Nice blatantly biased scewer of Pelini by ESPN

[Guy Chamberlin]

You can go to every program out there and they think ESPN is against them. But you live in this sheltered Nebraska world you have no real clue as to what is fiction and what is truth.

+1

This is the problem with every "the elitists are against us" conspiracy theory.

Sadly, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Pretty soon you DO get tired hearing from the whiniest and most insecure fanbase.

You could make a much better case that the national media has a pro-Nebraska bias. The story is always about Nebraksa's great football legacy, great fans, sell-out streak, the legendary Tom Osborne, and the fact that we're able to do all this in a wholesome cornfed state with a small, incredibly loyal population. In case you missed it, that is Lee Corso and Chris Fowler on Nebraska's very own legacy video, calling Nebraska fans the best, most knowledgeable fans in college football. Not "one of the best" or the kind of hedge you would expect from a supposedly objective national sports reporter. Can you imagine if they did that for another school? Oh yeah, the ESPN staff also voted two Nebraska teams among their all-time top three.

The national media didn't create the Lawrence Phillips story. It was a pretty bad story. The kind of story we loved passing along when it happened to Oklahoma, never assuming any media bias, just accepting that Oklahoma deserved it. And as I recall, it was the Husker fans who fretted amongst themselves that Tom Osborne had been able to assemble those dominant teams because he'd lowered the scholastic and character standards of his recruits. Phillips wasn't the only problem on that team.

It's entirely possible Desmond Howard was digging too far to make a biased point. I didn't see this particular piece and my take is that the Huskers already put the incident behind them.

But it is kinda funny how some folks here are talking about all the other coaches who are just as bad as Bo Pelini. How do you know those other coaches lose it on the sideline, bark at playes or have confrontational personalities? Unless you know them personally, you got that information from the national media and I'm guessing you didn't think it was biased when you passed it along.

There isn't a game - college or pro - where a sideline confrontation between player and coach, even assistant coach, isn't called out and analyzed. Sometimes it's no big thing. Sometimes it's a big thing. But it's always a thing.

 

[Count 'Bility]

I think people put too much stock in how something negative affects future recruiting. The media has been all over Saban especially when he was in the NFL and basically just walked over an injured player to his office. Guess what? Bama' doesn't have any problem with regards to recruiting. Some mamas might have a problem with this, but the majority just want their sons to make it to the NFL. They'll send them to whatever school has the best chance of doing it. Winning cures everything. It's no coincidence that some of TO's absolute best rated recruiting classes came after winning a NC or two.

Difficulty levels of recruiting of 95% of the programs in college football cannot be fairly compared to the difficulty of recruiting of programs like Bama, LSU, USC, Texas, and the Floridas. It's a whole lot easier when the best talent is literally in your back yard, regardless of perceptions of the coaches and programs.

We have a hard enough time as it is, and something like this can only make it harder. This, however, is a little contradictory to my usual attitude on recruiting with a situation like this. When a player is highly recruited, they get to know the coach as well as the particular coach that handles that region. After getting to know Bo and our program on visits etc, and they still decide to go elsewhere based on some obviously biased hatchet job report by ESPN, or becuase mommy's afraid that ESPN's portrayel of Bo is more real than the man she actually met, then so be it. We dont want the brat to begin with. IMO.

 

[knapplc]

You can go to every program out there and they think ESPN is against them. But you live in this sheltered Nebraska world you have no real clue as to what is fiction and what is truth.

No, it's not. In fact, this says more about how sheltered you are than Husker Fans in general. Go to any message board of any team and you'll find an "ESPN is biased against us" thread. It has nothing to do with "in this sheltered Nebraska world you have no real clue as to what is fiction and what is truth," it has everything to do with Nebraska fan being just like every other fan when someone says something bad about their program.

Before anyone goes calling out Nebraska Fan for being sheltered and having no real clue, how about climbing out from under that rock and getting a clue yourself.

 

[Lyons in the Sea of Red.]

You can go to every program out there and they think ESPN is against them. But you live in this sheltered Nebraska world you have no real clue as to what is fiction and what is truth.

No, it's not. In fact, this says more about how sheltered you are than Husker Fans in general. Go to any message board of any team and you'll find an "ESPN is biased against us" thread. It has nothing to do with "in this sheltered Nebraska world you have no real clue as to what is fiction and what is truth," it has everything to do with Nebraska fan being just like every other fan when someone says something bad about their program.

Before anyone goes calling out Nebraska Fan for being sheltered and having no real clue, how about climbing out from under that rock and getting a clue yourself.

 

[ZRod]

Guy the point of bringing up those other coaches is to show that it goes on all over the country in every major program, but only a select few are lambasted for it (i.e. Pelini and Tuberville, but apparently Pelini more so for some reason).

You didn't see the clip and that's fine, but I consider myself a pretty straight shooter and a honest person. I love my Huskers but I try to keep everything in perspective so here's my take.

Like I said before most of the crew, Herbstreit in particular, kept the discussion civil and well managed for not knowing all the facts. Corso kept his usual position he's expressed over the years that things should be handled behind close doors and you never yell at the kid, whatever. Fowler was just doing his usual hedging of the issue but Desmond just opened his mouth and let loose throwing all kinds of accusations and insinuation out there that had absolutely no grounding in reality. Most of his argument seemed to come from the incident in College Station and Pearlman's response. There was zero informed information from him from the past few years, and he went so far as to insinuated that Pelini was degrading players, ripping on families, and maybe physically abusing them and running a shady program as far as player treatment.

I'm still a little hot about this, so maybe that's skewing my vision, but it was just blatantly bad analysis. He was just uninformed and throwing things to see if they would stick, it was something more appropriate for reality TV then sports commentary.

 

[skersfan]

All of his posts were that ESPN is picking on Nebraska, I stated it happened everywhere else Nebraska FAN. If you can not read that I do not know what to say. Keep your nose in your own business would be a good idea.

I have said over and over it was unfair, it happended and we will have to deal with it. I have said over and over I think Bo is making a great effort to clean up his act.

No I do not like Bo, I never have. I listen to the continual love fest every single day. He is not a good head coach, will he ever be, who knows. We have squeaked by with some wins against less than stellar opponents, and again he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Read back during some of the in game posts and recall what was said.

I have very little concern for what either of you have to say. It always falls in line with the click step mentality. Nothing new.

This is a problem for Nebraska

 

[knapplc]

All of his posts were that ESPN is picking on Nebraska, I stated it happened everywhere else Nebraska FAN. If you can not read that I do not know what to say. Keep your nose in your own business would be a good idea.

I have said over and over it was unfair, it happended and we will have to deal with it. I have said over and over I think Bo is making a great effort to clean up his act.

No I do not like Bo, I never have. I listen to the continual love fest every single day. He is not a good head coach, will he ever be, who knows. We have squeaked by with some wins against less than stellar opponents, and again he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Read back during some of the in game posts and recall what was said.

I have very little concern for what either of you have to say. It always falls in line with the click step mentality. Nothing new.

This is a problem for Nebraska

1) Nobody cares that you don't like Bo. Your schtick with this anti-Bo stance is really old. Like, really, really old. If that's all you're going to contribute to every thread, every post, you're welcome to stop any time. We've recently banned several people who have done just that. Enough.

2) This board and all that's posted in it is my business, so if I'd like to comment on it, I will. Thanks for your concern.

3) Nobody here has said anything about Bo being great. Not once, not ever. This hyperbole where, if people aren't actively bitching about Bo they are 100% in love with him and everything he does is a cancer on this board. It's stifling actual conversation and I'm not having it. It ends.

 

[Count 'Bility]

Anyway, rant time. Here we go.

I am an "ESPN hates Nebraska" conspirist. I guess the proper term would be "National Media" rather than ESPN. I have felt this way ever since they (national media) drug Osborne threw the mud during the Lawrence Phillips fiasco in '95.

Here's my nutjob explanation of this position.

It is pure jealousy. Nothing more than pure, unequaled envy. Here's Nebraska. Rolling of 9,10, 11+ win seasons. Year after year. Conference Championships. National Championships. And has alway done it the right way. Never on probation. Never sanctions. I guarantee you our program was probed harder than any other in history during and after the 90's run. And obviously they came up with nothing. No one ever reported it, because just like when celebrities are acquitted of charges, it's barely reported. God forbid we axe previous perceptions. We do it right. Even after school, our players are doing good on a lot higher percentage. Think of all the great programs and they trouble theyve encountered. Not all. But alot. We've never had that issues, and in the mean competed with and even beat the crap out of the superstar, spoiled brat, overrated recruiting classes with the hard working, blue collar workhorse.

Now the thing. These see the writing on the wall. They've seen what our guys have done over the last few weeks. They know the potential. They see Nebraska coming coming back. And now they have to find a way to knock it down somehow. ALL THE FRICKIN bullsh#t GOING ON IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL TODAY, AND THEY HAVE TO CONTINUE TO STAB ONE OF, IF NOT THE FINEST, PROGRAM IN THE GAME, THAT ALWAYS DOES IT RIGHT.

I know we shouldnt watch. Honestly, I did not see it, but can make pretty accurate assumptions based on factual track records of these a$$hole$. Desmond Howard obviously the worse. And then for us as a University to have the balls to allow them to do a little segment for the Osborne halftime tribute sickened me. I know we shouldnt worry about it, but as one who cant stand how perception is used in this world, I clearly understand this constant (yes, it is constant at this point) and pre-meditated slandering can really harm our program in the long run. We may not care about ESPN, but many to most do. It's all there is.

The University of Nebraska needs to take a very active stance on this crap. No other program receives this kind bias treatment. No commentators game to game are not an issue, but it's the constant tone against Nebraska that is bs due to pure envy. I guess maybe we're just too damn nice. Maybe if Gameday comes to Lincoln next year, (UCLA?, early spec.) we should treat'em like sh#t, boo the whole time, and litter the set with beer bottles and lettuce, then maybe we'll get the love to that of the SEC.

Rant done. I know I'm nuts, but I know I'm not alone.

This was my original rant. I openly admit that I hold a nutjob position on this. I know it's a great minority, and I'm also not afraid to stand up for my belief one way or other.

It just gets me that they have to do something like this, with all the shady crap going on or has gone on in college football, they have to drag Bo's name through sh#t again, when anyone who has any sort of educated point of view about him, will be blatant in confirming that he is a good man that has earned the trust and love of 99% of his players. It's just another example of media taking an easy road instead of trying to tackle a real issue, all for the sake of their precious ratings. Business as usual, I know. Dont mean I can't still complain about it, right?

 

[skersfan]

For sure SIR, and now that we have heard from behind the Wizards current all will be well. Follow in click step or leave.

I will say my ten I love Bo's for you SIR.

Anything else I can do your majesty.

 

[knapplc]

Act like a grown up.

 

[skersfan]

I will continue to post what I think is true. Just as every other poster has the right to do. You want to ban me have it. I will not lose a moments sleep over it.

I suggest you read through the post and find where I attacked Bo. I stated repeatedly he was making improvement, that the article was unfair, but that it was in front of the nation. Most of those are not die hard Nebraska fans, and will not be so willing to think it was all peachy. If you do not think it will have an affect on recruting, then you have never been in sales.

I do not believe the conspiracy theory either, on the same day I think Bell got a helmet sticker. But we never mention the positives that ESPN throws our way, only they hate us and pick on us. Just like every other major program on the planet.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

You can go to every program out there and they think ESPN is against them. But you live in this sheltered Nebraska world you have no real clue as to what is fiction and what is truth.

No, it's not. In fact, this says more about how sheltered you are than Husker Fans in general. Go to any message board of any team and you'll find an "ESPN is biased against us" thread. It has nothing to do with "in this sheltered Nebraska world you have no real clue as to what is fiction and what is truth," it has everything to do with Nebraska fan being just like every other fan when someone says something bad about their program.

Before anyone goes calling out Nebraska Fan for being sheltered and having no real clue, how about climbing out from under that rock and getting a clue yourself.

Uhm....not to speak for skersfan, but I think the "sheltered" aspect means passionate fandom rather than the specific geography. He's actually agreeing with you, Knapp. His posts are at least as "grown up" as anyone on here.

Let's not get too imperious in what constitutes appropriate Husker fan discourse.

 

[Vizsla1]

Skerstan is correct on some of his points- the national perception of Bo is not as high as one would wish it was. Look at the arrow TO continues to take to this day for allowing, he who shall not be named, back on the team after his arrest. The best way for Bo's perception to change is to continue to win and run a clean program. That will trump all other chaos that develops on the side lines or at a local event here in Nebraska. After all of that, he can write a book like Bobby Knight and tell the world he did it his way and everyone who disagrees can kiss his arse.

 

[skersfan]

As far as fans that truly dislike Bo, I really do not think wins or losses will change their feelings. The ones I talk to mention bully, out of control, intimidation. Sounds like a Marine Corps drill instructor to me. I have no problems with his yelling and screaming, I know all coahces do, mine did, but he has to be more aware of his surroundings and how likely it is to get on TV. That is where the problem is, not the actual happening. Most players know they are going to get their butts chewed. But mommies do not like it period. And on choosing a school, my guess mom is about 65% of where he ends up. You always sell the mom first if you get the opportunity.

And for the millionth time Accountability and Knapplc, I do not want Bo fired. Again not because I do not like him, but because the program could not with stand another coaching search. He has to grow up, become a head coach, run the program like it is supposed to be.

He has done remarkably well in developing students, better than anyone before him. That is a major hurddle for me. He has kept most of he kids noses clean, a real job to say the least. He is working on controlling his temper, and has made huge strides in that. I think he still micro manages too much, but that is due to teaching all of his coaches their jobs, which he has not even had time to learn his. He has to understand that his anger is a shortfall, and again maybe not for another coach doing the same thing. He has to correct this to keep it off the TV screen.

Also I have posted after every single game, to the positives that I saw, and I did not think what I posted was a negative, just and observation of what was going on. Most feel it is not important, I do.

 

[zoogs]

This is the problem with every "the elitists are against us" conspiracy theory.

Sadly, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Pretty soon you DO get tired hearing from the whiniest and most insecure fanbase.

You could make a much better case that the national media has a pro-Nebraska bias. The story is always about Nebraksa's great football legacy, great fans, sell-out streak, the legendary Tom Osborne, and the fact that we're able to do all this in a wholesome cornfed state with a small, incredibly loyal population. In case you missed it, that is Lee Corso and Chris Fowler on Nebraska's very own legacy video, calling Nebraska fans the best, most knowledgeable fans in college football. Not "one of the best" or the kind of hedge you would expect from a supposedly objective national sports reporter. Can you imagine if they did that for another school? ...

But it is kinda funny how some folks here are talking about all the other coaches who are just as bad as Bo Pelini. How do you know those other coaches lose it on the sideline, bark at playes or have confrontational personalities? Unless you know them personally, you got that information from the national media and I'm guessing you didn't think it was biased when you passed it along...

There isn't a game - college or pro - where a sideline confrontation between player and coach, even assistant coach, isn't called out and analyzed. Sometimes it's no big thing. Sometimes it's a big thing. But it's always a thing.

Great post! (edited to highlight a few parts) I agree completely. The Tuberville thing got some serious attention too. Especially when he tried to weasel out of it by saying he was just trying to get his assistant off the sidelines.