Re: The View on Sunday
I think you are spot on on your estimations, sir. There is no way that McNeese somehow recruited a "bevy of talent better than UL." Every year our coaches have to recruit against the 1-A schools, like UL, that consistently play the 1-A "card" against us. Everyone knows that 1-AA football is where dreams go to die; all you have to do is ask 1-A coaches. And, therein came the "supersized can of attitude" from our players. When one is consistently told that you are not good enough for 1-A football, your are undersized, not fast enough, ad infintum you bring a certain amount of "rage against the system." UL fans got a good glimpse of that rage Saturday night.Originally Posted by Just1More
In the past year, I have watched McNeese supporters work their butts off to raise money to buy new equipment, improve facilities, and truly have a "buy in" into the program because we want these kids to succeed. There were many times this summer when fans drove by the McNeese fieldhouse and found the parking lot full of cars and these kids running spints and stadiums in 110 degree heat indices. In fact nearly the entire football team showed up this summer for a tough regimen of their own voluntary strength and conditioning program. And, IMHO, that was a good clue on the focus we were going to have this year.
In the fourth quarter there was no doubt in Cajun fans minds who was the better conditioned team on the field, who was the more physical team, and which team was operating with 22 less scholarships. That condition, sir, was honed to perfection in the hearts of our kids when they stepped into our program.
Sometimes its not the recruits you get and the press clippings that follow those recruits, but what a coaching staff does with those recruits when they get them. Can they be coached up to their potential? Have they already peaked when they were signed? Can "heart" be measured in a forty time or a bench press? Those are the intangibles that 1-AA schools have to sort through to find the diamonds in the rough that have to compete well when faced with schools with more scholarships and more talent. I don't think there is one person on this board that will argue that your own native son Jake Delhomme has done UL proud and the state of Louisiana proud, but he was told you are too slow, your arm strength is not strong enough, you need to read defense better, etc. But no one ever took the time to measure his "heart" for winning (see Texas A&M). And all he did was lead his team to the Super Bowl after spending most of his career as a journeyman quarterback because too many people listened to the pundits.
And finally, I think when UL builds a tradition of winning they are going to go places and quickly. This is not smack but honest criticism. One need not look very far and see what a tradition of winning has done for UL baseball and UL softball. That tradition will have to be built on a solid foundation of support from the university, the fans, and the large alumni base. I am not an advocate of firing Ricky Bustle but their has to be some accountabilty from the coching staff and the program to want to win and to build that tradition. It was no accident that McNeese was faster and more physical last night because that is what we, as McNeese fans have come to expect from our program. After all, it is was born out of our tradition.
Quote
Re: Regardless, Love me or hate me!
Re: Don't get down, Cajun fans
