What's it going to take for you to consider this season a success? | Page 4 | The Boneyard

What's it going to take for you to consider this season a success?

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SeoulHuskyFan said:
One thing Carl kind of skirted but hasn't really been hit in this (awesome) thread to the extent I would've expected is that I want the games to mean something. I understand that success or failure will ultimately be measured in wins but if we are doing something other than playing out the string after three weeks, it'll be a massive improvement. Do you remember when we played games that had consequences?
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The last really meaningful one, was the game in Cincinatti to close the 2011 season. We were 5-6 in the first season of a coaching and systems change, and we laid an egg. Oh, ugly. McEntee handed the ball to the D in the endzone, McCombs got picked up by Cincy D-backs and thrown around like a rag doll. Not pleasant memories. We had some flicker of life after beating Louisville and Pitt in November 2012, in the second season of a systems change, and were struggling to get back up to .500 and bowl eligibility - against Cincy once again late, but we didn't have the discipline and will power to get it done.

I did touch on this, and I think people get it. I want meaningful football in December. That means competing for league titels and a post season game at minimum. MINIMUM. That also means meaningfull football, in November, in October, in September - in August.

What's amazing, is that the guys on the 2013 roster, that played late in the season - something happened at halftime in Philly against Temple. In the ugly weather, with nobody watching and nothing to play for. That something - whatever it is - is something that obviously should be there all the time, and they need to bring it into the 2014 season, because unlike November 2013, there is a TON to play for right now - beyond those basics of playing for each other, playing for the name on the front of the jersey.
 
Dooley,

Casual fans like the one you mention, are like friends that only want to hang out when the going is good. They are there for you when all is well, but they are gone when the going gets tough. However, once the going is good again, they come back. So if the team starts to win, (I bet it does not take too many wins either) those casual fans will start to come back, slowly at first but with more wins come more casual fans, and with even more wins, those casual fans start to buy into the program. IMHO, that is how you build a sustainable fan base
 
Dooley said:
There was only one game last season (Michigan) that I lost my voice. That's sad. Like Carl said earlier, like everyone else, I knew the season was over in the 4th quarter of the Towson game. I remember making a "boy, this is gonna be a LONG season" to the security guards on the way out of the stadium that night and feeling the most dejected that I've ever felt after a loss. There is nothing more deflating that knowing full well that your season is over and you are still in August. There wasn't a single game on the schedule that I thought UCONN could win under the old coaching staff.

In past seasons, it would be more difficult for me to remember games that I did NOT lose my voice. Even the cupcake FCS games would cause me to lose my voice. Last year was such a ' drag. We lost half of our tailgate crew of 6. One guy moved to FL (can't fault him), another guy went to the Towson game and then never showed up again, and another guy didn't go to a single game (including the Michigan game...of which he graduated from). So our diminished group did exactly what other smaller groups do in the lots: talk to other tailgaters. What we found out was that every tailgate crew lost 1, 2, 3, 4+ members who have sworn off the program. At least half of the people we met in the lots never went into the game towards the end of the season. In past seasons, this would frustrate me. Last year, I was simply impressed that they drove to the stadium just to tailgate. We didn't even get much pleasure ribbing on Rutgers' fans in our section last year.

Give me a team that plays with heart and energy. That gets excited to get a big stop on defense. To convert a crucial 1st down. That stands up for teammates. That fights until the final whistle no matter what the score. With energy, excitement, and unity comes wins and confidence. And once a college team gets some confidence to go with their energy, then the sky is the limit.
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I have weak vocal chords so last year I said WTF this crap isn't worth losing my voice for 3 days, only the Mich. game pushed me to this. Hopefully this year I can proudly walk around having to talk softly 3 days after the game. HCBD give me a reason to lose my voice. On the other side we actually gained a person in our tailgate group of retirees last year. As expected We are all much more pumped for this coach, team and season. Go out there and punch someone in #c#en mouth. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
The retirement of the following cheesy in game promotions
- DJ Joey
- Kiss Cam
- Better Bedding Bloopers
- Big Y Hold your Card Up
- Triple A Hold your Card up
- Any freaking company hold your card up
- The ingame commerecials
- A coordinated band response to the action on the field
- Emily to start returning my phone calls
 
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CTBasketball said:
I want to see Cochran break the 30TD mark.
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You would consider the season a success of Casey throws for 30 tds?
 
Carl Spackler said:
[


The last really meaningful one, was the game in Cincinatti to close the 2011 season. We were 5-6 in the first season of a coaching and systems change, and we laid an egg. Oh, ugly. McEntee handed the ball to the D in the endzone, McCombs got picked up by Cincy D-backs and thrown around like a rag doll. Not pleasant memories. We had some flicker of life after beating Louisville and Pitt in November 2012, in the second season of a systems change, and were struggling to get back up to .500 and bowl eligibility - against Cincy once again late, but we didn't have the discipline and will power to get it done.

I did touch on this, and I think people get it. I want meaningful football in December. That means competing for league titels and a post season game at minimum. MINIMUM. That also means meaningfull football, in November, in October, in September - in August.

What's amazing, is that the guys on the 2013 roster, that played late in the season - something happened at halftime in Philly against Temple. In the ugly weather, with nobody watching and nothing to play for. That something - whatever it is - is something that obviously should be there all the time, and they need to bring it into the 2014 season, because unlike November 2013, there is a TON to play for right now - beyond those basics of playing for each other, playing for the name on the front of the jersey.
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Last one was Dec 2012 at home vs Cinci, lost 34-17, lost our bowl eligibility.
 
What's it going to take for me to consider the 2014 season a success? A bowl invite. That usually means you've won more than you've lost and anything less than that is not considered successful by many and definitely won't capture the imagination of potential fans. UConn football needs fans and lots of them, especially the ones that travel to away games. That's your ticket into the B1G or ACC. Building the fan base proves you are succeeding so I guess a bowl invite and a increased fan base(not sure you can measure that in any other way than sales). All the other stuff, improved O-line, star QB, reliable RB are all nice but don't mean much if their season is over before Christmas. Guarantee no member of the program will consider anything less than a bowl invite a success so why should anyone else?
 
Duncan Idaho said:
Last one was Dec 2012 at home vs Cinci, lost 34-17, lost our bowl eligibility.
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But let's be serious. None of us really thought we were winning that game. We had hope but it was really false hope.
 
weyuo said:
What's it going to take for me to consider the 2014 season a success? A bowl invite. That usually means you've won more than you've lost and anything less than that is not considered successful by many and definitely won't capture the imagination of potential fans. UConn football needs fans and lots of them, especially the ones that travel to away games. That's your ticket into the B1G or ACC. Building the fan base proves you are succeeding so I guess a bowl invite and a increased fan base(not sure you can measure that in any other way than sales). All the other stuff, improved O-line, star QB, reliable RB are all nice but don't mean much if their season is over before Christmas. Guarantee no member of the program will consider anything less than a bowl invite a success so why should anyone else?
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By your definition, both the first and second seasons under PP/GDL fell short of success yet for some reason you defended that regime beyond logic.
 
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FfldCntyFan said:
By your definition, both the first and second seasons under PP/GDL fell short of success yet for some reason you defended that regime beyond logic.
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Yee of short attention span. Go back and look what I typed back then. Whenever this subject came up my response has always been..a bowl invite is my measuring stick for a successful season. And... I defended the program from mean spirited, over the top remarks which are unbecoming of a real fan. Any loser can take pot shots but unless you can do better yourself(and you wouldn't even make it in the door for the interview) you really need to chill on the insults. It makes UConn fans look petty and cheap by folks outside of UConn Nation who might happen upon this site looking for Husky info.
 
Wey-overboard;

I am very confident that I would not stand a chance if I were to run for governor, senator or president yet I do believe that I have the right to criticize what I view as incompetent behavior from our politicians. As a fan of the football program, I have the right to question actions of those in charge of the program if I see what I believe is incompetence. I take the same approach with any team that I follow closely.

As far as mean spirited, nothing that has been posted on this board was ever close to being as mean spirited as the man who was in charge of the football program from January 2011 to October 2013. The only thing that came close was the behavior of his close friend who ran the offense for a while and the offensive line for far too long. I have no clue about the peaches and cream world that you live in but the world in which the remainder of this board lives allows for criticism of incompetence. P knew (at a minimum he should have known) that he would be subject to criticism if the results were not acceptable. I'm not sure why you became the self-appointed defender of everything P but it may be time that you gave up on that role as it is a worthless endeavor.
 
I guess one measure of success will be our ability to move past any discussion of former coaches.
 
FfldCntyFan said:
Wey-overboard;

I am very confident that I would not stand a chance if I were to run for governor, senator or president yet I do believe that I have the right to criticize what I view as incompetent behavior from our politicians. As a fan of the football program, I have the right to question actions of those in charge of the program if I see what I believe is incompetence. I take the same approach with any team that I follow closely.

As far as mean spirited, nothing that has been posted on this board was ever close to being as mean spirited as the man who was in charge of the football program from January 2011 to October 2013. The only thing that came close was the behavior of his close friend who ran the offense for a while and the offensive line for far too long. I have no clue about the peaches and cream world that you live in but the world in which the remainder of this board lives allows for criticism of incompetence. P knew (at a minimum he should have known) that he would be subject to criticism if the results were not acceptable. I'm not sure why you became the self-appointed defender of everything P but it may be time that you gave up on that role as it is a worthless endeavor.
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Criticism is one thing and I never had a problem with that as I saw things unfold the same as everyone else but the personal attacks was just plain bush-league and that's what I took offense to.

Hopefully the new regime will help us all forget the last three years so here's to looking forward. Go Huskies!
 
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Carl Spackler said:
[


I want meaningful football in December. That means competing for league titels and a post season game at minimum. MINIMUM. That also means meaningfull football, in November, in October, in September - in August.
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This. I understand that a shot (however good) at 6-6 and a tidy bowl bid could arguably be called meaningful. I think we should aspire to better.
 
Duncan Idaho said:
21-17 start of the 4th quarter.
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Interesting. Jmoney and you - two of the more, how should I write?.......respectful, sane, intelligent - whatever. I like you guys, and your commentary.

Two different memories, takes on the same situation.

I left the final game of 2012 out as the last meaningful one, because I'm more toward Jmoney's view on this. That game really wasn't meaningful to me in 2012, and I didn't realize how much until right now. By that point, last game of season v. Cincy in 2012, as opposed to same scenario in 2011 - I honestly don't remember expecting to win. In 2011, I did. For sure.

That's not to say we didn't have a chance - which is ironic. I didn't remember the score going into the 4th at 21-17. Tells volumes of what we were as a program that we lost 34-17. As noted, I didn't remember much specifics, and that's not because I drank too much scotch and ale. :-)

That to me, as I reflect now, on where we are, where we were, and moving forward is probably the most telling to me personally as to what happened under the previous regime. It pervaded the program, and extended to the most diehard of fans. Apathy. The players had it, the coaches had it, and then eventually the fans.

For the most part of my life, when it comes to athletics, I've almost always, say 95% of the time, remember the losses and what happened in those losses more than the wins. Almost always. Until the past season and half I guess. It surprised me to see what the score was against Cincy going into the 4th quarter in 2012, with a bowl game on the line.

That game, in my mind, could have been 60-2 for all I remember about it.

Among the many things that have been described here as a "successful" season - I guess I'll add for me personally "Memorable football" again.
 
I just went back to what I wrote in post #91 last week. Amazing. I had no memory at all that the game was 21-17 going into the 4th quarter against Cincy in the last game of 2012. That game was more than winnable - at home, with that kind of score going into the 4th quarter with bowl eligibility on the line.

What I do remember, is that I was sure we had not discipline and will power to win it, even though we had shown some life against Louisville and Pitt before. That's what I remembered. I'm sure at that point, I was looking more forward to building to what was supposed to be a great, door opening, eyes opening season for UCONN in 2013. That, obviously, didn't happen.

It's a new season, new everything, and I do expect to win again.

What gives me some bit of excitement, and hope, is that with positive attitude, work ethic, conditioning, and discipline again - perhaps we are NOT that far off. If in 2012, we were that close to still being able to win and go to the post season, and in 2013, we could take a TD lead into the 4th quarter against Michigan......

I'm not sure who wrote it the other day - fairfieldcty I think - Perhaps - Perhaps.....

as Diaco and program have been working non-stop for the past 6 months to correct the basics of dedication, conditioning, work ethic and team discipline and mental attitude - MAYBE - the new coaching staff has actually discovered that they've got some pretty good players to work with.

I expect to beat BYU. I expect to win games. I expect to go to the post season.
 
Carl Spackler said:
I just went back to what I wrote in post #91 last week. Amazing. I had no memory at all that the game was 21-17 going into the 4th quarter against Cincy in the last game of 2012. That game was more than winnable - at home, with that kind of score going into the 4th quarter with bowl eligibility on the line.

What I do remember, is that I was sure we had not discipline and will power to win it, even though we had shown some life against Louisville and Pitt before. That's what I remembered. I'm sure at that point, I was looking more forward to building to what was supposed to be a great, door opening, eyes opening season for UCONN in 2013. That, obviously, didn't happen.

It's a new season, new everything, and I do expect to win again.

What gives me some bit of excitement, and hope, is that with positive attitude, work ethic, conditioning, and discipline again - perhaps we are NOT that far off. If in 2012, we were that close to still being able to win and go to the post season, and in 2013, we could take a TD lead into the 4th quarter against Michigan.

I'm not sure who wrote it the other day - fairfieldcty I think - Perhaps - Perhaps.....

as Diaco and program have been working non-stop for the past 6 months to correct the basics of dedication, conditioning, work ethic and team discipline and mental attitude - MAYBE - the new coaching staff has actually discovered that they've got some pretty good players to work with.

I expect to beat BYU. I expect to win games. I expect to go to the post season.
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I like your optimism. Makes me even more pumped for the season seeing others that see this coming season the same way I do.
 
DoctorWho85 said:
I like your optimism. Makes me even more pumped for the season seeing others that see this coming season the same way I do.
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Optimism, realism, pessimism, idealism. Tomayto / tomahto. I think it's pretty clear that by end of 2012, my realistic expectations for the UCONN football program were not optimistic about making the post season, regardless of what was actually happening in the game. Realistically? The game was 21-17 at the start of the 4th. Wow. Duncan really gave me an eye-opener this Monday morning.

I let my optimism overcome the pessimism of the 2011, and 2012 seasons - and I was jacked up with optimism and idealism for the 2013 season, and pessimism of others about the regime, proved quite real after the Towson game.

All done and over with. I'm optimistic once again, for a successful football season and I'm getting jacked up again. This is good. Reality will play out with the games. Win or lose against BYU, I expect to compete, and I expect in general (because we boneyarders are not the general fan base) I expect in general, for fanbase expectations to be reset in a good way come Aug. 30 - win or lose.

I do expect to win.


6 weeks until kickoff.
 
Carl Spackler said:
Optimism, realism, pessimism, idealism. Tomayto / tomahto. I think it's pretty clear that by end of 2012, my realistic expectations for the UCONN football program were not optimistic about making the post season, regardless of what was actually happening in the game. Realistically? The game was 21-17 at the start of the 4th. Wow. Duncan really gave me an eye-opener this Monday morning.

I let my optimism overcome the pessimism of the 2011, and 2012 seasons - and I was jacked up with optimism and idealism for the 2013 season, and pessimism of others about the regime, proved quite real after the Towson game.

All done and over with. I'm optimistic once again, for a successful football season and I'm getting jacked up again. This is good. Reality will play out with the games. Win or lose against BYU, I expect to compete, and I expect in general (because we boneyarders are not the general fan base) I expect in general, for fanbase expectations to be reset in a good way come Aug. 30 - win or lose.

I do expect to win.


6 weeks until kickoff.
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I am an optimist, even last year I thought going into the Towson game that we could have made it to a bowl game. I won't say I thought the team would be great, but I thought that the bottom half of the AAC and out OOC schedule provided enough winnable games to make it to the post season. Obviously, I was shocked, hurt, crushed, dead a little on the inside, or however you wanna put it after the Towson game. I think that game was where I realized how bad UConn became under PP. Ambrose had Towson fired up, they were aggressive and motivated on every play. UConn looked worn out, unmotivated, practically uncaring. I literally said to my buddy watching the game with me, " This is not the team I fell in love in 2003. This is not the team I spent numerous hours every week in marching band, practicing formations and songs so I can I could focus on the game come Saturday. What the hell happened?"

That being said. I'm being a cautious optimist this year. Part of me wants to say with the schedule we have that we'll be 12-0 come bowl season, but my head tells me that it's a completely new coaching staff with a new scheme on both sides of the ball so I better tempur my expectations. I think 7 wins isn't out of the question this year. I don't want to see us getting blown out. Could it happen? Absolutely, but I want to see this team fight to the last whistle. That to me will be the biggest success of this year.
 
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huskysupporter said:
You would consider the season a success of Casey throws for 30 tds?
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If he throws 30TD's were winning at least 7 games. I think this team has a chance to be good, but good quarterback play puts them over the top.
 
Devland said:
I'm not going to put a number on it. I just want to see signs of the development of a program. I think everyone needs to remember that Calhoun's first season here the team was 9-19 and Geno's teams didn't have a winning record until his third season. It takes time.
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I can't comment on the women's hoops part but let's remember that when Calhoun showed up his first season Uconn was playing in the BEST basketball league in the country with 5 out of 9 teams ranked at some point during that year AND Calhoun lost his two best players! Perno and PP similarly ran each program down. The AAC is not the 1987 Big East hoops conference. I would hope that given our new coach and direction and schedule that we would be able to win 5 games.
 
Rocktheworld said:
Pretty much what we on the BBall forum wanted to see in KO's first season: guys playing competently together and with heart.
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I think we all agree on that. But this program needs more. Results matter as we are trying to market the program.
 
But we have to accept to some extent that results can't be overly front loaded; I just want to feel confidence that they are on a good vector.
 
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