Reasons for Negativity

[Kolumbo]

I assumed every fan base has similar reactions on message boards. Or are we just more down.

 

[navery12]

I would add that the fanbase has anxiety about whether or not we will ever get back to that level at all -- Jim Calhouns don't exactly grow on trees, and the odds we're as big a winner as we were under him are probably not that great. Each loss forces us to ponder our program's mortality. Sounds dramatic, I know, but I believe it's the main reason why these losses are so painful to so many of us.

Don't compare every aspect of this team to the Jim Calhoun teams, I promise it makes being a UConn fan significantly more enjoyable

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Just curious here. With all the negativity that comes out after each loss (remember there has only been 5), it got me wondering why so much venom is spewed when the program, by all accounts, is on an upward trajectory. Personally I think it’s a combination of COVID fatigue, a reflection of society in general and some hurt feelings of some who didn’t like how the Ollie situation was handled. I mean I get criticism of some coaching techniques or rotations but to be labeling coaches and players so harshly seems like there is more behind it.

Maybe it’s generational or just New England skepticism but what is it? It seems like some are crossing the line between being passionate fans and embittered fans even though their team has been ranked thru out that year and looks like a lock for the tournament. It seems like the unified husky mania fan base has been replaced by a divided and “I told you so” group. The scary thing is, if this keeps up where does it end…

There’s negativity because there are people who use this board as a way to exert out and work through any negativity they are feeling from their lives in general.

Unfortunately, that’s what a lot of people use the internet for.

 

[Rico444]

Don't compare every aspect of this team to the Jim Calhoun teams, I promise it makes being a UConn fan significantly more enjoyable

If you want to lower your expectations, be my guest. UConn was a perennial championship contender for almost my entire life, I'm not happy with accepting we'll never get back to that level.

 

[CaptainRon]

Rickety Moor

Corny Thompson

 

[Hi-Low]

Losing basically all close games takes a toll on fans & players... Games decided by 6 points or less:

• Auburn (Win)
• MSU (Loss)
• WVA (Loss)
• Providence (Loss)
• Seton Hall (Loss)
• Creighton (Loss)

If just 1 or 2 of those 5 loses had been a win the feeling would be much more positive. They need to start winning more of the close ones.

Oh and Providence being 9-1 in BE doesn't help the vibe.

 

[superjohn]

Just curious here. With all the negativity that comes out after each loss (remember there has only been 5), it got me wondering why so much venom is spewed when the program, by all accounts, is on an upward trajectory. Personally I think it’s a combination of COVID fatigue, a reflection of society in general and some hurt feelings of some who didn’t like how the Ollie situation was handled. I mean I get criticism of some coaching techniques or rotations but to be labeling coaches and players so harshly seems like there is more behind it.

Maybe it’s generational or just New England skepticism but what is it? It seems like some are crossing the line between being passionate fans and embittered fans even though their team has been ranked thru out that year and looks like a lock for the tournament. It seems like the unified husky mania fan base has been replaced by a divided and “I told you so” group. The scary thing is, if this keeps up where does it end…

I think it has to do with UConn being 0-5 in games decided by 4 points or less this season. In year 4 of Hurley I think we expected to be much better at closing out close games and we're still terrible at it. Four seasons and a combined 6-25 in 4 points or less games will have the fanbase wondering when or if we'll become a great team again.

 

[mauconnfan]

But we aren’t losing. Do we want an undefeated season? Or and 09 season to ge satisfied? It’s mental.

We are 9-5 in games that aren’t already Ws before we play the schedule. Add Butler maybe 7-5, is that now acceptable as a Husky fan? They showed the last 3 years our record quick (wish I taped it don’t have exact) and they showed our record each year when we are ahead by a little or tied going into the last 2-3 minutes I didn’t go back. But it was 0-3,0-4 and 0-3 again already or something to that point. Is that ok or is it a scary pattern?

Sorry I’m a fan but people who have been involved in the program for years and years are going to have expectations at some point and make comparisons as well. It’s just reality I suggest people who think everything is roses to stay off the BY.

 

[mauconnfan]

If you want to lower your expectations, be my guest. UConn was a perennial championship contender for almost my entire life, I'm not happy with accepting we'll never get back to that level.

Thank you Rico, great minds stuff here

 

[UCFan1513]

Humans are angry. They know that they badly messed up the world. Deep down, below the conscious level of most humans, they fear that that humans are going the way of Neandertals.

This is the only reasonable, and my favorite, description. Close thread

 

[lange10]

Is the sky falling? No. But the reality is we’re not beating upper echelon teams enough. BE record vs top 7 teams:
20-21: 3-6
21-22: 1-3

We take care of the bottom feeders, which is fantastic, but we haven’t turned the corner. Yet.

That’s where my frustration stems from.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I wasn't negative after we lost to MSU. I wouldn't have been negative with a lost to Auburn. I was negative after the loss at WVU, because it should have been a win. I was negative after this loss because it should have been a win. St. Johns last year a well. If we lose on Saturday and don't look like the bad news bears of basketball, I won't be negative.

The program has ascended, it's on an upward path. With that comes higher expectations. The standard of performance from players and staff goes up. They fell far below that standard on Tuesday. They know it. We know it. I'm not down on the program, the long term trend remains up. The short term trend, after two poor performances (one a win) is down at the moment.

 

[navery12]

If you want to lower your expectations, be my guest. UConn was a perennial championship contender for almost my entire life, I'm not happy with accepting we'll never get back to that level.

What about my post suggests I'm lowering my expectations? It's not accepting mediocrity or lowering expectations to say Dan Hurley is not going to become Jim Calhoun. That also doesn't mean we're not going to be competing for national championships eventually

 

[boog204]

I would add that the fanbase has anxiety about whether or not we will ever get back to that level at all -- Jim Calhouns don't exactly grow on trees, and the odds we're as big a winner as we were under him are probably not that great. Each loss forces us to ponder our program's mortality. Sounds dramatic, I know, but I believe it's the main reason why these losses are so painful to so many of us.

But let's be honest, I can remember times where we people were ripping JC here for his half-court offense, his stubbornness, sub patterns, sideline behavior, etc. Our fan base has always been very quick to 180 on coaches and player.

I apologize in drudging this up as many Boneyard legends are on this thread, but this was the 'Bazz one.

The Worst Trait Belonging To UConn's Worst Point Guard Under Calhoun

When Napier ends up in the lane defensively, sees his guy on the wing, runs at him half-speed...and doesn't put his hand up. I mean, you're out there, you can't even be bothered to raise your arm in the air? Really? That would be asking too much? Speaking of bad positioning, note to Alex...

the-boneyard.com

 

[QDOG5]

The following are some reasons for THIS years negativity in no specific order.
1. Highly ranked recruiting class not contributing as predicted
2. Jalen Gaffney regressing to the point that he barely sees the floor and rarely contributes
3. Missing layups too frequently
4. The premise that our HC gets out-coached during the game and especially in end game situations
5. RJ Cole not being 6'4' with Ja Morant hops
6. Tyler Polley being the same player for 5 years
7. Akok becoming an after thought
8. AJax's shooting stroke and lack of aggressiveness on the offensive end
9. HC challenging obnoxious UConn fans
10. UConn playing their worst basketball of the year entering February
11. The fear that opposing coaches have figured out how to play against us and we might not have answer for that
Personally, I think we are in a rut we can climb out of but I think our floor and ceiling are pretty well established. I think we are between the 25th and 10th best team in the country. I have no illusions of a final 4 run but I expect us to be competitive in the BE and win 2 games in the tourney

 

[boog204]

And full disclosure, I used to kill Ricky on the regular in the various BY iterations over the years.

 

[UCfor3]

If you want to lower your expectations, be my guest. UConn was a perennial championship contender for almost my entire life, I'm not happy with accepting we'll never get back to that level.

Nobody is accepting that we will never get back to that level. It just might not happen on your timeline. After a loss, people want to immediately find someone to blame for their disappointment. Maybe on some level it's human nature, but it goes way too far and frankly at times it's borderline pathetic. Like a mad King wanting someones head for being served cold soup. Some almost clearly have an agenda and I even wonder if they only want the program to succeed on their terms. Very much a mirror of our societal and political problems. It's bizarre. Calhoun is gone, this was a total rebuild, the big east is not the same and we are in only our 2nd year of the NBE after spending several years in The American. The landscape is different. People act like we are the only school that used to be a top program but are now going through struggles. Some of those schools didn't spend years in conferemce purgatory either. The sky isn't falling. Not final 4 contenders yet but progress nonetheless and a heck of a lot better than 4 years ago. We are in the top 20 with one functional guard. Fix that issue and I think you will find the end of the game losses will start to even out a little. I can't believe some people are shocked we struggle in end of game situations when we have one guard and inconsistent shooting and very few if any creators. We just don't have enough polished perimeter players that can flat out make plays or get buckets in the half court with the shot clock winding down. It's a total disadvantage.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Most peoples brains tend to the negative side anyway, social media/ the internet just allow us to see these feelings in real time. The bulk of the internet is negative. Look at your newsfeeds, usually catastrophic. Headlines like "Omicron may be less severe: here's why that may not be a good thing" etc... we are being slammed with negativity all day. We'd have to be Buddhist monks to ignore it completely.

There is actually a website called "The Good News Network" that you actually have to seek out to get some positive news. We've always been negative, the internet has exacerbated that. (As I hypocritically use the internet to post this)

 

[Rico444]

What about my post suggests I'm lowering my expectations? It's not accepting mediocrity or lowering expectations to say Dan Hurley is not going to become Jim Calhoun. That also doesn't mean we're not going to be competing for national championships eventually

I also wasn't saying in my initial post that he needs to be Jim Calhoun, but ideally he should be able to get the team into the national title contender conversation.

 

[JMick]

This is especially true this year. @BigErnMcCracken made a comment a week or so ago saying we've lost 4 games but no team looked like a team that was better than us.


I agree with that, which increases my frustration. We are undefeated this year except for the fact we beat ourselves 5 times now.

Yeah. It's a good team but it's a frustrating team to watch. There is potential there but we rarely play up to it.

 

[JMick]

I wasn't negative after we lost to MSU.

MSU and then VCU were exactly when I knew this season wouldn't go as well as many on this board were expecting. The same problems in those games have been following us the entire season. It just is what it is. A talented but flawed team. We're good, not great, and people are expecting great.

 

[Uconn10922]

Thank you all for your answers. It gave a really expansive view of why people respond like they do and I can respect your points of view. Take care.

 

[Shamon30]

I think it's a product of seeing that we're on our way back to the top accompanied by fear that we might not get there. I'm not on board with some of the really intense negativity, but losses are harder to stomach when you're expecting to win. The last game in particular was really frustrating because it was very winnable. We beat ourselves and that's always a bitter pill.

 

[Dove]

And full disclosure, I used to kill Ricky on the regular in the various BY iterations over the years.

The Boneyard never forgets.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Entitlement. /thread.