Hard to be a Cat fan.

[SmellyCat]

I'm not saying all of the items below are equivalent in any way, but these are the problems that have plagued NU in the two major revenue sports over the last 20-some years that have absolutely nothing to do with the standard stuff that all schools deal with (e.g. injuries, transfers, bad calls, bad luck, coaching changes, arrests, etc.):

* Basketball coach bizarrely walks into the stands in the middle of a game
* Point-shaving scandal involving both football and basketball
* Former basketball coach is murdered in random shooting by white supremacist on killing spree
* Football player dies on practice field.
* Head football coach dies unexpectedly
* The union.
* This Vassar thing, which we're only just now trying to figure out - surely more will come out.

Not sure I have a point, other than to just put this all in one list. I mean, wow.

 

[Wildcatfootball12]

No.

Every program in the country has problems, the stuff at NU stands out to you because you are an NU fan while you gloss over bizarre events for other programs. Every program in the country can make a list like this.

Its called availability bias.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Does not even approach the same universe as Penn State.

Some unsavory things at Harvard and Columbia of late, but the institutional response left little doubt on their tolerance of that stuff (they don't).

The only thing on your list I would classify as institutional failure is the point shaving. That was worse than the Dark Ages. The Vassar thing is all allegation at this point.

 

[IdahoAlum]

It could be worse -- Baylor.

 

[DaCat]

It could be worse -- Baylor.

You guys forgot having to sit through a record-breaking losing streak in football. The football team did not win A SINGLE FOOTBALL GAME from my freshman year until my junior year. So cry me a fricking river. I nearly threw my arm out throwing marshmallows to entertain myself while we were getting whipped 63-0.

 

[WoodersonCat]

I loved it when Byrdsong went into the stands and kicked up his feet. Loved it! That was great coaching - particularly given that it was the pre-Instagram/twitter world.

 

[Fitz51]

No.

Every program in the country has problems, the stuff at NU stands out to you because you are an NU fan while you gloss over bizarre events for other programs. Every program in the country can make a list like this.

Its called availability bias.

100 percent yes.

 

[SmellyCat]

No.

Every program in the country has problems, the stuff at NU stands out to you because you are an NU fan while you gloss over bizarre events for other programs. Every program in the country can make a list like this.

Its called availability bias.

Yeah, I should have known that, especially since I was a psychology major...at Northwestern! I just thought it was an especially odd list of of tragedies and experiences that you don't see at a lot of other schools. I'm sure many other schools could take a 25-year period and come up with weird stuff. Notre Dame had Manti T'eo and Declan Sullivan and Lizzy Seeberg. Baylor had someone murdering his own teammate. And of course Penn State, even if nothing else happened, has its own story bigger than all of ours put together.

 

[SmellyCat]

I loved it when Byrdsong went into the stands and kicked up his feet. Loved it! That was great coaching - particularly given that it was the pre-Instagram/twitter world.

I forget...what was his motivation for doing it? Didn't he try to claim he felt it would motivate the team if they thought he was temporarily insane?

 

[willycat]

Does not even approach the same universe as Penn State.

Some unsavory things at Harvard and Columbia of late, but the institutional response left little doubt on their tolerance of that stuff (they don't).

The only thing on your list I would classify as institutional failure is the point shaving. That was worse than the Dark Ages. The Vassar thing is all allegation at this point.

You can add nd to the list.

 

[mickbula]

You guys forgot having to sit through a record-breaking losing streak in football. The football team did not win A SINGLE FOOTBALL GAME from my freshman year until my junior year. So cry me a fricking river. I nearly threw my arm out throwing marshmallows to entertain myself while we were getting whipped 63-0.

Mr. DaCat, while you were throwing marshmallows, I was in the parking lot getting drunk and eating chicken wings at tailgate parties. You should have joined us.

 

[xxxbobxxx]

You guys forgot having to sit through a record-breaking losing streak in football. The football team did not win A SINGLE FOOTBALL GAME from my freshman year until my junior year. So cry me a fricking river. I nearly threw my arm out throwing marshmallows to entertain myself while we were getting whipped 63-0.

Now there is a potential class action lawsuit!

 

[Fitz51]

Now there is a potential class action lawsuit!

Don't tell Johnnie Vassar.