If I were an anthropologist, sociologist, or some other kinda' ologist, I suspect I would find this thread rich and fascinating.
Permit an amateur observer of the human condition to pontificate a bit, please.
Some BY'ers really do look at the glass as half-empty. They see what's missing, they see what is not done well, they see mistakes strongly and clearly. They can't let that go, and they feel validated and empowered by noting these errors and flaws. If I were to do a "+/-" breakdown of posts, some folks would certainly have more "-" than "+".
Conversely, some folks see the glass as half-full. They see what's there, what is done well, and see success strongly and clearly. They don't understand those who dwell on the flaws, and feel validated and empowered by noting and celebrating the good stuff.
And, there is a contingent of pretty balanced folks, who see both flaws and strengths. Those folks often bring another factor to the debate, which is patience, a "longer-term" view, understanding that November and December are not February and March, and that Freshman year and early Sophomore year are not the same as late Junior year and Senior year. They rarely fall into the trap of extrapolating one game, or one half of a game, into a player's predestined future.
Yeah, I like to think that I usually fall into category "C", but, if I have a lean, it's towards "half-full".
Speaking just for myself, I get my pelt rubbed wrong-way when folks of the "half-empty" school seem to "write-off" a Husky based upon early results - when they don't exhibit patience, or a long-term viewpoint, when an 18 0r 19-year old student doesn't exhibit a level of poise or performance or consistency that many adult professional players or teams can't achieve.
I do believe we are spoiled rotten by this program's success, and the astonishing individuals who have come through it. I do believe that many of our expectations are ridiculously high. And, I do believe that we, as fans , do not have the right to use a comment or two by Geno to validate our demanding, critical viewpoints. He has a far, far greater and stronger relationship with these players, and has an entirely different job description. He's earned the right to call somebody out to a much different degree. But, even there, I don't think you would find him writing off players the way some of us do. He certainly will comment on what a player has or hasn't done, but I don't think he'd say anything along the lines of "I knew that player would never start/contribute/fail" or "they won't contribute/be any good going forward, so, I wonder if they'll stay".
I know that there are some things he's not "allowed" to say, and we aren't held to the same restrictions, but, ... sometimes I really wonder if some of us have spent any time around college-age people, or remember ourselves at that age.
Just to be contradictory, that doesn't mean that I fall into the "well, Geno's got to give everybody a chance/playing time, and, if he doesn't, then it's his fault if somebody doesn't produce" camp. I coached high school girls softball for 8 years, and summer/travel teams as well. I fought the "everybody on the team gets a turn, 'cause it's fair" mentality, for years. To put it bluntly, that mindset expires just about at the JV high-school level. Up until then - through Little League/Rec ball, through middle-school, through freshman year - player development is more important than winning (despite what some parent's think). But, varsity teams are playing for conference championships, and state tournaments. Results are printed in the paper, and individual performances are high-lighted. Players are vying for college attention, and maybe scholarships. Wins matter at that level, so playing time is based upon how that contributes to winning. Not having sons, I do not know if the same is true in boy's sports, but, there always seems to be some girls and their parents who cling to the "everybody has to have a turn" mentality, even at the varsity level. JV ball is the pivot point - JV stands for Junior Varsity, and the JV coach has to send the message, whether explicitly or implicitly, that his/her job is identifying and developing varsity-level talent, both physical and mental - and, because of that, the "everybody gets a turn" mindset needs to start to change.
Sorry this has gone on so long, but, I think that we all bring a certain amount of baggage to our fan experience - some of which makes us more susceptible to being negative, positive, impatient, or holding the program to a "girl's" standard, or an "adult" standard, rather than a "college student" standard.
(and come to think of it I did go out with at least one rifle and flag girl, each)
I was much shallower in my yute.
