Talk to any true, young Maryland fan and they will tell you they were less than enthusiastic about the hiring of Randy Edsall. Not everyone was totally against it, but no one was particularly excited either. He seemed like a run-of-the-mill, moderately successful coach that would hopefully inject a youthful exuberance. Nothing about him really stood out as "This guy is excellent."
He did take Connecticut from an FCS (as it's now known) school to an FBS school, and he ended up over time winning a Big East title. Ok, fine. At the time though, the Big East's best teams had no less than four losses. UCONN got lucky enough to win a tie breaker. Anyway, I suppose that should still be considered an accomplishment.
His foray into the Maryland football coaching lexicon has led to no such accomplishments. After his disastrous 2-10 year, he now has a coaching record with more losses than wins. In nearly 20 games, he has beaten a top-20 team once. ONCE. If you're moving from Connecticut to Maryland you should probably have more than one victory over a top-20 team. Even in crappy years Ralph Friedgen beat ranked opponents. On his watch, the Terps beat Florida State a couple of times. That alone should be cause to celebrate.
Let's talk about that. The 2010 ACC Coach of the Year was fired after leading a team to a 9-4 season after having a disastrous 2-10 season of his own the year before. He did it with a redshirt freshman at quarterback. Yet new dipshit AD Kevin Anderson decided nine wins wasn't good enough to extend the portly coach. Nine wins at Maryland! That should be praised around these parts. Outside of Fridge's early dream seasons, that is the apex of a program like Maryland. It should be celebrated, not dismantled. Then he goes and gets a guy who is not a sexy hire at all compared to Mike Leach. Leach is a colorful personality with a prolific offense. For whatever reason, U-Md. was just too good for him (best sarcastic tone).
So enter the young gun who would rather worry about earrings and facial hair than not getting into the end zone. Hey guys, here's your new coach, Joseph Stalin. Enjoy being tortured by a man that thinks he's too good for any of year and doesn't care about wins. He cares about the Edsall Way. Which seems to be the way down.
There is about a .5% chance Edsall is relieved of his duties following this season. His exorbitant contract is prohibitive in that regard. (By the way, $10 million? Unearned. What were they thinking?) So we will sit back and give him another year to get his guys in here and play the Edsall Way. My question is, who the hell wants to play for this guy who never ever takes any blame for anything? Not the five-star recruits, I can tell you that.
Thanks, Edsall for making my alma mater the laughing stock of the conference. I hope you find a way to make this work because you're driving this whole thing off a cliff. No one is going to come watch games next year because of you. You're window is closing. Miami must be kicking themselves right now wondering how on earth they lost to the Terps in 2011. Oh, and if Mike Leach all of a sudden makes Washington State good, I'm going to have a shit-fit.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Part II: A Fan Study: Attending A Big Game - Football School
(Part two of a two part series)
After attending a disappointing game during a disappointing season for Maryland, I was excited to get out to the West Coast to see a "real" game. I attended the Oregon-USC game in Eugene, OR in a game that featured not one but two legitimate, big-time football programs. USC has a few national titles over the last decade. Oregon has been ranked in the top-10 in the BCS for the last few years with a national title appearance last year. Really, could a football fan ask for anything more?
Technically, I was rooting for Oregon. My brother is a junior there. The best part about a game like this though, is that you can enjoy the game for the game itself. I wasn't overly nervous about the execution, defensive lapses, or lack of effort by any one team. Sure, I got a little distraught when Oregon fell behind early. I definitely got excited when they made a furious comeback at the end of the game. Overall, it was just great to watch great teams play football. It was different to see a team like the Ducks not buckle when down by 17 points. They know they have a unique offense that can score a ton of points. They were undaunted by their deficit.
Conversely, it was unbelievable to watch a real quarterback like Matt Barkley play live. A top NFL prospect for next year's draft - should he choose to come out - Barkley was disecting the Duck's young defense. He threw for 4 touchdowns. Receiver Robert Woods, another stud, couldn't be stopped either. As much air as the USC offense took out of Autzen Stadium, you could tell you were watching a competitive game between two really good teams. They both have only lost two games on the season.
The atmosphere there is incredible. In a state like Oregon, there aren't any pro teams to take the spotlight away from the college scene. The state is split - you're either a Duck or a Beaver (Oregon State). Hell, the OU-OSU game is called the Civil War. Autzen Stadium is truly a great stadium. When the Ducks were making their way back into the game, it was deafening. The student section had creative cheers. Chip Kelly is already a legend there. The PA announcer was as enthusiastic as the fanbase. It was freezing that night, and it was a packed house. No one left early. It was the most exciting game I've ever seen live.
The pregame was just as big. It featured a huge school-sponsored tailgate in the beautiful indoor practice facility right next to Autzen. There were huge inflatables with interactive games for kids to play. Food and beer vendors waved green and gold pom-poms to lure you to their station. Puddles, the mascot, was walking around high-fiving people. There was a band in the middle of the facility to serenade people as they wandered around. And this was totally seperate from the parking lot tailgating! It was clear that Nike has just about everything to do with such a display. I would say Oregon is glad that Nike is on their side. It was a great time.
The Ducks did end up losing 38-35. It was disappointing considering Oregon hadn't lost a home game in two seasons. Afterwards, the fans weren't super upset. They knew they still had the Rose Bowl in their sights if they beat their rivals in the final game of the regular season. The fans took it in stride. They know their team is good. LaMichael James is one of the best running backs in the country. They feel confident. It was refreshing to see a fanbase not fall apart after a loss. It must be nice to know you are always in contention.
Watching two winners go head-to-head is something all football fans should try and do. It is a lot easier if one of those teams isn't your favorite team. You can just enjoy the product. There is a clear difference in the attitude and aura of a town that houses a football school. Everything is ramped up a notch...and it's awesome. I will always love Maryland, and I will always enjoy the tailgates. But now I want to head to other places, like maybe the Southeast, to see how they do things on Saturday afternoons. I would imagine its a lot like Eugene, if not bigger. Every game of every week is an event. That's what it means to be a football school.
After attending a disappointing game during a disappointing season for Maryland, I was excited to get out to the West Coast to see a "real" game. I attended the Oregon-USC game in Eugene, OR in a game that featured not one but two legitimate, big-time football programs. USC has a few national titles over the last decade. Oregon has been ranked in the top-10 in the BCS for the last few years with a national title appearance last year. Really, could a football fan ask for anything more?
Technically, I was rooting for Oregon. My brother is a junior there. The best part about a game like this though, is that you can enjoy the game for the game itself. I wasn't overly nervous about the execution, defensive lapses, or lack of effort by any one team. Sure, I got a little distraught when Oregon fell behind early. I definitely got excited when they made a furious comeback at the end of the game. Overall, it was just great to watch great teams play football. It was different to see a team like the Ducks not buckle when down by 17 points. They know they have a unique offense that can score a ton of points. They were undaunted by their deficit.
Conversely, it was unbelievable to watch a real quarterback like Matt Barkley play live. A top NFL prospect for next year's draft - should he choose to come out - Barkley was disecting the Duck's young defense. He threw for 4 touchdowns. Receiver Robert Woods, another stud, couldn't be stopped either. As much air as the USC offense took out of Autzen Stadium, you could tell you were watching a competitive game between two really good teams. They both have only lost two games on the season.
The atmosphere there is incredible. In a state like Oregon, there aren't any pro teams to take the spotlight away from the college scene. The state is split - you're either a Duck or a Beaver (Oregon State). Hell, the OU-OSU game is called the Civil War. Autzen Stadium is truly a great stadium. When the Ducks were making their way back into the game, it was deafening. The student section had creative cheers. Chip Kelly is already a legend there. The PA announcer was as enthusiastic as the fanbase. It was freezing that night, and it was a packed house. No one left early. It was the most exciting game I've ever seen live.
The pregame was just as big. It featured a huge school-sponsored tailgate in the beautiful indoor practice facility right next to Autzen. There were huge inflatables with interactive games for kids to play. Food and beer vendors waved green and gold pom-poms to lure you to their station. Puddles, the mascot, was walking around high-fiving people. There was a band in the middle of the facility to serenade people as they wandered around. And this was totally seperate from the parking lot tailgating! It was clear that Nike has just about everything to do with such a display. I would say Oregon is glad that Nike is on their side. It was a great time.
The Ducks did end up losing 38-35. It was disappointing considering Oregon hadn't lost a home game in two seasons. Afterwards, the fans weren't super upset. They knew they still had the Rose Bowl in their sights if they beat their rivals in the final game of the regular season. The fans took it in stride. They know their team is good. LaMichael James is one of the best running backs in the country. They feel confident. It was refreshing to see a fanbase not fall apart after a loss. It must be nice to know you are always in contention.
Watching two winners go head-to-head is something all football fans should try and do. It is a lot easier if one of those teams isn't your favorite team. You can just enjoy the product. There is a clear difference in the attitude and aura of a town that houses a football school. Everything is ramped up a notch...and it's awesome. I will always love Maryland, and I will always enjoy the tailgates. But now I want to head to other places, like maybe the Southeast, to see how they do things on Saturday afternoons. I would imagine its a lot like Eugene, if not bigger. Every game of every week is an event. That's what it means to be a football school.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Part I: A Fan Study: Attending A Big Game - Non-Football School
(The first in a two part series)
Finally, after years of trying so hard to convince myself, I truly realize Maryland is not a football school. I just got lucky that when I attended school there, the program had a lot of success. Several high-profile bowl games (including the Orange Bowl), an ACC championship, and a couple of 10-win seasons. Since I've graduated there has even been some success. But football success was never sustained over, say, a five-year period at one time. And while Maryland being good in football is great, it is not a big, sexy program. It is a basketball school -- like most ACC schools. This is just the nature of the university.
Ok, so with that said, I have seen Maryland compete in and win big football games. The Terps are in a Big Six conference so they tend to play legitimate programs throughout the season. However, maybe once a year or every other year, Maryland plays a serious national powerhouse. That was the case last Saturday when they faced Notre Dame at FedEx Field -- a local NFL stadium for Maryland fans. Yet it was a Notre Dame home game. How does that even make sense? Well, when you've won as much as Notre Dame has and have as much history as they do, you can have a home game anywhere in the country. Programs like Notre Dame have fans all over the country and they travel well. They have all sorts of fans too, including the ones that have no affiliation with the university whatsoever. But that's the benefit to constantly being good and recognizable. The noterity brings the bandwagoners, and so the fan base grows.
So as one could imagine, the stadium was catered to Notre Dame fans. Maryland fans were outnumbered, outcheered, and outenthused. I would venture to say if Maryland's record was better, the crowd would have been a little more even. Still, I think the Irish would have had the better showing as spectators. Maryland just cannot generate a consistent fan base. Byrd Stadium only holds about 55,000 people. Notre Dame's holds nearly 81,000. Movies have been made about Notre Dame football. None about Maryland. So nothing should be surprising about what happened Saturday. The product wasn't great, and Maryland got stomped.
Notre Dame has more talented players, more efficient coaches, and a rich history of winning. Despite Maryland's national title in the 1950's, no one involved in the Maryland football program is accustomed to winning. At the end it was 45-21 in favor of Notre Dame. Had the Terps won, it would have been a signature win for a Maryland program that would have reminisced about for several years running.
They could not outduel the Irish, however. They could not pull off the ultimate upset. Half of the stadium was empty by halftime (I would guess most were Terps fans). Perhaps that's part of the difference. Maryland can't sell out home games when they are successful. Schools like Notre Dame sell out every game and can charge high prices. Maryland, due to lack of ticket sales (apathy?), is nearly forced to shut down other sports programs to cut costs. Quite frankly, it is just a fast difference in football culture.
So what do we know about non-football school's game experiences? The tailgates are still fun, though I would imagine average on a national scale. The football talent comes and goes much quicker than established programs. Fans enthusiasm amounts to as much as a "meh. whatever." Fans tend to leave early to avoid the traffic. Generally, the fans also don't expect to win big games on a regular basis. When nonpowerhouses do win, it is the event of the decade. It is not typical to get so overexcited at school's like Notre Dame. Yes, football fans will have fun, but it would appear that somewhere else, spectators are having more fun. South Bend is probably one of those places.
I was totally expecting to lose, but still made my own fun. I am interested to see what my next reaction will be. This weekend I will be attending the Oregon-USC game in Eugene. The contrast will probably be astonishing. Until next time, for Part II...
Finally, after years of trying so hard to convince myself, I truly realize Maryland is not a football school. I just got lucky that when I attended school there, the program had a lot of success. Several high-profile bowl games (including the Orange Bowl), an ACC championship, and a couple of 10-win seasons. Since I've graduated there has even been some success. But football success was never sustained over, say, a five-year period at one time. And while Maryland being good in football is great, it is not a big, sexy program. It is a basketball school -- like most ACC schools. This is just the nature of the university.
Ok, so with that said, I have seen Maryland compete in and win big football games. The Terps are in a Big Six conference so they tend to play legitimate programs throughout the season. However, maybe once a year or every other year, Maryland plays a serious national powerhouse. That was the case last Saturday when they faced Notre Dame at FedEx Field -- a local NFL stadium for Maryland fans. Yet it was a Notre Dame home game. How does that even make sense? Well, when you've won as much as Notre Dame has and have as much history as they do, you can have a home game anywhere in the country. Programs like Notre Dame have fans all over the country and they travel well. They have all sorts of fans too, including the ones that have no affiliation with the university whatsoever. But that's the benefit to constantly being good and recognizable. The noterity brings the bandwagoners, and so the fan base grows.
So as one could imagine, the stadium was catered to Notre Dame fans. Maryland fans were outnumbered, outcheered, and outenthused. I would venture to say if Maryland's record was better, the crowd would have been a little more even. Still, I think the Irish would have had the better showing as spectators. Maryland just cannot generate a consistent fan base. Byrd Stadium only holds about 55,000 people. Notre Dame's holds nearly 81,000. Movies have been made about Notre Dame football. None about Maryland. So nothing should be surprising about what happened Saturday. The product wasn't great, and Maryland got stomped.
Notre Dame has more talented players, more efficient coaches, and a rich history of winning. Despite Maryland's national title in the 1950's, no one involved in the Maryland football program is accustomed to winning. At the end it was 45-21 in favor of Notre Dame. Had the Terps won, it would have been a signature win for a Maryland program that would have reminisced about for several years running.
They could not outduel the Irish, however. They could not pull off the ultimate upset. Half of the stadium was empty by halftime (I would guess most were Terps fans). Perhaps that's part of the difference. Maryland can't sell out home games when they are successful. Schools like Notre Dame sell out every game and can charge high prices. Maryland, due to lack of ticket sales (apathy?), is nearly forced to shut down other sports programs to cut costs. Quite frankly, it is just a fast difference in football culture.
So what do we know about non-football school's game experiences? The tailgates are still fun, though I would imagine average on a national scale. The football talent comes and goes much quicker than established programs. Fans enthusiasm amounts to as much as a "meh. whatever." Fans tend to leave early to avoid the traffic. Generally, the fans also don't expect to win big games on a regular basis. When nonpowerhouses do win, it is the event of the decade. It is not typical to get so overexcited at school's like Notre Dame. Yes, football fans will have fun, but it would appear that somewhere else, spectators are having more fun. South Bend is probably one of those places.
I was totally expecting to lose, but still made my own fun. I am interested to see what my next reaction will be. This weekend I will be attending the Oregon-USC game in Eugene. The contrast will probably be astonishing. Until next time, for Part II...
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
The State of Penn
There really isn't much I can say that hasn't already been said about the horror happening up at Penn State right now. No matter how you slice it, the whole thing is other-wordly in its severity.
Regardless of who I think should shoulder the blame (in terms of the "cover up"), let us not forget that the true, legitimate, bona fide monster is Jerry Sandusky. This guy couldn't be a worse human being. In fact, I heard someone say on the radio that it wasn't right to refer to him as a monster because it seems to absolve him of any humanity or human traits. No, he's human. He's just pure evil.
Anyone who rapes little children -- and repeatedly -- has more than a screw loose. I don't exactly know what it is that compels people to prey on children. Whatever the condition is should have some sort of antidote developed for it. There are clearly a lot of crazy, unstable people in the world. Not all of them commit acts like this. The Grand Jury report is enough to make you cringe. Sandusky seemed of sound mind during these instances of abuse. How can you be so present and not think you are doing anything wrong?
In terms of the university, they are like every other major football power. They are working in the best interest of themselves. Whatever they can do to not have a bad light shed on them and their football program they will do. I'm glad the President, AD and Vice President of whatever stepped down. The severity of these assaults were de-emphasized according to all of them. At least that's how I read it. That grad student could have done more, yes. JoPa could have done more, yes. I will not excuse anyone for their involvement, but I can see where sympathizers would ask for some consideration for the legendary coach.
Apparently, Paterno did all the right things legally. It seems to me like he just wanted it out of his hair. On some level though, this guy has to step up and so something. He is the King around there. There are strings he could have pulled and people he could have called to solve this thing instantly instead of having it all come out at least 9 years later. The problem with situations like this is that everyone has to take the fall. Since he is the King, his reign must come to an end. Look, no one has done what he has done in college football history. Part of me also thinks finishing the season is ok for him. But the reality is that this thing has shocked the world, and people need to be held accountable. The severity of the crimes means that there needs to be a total housecleaning. Sadly, that includes Paterno. He is in his 80's though. I'd say he put his time in.
This has to be the worst collegiate sports scandal in history. Certainly in the last 20 years. Forget realignment and pay-for-play. This trounces all of that. I just wonder how long it will take for Penn State to bounce back not only as a football power, but as a school and a community. I have been referring to State College as a "black hole of humanity." How long until they climb out?
Sandusky is the scum of the earth. Even the scum of the earth think pedophiles are scum of the earth. That goes to show how heinous these crimes are. I don't think there's anyway he doesn't get convicted of most of these counts, if not all of them. I hope he's sent away for 100 lifetimes. Either way he'll probably get killed in prison. That's what happens to most child molesters.
This will be a story for a long, long time. You keep the victims in your prayers and hope they are doing ok. Perhaps this will serve as a lesson to everybody -- universities included. Don't turn your back on innocent victims. Everybody ends up losing.
Regardless of who I think should shoulder the blame (in terms of the "cover up"), let us not forget that the true, legitimate, bona fide monster is Jerry Sandusky. This guy couldn't be a worse human being. In fact, I heard someone say on the radio that it wasn't right to refer to him as a monster because it seems to absolve him of any humanity or human traits. No, he's human. He's just pure evil.
Anyone who rapes little children -- and repeatedly -- has more than a screw loose. I don't exactly know what it is that compels people to prey on children. Whatever the condition is should have some sort of antidote developed for it. There are clearly a lot of crazy, unstable people in the world. Not all of them commit acts like this. The Grand Jury report is enough to make you cringe. Sandusky seemed of sound mind during these instances of abuse. How can you be so present and not think you are doing anything wrong?
In terms of the university, they are like every other major football power. They are working in the best interest of themselves. Whatever they can do to not have a bad light shed on them and their football program they will do. I'm glad the President, AD and Vice President of whatever stepped down. The severity of these assaults were de-emphasized according to all of them. At least that's how I read it. That grad student could have done more, yes. JoPa could have done more, yes. I will not excuse anyone for their involvement, but I can see where sympathizers would ask for some consideration for the legendary coach.
Apparently, Paterno did all the right things legally. It seems to me like he just wanted it out of his hair. On some level though, this guy has to step up and so something. He is the King around there. There are strings he could have pulled and people he could have called to solve this thing instantly instead of having it all come out at least 9 years later. The problem with situations like this is that everyone has to take the fall. Since he is the King, his reign must come to an end. Look, no one has done what he has done in college football history. Part of me also thinks finishing the season is ok for him. But the reality is that this thing has shocked the world, and people need to be held accountable. The severity of the crimes means that there needs to be a total housecleaning. Sadly, that includes Paterno. He is in his 80's though. I'd say he put his time in.
This has to be the worst collegiate sports scandal in history. Certainly in the last 20 years. Forget realignment and pay-for-play. This trounces all of that. I just wonder how long it will take for Penn State to bounce back not only as a football power, but as a school and a community. I have been referring to State College as a "black hole of humanity." How long until they climb out?
Sandusky is the scum of the earth. Even the scum of the earth think pedophiles are scum of the earth. That goes to show how heinous these crimes are. I don't think there's anyway he doesn't get convicted of most of these counts, if not all of them. I hope he's sent away for 100 lifetimes. Either way he'll probably get killed in prison. That's what happens to most child molesters.
This will be a story for a long, long time. You keep the victims in your prayers and hope they are doing ok. Perhaps this will serve as a lesson to everybody -- universities included. Don't turn your back on innocent victims. Everybody ends up losing.
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