Just an Observation

[diggerfoot]

Still on the first page of threads is DD's excellent first hand observation of the last exhibition game, with the following stats: 21 responses, 1562 views.

The top thread this morning is about Tennessee's loss, started only last night, with the following stats: 101 responses, 1732 views.

Oh well.

 

[meyers7]

Still on the first page of threads is DD's excellent first hand observation of the last exhibition game, with the following stats: 21 responses, 1562 views.

The top thread this morning is about Tennessee's loss, started only last night, with the following stats: 101 responses, 1732 views.

Oh well.

Exhibition game vs a real game. Expected result vs a surprise result.

 

[doggydaddy]

Still on the first page of threads is DD's excellent first hand observation of the last exhibition game, with the following stats: 21 responses, 1562 views.

The top thread this morning is about Tennessee's loss, started only last night, with the following stats: 101 responses, 1732 views.

Oh well.

Tennessee losing their first game of the season against a lower level mid major is much more interesting than anything I could post.

 

[diggerfoot]

So, up for a study and a wager? Leaving out an unexpected loss by UConn, which I grant would lead to a total meltdown, are you willing to wager that if we control for real games and unexpected results with other teams we will get the same relative emphasis?

 

[doggydaddy]

So, up for a study and a wager? Leaving out an unexpected loss by UConn, which I grant would lead to a total meltdown, are you willing to wager that if we control for real games and unexpected results with other teams we will get the same relative emphasis?

Just Tennessee losses.

 

[UConnChapette]

And Notre Dame losses

 

[diggerfoot]

Just Tennessee losses.

Bingo!

 

[magical2]

Still on the first page of threads is DD's excellent first hand observation of the last exhibition game, with the following stats: 21 responses, 1562 views.

The top thread this morning is about Tennessee's loss, started only last night, with the following stats: 101 responses, 1732 views.

Oh well.

Car crashes,fires,etal seem to get the public's attention more so than positive news!
digger appreciate your posts!
Ira

 

[Wiltonian]

So, up for a study and a wager? Leaving out an unexpected loss by UConn, which I grant would lead to a total meltdown, are you willing to wager that if we control for real games and unexpected results with other teams we will get the same relative emphasis?

Anyone remembers what was the response for the loss to St. Johns last season?

 

[Wbbfan1]

A Baylor loss would generate as many posts as a ND & Tenn loss would.

I imagine a Stanford home loss would generate quite a few posts as the players want to end Stanford's home winning streak, like they did to UConn's overall winning streak.

 

[Icebear]

Digger is acompletely unreasonable and irrational in his sanity. We cannot afford having people start making reasonable and sane posts. Nor can we afford to wait for people to start making them. Outside of digger and maybe one or two others the board would be crickets.

 

[Biff]

Digger is acompletely unreasonable and irrational in his sanity. We cannot afford having people start making reasonable and sane posts. Nor can we afford to wait for people to start making them. Outside of digger and maybe one or two others the board would be crickets.

I'd add that blatant reason and sanity will not be tolerated and any repeat offense will be dealt with harshly! I caution anyone from thinking so radically as to go down that path.

 

[doggydaddy]

I'd add that blatant reason and sanity will not be tolerated and any repeat offense will be dealt with harshly! I caution anyone from thinking so radically as to go down that path.

You can count on me, boss.

 

[diggerfoot]

Meyers should have made the wager because I'll concede ahead of time that unexpected Baylor and Notre Dame losses would garner as much attention as Tennessee, but that helps make my point. A few years ago it would have been Rutgers losses, not Notre Dame, or Duke losses, not Baylor, that would have attracted as much gleeful attention as Tennessee. Sure, there are folks who still get pleasure out of a Rutgers or Duke loss, but a thread about it is not going to get 5,000 views because what's the big deal? While a Baylor loss might attract 5,000 views now, three years from now an unexpected Baylor loss won't be much more than a blip on here unless ETT makes some dubious claims in defense.

I'm echoing Kibitzer here. Tennessee is no longer relevant for any of the "normal" reasons behind rivalries; thus, they continue to be so relevant here for "abnormal" reasons. I'd be interested in the reactions of other fan bases. Granted, ours is the most active and will draw the most active attention to any WCBB news, but I wonder how other fan bases besides ours would react to an unexpected Baylor loss v. a UConn loss v. a Tennessee loss. I'm guessing there would be the most attention paid to an unexpected UConn loss, even over Baylor. I doubt an unexpected Tennessee loss would generate anywhere near the gleeful attention anywhere else (OK, maybe on a Vanderbilt fan board as well).

This isn't meant to be a lecture, hence the initial title of "observation." I leave it up to our wonderful mods (yes, I'm sucking up again) what people "ought" to post about, but as hinted elsewhere I just like things to make sense. The preoccupation with Tennessee no longer makes sense to me and led to a semi-amused "observation."

 

[doggydaddy]

The preoccupation with Tennessee no longer makes sense to me and led to a semi-amused "observation."

Baylor/Duke/ND fans don't insult Geno and selected UConn players, present and former. Baylor/Duke/ND coach didn't report to the NCAA any possible UConn infractions using 30+ pages of Boneyard threads as part of the report. Baylor/Duke/ND moderators don't allow the insults on their board and actually report one of the UCONN posters to the FBI.

I can go on, but this rivalry has been more about the fans than the teams since Pat decided Geno was a cheat and stopped playing UConn. And it's more about a select group of UConn fans and a select group of TN fans.

It makes perfect sense from that perspective. Petty, bitter and at time childish? No doubt.

 

[easttexastrash]

Meyers should have made the wager because I'll concede ahead of time that unexpected Baylor and Notre Dame losses would garner as much attention as Tennessee, but that helps make my point. A few years ago it would have been Rutgers losses, not Notre Dame, or Duke losses, not Baylor, that would have attracted as much gleeful attention as Tennessee. Sure, there are folks who still get pleasure out of a Rutgers or Duke loss, but a thread about it is not going to get 5,000 views because what's the big deal? While a Baylor loss might attract 5,000 views now, three years from now an unexpected Baylor loss won't be much more than a blip on here unless ETT makes some dubious claims in defense.

No, I agree. Unless Kim comes up with a big class in 2014 Baylor has seen its last contender team for a while. We must enjoy it while it lasts. However, Kim will come up with a great team every 4 or 5 years. I'm hopeful that Turner and McCowan want to stay close to home. However, Texas, if they can have some success this year and next, may have a chance at Turner, especially with the AAU coaching connection.

In the coming years it will be a three team race between UCONN, Duke and North Carolina.

 

[diggerfoot]

I can go on, but this rivalry has been more about the fans than the teams since Pat decided Geno was a cheat and stopped playing UConn. And it's more about a select group of UConn fans and a select group of TN fans.

It makes perfect sense from that perspective. Petty, bitter and at time childish? No doubt.

Isn't the worst thing you can do to their fans is ignore them and make them as irrelevant as their team?

 

[doggydaddy]

Isn't the worst thing you can do to their fans is ignore them and make them as irrelevant as their team?

Maybe. But it's not as much fun as poking at them when they are down.

 

[msf22b]

To answer Wilton fan's query, the St. John's loss resulted in a huge outcry; it actually started before the game as a few us were concerned about the team's play at that juncture and there was a lot of back and forth about the nature of true believers, could loyal fans on the 'yard still keep their critical facilities intact et al.

The loss just compounded that discussion as well as being a vehicle for questioning some of Geno's moves and the oft-repeated mantra about good practice=minutes. As we all watched the games but were excluded from practice, I for one, became skeptical of something I couldn't see.

The difference this season is the extraordinary wealth of talent, frightening isn't it?

Still, they might lose, as has been prognosticated by a few and that might even be tolerated as all know that it's the very last game that counts the most. And we'll most likely be there.

 

[diggerfoot]

To answer Wilton fan's query, the St. John's loss resulted in a huge outcry; it actually started before the game as a few us were concerned about the team's play at that juncture and there was a lot of back and forth about the nature of true believers, could loyal fans on the 'yard still keep their critical facilities intact et al.

The loss just compounded that discussion as well as being a vehicle for questioning some of Geno's moves and the oft-repeated mantra about good practice=minutes. As we all watched the games but were excluded from practice, I for one, became skeptical of something I couldn't see.

The difference this season is the extraordinary wealth of talent, frightening isn't it?

Still, they might lose, as has been prognosticated by a few and that might even be tolerated as all know that it's the very last game that counts the most. And we'll most likely be there.

I was not here for the St. John meltdown and cannot speak to that directly. However, in reaction to that kind of situation I often see too many scholars and not enough empiricists.

Empiricism is driven by the very skepticism to which you allude. You'll allow experience/observation to dictate your opinions rather than the opinions or scholarship of others. All well and good, but to be skeptical, while requiring a "burden of proof," also requires a "benefit of doubt." While the "experience" of a St. John's defeat leaves some skeptical about Auriemma's approach, what are they then really turning to for their "benefit of doubt?"

When St. John-like defeats happen every blue moon it's not like you have repeating experience/observation to base your skepticism on. Rather, you are basing it on your opinion constructed from rather infrequent events. In contrast, their always looms these opposing experiences:

1. No system works better than Auriemma's.
2. My system (true statement for every "my") would not work as well.

Thus, while I fully believe that Auriemma makes mistakes, it would be arrogant of me to give myself the benefit of the doubt unless I could start basing it on frequent experiences, which are hard to come by when it comes to losses. That borders on dogmatism rather than empiricism, which in turn is more the trade of the certain scholar.

I have no problem with people questioning Auriemma, I'm absolutely certain he makes mistakes as well. Yet the certainly with which people sometimes express their convictions of particular mistakes leaves me unmoved. I'll certainly give Auriemma the benefit of the doubt over any other armchair or practicing coach, and even my own observations, unless those observations can be confirmed through frequent repetitious testing.

 

[Bestiarius]

Tennessee is no longer relevant for any of the "normal" reasons behind rivalries; thus, they continue to be so relevant here for "abnormal" reasons. I doubt an unexpected Tennessee loss would generate anywhere near the gleeful attention anywhere else (OK, maybe on a Vanderbilt fan board as well).

This isn't meant to be a lecture, hence the initial title of "observation. The preoccupation with Tennessee no longer makes sense to me and led to a semi-amused "observation."

Being critical of Tennessee gets you more bang for the buck given the vast number of TN fans that will be annoyed.

 

[VAMike23]

I leave it up to our wonderful mods (yes, I'm sucking up again) what people "ought" to post about, but as hinted elsewhere I just like things to make sense. The preoccupation with Tennessee no longer makes sense to me and led to a semi-amused "observation."

Some things just don't lend themselves to deductive reasoning....

 

[Bestiarius]

Isn't the worst thing you can do to their fans is ignore them and make them as irrelevant as their team?

No. The worst thing you can do to their fans is ignore them when they have a great team like Uconn. They are probably ignoring us fast and furious right now over at the Summitt, but fortunately, we no longer have a way of knowing that, so it doesn't hurt.

 

[msf22b]

Digger

The lucidity and erudition of your learned prose escapes me. So sorry.

If what you meant to say was: that as Connecticut loses so few games and fewer less to St. Johns;
that to criticize Geno for such a failure is the worst type of monday-morning quarterbacking and therefore intellectually dishonest.

Then that was more or less the sentiment of the board at the time. Some went further and questioned my allegiance to the team and the suitability of my and like comments in such a fan-based forum.

What was undiscussed (or at least given short shrift) was the fact (as noted in my posting above), that matters seemingly leading to that loss had surfaced much earlier, had become a subject of much discussion and that the issues surrounding that regrettable blemish were not unforeseen.

I remember not actually predicting the loss but recall being concerned at a time when the sentiment was clearly one of unconcern.

Where does that fit into your various definitions?

 

[Wonkster]

Some things just don't lend themselves to deductive reasoning....

Especially with a defective and incomplete database to draw from.