I Almost Quit this Blog

I almost quit this blog tonight, or at least switched to all Twins Royals all the time after tonight's embarrassing loss to Iowa, but luckily some sanity kicked in.  As I was dropping off the Old Man, Bear, and Snacks after the game Bear flipped me off and Snacks threw some sort of crumpled up paper at my head and said, "Don't take it so hard, you're not on the team" and you know what, he's right.  I grew up with this team.  I've been going to games since I was born, the Clem years happened as I was becoming a basketball player, and the Final Four run happened my second year of college when the games became "EVENTS" and everyone gathered together to watch the games in tiny dorm rooms and professors of night school classes let everyone out early if there was a game that night.  So yeah, I sometimes get a little too wrapped up in this program, and that was exacerbated by the hiring of Tubby Smith (and starting blogging about this team at that time probably didn't help).

I had been through the disappointment of Rick Rickert, I had been through the Kris Humphries debacle, and I had been through the 9 win season or whatever it was that felt like I was stuck in Punxatawney.  I had made my peace with the program as what it was, and it was fun.  I still remember Shamala going off against Michigan at the end of yet another lost season, and it was fun.  Then, out of nowhere (particularly considering it was in the internet age) Tubby was hired.  And then he found Ralph.  And Devoe.  And kept Rodney and Royce, and expectations were raised, and I thought the program was on it's way to NCAA invites every year with some upside.  And that is why I got sucked so far in I could barely see my way out, like the Millennium Falcon and that giant purple space worm.

Honestly I'm not sure why it took so long, but tonight really hammered home to me that getting so let down by this team/program was my own fault.  I was becoming everything I hated about sports fans because I was giving too much credit where it wasn't due.  I should have known better and it's all my fault.

I had been mentally preparing a truly epic diatribe full of venom and vigor basically attacking everyone and especially Tubby and Ralph, but thanks to Snacks' comment (and Bear's rude genture) I'm backing off and going to approach the rest of the season the same way the team is - lackadaisical and without a plan.  I mean, tonight's game made it clear the team suffers from a lack of talent, a lack of coaching, and a lack of effort - what is there to write?

All three of those things can be directly tied to Tubby Smith, and if that wasn't enough for you just take a look at the game tape and watch how baffled the players were once Iowa went into their zone.  One or two possessions could be chalked up to the players being surprised or confused, but when an entire half goes by and the team still has no idea what to do or where to go that squarely falls on the coach's shoulders.  How many possessions did the Gophers have against it and how many times did anybody attack the gaps?  I can remember exactly one time and Joe Coleman scored when he did it.

But you know what?  I'm going to stop here.  I need some perspective and so I'm going to let this go for now, but may write more later in the week.  It's clear to me now that I was expecting the Tubby Smith from the Tulsa and Georgia and maybe sorta Kentucky days, and I think we got a different one or something.  Or maybe Minnesota is a wasteland for college basketball.  Either way, we're going in a different direction here at DWG.  Kindler, gentler, and more relaxederer.  At least until the next game.

Seriously though, poor effort, poor execution, dumb play, and no game plan make baby jesus cry.  The team has nearly zero Big 10 caliber talent, piss poor coaching, and the center is the gooiest, softest center outside of a Caramelo.  I plan to finish out this year in a more positive light, but it ain't gonna be easy.

RALPH.  CARAMELO IS HOW YOU FEEL INSIDE, RALPH