We received this beaut via the anonymous feedback form this past week, and I'd like to address it now.
How should you feel? You should feel numb. Apathy is the only answer, it's the only logical fan response to the product being put on the field.
That is unless, of course, you have some power to change things. If you're a big money donor, demand a change.
When you're at the game, don't overthink things. Just hope for a win, and root as hard as you can muster. The kids deserve your support, I guess. But when the inevitable loss comes home to roost, just shrug it off. Because for the overall health and long-term success of Virginia Football, losses today might mean wins tomorrow... if these losses help expedite the changes that need to be made.
Personally, I am skipping the Clemson game. I just can't bring myself to sink a whole day into getting my ass out there to lay witness to them destroying us by 50 points on our home field. I hope my empty seat helps to send some sort of a message, but I'm not holding my breath.
At the end of the day, fans are customers. Don't let them play you as a sucker by taking your money and giving you a substandard product. The kids deserve your support, but the program and administration most certainly does not.
You need to root for us to win every week and for Mike London to succeed beyond your wildest imagination. Period.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid everyone is focusing on Mike London way too much. Our oline sucks. I see those fucking crazy snaps and I know there's not a goddamn thing we can do about it because thats it for the oline. Nobody to bench. I see a game we could have won if our three top defenders were there. I heard people scream for Mike London to go for it at the end of the half, and then display some pretty stunning cognitive dissonance by suggesting then he should have kicked a field goal. NOT TEN FUCKING SECONDS AFTER SCREAMING FOR HIM TO GO FOR IT. First time I've ever jawjacked a Wahoo fan in the stand.
London is it until the end of next season. Period. Get used to it. You donthave to like it, but it is what it is. And you should root for us for kick ass and especially next year, when we're stocked on all levels, second year in our coordinators, to startbeing the team we know we can be.
I'm going to the Clemson game with my 5-year old daughter and 13 week old son. By myself. Wouldn't miss it for anything.
Yep. I root for us to win every week and I root for Mike London to succeed. Every week. I just can't justify spending my time to go watch us lose this coming Saturday. Sorry, I can't. And I won't.
DeleteWell, part of that response was to whomever left you that message. But that's fine man.
DeleteLook, Kendall, it's your blog and you have your reasons. You don't have to justify or explain them to anyone. If they don't like it, fuck' em. But do you think the players separate your "protest" about Mike London from your profession thatyou support them? I really don't think so.
These guys are getting a free ride at one of the finest Universities in the world. Best not to shelter them from the fact that this is a results-driven society. You play like shit and lose, you don't get to play in front of a bunch of passionate fans. Not everyone gets trophies and orange slices after the game. Want fans? Win games.
DeleteOkay. So you're asking everyone not to question your fandom, but then... I dunno, man. I hate to question anyone's fandom. It's like comparing dick sizes. Good for 12 year olds, maybe. And when I worked in the PICU at UVA, I missed a butt load of games. I missed more just hanging with my daughter. Those were the last Al Groh years. If anyone questioned my fandom then, I'd have been irritated, but like I told you- fuck 'em. I know the score, and that's all that matters.
DeleteBut this is different, imho. You support the players always, but then only for results. You support the Hoos, but not if they're losing. I dunno. And yeah, I get it, they're big boys. But they're Wahoos first. This ain't the Green Bay Packers, although thats a bad comparison because those folks show up in zero degree weather, sold out, even for 0-16 teams.
Just thinking out loud at this point.
Ha ha, my dick is longer than yours!
DeleteNah man, this is the same thing as you missing games during the Al Groh years in order to hang out with your daughter. My kids have fun at the games, but they'd rather be running around and playing at Kangaroo Jack's. This Saturday, we're doing Kangaroo Jack's instead of me dragging them to another UVA football game. That's all it is.
Kendall,If you don't want to go to the game send me your tickets. I have been a uva fan since I was 7 years old and would LOVE TO GO TO ANY GAME!!!!
ReplyDeleteRegardless how you feel about the coaches (#Fire London) I will be supporting the wahoo's on the field, even if it is from my living room (Because I can't afford to go). I will put on my UVA attire , and watch intently for 3 plus hours as the over throws , dropped passes, muffed punts, missed blocking assignments, missed tackles, stupid penalties, horrible coaching , bad clock management, and no halftime adjustments occur every week. Despite all this I believe the kids are truly trying to win and I am not going to give up on them.
If you can't do this I understand. Watching as the poor choices made by Jon Oliver (Fire him as well) play out every Saturday is like watching a version of Sisyphus with a UVA football twist.
But, since I do not have $11 million dollars to fix the problem, I am going to continue to support the 85 guys busting their ass every week trying to win, if you don't want to do it in person, I would gladly do it for you!
Is the only thing holding you back from attending games your lack of tickets? Seriously? Go rummage through your couch for loose change and buy some from a scalper on your way to the stadium. You can get into the game this weekend for less than ten bucks, I guarantee it.
DeletePersonally, I'd rather get some yard work done. Or spend time with my kids doing something they enjoy more than watching football.
Wait hold on. Now it's about london getting fired instead of us winning games? What the hell man? Even if you think we should have a different coach why root for him to stumble. Then its just you dont like london. Then its a personal vendetta not a concern for the team.
ReplyDeleteI don't root for him to stumble. He's already stumbled. I root for him to be replaced.
DeleteA top ten team is coming into town and you don't want to go? After all the crap you gave students about not showing up for a rainy VMI game, you're absconding for what should be a beautiful day vs #9 Clemson because you're too scared of losing?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I hope you learned from the GT game, where Watford did his best Air Raid impression that while throwing 60+ times a game may be flashy, it just won't get the job done consistently at this level. If we were a MAC or C-USA team sure
Two quick points:
Delete1) Our student fans are garbage. No way to spin it other than that. Not attending the VMI game when we're 1-1 and the season can still go either way is a lot different than not attending the Clemson game when we're assured a blowout loss, we're 2-6 and going nowhere fast, and there's a poignant statement to be made by being absent. Apples and oranges, my friend.
2) Whatever our shitty offense is, just because we happened to throw it a lot in a losing effort against GT, doesn't mean it was the Air Raid. The Air Raid is an actual system, not just a bunch of passing attempts because we couldn't run and because that's what the defense was giving us.
How is there a difference between VMI and Clemson? One game is a guaranteed win while the other a guaranteed loss regardless of record beforehand. Students probably will go to the Clemson game because fan support could help the Hoos potentially make a game of it. NC State was in the game early against Clemson, so it could be close for a bit if Clemson overlooks us. Fan support against VMI means nothing, and the weather certainly hurt attendance. I'm not a London fan, but want him to turn it around because think how well he recruit if he was winning.
DeleteThere's not really a difference. Look, I was (am?) just annoyed with our student fans for not filling up their section of the stadium. I can't blame anybody for not going to the games right now, but early in the season you don't know how good or bad we'll be, and I just think the students should be out there doing their part. That's all. Like with everything else, we're arguing over symptoms here. Winning cures all ills.
DeleteI agree with most of the comments above. Don't let your frustration stop you from being a true fan. The team has not given up and we as fans should not give up on them. This is the time when the team needs us the most. Its never a good idea to not show up for games because it feeds into the perception that uva is full of fair weather fans. Even if you get your wish and mike London is fired, you have to wonder, who would want to come and coach at a program with lousy fan support. Its time for fans to suck it up and get behind your team.
ReplyDeleteI hear you man, I just need to take a week off. Don't worry, I put my tickets in the hands of someone else who will go to the game. I'm not burning them or anything. I just want a happy Saturday, is all.
DeleteAlso, the anonymous person above me is right. This air raid, spread offense is not working and it will not work. If you look at the last 4 or 5 games, We seem to move the ball well whenever we run the pro style offense. Then for some reason we go back to running the pistol, read option, and we will began to lose yardage, or have a high snap or something else will go wrong. David Watford is getting much better as a passer each game but our strength is kevin parks and the running game. We have to get back to running the football in pro style formations.
ReplyDeleteYou can't do it half-assed. You have to make it your entire comprehensive, cohesive SYSTEM. Your IDENTITY. Dabbling in it from time to time doesn't work, nor can you take that as a fair indicator of what that sort of system could offer a program like ours.
DeleteIt's so easy to sit back in your recliner and criticize. That is your right. But, everybody out on that field is busting their butts to succeed. Sure, there are mistakes but they aren't professionals. Most are a year out of high school and they are learning. Maybe not as fast as we want but I do see improvement. I want to win just as much as anyone but as long as I see effort, I will support them.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, my friend. I support the players, too. I just won't be supporting the coaching staff or the administration with my attendance this coming Saturday. It's my time, it's my choice, and life is too short to waste it participating in an activity that I know will lead directly to unhappiness.
DeleteGuys,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you reading the blog, and I appreciate your comments. Please do not call my fandom into question, because I can assure that no fan hurts worse after a loss than I do. And THAT'S why I have to take a break.
I want and deserve a break from this shitty, shitty product. I'm taking that break this Saturday. Doesn't make me any less of a fan.
I think the issue is that you have frequently called out others, particularly students, for doing exactly what you will be doing this week....
DeleteGive it a rest. Students don't live in Richmond or have 2 kids not even in 1st grade yet. Students have literally nothing better to be doing with their time.
DeleteKendall doesn't have to waste his time going to see something he knows is going to suck just because he's a uva fan anymore than he has to waste his time going to see Last Vegas just because he's a fan of The Godfather II. (DeNiro is in both of those) Give it a fucking rest. There's a difference between supporting the team does not mean showing up. Kendall already paid for the tickets anyway, which is all the AD cares about.
There's a lot of hypocrisy in and around Virginia Football right now (think "Uncompromised Excellence"). I guess if that's what you think I am - a hypocrite - you can just chalk it up to being par for the course with this program.
DeleteMeanwhile, you certainly have the right to not visit the blog if you so vehemently disagree with my viewpoints.
But let me ask you this: Do you really think we have good student fans? I'm not talking about alumni or adults that buy season tickets or employees that buy faculty/staff tickets. Those fans mostly suck too. But do you actually disagree that our student fans are horrible?
Not once, not one single time has section 301 or 302 been filled to capacity this season. 301 topped out at half full against Oregon. We have terrible student fans. That is a statement of fact.
I don't "vehemently" disagree with anything sports related, sports are a diversion from the real world, granted UVa athletics is a diversion I care deeply about. I enjoy reading all viewpoints on UVa sports because debate is good and healthy. And I'm sure you don't want this space to be just an echo-chamber of your thoughts, there's no fun in that. Plus debate is fun.
DeleteI don't think UVA fans are inherently any worse than any other section of our fan base. There is a key difference, the alumni and other fans that pay to see UVa games are the same as the students who actually show up for games. The students who show up to games now (admittedly a small portion of the entire student body) will be the ones buying tickets later. Whereas the paying fans are the sort of "cream of the crop fans", the students include a large portion of people who couldn't care less about football unless we're wining. 301 and 302 being empty doesn't say much as the rest of the upper level is equally empty for most games, however for BYU, Oregon, Duke, and Ga Tech the lower portions of the student section have been just as or even more filled then the general public lower sections. Also, I doubt 301 or 302 will be packed to capacity, considering how you can continually pack a near infinite amount of people on the Hill. Our student fans are lousy, but I don't think our student fans have been any worse (or better) than any other fans; we're all lousy together.
Anyways, don't take anything on here personally, I just enjoy UVa sports and discussing anything and everything UVa related, just like you, and I didn't mean to insult your fandom.