Going to say this here…. Every loss is not some validation to kill the program. | The Boneyard

Going to say this here…. Every loss is not some validation to kill the program.

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I get people’s frustration. I fall into this trap too. Winning is what this program needs and we are 0-2.

But, the players can’t have the pressure of the entire programs existence on their backs. They just need to go out, make plays, follow the game plan, and have some fun.

This fan base, and I include myself in this group, is so hungry for wins, we sometimes put the cart before the horse. Going 6-7 last year didn’t make us NC contenders.

I trust Mora’s experience and ability to keep our trajectory on upward climb, even if last week was a step back. But it’s getting so old when we tie in every step back with ‘shut the program down’.

Let’s see how this team and coaching staff respond.
 
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I get people’s frustration. I fall into this trap too. Winning is what this program needs and we are 0-2.

But, the players can’t have the pressure of the entire programs existence on their backs. They just need to go out, make plays, follow the game plan, and have some fun.

This fan base, and I include myself in this group, is so hungry for wins, we sometimes put the cart before the horse. Going 6-7 last year didn’t make us NC contenders.

I trust Mora’s experience and ability to keep our trajectory on upward climb, even if last week was a step back. But it’s getting so old when we tie in every step back with ‘shut the program down’.

Let’s see how this team and coaching staff respond.
It's only because we don't have a place at the big boy table right now. If we got into the Big 12 or were invited to the Big 10, not one of those people would be complaining about how bad the football program is. They would be packing the Rent to see teams like PSU, OSU, MSU and Michigan every year.
 
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I get people’s frustration. I fall into this trap too. Winning is what this program needs and we are 0-2.

But, the players can’t have the pressure of the entire programs existence on their backs. They just need to go out, make plays, follow the game plan, and have some fun.

This fan base, and I include myself in this group, is so hungry for wins, we sometimes put the cart before the horse. Going 6-7 last year didn’t make us NC contenders.

I trust Mora’s experience and ability to keep our trajectory on upward climb, even if last week was a step back. But it’s getting so old when we tie in every step back with ‘shut the program down’.

Let’s see how this team and coaching staff respond.
Agree.
 
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I get people’s frustration. I fall into this trap too. Winning is what this program needs and we are 0-2.

But, the players can’t have the pressure of the entire programs existence on their backs. They just need to go out, make plays, follow the game plan, and have some fun.

This fan base, and I include myself in this group, is so hungry for wins, we sometimes put the cart before the horse. Going 6-7 last year didn’t make us NC contenders.

I trust Mora’s experience and ability to keep our trajectory on upward climb, even if last week was a step back. But it’s getting so old when we tie in every step back with ‘shut the program down’.

Let’s see how this team and coaching staff respond.
Going into this season I thought Georgia state would be a tough game and honestly would have had them favored. I did not expect the team to get beatdown the way they did. I dont know what to say but team needs a huge improvement going forward
 
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I get people’s frustration. I fall into this trap too. Winning is what this program needs and we are 0-2.

But, the players can’t have the pressure of the entire programs existence on their backs. They just need to go out, make plays, follow the game plan, and have some fun.

This fan base, and I include myself in this group, is so hungry for wins, we sometimes put the cart before the horse. Going 6-7 last year didn’t make us NC contenders.

I trust Mora’s experience and ability to keep our trajectory on upward climb, even if last week was a step back. But it’s getting so old when we tie in every step back with ‘shut the program down’.

Let’s see how this team and coaching staff respond.
Very well stated! Go Huskies!
 
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I get people’s frustration. I fall into this trap too. Winning is what this program needs and we are 0-2.

But, the players can’t have the pressure of the entire programs existence on their backs. They just need to go out, make plays, follow the game plan, and have some fun.

This fan base, and I include myself in this group, is so hungry for wins, we sometimes put the cart before the horse. Going 6-7 last year didn’t make us NC contenders.

I trust Mora’s experience and ability to keep our trajectory on upward climb, even if last week was a step back. But it’s getting so old when we tie in every step back with ‘shut the program down’.

Let’s see how this team and coaching staff respond.
the basketball program plus the nature of "pro sports" fans mindset sets some unrealistic expectations. That being said the GaSt game was a massive egg.
 
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It's only because we don't have a place at the big boy table right now. If we got into the Big 12 or were invited to the Big 10, not one of those people would be complaining about how bad the football program is. They would be packing the Rent to see teams like PSU, OSU, MSU and Michigan every year.
Yeah, but even then you need to win. This program needs a complete overhaul. I think Mora started that last year. It’s a multi year process.

Sadly, just the fact people are upset when we lose is a step forward. The Last year under HCRE, it was how bad would we lose and could we keep it competitive.

Mora has some work to do. Let’s let him do it
 

Fairfield_1st

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It's only because we don't have a place at the big boy table right now.
It's a combination of this and how bad we've been. Our only chance at a seat...someday...is to erase the ghosts of football past with sustained .500 or better football and a couple upsets being sprinkled. It won't happen, but imagine what beating TN would due to that narrative.
 
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This is starting to sound like Monte Carlo / Gambler's fallacy.
 
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If we got into the Big 12 or were invited to the Big 10, not one of those people would be complaining about how bad the football program is. They would be packing the Rent to see teams like PSU, OSU, MSU and Michigan every year.
While this is true, it's not actually a good argument because you could say the same thing about virtually any program. If you need to be in the Big Ten for people to care, then you probably don't have a Big Ten program (and I realize there are a couple of exceptions, but it doesn't change the point).

I've always rooted for UConn football and will continue to do so, but at some point we do need to determine whether it's worth having football just to have it. The whole thing feels half-assed right now, and that's the worst place to be. Nebraska would go 3-9 in the Sun Belt for the rest of time if that were its only option, simply because its fans wouldn't be able to fathom a world without football. If we're not willing to make that same commitment, then I fear this is already a sunk cost.
 
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While this is true, it's not actually a good argument because you could say the same thing about virtually any program. If you need to be in the Big Ten for people to care, then you probably don't have a Big Ten program (and I realize there are a couple of exceptions, but it doesn't change the point).

I've always rooted for UConn football and will continue to do so, but at some point we do need to determine whether it's worth having football just to have it. The whole thing feels half-assed right now, and that's the worst place to be. Nebraska would go 3-9 in the Sun Belt for the rest of time if that were its only option, simply because its fans wouldn't be able to fathom a world without football. If we're not willing to make that same commitment, then I fear this is already a sunk cost.
I don't buy it that there are more than a couple dozen fanbases out there that would handle what's happened to us any better than we are. Take most programs and drop them out of their power conference league and have them suck for a decade and the result won't be too different.
 

pepband99

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Anyone going around saying something like what the OP citing, now, is a moron.

Unless you have a realignment fantasy where a basketball-only school gets a seat somewhere, the football program is fine. If anything, being an independent opens up both all sports and minus football options.
 
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Exactly.... Even during the historic Brady era Patriots run, there were some people jumping out of fifth story windows when the Pat's laid an egg from time to time.
 
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While this is true, it's not actually a good argument because you could say the same thing about virtually any program. If you need to be in the Big Ten for people to care, then you probably don't have a Big Ten program (and I realize there are a couple of exceptions, but it doesn't change the point).

I've always rooted for UConn football and will continue to do so, but at some point we do need to determine whether it's worth having football just to have it. The whole thing feels half-assed right now, and that's the worst place to be. Nebraska would go 3-9 in the Sun Belt for the rest of time if that were its only option, simply because its fans wouldn't be able to fathom a world without football. If we're not willing to make that same commitment, then I fear this is already a sunk cost.
Yeah, was going to respond with same. UConn suddenly in Big 10 would be a spike in interest.
But being the basement dweller in Big 10 won’t keep UConn fans interested.
I still maintain had UConn been successful in AAC, fans would still have come.
 
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Anyone going around saying something like what the OP citing, now, is a moron.

Unless you have a realignment fantasy where a basketball-only school gets a seat somewhere, the football program is fine. If anything, being an independent opens up both all sports and minus football options.
See it all the time. Just look at live game chat from Ga state game
 
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It’s good perspective. The angst isn’t temperamental over losing (although losing is the cause). I think many people desperately do not want a knife put in the program. So, when you hit a low with a devastating loss, it fuels the misguided that want to continue to bask in the illusory comfort of basketball success. This is an existential fight between those who see us as a niche university that is the basketball capital of the world and those that believe in UConn as national flagship university capable of winning not only in basketball but being competitive football too.

As an aside. - On the BB capital of the world move. That is exactly the wrong message to send to the rest of the country and that is exactly why we are thrown into the Gonzaga heap. While Dave was painting the floor licking his wounds, SMU bought their way into the ACC. This is the problem. An unwillingness/ lack of imagination.to do what takes to move up the food chain.
 
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I get people’s frustration. I fall into this trap too. Winning is what this program needs and we are 0-2.

But, the players can’t have the pressure of the entire programs existence on their backs. They just need to go out, make plays, follow the game plan, and have some fun.

This fan base, and I include myself in this group, is so hungry for wins, we sometimes put the cart before the horse. Going 6-7 last year didn’t make us NC contenders.

I trust Mora’s experience and ability to keep our trajectory on upward climb, even if last week was a step back. But it’s getting so old when we tie in every step back with ‘shut the program down’.

Let’s see how this team and coaching staff respond.
Good post, but if there’s always posters, as you say, who want the program shut down with every step back, I fail to see how those saying this are fans of Jim Mora and his program. Quite the contrary, beware of their true motives.
 
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As an aside. - On the BB capital of the world move. That is exactly the wrong message to send to the rest of the country and that is exactly why we are thrown into the Gonzaga heap. While Dave was painting the floor licking his wounds, SMU bought their way into the ACC. This is the problem. An unwillingness/ lack of imagination.to do what takes to move up the food chain.

Unfortunately, I agree. Instead of using our basketball success as a bargaining chip to leverage a way to get us in the door somehow somewhere, it is actually a weight pulling us down because any step backwards or even sideways that may impact basketball is unacceptable.

Football is going to have to do this on its own with the perception that we are a basketball school and gave up on football. The GA St loss was just one really bad loss. It was not a killer. But it was a pretty big step backwards from where we were progressing - for me more how the team lost vs the fact that the team lost. Let's see how the team and fans respond this week and the rest of the season. Go Huskies!!
 
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I get people’s frustration. I fall into this trap too. Winning is what this program needs and we are 0-2.

But, the players can’t have the pressure of the entire programs existence on their backs. They just need to go out, make plays, follow the game plan, and have some fun.

This fan base, and I include myself in this group, is so hungry for wins, we sometimes put the cart before the horse. Going 6-7 last year didn’t make us NC contenders.

I trust Mora’s experience and ability to keep our trajectory on upward climb, even if last week was a step back. But it’s getting so old when we tie in every step back with ‘shut the program down’.

Let’s see how this team and coaching staff respond.
Well said and needed at this point....What a positive statement if a decent crowd showed up for this upcoming game. Thanks for posting this.
 
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Good post, but if there’s always posters, as you say, who want the program shut down with every step back, I fail to see how those saying this are fans of Jim Mora and his program. Quite the contrary, beware of their true motives.
We all know most people on this board support UConn. We’ll always have visitors with different views and those are pretty obvious.

Of those that support UConn, it’s probably 100% that support men’s and women’s BB. But there is also a subset of those that despise UConn FB. It threatens BB and Big East. It’s probably less than 50% but more than 30%
 
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I don't buy it that there are more than a couple dozen fanbases out there that would handle what's happened to us any better than we are. Take most programs and drop them out of their power conference league and have them suck for a decade and the result won't be too different.
I don't disagree with that, but that's where we really get penalized for being late to the game. It's also where the flaws in New England's approach to growing the sport, historically, become most apparent. Not only has our region been limited to one FBS program for most of the sport's history, but it's been limited to the most exclusive, self-serving school in that region.

CFB is never going to be here what it is in the south or parts of the midwest, but it still yields more than enough talent to supply at least one competitive power football program. That Boston College has had the inside track on both UMass and UConn is why all of us might end up being left behind.
 

Jetskies

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i am a grad school uconn graduate, so not familiar with the culture of the university in the way an undergrad would be. i went to a small d3 school so was looking for an FBS team to cheer for. as a jets/mets/knicks/isles fan, i can stand my fair share of losing. but nothing has hurt as much as what i've seen since i became a fan of Connecticut. that 2018 season and then the 2021 season were some of the worst football i've ever witnessed in my life.

i could cheer for any team, but i chose uconn because it's personal. feel-good story aside, i'm saying this because i am invested somewhat in the program now, and I see winds of conference re-alignment blowing the sails of programs around me, but somehow my sail seems to be missing all the wind.

as others have said, it's not THIS GA St. loss. it's This loss, combined with the pitiful painful losses to mid teams over the years. I'm not even talking about the blowout losses to college football royalty like Michigan, Clemson, etc. Those I think we all understand.

my inventory of pain (i.e. demoralizing losses to meh/lame schools)
2023 - GA State
2021 - middle TN state
2021 - army
2021 - holy cross

And i'm sure others here have felt way more pain. I'm just a newbie so i won't take credit for pain i didn't experience. My point is, It's happening too much, and to too low-quality opponents.

I concede that right now, we are a basketball school, but it's clear that our admins don't WANT to just be a basketball school. I agree with them. IMO it's beneath flagship state university status, in a well-populated, well-funded state, to just give up on having a football team. This isn't North Dakota, Idaho, or Vermont. it's a state with 3.6 million people. Dude, that's a solid population. This state wants and deserves to have a flagship athletic program that puts it in competition economically with the other prominent states in the union. Basketball is not a flagship state sport - it is FOOTBALL. UConn is the only option here, and it sucks to not have it.


this is (at least partially) why people react the way they do after another loss like GA State.
 
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i am a grad school uconn graduate, so not familiar with the culture of the university in the way an undergrad would be. i went to a small d3 school so was looking for an FBS team to cheer for. as a jets/mets/knicks/isles fan, i can stand my fair share of losing. but nothing has hurt as much as what i've seen since i became a fan of Connecticut. that 2018 season and then the 2021 season were some of the worst football i've ever witnessed in my life.

i could cheer for any team, but i chose uconn because it's personal. feel-good story aside, i'm saying this because i am invested somewhat in the program now, and I see winds of conference re-alignment blowing the sails of programs around me, but somehow my sail seems to be missing all the wind.

as others have said, it's not THIS GA St. loss. it's This loss, combined with the pitiful painful losses to mid teams over the years. I'm not even talking about the blowout losses to college football royalty like Michigan, Clemson, etc. Those I think we all understand.

my inventory of pain (i.e. demoralizing losses to meh/lame schools)
2023 - GA State
2021 - middle TN state
2021 - army
2021 - holy cross

And i'm sure others here have felt way more pain. I'm just a newbie so i won't take credit for pain i didn't experience. My point is, It's happening too much, and to too low-quality opponents.

I concede that right now, we are a basketball school, but it's clear that our admins don't WANT to just be a basketball school. I agree with them. IMO it's beneath flagship state university status, in a well-populated, well-funded state, to just give up on having a football team. This isn't North Dakota, Idaho, or Vermont. it's a state with 3.6 million people. Dude, that's a solid population. This state wants and deserves to have a flagship athletic program that puts it in competition economically with the other prominent states in the union. Basketball is not a flagship state sport - it is FOOTBALL. UConn is the only option here, and it sucks to not have it.


this is (at least partially) why people react the way they do after another loss like GA State.
Roberson telegraphed his throws when he played at PSU. Hopefully he has improved since then.
 
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i am a grad school uconn graduate, so not familiar with the culture of the university in the way an undergrad would be. i went to a small d3 school so was looking for an FBS team to cheer for. as a jets/mets/knicks/isles fan, i can stand my fair share of losing. but nothing has hurt as much as what i've seen since i became a fan of Connecticut. that 2018 season and then the 2021 season were some of the worst football i've ever witnessed in my life.

i could cheer for any team, but i chose uconn because it's personal. feel-good story aside, i'm saying this because i am invested somewhat in the program now, and I see winds of conference re-alignment blowing the sails of programs around me, but somehow my sail seems to be missing all the wind.

as others have said, it's not THIS GA St. loss. it's This loss, combined with the pitiful painful losses to mid teams over the years. I'm not even talking about the blowout losses to college football royalty like Michigan, Clemson, etc. Those I think we all understand.

my inventory of pain (i.e. demoralizing losses to meh/lame schools)
2023 - GA State
2021 - middle TN state
2021 - army
2021 - holy cross

And i'm sure others here have felt way more pain. I'm just a newbie so i won't take credit for pain i didn't experience. My point is, It's happening too much, and to too low-quality opponents.

I concede that right now, we are a basketball school, but it's clear that our admins don't WANT to just be a basketball school. I agree with them. IMO it's beneath flagship state university status, in a well-populated, well-funded state, to just give up on having a football team. This isn't North Dakota, Idaho, or Vermont. it's a state with 3.6 million people. Dude, that's a solid population. This state wants and deserves to have a flagship athletic program that puts it in competition economically with the other prominent states in the union. Basketball is not a flagship state sport - it is FOOTBALL. UConn is the only option here, and it sucks to not have it.


this is (at least partially) why people react the way they do after another loss like GA State.
Great insight into how you and many others feel. As a season ticketholder since 1998 along with some others here, we know exactly what the potential is and it’s real. We can fill 40,000 and compete in the top 20-30 if we just get our act together. That means biting bullet and spending to get into a P5. SMU did it. Tulane and Memphis will be giving away 10 years of revenue share next because they get the long view.
 

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