Do husker fans today have lower expectations?

B

Boy of the Corn

Three-Star Recruit
Marking 20 years from our last national championship (hard to believe), have husker fans finally settled for mediocrity?

It seems the majority of the preseason predictions have Nebraska coming in with no more than 7-8 wins and no better than 3rd in the Big 10 WEST. Yet the majority of the fan base I hear from seems more than willing to give Riley several years regardless of record.

I get Riley is a nice guy and Nebraska needed to change some culture after Bo left (you can't make enemies with the fans). I also wouldn't be surprised if we won 9 games this year if all goes right. I guess I just want to know where all the husker Koolaid is coming from because I am having a hard time seeing it. Have fans thrown in the towel as far as hoping for greatness! Have we become content with a football team and athletic department that is middle of the pack in the big 10 or is there a light somewhere at the end of the tunnel?

 
When fans have the power to hire head coaches, then we can talk about what we are or aren't settling for.

Until then, regardless of what we say, we're just along for the ride.

 
Do we have lower expectations?

Yes.

Because our teams haven't been nearly as good.

Kind of makes entirely logical sense, doesn't it?

 
Saying we're 'settling for mediocrity' is just not accurate. I don't think fans are 'settlling' at all but I think their expecations are more realistic is all. Nebraska fans, as a group, know football and are aware of the capabilities of the team as compared with other teams. There have been some years where expecations were unrealistically high and perhaps once or twice unrealistically low. I would say this year, national perceptions, are unrealistically low (I sure hope so) and Nebraska fans particularly are very realistic (cautiously optimistic).

To say Nebraska fans are accepting of medicore football is NOT true. Just because we don't get the pitchforks and torches and go up to the stadium and have a good old fashioned lynchin' and burn the stadium to the ground is not indication fans are happy or contented or 'accepting' or 'settling'. Riley and Company are on a short but realistic time frame for delivering more hope for improvement. The fans are willing to give Riley time because, after 18 years of gravitation into meodicority, we, down deep, understand the rise back up will take real time measured in years, not months and will not be easy. We are more comfortable with Riley because, while we as fans can lose our tempers and behave completely stupidly each and every week the outcome of the games is not what we would have loved to see, we don't want our coaches to look like a---holes and fools in front of national TV audiences.

 
Our fans are learning to have "realistic" expectations. It sure was great to win a national championship - Twenty years ago! Neither the players, nor the students on campus, even remember that. Our last Top 10 finish, in 2001, was Sixteen years ago. Most don't remember that either. The landscape has changed from years ago. We are just one of many programs with resources attempting to do what it takes to rise to the top. The program will be rebuilt one practice, one game, one year at a time. No magical answers, no magical coaches, no easy wins. After the 40-10 loss to close last season, let's just hope we take another step forward this year.

 
My expectations today compared to say 5 years ago are sh#t. It's a problem.

But, there is squat we can do about it exceot hope like hell we find a guy that delivers us relevance in the form of trophies.

 
I do not think we have lower expectations in as much as mediocrity is now the norm. Comments like "no more blow out losses", "if we could win the west", thrown in with wait until "X" arrives, insert excuses i.e. injuries, not "his" guy, whatever. Been a fan for a long time. Some of the above I have said and/or agreed with. I think some of it is "hoping" that one of the above rings true. Especially with getting the guys for his system.

Cally was a complete mistake, Bo reached his ceiling and Riley was a .504 coach before he got here. I am hoping that he turns things around. Recruiting is up, outsiders are talking about Lee. We still have some deficits i.e. losing Jones hurts. A lot. Lack of depth will take more than one year to fix. Unsure the issue there. We recruit "better" than the west and have for a while. Coaching, scheme, buy in, development all go into why the underperformance based on "talent". I think we have the talent. I really think we are missing the coaching and development. I'm specifically looking at Cav and Davis. We have the talent and depth on OL now. I thought we had it the past 2 years on D. (IMO Riley did as well as Banker was let go). Same with Reid as ST coach. Riley has been coaching for 40+ years, he knows what it takes and realized, possibly too late that his subpar staff, in spots, was sub par......Calling out the OL at media days was a shot at Cav. I liked it. TO was a gentleman and a consummate professional and roll model. I think he was also a fearless competitor who knew how to win. I am hoping we start to see that side i.e. competitor/winner from Riley.

 
All schools that have long stretches of being on top of the football world create fans that have unreal expectations. In reality a team's success can change overnight due to several factors. A coach moves on or retires. Injuries to key players. Scandal within the program. Other schools becoming better. Nebraska was on the cutting edge of player development for many years. Once Devaney and TO put the right pieces together we won national championships. Then other schools caught up to us.....legally or not. We moved from the B8 to the B12 and rules changed that were key to our success. We moved to the B10 and haven't recruited well enough to have national success. I still think if or when NU starts having great seasons the fans will come out of the woodwork.

 
Pedro Guerrero said:
My expectations are the same but my reaction to losses is different.
Click to expand...
That's how I am, as well. I still expect NU to regularly win 9-10 wins a season, with the occasional great season(s) of something better. 8 wins is kinda of a meh season in my opinion, and 7 or worse is not a good season. I expect greatness from Nebraska football.

With all that said, I don't freak out as much during losses. I used to scream and yell at the TV during losses, but I have realized it doesn't do any good. Now, I will get super excited during positive moments during big games, but I don't get as low during the negative moments.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top