Things the observer abhors about the atmosphere surrounding University of Louisville football right now, not in any particular order:
— How losing affects devoted followers.
— Fans turning on other fans.
— Fans turning on the athletic administration.
— People threatening not to renew season tickets.
— People claiming to have all the answers.
— Message boards overflowing with redundant hate-filled posts.
— Posters who don’t recognize that hate-filled postings negatively affect recruiting.
— Section 208, a corporate seating section, with more people in it than in the Crunch Zone during the Cincinnati game.
— Denial of personnel losses that occurred during both the Petrino and Kragthorpe years.
— Lack of recognition that there has been a threefold improvement on defense this season.
— Play calling is criticized rather than whether players are capable of making plays.
— Firing the coach is viewed as the only sure fix by so many people.
— Individuals who think they know how to manage the coaching situation better than Tom Jurich.
— Fans being blamed for the situation.
— The possibility that Tom Jurich could be tempted to look elsewhere to manage an athletic program.
— The perception of Louisville football whether Steve Kragthorpe is fired or allowed to resign.
— Louisville football will still be hurting even if there’s a new coach on the sideline next season.
Justcards: Really appreciate your comments. I am keeping the faith but not getting any younger. Hoping it doesn’t take as long to get back to the top 20 as it did the first time around.
Charlie, as along time UofL fan I must say it is sad to see the Football program on such a drastic downswing. It’s not like the schools players and coaches are doing this intentionally, but it is such a low after such a HIGH, that we, the fans, feel like lashing out. Kick the dog syndrome, maybe? While this is not admirable behaviour and I am not condoning nor excusing it, I do think it is understandable. I also think it will pass as quickly as it started.
I seem to remember UK fans doing and saying the same in regards to Coach Brooks before last year, now look what they are saying. (and the Cards fallen much further, much faster).
So try to be patient, keep the faith (it wears off on others), look to coming of better times (possibly even with Kragthorpe…shudder).
Thanks for your insights.
Some very good and concise points listed. We tend to feel that we own our teams, I suppose, and in the majority of the cases…we want them to do well. It doesn’t make us experts on what’s best for them or give us any great insights or knowledge on how they can be the best that they can be. I’ve often said that my husband is the best coach in the Crunch Zone, but he is in no way qualified to run a major Div 1 (or pee wee league) football team. Opinions are like noses, we all have one, and sometimes they run incessantly. Always hope for the best, analyze and observe if you will, and remember that these are college students participating in a game. Being a fan of your school and athletic program is the best way to show unconditional support, and be there for them during the good and bad times. P.S….the Crunch Zone did empty quickly, but we were there till 00:00 on the clock. We’ll keep the faith, we hope it’s justified by our plauers.
Great post Charlie – I sure hope we don’t lose our AD (best in the country) over this mess. I think fans have the right to be unhappy but never the right to trash talk the university or TJ or the kids playing their hearts out to win on the field.
I hate those guys who don’t know a damn thing about football and get in other people’s faces acting like they are experts and everybody knows are klutzes, with zero knowledge about people management.
That just about covers all the bases. It is the absolute pits, and I hate it.