Originally Posted by
champion110
OK, so I decided to make a long post today on how I see things right now.
First of all on the season:
We lost all the games we thought were a good possibility of losing this year. The biggest complaint is the fact that we didn't play well and were not competitive in those games. I have seen very few flashes of what this team could be so far, but I have not given up hope. I long for the days when we were competitive with any bcs team on the field, but that is not to be this year. I can move past that, if we start to "get it together" from this point forward. We were warned over and over about what this year could be like, but we all (being true Tech fans) thought and hoped for something brighter. There are a LOT of games left on this schedule. We will see this weekend if this team is going to turn around or not. It will be interesting. I will never give up on the Dawgs, so I will just keep hanging in there through the good and bad. If we turn it around and start winning, things will be a lot more tolerable for those of us that choose to not live our life exposing ourselves to negativity all the time.
Our Program:
Our football program has not drastically changed from last year or the year before. Our team has changed (like all schools), but we are the same program. We all know that we need to invest more to have a shot at CUSA. We all know that our leadership has hurt us - probably more with the lack of fundraising and marketing than scheduling, in my opinion. I TRULY long for the days when we did not complain about the schedule - instead we relished in it. The same people that are complaining now are the ones that were on cloud nine about playing the top bcs teams a while back. We used to not blink an eye at playing the Nebraska's, Alabama's, and Michigan States of the world. We WANTED to play them. The only thing that has changed since that time is that we are not as good on the field this year. My thought is that if you truly want to build a top program, you get through years like this, and continue the true TECH (not Fresno) banter of "ANYBODY ANYTIME ANYWHERE". Ahhhh, but when we are losing, it doesn't have the same ring to it. Our program has suffered some in the last few years. A missed CUSA opportunity brought the fans to their knees. A few bcs kills and we were flat on our backs. We CAN recover, though. When a recruit looks at our site, he will see the negativity of the only fans that are visible and wonder why he would even consider Tech. However, there are ways to complain and get things done without b*tching and moaning all the time. There is a good letter in the recruiting section that shows us the only tool we have right now, while still supporting our team and program.
Part of the program is our facilities, as well. Ours are not the best out there, but are not the worst either. We need some more improvements fast. That is, probably, my second biggest complaint. The FIRST complaint is marketing, though. You have to have that to improve things. A larger fan base and attendance would do wonders for our program. It is so tough to do that in a year like this one, but most of us know that nothing was being done even in years that we are at the top of our game. Complaining about it all the time does nothing, though. Again, we all need to send letters upon letters asking questions. It all does not have to be public, but it has to be consistent. When writing those letters, though, we need to give some credit to what has been done - even if we think it fell in our lap, instead of was earned.
It all comes down to how the team is doing. If we were winning right now, most everyone on here would think of all things in a more positive light. When we are losing, everyone thinks of EVERYTHING in a more negative light. Just because we are losing this year does NOT mean that we don't deserve to be in the WAC and will step down because of it. If that was the case, I think there are some B12 and SEC teams that need to step down from their conference, as well. A bad year does not mean ANYTHING about where you stand over time.
We will survive this year and may end up with a really good record. Even if we don't, though, I hope we can get our "bark" back again and start showing some pride. You don't have to like what D.R. or J.O. have done. You don't have to think that Bicknell is a good coach. Those things DO need to be addressed. I believe that you DO have to recognize that this is one year and it does not make a program, though. On the accumulating things that need to be addressed (the 3 people above, in my opinion), we need to keep up the pressure. It can be done in a way that shows how proud we are to be Bulldogs, though. We all love Tech, but we show it in different ways. I have a feeling that the personality that comes out of people on this message forum is the same personality we have in our everyday lives. When things get tough, some people complain about everything. Some, however, can pinpoint the problem and work on getting it right. There is no use in seeing the world as a negative place just because we have some problems.
OK, so that was my rambling long post today. I am not asking that anyone do anything different, I don't think. I just hope that we can all take a step back and breathe once in a while. Someone else can take it from here...........
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