Post by 2ndGenBeaver on Sept 28, 2017 8:28:59 GMT -8
A problem that these blue blood programs face (Ped State, Louisville, Kentucky, Baylor, etc.) is they get too hooked on winning, and their fan base/donors/alumni keep ratcheting up (down?) how far they are willing to sell out in order to win.
I would much rather have my school mired in mediocrity from a W-L perspective than open up the paper and find out how low our version of JoePa or Pitino were willing to go for those Ws.
Wonder how low AZ and USC are willing to go......
Go Beavers!
I'm not saying this is you, but typically it's a lot easier to take the high road when your team already sucks. It's why there's so many Beaver fans salivating at the thought of the Ducks getting entangled in this. That way we can blame all the losses over the past twenty years on them cheating and us having high moral character rather than us just not being very good.
Note that all I said was "I would much rather have my school mired in mediocrity from a W-L perspective than open up the paper and find out how low our version of JoePa or Pitino were willing to go for those Ws.". I want Ws just like the next fan, but I am not willing to sell my soul in their pursuit. I DO think GA is checking all the boxes from a student-athlete perspective, and that is good. I DON'T think GA has me convinced he is a "good" football coach from a point of view of maintaining the continuity of momentum we seemed to have towards the end of last season and the current product on the field (W-Ls notwithstanding). When I taught at OSU/WOU, it was expected I would be professional in class and on campus, but also that my classes were effective and students learned the material identified for coverage in the class. GA is doing well at the first item, and (my opinion) questionablely on the second.
Now, more generally, I have been following the Beavers since 1987. Us being "good" from a W-L record in football has been more of an aberration in that time frame than a regularly occurring event. I tune into Beaver football for entertainment, to watch and appreciate the progression of the team and players, to enjoy the competition. I have almost NEVER tuned in with the expectation I was going to see a Rose-bowl bound team (one could construct a alternate history of what would have happened had the 'ucks not kept us out of the Rose Bowl those years, sometimes with questionable moves, or USC for that matter, with questionable moves, but I have more burning issues in my life than to get wrapped around the axle on things like that).
We have to separate out the "kids being kids" or "kids making mistakes as they grow" types of issues (I was young once, I made stupid/bad choices, some of them I hope the statute of limitations have expired on) from issues where the very ethics of leaders expected to have progressed beyond that stage are compromised. Bar fights fit this criteria, as long as they are few and far between (i.e. there is a teaching moment in there for the team, and you want to see the team grow from the event). LukeH's situation fits this in my mind as well, quite frankly. Mortgage payments to Mom do NOT, because that says more about the ethics of the leaders/employees, and less about kids growing.
God forbid, if someday OSU was hit with a scandal of the sort Ped State went through under the supposedly legendary but in my mind ethically compromised JoePa, I would disavow any relationship with OSU, burn all my gear, and go find some other hobby outside of following Beaver sports. I personally want to be entertained, watch kids grow, enjoy some competitive games, but do so knowing the leaders of the teams are not scum bags. I am astounded there are Ped State fans wanting to restore that guys' statue......
Go Beavers!
