Thoughts From A Frustrating Weekend

greenminer · October 28, 2007

Was anyone else amazed by our attendance yesterday? Our record is abismal, yet we have so many people that want to see a great product on the field...

...it reaaaally hurt last night to watch the score unfold like it did. Hearing the things I overheard during the day, imagining all the fire that some of ya'll are going to unleash on this board. ugh.

However, people have a right to express their opinion. It makes me cringe inside when it's just a blast on the staff/players and nothing constructive, but we have our cheerleader fans who wave the pom-poms no matter what, and we have the couch fans who call it like it is. And we need both of them right now. I love me some Mean Green and I'll be here no matter what.

Are we really falling apart? I don't think so. Maybe some of you elder fans can tell us what was being said/going on during Dickey's first few years before he had the Belt streak. Were fans coming to see a 1-6 team? Were people pulling their hair at his offense?

A couple observations that make you go "hmmm":

Standing in line for the john I overheard some dude blasting our AD in every possible way to his neighbor. He slammed everything from how we should be treated like a big-time program, how there were only 4 portas there when there was so much tailgating (WRONG. walk around and there were many with NO lines), and the kicker: apparently he had 10K to give the athletic department, and because Rick never called him he was decidedly holding it for something else. He also implied RV left SoMiss because things were falling apart. This fan said he'd been here since 1981....really? Has he seen the previous administration? He must have missed the "sellout" we had for the '01 MTSU game.

That last point made me think of two things: firstly, if I had 10K to give to the athletic department, then I've already decided to donate it. If Rick calls AFTER, than that would be a plus, but I don't think it should be a check to BUY your way up the ladder, per se (sp). Secondly, it did make me wonder how many wonder how many potential donors we have sitting out there just waiting for us to "turn the corner". Like if we hit that 9+ win season with Dodge at the helm, than if only 10 of these 10K donors were happy...that's a quick 100,000 right there.

I'm tempted to start my own "Meager douchebag" photo-contest, a la the Villareal Sexytime. In honor of the nearby douchbag - obligatory in every section of Fouts? - that has to call "We want Meager" upon Vizza's first interception. No really, you want Meager. Speak for yourself. It happened at the LaMo game, and last night he was doing it for 2.5 quarters. Lame.

Also, midway through the 3rd quarter, a couple 20-somethings made their way up to the now-emptying upper student side (near me) to chant "Dodge sucks!" or "Go back to high school, Dodge!". They were obviously there to just mess around and get people riled up; for the most part people around us just ignored them. Honestly, I won't ever relate to those kind of "fans". What kind of rise are they getting out of that? After 10 minutes they got up and left. So random.

Seems like the people that know the right things are optimistic for the future. Remember when spring practices rolled around and the players were saying that it's "night and day" difference from the old regime? And the knowledgeable coaches around here say give it time and this guy (Dodge) will get things done. I'm all for that, but I still share a lot of concerns about this season's defense. If this is night and day difference, where are the night-and-day results? This is Mendoza's freebie year, but starting next year I'm sure Dodge will expect some turnaround or make some major changes. He brought in his high school staff, but remember there are a few still here that have college experience, and they should be here to help foster Dodge and Mendoza along. I REALLY want us to be great, and I want Dodge to be the guy at the helm when it happens because, from a media relationship standpoint, he is fantastic for us. He just needs to put it all together on the field.

KNTU interviewed me while I was tailgating. They asked me to name a few things: a guy on offense, a guy on defense, who we're playing this week, and who their mascot was. He said I was the 2nd or 3rd attempt, because the previous interviewees (is that a real word?) didn't have a clue, and one even said their mascot was the Pegasus. He recorded my interview. I don't know if I actually was on the air later or not. woohoo.

with the Mean Green, no matter what,

GreenMiner