WHAT! UConn's Losing is GOOD?

[huskyd]

I'm growing very tired of hearing this. In today's telecast of the SMOO game, Meghan Culmo actually said that it would be good for women's basketball if the Huskies lost on Monday. WHAT! She explained that after losing the team wouldn't continue to be badgered by questions about the win streak. Good thinking, Meg. Worth losing for sure. Such a burden, all this winning.

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Last year some Boston sports writer stated the UConn is bad for WCBB because it won too often. This season even Geno said that losing wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. True: nuclear war would be worse. (I think Coach meant that losing would expose the team's shortcomings and prevent them from becoming complacent; at least, I hope so.) Then Dawn's early light revealed that if SC beat the Huskies it would give other teams hope. HOPE! Is that UConn's job, to make other teams hopeful? Hey, we're human, anyone can beat us on any given night. Hah.

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So: I'm tired of this. Nonsense is what keeps cannibals (see Hannibal Lecter above) from eating morons: stupidity might be catching.

STOP IT!​

 

[tomcat]

I'm with you. If there was a shred of logic in Culmo's remarks, I failed to catch it.Sure, Geno was talking about the benefit of losing, but that was a the start of the season, when they perhaps might have been helped by seeing what they really needed to do to win a championship. I'm not convinced he would really like to see them drop the SC game this late in the season. After all, it now is easy for them to see what they need to do to win a championship: Keep doing what they have been doing.

This team is far from perfect, but its accomplishments to date have been pretty damn good. A couple of weeks ago I watched the first UConn victory over Tennessee. It was thrilling and full of wonderful moments for any UConn fan, but it also demonstrated how error-prone that team could be. They would do something wonderful and then bang! Something stupid would happen -- a dumb foul or an errant pass. In other words, as much as we think fondly about those guys, they were anything but perfect, too.

As for the media types. I think Dan Shaughnessey, who started that nonsense (or at least was the most outspoken purveyor of it) is still under his rock. TV types seem to be playing it up as something positive. Since she's the opponent's coach, anything Dawn says is suspect, anyway.

 

[Carnac]

There's never a good time to lose a game. Just like there's never a good time to go to jail or prison. There's never a good time for you to receive a traffic ticket. There's never a good time to have a heart attack. Do you see a pattern here?

 

[Phil]

Yeah, for a good time, don't call Carnac, because apparently, there's never a good time....

 

[HuskyBandDad]

They are all just trying to soften the blow if/when they lose.

 

[Carnac]

Yeah, for a good time, don't call Carnac, because apparently, there's never a good time...

Phil, you wound me. There IS a good time for UConn to run the table and win another championship. That time is NOW!!!!!

 

[bags27]

A UConn loss is neither good nor bad for WCBB. Did the 2014 loss to Stanford make a difference in anyway except to UConn's own continuous game winning record? It didn't change anyone's perception of the game, it didn't draw more fans to other games, recruits to other teams, etc.

A UConn loss might be considered good for UConn. Geno himself actually thought this for the first dozen games or so. We often think that the pressure of being undefeated gets in the way of winning when it's really most important, which is why the undefeated Colts pretty much tanked a game before the playoffs....but they lost in the playoffs anyway. Fact is, this UConn team can handle the pressure of the streak. In fact, it gives them swagger.

 

[UcMiami]

I think losing a particular game is never 'good', but I do think there are times when a coach and team 'need' a loss, or at least a really good scare*. Sports seasons are full of players and teams that get complacent and start taking shortcuts because they think they have this 'thing' down pat, and a loss is a good wake up call. And yes, an historic win streak can become an issue not because it by itself changes anything, but because it becomes the focus of all the outside attention - players don't get asked about how they played, they get asked about how the streak feels and how long they can keep it going.

The UConn team certainly felt the loss to Stanford two and a half years ago was a 'good' thing when looking back at the season - it got their attention and focused their efforts in practice. The loss to Villanova in 2003 in game 71 was another one that was 'good' - without it they probably don't win the NC that year, because it again regained their focus for the NCAAs.

* The problem with a 'good scare' is a lot of teams can justify it as - 'See, we played our worst game of the year, and they still can't beat us. We have this thing so covered! No need to change a thing.'

 

[DaddyChoc]

They are all just trying to soften the blow if/when they lose.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

A UConn loss is neither good nor bad for WCBB. Did the 2014 loss to Stanford make a difference in anyway except to UConn's own continuous game winning record? It didn't change anyone's perception of the game, it didn't draw more fans to other games, recruits to other teams, etc.

If I am correct, a young recruit named Napheesa Collier was at the Stanford game in 2014 on a recruiting visit, and she stated that Stanford's response contributed to her decision to attend UConn; if they could get THAT amped over getting a win over another program, then that other program must be the place to be.

 

[Shorty Dee]

I am going to quote Geno here, "UConn will eventually lose, maybe", but it won't be Monday.

 

[warbler1055]

I am going to quote Geno here, "UConn will eventually lose, maybe", but it won't be Monday.

Not now, not this season!!!!

 

[oldude]

I am going to quote Geno here, "UConn will eventually lose, maybe", but it won't be Monday.

Not sure about that quote, at least as it applies to this coming Monday vs SC. What I heard in Geno's presser yesterday is we're going to lose, "maybe on Monday."

 

[ctchamps]

Winners don't care what others say. Just saying.

 

[huskyd]

I think losing a particular game is never 'good', but I do think there are times when a coach and team 'need' a loss, or at least a really good scare*. Sports seasons are full of players and teams that get complacent and start taking shortcuts because they think they have this 'thing' down pat, and a loss is a good wake up call. And yes, an historic win streak can become an issue not because it by itself changes anything, but because it becomes the focus of all the outside attention - players don't get asked about how they played, they get asked about how the streak feels and how long they can keep it going.

The UConn team certainly felt the loss to Stanford two and a half years ago was a 'good' thing when looking back at the season - it got their attention and focused their efforts in practice. The loss to Villanova in 2003 in game 71 was another one that was 'good' - without it they probably don't win the NC that year, because it again regained their focus for the NCAAs.

* The problem with a 'good scare' is a lot of teams can justify it as - 'See, we played our worst game of the year, and they still can't beat us. We have this thing so covered! No need to change a thing.'

Interesting, Uc, that the loss to Stanford is at least as memorable as any win has been since that time. Everyone knows about that loss, when it happened and who inflicted it. For me, it stands out like a sore thumb. I hate that it happened and am convinced it should not have happened; the best team lost that day. So: how to compensate? How many games will UConn have to win before that loss is wiped away? I'm thinking that, like the Israelites in the desert, a whole generation may have to die before the memory of that loss recedes. Biblical, baby.

 

[ME Husky Fan]

Where I think she was coming from was a loss now could actually give them that push to a national championship, it would sort of in an odd way invigorate them as continually winning can lull one to sleep, although we haven't seen signs of that. Just spit-balling though.

 

[Shorty Dee]

Not sure about that quote, at least as it applies to this coming Monday vs SC. What I heard in Geno's presser yesterday is we're going to lose, "maybe on Monday."

I added it won't be Monday.

 

[Carnac]

I added it won't be Monday.

Hey Shorty Dee, let me help you out here. Allow me to go into my "Carnac" mode.................................

The Answer: Not tomorrow!!. The question: When will South Carolina beat UConn?

 

[Jimbo]

If I am correct, a young recruit named Napheesa Collier was at the Stanford game in 2014 on a recruiting visit, and she stated that Stanford's response contributed to her decision to attend UConn; if they could get THAT amped over getting a win over another program, then that other program must be the place to be.

I think this story was about Gabby visiting Stanford sometime after the Dec. 2010 game…

UConn Goes For Record-Tying 90th Win In Row, And Players Embrace Historical Significance

 

[UConnNick]

It's the exact same narrative from the 1995 season. It might only serve to provide extra motivation for tomorrow night's game, as if any were necessary.

Meghan was on the inside looking out in 1995. IMO, this current team is as mentally tough as nails as any of the elite teams we've ever had. I think privately they'd laugh in any reporter's face if they questioned them about whether THEY think it would be better for them to lose a game.