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Worst idea ever. Worst quote ever.
(Yes, I'm aware I sound like the Comic Book Guy)
Fitzy, I've been sitting in the seats since 2001. I've seen some great football, and some bad football. Above all, I root for my team through thick and thin. One thing I will NOT accept is acceptance of mediocrity,
Your quote, "sometimes you have to embrace the suck" really irritates me. Yeah, you probably meant it in jest, but still, you said it in the midst of a second 5-7 season.
Remember when we won our first bowl game in 60+ years? You were quoted
We're here, and we're here to stay
Yeah, but what happened?
Subpar seasons due to injuries, unionization distractions, or who the hell knows what. It was all downhill after the OSU game in 2013.
Do you know what embracing mediocrity might mean to a generation of Northwestern fans?
Bad memories from the Strotz era when the school apparently wanted to get out of D1 and Big Ten and go to the Ivy League.
The dark ages. When Northwestern was one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, and arguably all of Division one.
You and I were too young for the most of it, but by God it stunk.
Luckily now things are different.
The administration is firmly behind football. President Schapiro is at every game. Also, your boss Jim Philips recognizes your value and pays you apparently 2.2 million a year. You'd probably be paid more if the game-changing lakefront athletics facility wasn't being built as we speak.
You've allegedly gotten offers from Michigan and Penn State and turned both of them down. Maybe even an offer from Notre Dame.
And dammit, you're probably harder on yourself than an anonymous blogger like me. You know what it takes to get us to a bowl game. Granted, yeah I'd love for us to get a national championship or win the Big Ten.
There's a small element of the Northwestern fan base that wants you fired for not yet winning a Big Ten championship. I'm not kidding. They are unrealistic and delusional. You have a better record than your predecessors, in fact, you're the winningest coach in school history!
The vast majority of the Northwestern fanbase appreciates everything you do. We care about the excellent graduation rate, the clean program, and the product on the field. In that specific order.
I have no reason ever to doubt that #1 and #2 will ever change. This is about #3.
I'd love for us to have the success of 1995 and 1996, when we went 15-1 in the Big Ten. Realistically, I want us appearing in bowl games and winning them more often than not. I want us making a run at the Big Ten championship every once in a while. We were, what 53 seconds away from that in 2012?
Don't you enjoy going someplace warm in December or preferably January?
You know what you have to do. Get it done.
Lastly: GO CATS!
Also, get back the HAT. It sucks being Hatless.