Erin Sorensen & Mike Babcock
- Thread starter sparky4986
- Start date
Probably a closer connection than you think. Like your little one, I was crying and screaming. Thankfully no messes though on my end.Eek
I think this whole social media thing is overplayed. Sure, Devaney/Osborne did not have to deal with fans having public boards like this one. But come on, I am 57 and have followed the Huskers since about 1965. I know that in the mid 70's there was a lot of fan grumbling about Osborne and it was public and known. Letters to the editor, radio call in shows, old fashioned letters written on paper and sent by snail mail to the AD. Water cooler talk at work. Phone calls to the AD with messages left on machines. Geez... The way some people talk on here it seems that before the ubiquity of personal computers became a reality nobody was talking to anybody. I am old enough to remember rotary phones and "party lines". And I am here to tell you that we did, in fact, find a way to communicate back in the Stone Age. So enough of this BS about how modern coaches have a new "social reality".
So memo to Mike Riley: Facebook and Twitter and chat boards are not your problem. Losing to Illinois and Pudue is your problem. Having the worst defense in modern Husker history is your problem. Not knowing how to manage the game clock is your problem. Putting a poorly coached team on the field is your problem.
I thought about that defense. I think the two defenses are comparably awful. It does not change my point. 55 points to Purdue? Please
Have you seen some of the nut job fans comments on our players twitter feeds? It definitely has an effect.
I an sure it does. But back in the day players got similar comments from nut job fans wherever they went in public if things were not going well. They also got an earful from fellow nut job fan students on campus. Is it a little worse today because of social media? No doubt. I am not disputing that. I am only pointing out that negative fan reaction to what they view as a disappointing season is not new and Osborne/Devaney and their players also had to deal with it. I recall 67-68 and Devaney's back to back 6-4 seasons. Read what he wrote about that experience and how much pressure he felt from fans and how much negativity was swirling around. And if Osborne did not feel the same kind of pressure why was he looking elsewhere in 76? It is not that different.
I believe it's more than just "a little worse today because of social media". A great deal of info, whether it be true/false, positive/negative, manipulative/productive, or etc, can be sent out to all sorts of parties/outlets in very little time. Also, this can all be done by a "faceless punk" who knows there can really be no repercussions for anything he/she puts out there.
It's different, the public stuff still happens PLUS 10x more stoneless people one the Internet. How could someone not see that?
It'd be interesting to see how this message board would be if it pulled an ESPN and made you connect via facebook. I'd still post because I am not scared of my opinion and would say the same stuff, but 100% agree.
It's different. People on here have drastically impacted the opinions of other fans and the players. If I'm being honest, I see journalists giving validity to 100% non sense posts that I've read I this board (in the past and currently). Seriously, these pro's actually pander to the BS that some thrive in creating here....that element was non existent prior to the advent of social media. For those that don't agree, yes, it likely means that you don't understand the bigger picture of how all of this technology connects & impacts people these days.
If you can't see the difference between anonymous internet posts and in person comments... no help for you. You have your mind set back in the 60s. It is much worse and personal now... obviously with other teams as well, but why not us be different and more supportive? I will never understand dogging 18 - 19 year old players.. unless they are trying to harm our program.
The best thing "fans" can do is support our players and coaches publicly. Make this a place where players and coaches want to come. Us fans and our support is really our only advantage over other programs. It a shame some of our nut jobs get all the pub.
Also, just because you support the current staff and players, doesn't mean you agree with everything they do. It just means you are smart enough to realize that all the bitching and moaning on a message board doesn't help solve anything and is potentially harmful to the program when a recruit/current player reads it. Riley and our players is who we have right now and they need our support now more than ever.
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"But back in the day players got similar comments from nut job fans wherever they went in public if things were not going well."
Here is what you are not seeing.
Firstly, in 2015, no player has to go in public to be assailed. To the contrary, he can be checking his phone for a text from his girlfriend or his mom's facebook status update, and be assailed in the comfort of his own bathroom by a million anonymous internet tough guys.
Secondly, is the issue we talked about the other day with Riley. When he goes out in public, even if people don't like his coaching, most folks in Lincoln are not going to be dickwads about not being polite to the guy. People are alot calmer and gentler in person than they are over the internet. And the internet is everywhere now, there is no escape whether you are applying for jobs or printing out homework. Osborne had this same aspect with print, people's letters to the editors were virulent but most personal interaction could be reasonably polite. The newspaper comes once a day, and only does one thing, you can avoid it pretty good (in fact so much many newspapers are dying). Pretty hard to avoid being on the Net as a college student or any sort of modern professional like a coach, especially one who recruits.
Here is what you are not seeing.
Firstly, in 2015, no player has to go in public to be assailed. To the contrary, he can be checking his phone for a text from his girlfriend or his mom's facebook status update, and be assailed in the comfort of his own bathroom by a million anonymous internet tough guys.
Secondly, is the issue we talked about the other day with Riley. When he goes out in public, even if people don't like his coaching, most folks in Lincoln are not going to be dickwads about not being polite to the guy. People are alot calmer and gentler in person than they are over the internet. And the internet is everywhere now, there is no escape whether you are applying for jobs or printing out homework. Osborne had this same aspect with print, people's letters to the editors were virulent but most personal interaction could be reasonably polite. The newspaper comes once a day, and only does one thing, you can avoid it pretty good (in fact so much many newspapers are dying). Pretty hard to avoid being on the Net as a college student or any sort of modern professional like a coach, especially one who recruits.
Looks like someone needs to revisit this graphic.
I was far from a Bo defender, but this defense is noticeably worse than Bo's worst defenses. I don't know what teams are averaging per play vs. Banker's D, but it's only a matter of time before he is well represented on an updated version of the graphic you posted.
GBR
Pull up bos worst defense over the YEAR...revisit that...our defense blows right nowLooks like someone needs to revisit this graphic.
Why are some people acting like the guys on the team get as worked up as a 13 year old girl when she finds out her crush likes her bestfriend?
You are cherry picking from different years. When Bo had a horrible game defensively, his teams usually bounced back. This defense has been awful against the pass and can't get a stop when it matters. If this team had to play the 2007 schedule, they would be blown out on a continual basis with this pass defense. The Purdue loss tells you all you need to know. It was probably the worst loss in most Husker fans lifetimes unless there are some fans here pre Devaney. A lot of it can be attributed to a poor defense. I know there have been bigger blowouts, but this Purdue team was garbage. The statistics back it up.Looks like someone needs to revisit this graphic.
I've heard it said more than once that this is the worst loss in recent memory, but I gotta respectfully disagree. As bad as it was (and it was bad) I can't ever forget 70-10. Doesn't matter that it was Texas Tech. It was 70-10! I get that Purdue is nothing like Texas Tech. But it was 70-10!!!!
Just my opinion...
I agree with you. That Texas Tech game was brutal. I sat in front of the TV for every second of it. I was in shock. When Banker's D plays a high powered offensive team it is going to get ugly. Oregon can't play defense but they can score. They put up 61 points last week against Arizona State that has better athletes than either Illinois or Purdue. September 17, 2016. That game should be fun to sit through. Oh, Hell! I just noticed we play the Buckeyes in Columbus next year. Urban will show no mercy. They may break the 70 point mark against Banker's D.
Good comments. And like I said, I agree it is worse today. But I disagree that it is that much harder today. If a player does not want nut job fans sending him Twitter messages then he can stay off Twitter. Email can remain private and Facebook has privacy settings. Yes we live in an electronic age, but there are also ways of avoiding the electronic assaults on privacy.
Looks like someone needs to revisit this graphic.
And Archie I get your point. And yes, my comment that this is the worst defense in Husker history is an exaggeration. But come on, this is nit picking and just ignores the larger point I was making. Namely, that if these coaches want to avoid pressure from wing nut fans then they can put a better coached team on the field. This may not be the worst defense in Husker history but it is up there as one of the worst. And certainly, just going by stats, it is probably the worst pass defense in Husker history.
Social media or no social media, winning in a major sport like big time college football cures everything. If you win all is forgiven. If you lose, especially to your chief rivals, on a consistent basis, then the wolves come out. Even Osborne would have eventually fallen had he not started beating OU once in a while.
I am not "stuck in the 60's" as someone said above. But unless you were a Husker fan back then you have no frame of reference with which to criticize my point. People today talk as if the 70's were some kind of Stone Age. I assure you there were lots and lots of ways for fans to bring pressure on coaches and players. Are things worse now? For the last time: Yes! But don't exaggerate the differences. What has changed in college football that is more significant is not the prevelance of social media, but the influence of TV money, the facilities wars, and a culture of instant gratification that demands immediate success.
Just win baby. True in 1976. Still true today
Hope like crazy you're wrong about next year but the way things look now, my hope sure seems futile. Unless something changes drastically we are in for some long games next year...
Listen, social media is here to stay. Kids these days are used to crazy a$$ people (fans) following them around. It comes with the territory and every school has them. I gave up on this coaching staff the minute I found out our Special Ed Team Coordinator made $450,000 a year to run the worst unit in all of college football. That's like $13,000 a yard we're paying him. Are you f'ing kidding me??? If you don't realize Mike Riley set his boys up for life with coming to Nebraska, you are dead wrong. I wasn't a Bo fan per say, but he would've been at least 5-3 right now and who knows, maybe these kids would've played harder and squeaked out another win or 2 for him and we could be 6-2 or 7-1.
You cares what Bo would have done. Anything written about him is just speculation. Go to Youngstown if you are concerned with him. What isn't speculation is Riley's 3-6 record. Mike increased his income by roughly a million per year. I think that will help his retirement fund. Most of his assistants are never going to make this much money again.
Our run defense is stout despite injuries, our LB play has been good despite roster problems and injuries, and our secondary athletes simply aren't very good without serious safety help (which isn't our scheme anymore). I'm willing to wait a couple years to see what happens when we get the roster straight, get some depth, and recruits some more legit guys into the secondary.