Time to "forgive" McGraw?

[wvhuskyfan]

I also heard Geno comment on this issue, that he had some sympathy (and empathy) for Muffett's position last year - being undefeated, in the Final Four, and all she hears about is UCONN. She got sick of it, he said, and she reacted. OK, I can see that. Geno has worked it out with her, and if anyone knows the kind of pressure Muffet was under, he does.

What I can't get past is the treatment of Stewie at the awards ceremony. I just can't imagine a professional coach treating a student-athlete that way, even if you strongly felt another student-athlete deserved the award. Maybe it was a misunderstanding somehow, although I can't imagine how. I have never heard anyone ask her about that situation, and I have never heard her address it. Maybe it's me, but it just bugs me.

What I remember reading about it at the time was that when asked why she didn't applaud, she said that she felt that her player should have won the award. Classy, real classy.

 

[Rondogg]

There are so few things to dislike in modern society I am reluctant to give up this one. It was all her and the words uttered were thought out before delivered... calculated. Her "lapse" was the uttering of words she genuinely felt and probably still does, wanting to inherent the mantle of Pat S as the dowager empress of WCBB. So were the Geno is afraid of us words uttered earlier in the season. So was the sitting on her hands at Stewie's award presentation ceremony. This real shrewish Muffet is simply stewing, bubbling beneath the surface. So, NO I do not forgive you Muffet.

Would have been awesome if you wrote: "So was the sitting on her Tuffet at Stewie's award presentation ceremony.

 

[Striper69]

Last years beef seemed a little contrived to me. I hadn't heard there was any friction before and Geno didn't seem to be making any of his cracks in there direction. I think it was Muffet's way of pumping up her team.

Yeah...they were really pumped up last year...

 

[cohenzone]

I couldn't care less about forgiving McGraw. That's up to Geno. I just want ND to lose every time they take the court no matter who coaches them or how much they like or say good things about GA. It's the arrogance and sense of entitlement of the entire ND institution especially regarding sports and built on a decades long outdated image of their football program that annoys me. Understanding that hindsight is 20-20, when the Big East allowed them in without football, the only thing of value they really had to offer, it sowed the seeds of the football driven conference realignment. Name one BE school that would have jumped out of a league with ND in it, regardless of whether or not their elevated football status was earned. The Big East was the picking ground, and once that started to happen, the BE FB schools remained the prime picking ground.

 

[Bonpland]

In the heat of the battle we all say things that we wish that we hadn't. I have no problem with a coach proclaiming that their team is the best in the land, even if it's obviously not true. I don't have a problem with a coach trumpeting his or her players as being the best; it's really part of their job to instill confidence in the player. But, as most of us have learned in life, it's important not to cross the line when dealing with those around us when we are trying to make a point or to exhort the most out of our children, employees, co-workers or, teammates. When it stops being instructional and becomes personal you lose credibility.
A coach can prod their team to greatness by proclaiming that they are already there, or that they have replaced the giant as the ruler of the kingdom. But you can't refer to your opponent (especially one that has set the standard by which all others must respond) as "classless" without serious repercussions.
Muffet is a great coach, and an even better recruiter, but it wasn't just UCONN fans who cringed when she blasted Geno last year.

 

[Striper69]

Muffet sure showed a lot of class by not giving Stewart her due last year...

yeah, right.

 

[hoophuskee]

I'm a huge UCONN WBB fan but also a Notre Dame alumnus. I've never had a problem with Muffet at all and never quite understood all the acrimony from UCONN fans. After all, Geno gives as good as he gets. But I've always found her to be somewhat of a sympathetic figure as well, and I think the following article puts things in perspective. Some of you will be familiar with this story, others will not. Life is too short.....

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/story/2011-09-05/Notre-Dame-coach-McGraw-recalls-her-close-call-on-Sept-11/50268278/1

1--- You don't understand why some of us who are UCONN FANS FANS FANS would have been upset when our rival states that she no longer is considering being cordial with us/our team/our school and rubs it in our faces how often she has beaten us lately?

2--- You don't understand how she calls us an arrogant bully yet this is a short time removed when the Big East was dissolved and we got stuck in the AAC - and a school such as yours thumbs it's nose at everyone because of football? That uneven schedule in the ACC, and possibly the B1G waiting for you - it delays decisions. All because Notre Dame Football is "too good" to join a conference with all sports. Yet - we're categorized on the national stage as the arrogant, bully by the school tahtuses it's football in that arrogant, bully manner? Thus our possible invite could be delayed because of it.

3--- And let's demonize Geno even more by throwing Pat Summitt at us.

4--- Let's not clap for Stewie. A kid that has nothing to do with your beef. The anger is with Geno- not the kid.

With me - she's apologized - I'm fine with it. It's okay with me now which she could care less about the UCONN fanbase anyways just as Geno does about other bases. I just got to say I sensed her tone - it was downright "fighting words" / slap in the face -- and I'm a FAN. FAN. FAN. Some fans won't care about it at all and that's okay. But not every fan -- reacts the same. For me- my hatred for Tennessee is long gone. Others still there. But just read Loyd's comments again-- it's something many of us could feel with Muffet's biting comments. As a fan -- you expect I'm supposed to be okay with that?

Your coach is apologizing therefore she must have done something wrong, right? As a fan I'm somehow supposed to ignore that? As a fan, I enjoy friendly hate and your coach was throwing it in my coach's face, and as Loyd said she was turning her players into gladiators against our team. I never knew Kayla and Bria were great friends. I never would have imagined it the way your coach had your team wired last year. and you're surprised as a fan I'd have a problem with Muffett? Really?

 

[OneTrickPony]

It has been apparent in the run-up to tonight's game that Muffet and Geno have been playing nicely with one another, but there's an interesting explanation in a Sports Illustrated piece called 5 Questions Before UConn-Notre Dame.

McGraw admitted to SI.com on Monday that the combination of being undefeated, the desire to get her seniors a victory in the title game, and losing star center Natalie Achonwa to a season-ending ACL injury against Baylor in the Elite Eight dialed up the tension last year. “I remember talking to Geno after the game for a couple of minutes and him being very complementary,” she said. “I saw him a couple of weeks later recruiting and everything was fine. I think it was all me. Losing Natalie Achonwa, the pressures of being undefeated, all the press attention, I think I had a lapse in judgment and I really regret that.”

Notre Dame's players have noticed the difference.

“Last year was like Gladiators,” Loyd said. “It was heated. It was like you would walk down the hallway and kind of turn your head [when you saw a UConn member]. This year everyone is friendly in the sense that everyone is laughing and smiling. It might be the weather, I don’t know. But it is not as hostile, which is good. Geno is a great guy and Coach [McGraw] of course is great. When you have two competitors like that, it is going to be heated at times.”

I hate to give up a good head of hate too early, but maybe it is time to put this issue behind us.

(FWIW, the rest of the article has some good stuff, too.)

It's surprising how easy it is to forgive and forget when then vitriol stops and the introspection begins...she's now back to being my favorite leprechaun...

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Pure speculation on your part. I don't know how you can know any of this unless you've personally spoken to Muffet.

She's been a great lady and competitor for years and years and lost her mind for a few months last season. It's not like Geno hasn't put his foot in his mouth a couple of times.

What you call "speculation" Nan I call opinion based on what I have seen and hear from Muffet over the years. All she said was she regrets something she said (without saying what that something was by the way). She didn't say I was wrong and there is tremendous class at the top of womens basketball and it was graceless of me to make a show of disrespect at Stewie's award announcement - did she say those things and I missed it? She regretted saying something, not the thought of it - not the opinion.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Okay, Pollyanna, let me help you out

The cost of cable TV, the window of time that repair people give you when it's all day, snow (I mean, can't we get on a weather control machine already?), lack of hover bikes, Windows 8, that we haven't eradicated cancer or poverty, racism, leg room when flying in economy class, the distinct lack of superior BBQ in Connecticut (sure there are some good places, but not superior places), commuting, having to buy music again that you bought already because of format changes, and bedbugs.

I can continue but that should get you started.

Oh, Wally, you could not think I was anything but derisive with the "there are so few" comment! But I did enjoy your start of a list ... maybe in the off season we can all contribute to a glorious thread of such things and make it the first contribution to a Boneyard Time Capsule!

 

[Nuyoika]

1--- You don't understand why some of us who are UCONN FANS FANS FANS would have been upset when our rival states that she no longer is considering being cordial with us/our team/our school and rubs it in our faces how often she has beaten us lately?

2--- You don't understand how she calls us an arrogant bully yet this is a short time removed when the Big East was dissolved and we got stuck in the AAC - and a school such as yours thumbs it's nose at everyone because of football? That uneven schedule in the ACC, and possibly the B1G waiting for you - it delays decisions. All because Notre Dame Football is "too good" to join a conference with all sports. Yet - we're categorized on the national stage as the arrogant, bully by the school tahtuses it's football in that arrogant, bully manner? Thus our possible invite could be delayed because of it.

3--- And let's demonize Geno even more by throwing Pat Summitt at us.

4--- Let's not clap for Stewie. A kid that has nothing to do with your beef. The anger is with Geno- not the kid.

With me - she's apologized - I'm fine with it. It's okay with me now which she could care less about the UCONN fanbase anyways just as Geno does about other bases. I just got to say I sensed her tone - it was downright "fighting words" / slap in the face -- and I'm a FAN. FAN. FAN. Some fans won't care about it at all and that's okay. But not every fan -- reacts the same. For me- my hatred for Tennessee is long gone. Others still there. But just read Loyd's comments again-- it's something many of us could feel with Muffet's biting comments. As a fan -- you expect I'm supposed to be okay with that?

Your coach is apologizing therefore she must have done something wrong, right? As a fan I'm somehow supposed to ignore that? As a fan, I enjoy friendly hate and your coach was throwing it in my coach's face, and as Loyd said she was turning her players into gladiators against our team. I never knew Kayla and Bria were great friends. I never would have imagined it the way your coach had your team wired last year. and you're surprised as a fan I'd have a problem with Muffett? Really?

Sub section 4 was my only issue with her. All the other crap I didn't care about mainly because in interviews with her players leading up to the game even the players seemed a bit confused by the way she was acting. HOWEVER, the not clapping.... that was just too much for me. Muffet has a long coaching career ahead of her and when you don't clap for the best player in the country (nor does none of your team) you make a statement about the type of person/coach that you are. She may end up crossing paths with Stewie some day in a coaching capacity (maybe USA basketball somewhere far down the line). You have got to think about those things. I'm sure Stewie shook it off, I don't know of any articles or info out there that suggests she was hurt by it but that isn't something I think a college player should have to deal with. I know that up until that point I was loving the rivalry but that not giving credit where it's due crap left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[geneticrex]

e..i..e..i.....Oh

Brilliant retort, Meyers.

I'll never forgive you with coming up with it before me.

 

[OneTrickPony]

I also heard Geno comment on this issue, that he had some sympathy (and empathy) for Muffett's position last year - being undefeated, in the Final Four, and all she hears about is UCONN. She got sick of it, he said, and she reacted. OK, I can see that. Geno has worked it out with her, and if anyone knows the kind of pressure Muffet was under, he does.

What I can't get past is the treatment of Stewie at the awards ceremony. I just can't imagine a professional coach treating a student-athlete that way, even if you strongly felt another student-athlete deserved the award. Maybe it was a misunderstanding somehow, although I can't imagine how. I have never heard anyone ask her about that situation, and I have never heard her address it. Maybe it's me, but it just bugs me.

Let's just forgive her for the past, but make a note not to take any of her future lectures on "class" too seriously...

 

[Lynx23]

1--- You don't understand why some of us who are UCONN FANS FANS FANS would have been upset when our rival states that she no longer is considering being cordial with us/our team/our school and rubs it in our faces how often she has beaten us lately?

2--- You don't understand how she calls us an arrogant bully yet this is a short time removed when the Big East was dissolved and we got stuck in the AAC - and a school such as yours thumbs it's nose at everyone because of football? That uneven schedule in the ACC, and possibly the B1G waiting for you - it delays decisions. All because Notre Dame Football is "too good" to join a conference with all sports. Yet - we're categorized on the national stage as the arrogant, bully by the school tahtuses it's football in that arrogant, bully manner? Thus our possible invite could be delayed because of it.

3--- And let's demonize Geno even more by throwing Pat Summitt at us.

4--- Let's not clap for Stewie. A kid that has nothing to do with your beef. The anger is with Geno- not the kid.

With me - she's apologized - I'm fine with it. It's okay with me now which she could care less about the UCONN fanbase anyways just as Geno does about other bases. I just got to say I sensed her tone - it was downright "fighting words" / slap in the face -- and I'm a FAN. FAN. FAN. Some fans won't care about it at all and that's okay. But not every fan -- reacts the same. For me- my hatred for Tennessee is long gone. Others still there. But just read Loyd's comments again-- it's something many of us could feel with Muffet's biting comments. As a fan -- you expect I'm supposed to be okay with that?

Your coach is apologizing therefore she must have done something wrong, right? As a fan I'm somehow supposed to ignore that? As a fan, I enjoy friendly hate and your coach was throwing it in my coach's face, and as Loyd said she was turning her players into gladiators against our team. I never knew Kayla and Bria were great friends. I never would have imagined it the way your coach had your team wired last year. and you're surprised as a fan I'd have a problem with Muffett? Really?

You're entitled to your opinion and anger if that's what you choose but let me reiterate that, although a Notre Dame graduate, I am a UCONN fan when it comes to women's basketball. Muffet is not my coach, Geno is. My daughter graduated from UCONN in 2008 and I am still footing the bill. Like every individual, Muffet has flaws; so does Geno. For me, if someone is willing to concede they are wrong, I'm willing to forgive and forget. I do believe a lot of the negativity between programs we see and hear is driven by the media and hyped to sell the game; that's not to say that some of it isn't real. But I'm not going to point fingers unless I know all the facts, and rarely do we have all the facts. And when we think we do, they're often colored by biases and misperceptions. That being said, I do hope UCONN kick's Notre Dames butt tonight. That we can agree on. And please guard the perimeter! Cable and Mabrey worry me more than LLoyd and Turner.

 

[ctdad]

You're entitled to your opinion and anger if that's what you choose but let me reiterate that, although a Notre Dame graduate, I am a UCONN fan when it comes to women's basketball. Muffet is not my coach, Geno is. My daughter graduated from UCONN in 2008 and I am still footing the bill. Like every individual, Muffet has flaws; so does Geno. For me, if someone is willing to concede they are wrong, I'm willing to forgive and forget. I do believe a lot of the negativity between programs we see and hear is driven by the media and hyped to sell the game; that's not to say that some of it isn't real. But I'm not going to point fingers unless I know all the facts, and rarely do we have all the facts. And when we think we do, they're often colored by biases and misperceptions. That being said, I do hope UCONN kick's Notre Dames butt tonight. That we can agree on. And please guard the perimeter! Cable and Mabrey worry me more than LLoyd and Turner.

Nice mea culpa. Speaking as an ND alum and parent, you deserve every bit of vitriol that the UConn fans have heaped on you.

 

[geneticrex]

Where I come from, actions speak louder than words (for the most part).

Nobody appreciates a great sports rivalry more than I, including one that contains blistering exchanges. I can even overlook those exchanges in the heat of the moment, since so few of us are exempt, but I will not forget the coordinated effort on the part of the ND contingent to slight Stewart.

THAT, is as classless a move as I've seen in a loooooooooooooooooooooong time. Hell, even Red Sox fans gave Derek Jeter a worthy sendoff.

 

[j66kicker]

Didn't somebody say the whole ND team left the arena after the AA presentations the other day, before the Wade presentation?

To me, now is not the time for forgiveness. Now is the time to prepare for battle. Vanquish the enemy, collect the spoils, then forgive if you want.

 

[CL82]

It's a step in the right direction.

 

[svetbird]

I forgive everything but how she treated Stewie. not clapping was uncalled for and petty. You don't ever take your anger out on the kids.

 

[connboy77]

I for one will never forgive Muffy for what she did last year. It is one thing to be upset because you lost a key player, but it is another thing to take it out on a great young lady like Stewie. That was simply a classless thing to do.

 

[Orangutan]

Where I come from, actions speak louder than words (for the most part).

Nobody appreciates a great sports rivalry more than I, including one that contains blistering exchanges. I can even overlook those exchanges in the heat of the moment, since so few of us are exempt, but I will not forget the coordinated effort on the part of the ND contingent to slight Stewart.

THAT, is as classless a move as I've seen in a loooooooooooooooooooooong time. Hell, even Red Sox fans gave Derek Jeter a worthy sendoff.

There was no coordinated effort. Muffet was rude last year but she wasn't quite that malevolent. Multiple ND players/coaches can be seen clapping on the video in question.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

There was no coordinated effort. Muffet was rude last year but she wasn't quite that malevolent. Multiple ND players/coaches can be seen clapping on the video in question.

Clapping what? Rapid blinking doesn't count!

 

[Striper69]

Post a link.

 

[geneticrex]

There was no coordinated effort. Muffet was rude last year but she wasn't quite that malevolent. Multiple ND players/coaches can be seen clapping on the video in question.

If it was more than one, there was coordination.

Acknowledgement on the part of anyone else, speaks to their class AND lack thereof of those that conspired to shun the accomplishment of a student athlete.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I do remember one ND assistant coach clapping. That is it.

 

[DEK1234]

Clapping what? Rapid blinking doesn't count!

I know Mabrey was definitely clapping. I believe she is close to the Class of 2012 recruits due to USA Basketball, so I'm not surprised that she would be happy for Stewie.

 

[j66kicker]

There was no coordinated effort. Muffet was rude last year but she wasn't quite that malevolent. Multiple ND players/coaches can be seen clapping on the video in question.

I remember Natalie Achonwa clapping. Geno had gotten up and given her his seat. I didn't see any other ND clapping.

You are classy Natalie

 

[Icebear]

THAT, is as classless a move as I've seen in a loooooooooooooooooooooong time. Hell, even Red Sox fans gave Derek Jeter a worthy sendoff.

And Mariano Rivera, too.

 

[meyers7]

Brilliant retort, Meyers.

I'll never forgive you with coming up with it before me.

I get lucky every once in awhile.

 

[Icebear]

What you call "speculation" Nan I call opinion based on what I have seen and hear from Muffet over the years. All she said was she regrets something she said (without saying what that something was by the way). She didn't say I was wrong and there is tremendous class at the top of womens basketball and it was graceless of me to make a show of disrespect at Stewie's award announcement - did she say those things and I missed it? She regretted saying something, not the thought of it - not the opinion.

I didn't think your thoughts were speculation. You asked a question? Knowing nothing was done in public after public comments and actions set the tone.