[NU Sports] Football experiment

Fri Dec 3 09:22:02 CST 2004

We'd have to get into a discussion of whether the attitudes about RW that the
parents have developed came from their kids reactions to the boards, or if the
negative attitudes on the boards actually reflect the actual attitudes of those
parents.

When I was in broadcasting, we had to do something called ascertainment - it was
a requirement to go out and talk to "community leaders" whatever they were and
find out what they were concerned about.

I eventually determined that in a small town, those leaders usually were
concerned about whatever the local newspaper and radio station had on their
news! It was a self fulfilling prophecy.

My point is that when you have a few guys anonymously pounding the coaches on
the internet boards, people get a one sided impression of how a coach operates,
etc. and that impression carries over into the face to face meetings. 

If you're a prospect and all you hear, besides the nice letters you get from NU,
is that Randy lies to prospects, is a dunderhead, dolt, idiot, and his coaches
are incompetent fools, why would you even consider playing in Evanston
regardless of the education.

The problem is that too many of our "fans" are taking one event in one game, and
drawing a conclusion that fits their personal agenda.

I've actually started watching NU games a lot more closely this year, and I can
see what the coaches are trying to do on both offense and defense, without
getting an e-mail before the game explaining the game plan. Its hard to see all
of what's happening - TV zooms into the ball to quickly, but you can get a sense
of what's happening.

All season when we lost, we were usually beaten by the athleticism of the other
team. No game plan can 100% account for that.

Maybe I'll have to start charting the games next year and show what actually
happens.

Anyway, NU is both blessed and cursed by the most literate football and
basketball fans around. We are also cursed and blessed by an emerging fanaticism
that is finally demanding excellence from both our academics and athletics. But
there's already some guy on another board pushing for the firing of Bill Carmody
RIGHT NOW! Come on folks, get real.

The problem, as I see it, is that we've taken a few firings of coaches who
failed at other colleges, and tried to make a case for the removal of our
coaches mid contract, in hopes of luring one of these coaches to Northwestern.

I don't want somebody else's loser, and I don't want some up and comer, who
intends to leave in 2 or 3 [or 4] years. After Alex Agase left to Gary Barnett
hiring, we had a period of the "new age" of coaches and it didn't work! Some
folks may not like the present coaching staff, nobody ever has 100% support, but
NU is coming off a season where we broke new ground, built on the future, and is
already attracting a decent recruiting class.

Personally, in my opinion, that's not grounds for removal.

Go Cats

rsl

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Roy S. Lamberton - Senior Associate
Computer Applications & Support Associates
and Publisher of Purple Reign, 
The Scout.com Northwestern University Site
(http://www.purplewildcats.com)
AIM Handle: CoachRoy74

=========================================
No Society has ever Taxed or Litigated
itself to prosperity...Think about it.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com 
> [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com] On Behalf Of Jeff Beamsley
> Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 9:29 AM
> To: nwu-sports at romaine.tssi.com
> Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Football experiment
> 
> 
> Roy,
> 
> You can't be serious.
> 
> I'm starting to believe that perhaps the cold weather may 
> have brought 
> on a bout of conservative intolerance.
> 
> We can't express our opinions anymore because it's somehow going to 
> damage recruiting?
> 
> A lot of the feedback that I've received privately about Randy Walker 
> has come FROM the parents of kids that he was recruiting.  
> The opinions 
> they have formed have come FROM the parents of some of kids that ARE 
> PLAYING for Randy Walker.  If you are really concerned about somehow 
> sugar coating the Randy Walker experience, there is a much 
> bigger leak 
> in the dam than our piddly little list (no offense intended Mike). 
> 
> Personally I find it hard to believe that there can ever be too much 
> information (at least when kids are trying to make a college choice).
> 
> If they are really interested, they should find out all that 
> they can, 
> sift the fact from the fantasy, and make a decision weighing the pros 
> and cons.  From what little exposure that I've had to parents of 
> potential recruits, this is exactly what they are doing.  The worst 
> situation for both the kid and NU, IMHO, is a kid who hasn't 
> done their 
> homework and finds that RW's sort of program isn't a good fit 
> for them.
> 
> Jeff
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Roy S. Lamberton wrote:
> 
> >I wonder what all the virulence on the various boards that 
> are read by 
> >the recruits is doing to dissuade some of the top players from 
> >considering NU this year?
> >
> >You know that some of the top players in Illinois who were not being 
> >recruited nationally, were carefully weighing NU vs. IL and leaning 
> >towards NU because we were a given. The same thing with Indiana's 
> >recruits.
> >
> >But to read some of the message boards, you'd think that 
> Randy Walker 
> >was an absolute ogre, totally incompetent, a fool, a loser, 
> stupid, and 
> >a whole bunch of names that I care not to repeat.
> >
> >I don't know what Coach Walker ever did to some of these [or 
> you] guys, 
> >but the only other place I've seen this much hate has been 
> in the last 
> >two presidential elections.
> >
> >C'mon people, get a life!
> >
> >Go Cats
> >
> >rsl
> >
> >++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> >Roy S. Lamberton - Senior Associate
> >Computer Applications & Support Associates
> >and Publisher of Purple Reign,
> >The Scout.com Northwestern University Site
> >(http://www.purplewildcats.com)
> >AIM Handle: CoachRoy74
> >
> >=========================================
> >No Society has ever Taxed or Litigated
> >itself to prosperity...Think about it.
> >++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
> >  
> >
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> nwu-sports site list
> nwu-sports at tssi.com 
> http://romaine.tssi.com/mailman/listinfo/nwu-sports
> 