claeys did was not good enough. That this program can and should be better.

well, after 6 years of Fleck, the Gophers have one 11-2 season. A season in which they did not win the Division or the conference. everything else has been comparable with Mason's and Kill's better seasons.

under Fleck, the Gophers are better. But they're not a lot better. Is that good enough? some people seem to think so.

Had Kill not had the health issues he was nowhere close to being fired. Mason had run his course here and it was time for him to go. And Claeys was never anything more than a stop gap measure who was never going to be a long term option here. So while fans might have been proclaiming the program needed to reach some higher standard, 3 of the 5 coaches before Fleck were not fired for performance reasons.

Wacker - Was fired because the team was a laughingstock. Great guy, wrong coach for the program.
Mason - Was fired because he started phoning it in after the OSU dream died.
Brewster - Was a bad hire and fired for performance
Kill - Likes to play the victim and pretend the U did him wrong but he left, wasn't fired.
Claeys - Was a one year fill in who would have needed some kind of miracle season not to be let go at the end of the year.

Fleck has elevated things to a point where the fanbase is pissy when we don't win the division. There were not division champion expectations under the previous coaches I listed.

And finally, the Gophers won the West in 2019, they just didn't win it outright. And that 11-2 season is far superior to anything that has happened with Gopher football in a long long long long time.

 

[DarthGopher]

The Golden Age - so, if we're talking about the Fleck years only, that means during the Golden age of Gopher Football........the Gophers have:
---no B1G West Division titles
-- no conference championship games
-- no Rose Bowl
-- one January 1st Bowl game
-- one season with a final AP top-25 ranking

and this is what the Coach calls "amazing."

oh - I forgot to mention.......0-6 vs Iowa......

My dad used to have a saying for folks like you. "You'd bitch if your ice cream was cold."

 

[DarthGopher]

Who called it the golden era? That was a made up quote from a dishonest editor from an industry that is full of dishonest people. It's false rage created from false quotes.

BTW, Fleck has a West title (2019) that's just as valid as several Big Ten co-championship banners ringing the stadium from when the team ended up tied in the standings.

Fleck literally holds the best Big Ten record for MN in 55 years (1967) and the best full season winning percentage in 81 years (1941). Even the vaunted 1960 and 1961 teams lost 2 games each including a loss to Wisconsin. Even though the "golden era" quote was made up, like it or not, this is the golden era of Gopher football for fans that aren't receiving social security. Hopefully it gets better so we can bitch about even better seasons.

I raise a glass to you!

 

[Word]

Let's do this again.

I think Fleck is a good coach.

good. not great.

When Claeys was fired and Fleck was hired, there were plenty of people on this board proclaiming that what Mason did, what Kill and Claeys did was not good enough. That this program can and should be better.

well, after 6 years of Fleck, the Gophers have one 11-2 season. A season in which they did not win the Division or the conference. everything else has been comparable with Mason's and Kill's better seasons.

under Fleck, the Gophers are better. But they're not a lot better. Is that good enough? some people seem to think so.

Who said it was good enough?

 

[pharmacygopher]

Who said it was good enough?

Lol. So many people making up quotes and statements PJ never said and just making shit up in general in this thread.

Somewhere reusse has a 'giant' erection because he got the reaction he wanted.

 

[Gopherchase]

You might be wishing we still had 55 next year unless we find a portal addition.

Had Kill not had the health issues he was nowhere close to being fired. Mason had run his course here and it was time for him to go. And Claeys was never anything more than a stop gap measure who was never going to be a long term option here. So while fans might have been proclaiming the program needed to reach some higher standard, 3 of the 5 coaches before Fleck were not fired for performance reasons.

Wacker - Was fired because the team was a laughingstock. Great guy, wrong coach for the program.
Mason - Was fired because he started phoning it in after the OSU dream died.
Brewster - Was a bad hire and fired for performance
Kill - Likes to play the victim and pretend the U did him wrong but he left, wasn't fired.
Claeys - Was a one year fill in who would have needed some kind of miracle season not to be let go at the end of the year.

Fleck has elevated things to a point where the fanbase is pissy when we don't win the division. There were not division champion expectations under the previous coaches I listed.

And finally, the Gophers won the West in 2019, they just didn't win it outright. And that 11-2 season is far superior to anything that has happened with Gopher football in a long long long long time.

Had there been divisions in Mason’s day his Big Ten record would be better and we would have had a chance at the West a few times.