Hurley berates the players when they don't play with determination and energy. It's what Hurley expects from his players. The fans on this board don't but they will call it out when they see a lack of determination and energy. The players are paid extemely well for their efforts. It's not a weakness in character from the coach or the fans. Nobody is trying to hurt the players, team, and coaches. Fans aren't belittling, ridiculing, and marginalizing the players. None of what people post here is meant as payback.
This is a strange post.
Timing is strange most certainly. But I wanted a few people to consider something and the best time to do it imo is when people are happy as opposed to angry. The thing I could have done better was to start a new thread and not do it in this one. I didn't think many people would read it as opposed to writing here and I believe my position merits consideration.
Yes Hurley berates his players under certain situations. It's a shame that many of us need a negative stimulus to optimally perform but it is a reality. I don't like it but I understand it and support him when he does it as opposed to when fans do it for several reasons.
Hurley understands his players in ways no fan can.
Hurley knows when to apply it, with whom to apply it, and can individualize how he applies it that fans can not do. I'm sure there are times when he misjudges a situation and regrets it. But if he misjudges it he has the opportunity to meet with the players and work through it. Fans cannot do this.
It's my opinion Hurley has multiple reasons why he berates players. The major reason I support this behavior from him is because he really wants the best for his players in addition to the best from them. He considers the players as well as his job, his desire to win and his responsibility to put out a good "product".
When I read some of the negativity that posters put in this forum I often observe a poster's egocentric entitlement. When it is not fed there is an intent to hurt. It is purely selfish.
Now I am not a purist on behavior. There are situations where someone is going to feel good at the expense of someone else. When Hurley called that timeout in the second half he was justified. It was unimportant in this game but important for the remainder of the season. That didn't stop me from observing the opposing coach when the cameras panned on him and feeling bad for him. Because I felt he cares about his players the same way Hurley feels about "our" players. Because in spite of the understanding why Hurley was doing what he did that coach had to feel that Hurley was piling on his players. I also felt it for his players. The upshot is that the timeout had severe negative consequences for many individuals. That's a shame but sports are about winners and losers and there are times it can't be helped.
So what is my reason for writing this. Currently there aren't a lot of posts that have the intent to hurt our players, team and coaches. But this forum has a history of it.
When we're angry, hurt or upset it's healthy to express it. But it is better to express it in a manner that doesn't have negative consequences. Especially negative consequences towards something we support. That's shooting ourselves in the foot.
When any forum has an abundance of negative posts that are directed at our players, team or coaches it is counter productive. We are mistaken if we believe what we express here does not get back to the players or coaches. They don't have to come here to learn it. People will let them know even if it is meant in kindness. Most people do not have the personality to let this type of negativity impact them. So if our team or players are already doing something poorly what we write in a deriding manner is unlikely to help things we want to see improve. Just the opposite. It will most likely makes things worse.
The Boneyard has the reputation of being the best place to discuss UConn sports. It is well deserved imo. We have many posters that contribute a lot of detailed information to satisfy our passion(s). Many of our conversations are interesting and entertaining. I enjoy coming here. But that doesn't mean we can't improve this place. I don't want censorship. I just hope someone reads this and decides maybe there is a better way to express something that might do more to support our team when they are struggling and still get the point across that improvement is needed.
To be honest I get upset by those individuals who can't change not because they are ridiculous and flawed. But because I want to see our team win. Anything that is done that impacts that from happening, whether it's constant fouling or turnovers or bad passes or failure to box out or inability to rebound or stepping out of bounds I would prefer having corrected. It also includes the way we express things in this forum. Now if people want to express things in a deriding manner against say Duke or Calipari or the Canadian Team I might have some higher moral trepidations. But it is quickly over ridden by my base animal survival instincts. Go for it. As an aside because of this RuffRuff should be considered for a hanging when the time comes for such consideration.
A fans responsibility is to attend games if possible. To publicly cheer the team on no matter what. To arrive early and to stay as close to the end of the game as possible. To not boo the team ever. UConn fans struggle with this. SEC and BIG fans don't. It is one of the major reasons if not the major reason they have an economic advantage over other conferences.
