Utefans, you can't coach, you can't play. So there's nothing you can do for our basketball program. Right? Wrong! Here's what worked for me last time--an extended deep freeze of apathy.
As a senior in college I watched the Utes shock the nation by knocking off top seeded UCLA and making it to the Sweet 16 after getting the only WAC NCAA bid. Jerry Pimm shortly thereafter left in disgust at the ill-tempered and ungrateful fan base, for UC Santa Barbara. Arnie Ferrin panicked and hired Pimm's top assistant, Lynn Archibald. I left college for law school a rabid Ute basketball fan, but with low expectations for the future. I knew about Archibald's past coaching experience at Idaho State before he was fired, and that the best players were graduating. So I was not happy with our AD, and my expectations were very low.
But my destination was Georgetown, and those were heady days for the Hoyas. My first year of law school they won a national championship. A Final Two (and a painful upset loss to Villanova in the title game) followed. I got married, moved to a new state, started my career and my family, and the Hoyas kept on trucking with the Reggie Williams teams, etc. Meanwhile, the Utes were losing, meeting my low expectations. I basically put Utah basketball out of my mind. I almost forgot about the Utes, which spared me a lot of pain.
Then in 1989 Georgetown played Ball State in the second round of the NCAA playoffs. I remember four things about that game. First, Ball State had a gaudy record, 29-2 or something. Second, Georgetown was heavily favored because, well, it was a Big East team, and Ball State hadn't played anybody. Third, to my irritation, Ball State hung close the entire game, and the Hoyas damn near lost a close game. Fourth, Ball State's coach was so enormously fat he was shocking to the eye. I had never before heard of or seen Rick Majerus.
A few weeks later, I heard that Chris Hill finally fired Lynn Archibald and had hired that same fat coach who was at Ball State. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned that we'd lose some cool points with such an enormously fat coach. I didn't think much about my basketball Utes for a number of months, until next thing I knew, they were themselves sporting a gaudy record . . . .
So, you see, the Utes need your apathy right now, not your pain, not you bitching. Just forget about them for awhile and things will work out. What else can you do! I hope you've got a good auxiliary team to turn to.
As for me, this season the Hoyas have a constellation of fabulous young talent, they have beaten two ranked teams showing a lot of grit down the wire, and are now themselves ranked. I'm looking forward to seeing how far JTIII's extremely young and retooled new team will go this season.
As a senior in college I watched the Utes shock the nation by knocking off top seeded UCLA and making it to the Sweet 16 after getting the only WAC NCAA bid. Jerry Pimm shortly thereafter left in disgust at the ill-tempered and ungrateful fan base, for UC Santa Barbara. Arnie Ferrin panicked and hired Pimm's top assistant, Lynn Archibald. I left college for law school a rabid Ute basketball fan, but with low expectations for the future. I knew about Archibald's past coaching experience at Idaho State before he was fired, and that the best players were graduating. So I was not happy with our AD, and my expectations were very low.
But my destination was Georgetown, and those were heady days for the Hoyas. My first year of law school they won a national championship. A Final Two (and a painful upset loss to Villanova in the title game) followed. I got married, moved to a new state, started my career and my family, and the Hoyas kept on trucking with the Reggie Williams teams, etc. Meanwhile, the Utes were losing, meeting my low expectations. I basically put Utah basketball out of my mind. I almost forgot about the Utes, which spared me a lot of pain.
Then in 1989 Georgetown played Ball State in the second round of the NCAA playoffs. I remember four things about that game. First, Ball State had a gaudy record, 29-2 or something. Second, Georgetown was heavily favored because, well, it was a Big East team, and Ball State hadn't played anybody. Third, to my irritation, Ball State hung close the entire game, and the Hoyas damn near lost a close game. Fourth, Ball State's coach was so enormously fat he was shocking to the eye. I had never before heard of or seen Rick Majerus.
A few weeks later, I heard that Chris Hill finally fired Lynn Archibald and had hired that same fat coach who was at Ball State. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned that we'd lose some cool points with such an enormously fat coach. I didn't think much about my basketball Utes for a number of months, until next thing I knew, they were themselves sporting a gaudy record . . . .
So, you see, the Utes need your apathy right now, not your pain, not you bitching. Just forget about them for awhile and things will work out. What else can you do! I hope you've got a good auxiliary team to turn to.
As for me, this season the Hoyas have a constellation of fabulous young talent, they have beaten two ranked teams showing a lot of grit down the wire, and are now themselves ranked. I'm looking forward to seeing how far JTIII's extremely young and retooled new team will go this season.
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