Perfect Storm to Stop Caring

[IowaHawkeye2010]

I've been a lifelong Hawkeye and Cub fan. With the Cubs finally pulling off the improbable this week and the Hawkeye football team heading the wrong direction, I found myself going through the motions watching the Penn St game. Maybe I'm apathetic about the Hawks or it could be I'm still on a high from the Cubs, but either way I found myself unemotional while watching the beat down.

Time and time again I watched safeties and LBs take awful angles or completely miss their assignment. I watched us run very little counters or misdirection, although was glad it only took us a half to realize a screen pass might work against a defense that was over committing. I would hear announcers say guys were open and we would hold on to the ball for another second before finally getting sacked. I've stopped wondering what it takes for someone else to get a shot to prove themselves because I'm unsure how some of the guys on the bench could be worse. In the past these things may have caused me to yell or shake my head in disgust. Last night was a different story, I just watched and when things started to go the wrong direction I pulled up videos celebrating the Cubs.

 

[judzeehawk]

I've been a lifelong Hawkeye and Cub fan. With the Cubs finally pulling off the improbable this week and the Hawkeye football team heading the wrong direction, I found myself going through the motions watching the Penn St game. Maybe I'm apathetic about the Hawks or it could be I'm still on a high from the Cubs, but either way I found myself unemotional while watching the beat down.

Time and time again I watched safeties and LBs take awful angles or completely miss their assignment. I watched us run very little counters or misdirection, although was glad it only took us a half to realize a screen pass might work against a defense that was over committing. I would hear announcers say guys were open and we would hold on to the ball for another second before finally getting sacked. I've stopped wondering what it takes for someone else to get a shot to prove themselves because I'm unsure how some of the guys on the bench could be worse. In the past these things may have caused me to yell or shake my head in disgust. Last night was a different story, I just watched and when things started to go the wrong direction I pulled up videos celebrating the Cubs.

Being a Cub fan IH2010 I feel the same as you. When you watch a Hawkeye football game and you get crushed and embarrassed as bad as we did and don't even care........that pretty much says it all. If it weren't for the Lady Hawks basketball team I probably would quit wearing my Hawkeye gear and just wear my Cubbie blue. That product that was put on the field yesterday was ridiculously lame. I don't know when I've ever watched such an uninspired football team. By the way it's up to the coaches to get them fired up for you KF apologists.

 

[HawkGold]

This was a long time in coming. Some bought the envelopment program BS. Some bought into NFL practice squad and bench warmer concept (still need to see how Iowa stacks up on impact players in NFL, guess is that it is middle of pack for line and low for skill even against non-p5 players). During the first run, it was hard to get past Banks not being more experienced than he was and thinking what might have been. During the 2nd run there was the NW game where keeping it close bit the Hawks and the OSU Let's play not to win. Last year I let go and bought into it though I should have listened to Cowherd.

At least with the Cubbies it was always fun. This isn't. When I started paying as much attention as a young kid can back in the 70s there was still an amount of fun about it as it seemed relatively innocent. Poor old Iowa.

Well, this situation is just plain sickening. and not fun.

 

[hawkeyemark]

This was a long time in coming. Some bought the envelopment program BS. Some bought into NFL practice squad and bench warmer concept (still need to see how Iowa stacks up on impact players in NFL, guess is that it is middle of pack for line and low for skill even against non-p5 players). During the first run, it was hard to get past Banks not being more experienced than he was and thinking what might have been. During the 2nd run there was the NW game where keeping it close bit the Hawks and the OSU Let's play not to win. Last year I let go and bought into it though I should have listened to Cowherd.

At least with the Cubbies it was always fun. This isn't. When I started paying as much attention as a young kid can back in the 70s there was still an amount of fun about it as it seemed relatively innocent. Poor old Iowa.

Well, this situation is just plain sickening. and not fun.

Good post and I know we have many Cubs fans in the Iowa fan base who have done some well deserved rejoicing this week. I have a few years on you and grew up in the 60's and became an Iowa fan listening to the games on the radio as a kid while my older brother and sister attended Iowa and we might we get one win a season against Northwestern in those days.

You make a very good point here about how the fun and joy have simply evaporated. And the current situation definitely doesn't seem innocent which frustrates me way more than the record. The football and AD situation comes across as very elitist much like the 1% controls everything else in society. And sadly that reflects on my generation which it seems has corrupted about everything we touch.

 

[SteveGarvey1]

I'm about to stop caring because Kirk won't take Iowa into the 21st century of football. I didn't play organized football but I've noticed that, when other teams are in their offensive formations I only know where the ball is going to about half the time (throwing out obvious pass situations in this analysis). When Iowa gets into its offensive formations, I know what they're going to do 90% of the time. If I, who never played organized football can figure out the design of the play 9 out of 10 times, I would think opposing teams would know 98% maybe?

It is getting painful to watch and I almost feel sorry for Kirk for being so lost in his stubbornness.

 

[OkstHawk]

Sad thing is, I don't think any Iowa fan would mind losing a game here or there if they played inspired and the football was exciting.

Fran is going to have an average year this year but the basketball is going to be inspired, the guys are going to play hard, and they will be exciting to watch even if we don't make the tourney. Hell, Fran might even give us a real treat and berate the refs a few times. But at least he shows a pulse on the sideline and his guys look like they want to be here.

Is it too much to ask from this train wreck football program?

 

[hawkeyemark]

Sad thing is, I don't think any Iowa fan would mind losing a game here or there if they played inspired and the football was exciting.

Fran is going to have an average year this year but the basketball is going to be inspired, the guys are going to play hard, and they will be exciting to watch even if we don't make the tourney. Hell, Fran might even give us a real treat and berate the refs a few times. But at least he shows a pulse on the sideline and his guys look like they want to be here.

Is it too much to ask from this train wreck football program?

Not to get off topic but as far as BB goes I have mixed feelings about Fran as I find him a very average game coach but love his intensity and the hard work he puts into recruiting. Fran acts like he cares which really benefits the program even when his actual game coaching seems questionable which may get better with more talent and more experience coaching in the Big Ten.

On the football side apathy just oozes which seems unacceptable in an era of big money and big contracts, money spent on facilities, etc. I just want to see Kirk act the part and that would take care of much of the negativity swirling around the program.

 

[PCHawk]

Not to get off topic but as far as BB goes I have mixed feelings about Fran as I find him a very average game coach but love his intensity and the hard work he puts into recruiting. Fran acts like he cares which really benefits the program even when his actual game coaching seems questionable which may get better with more talent and more experience coaching in the Big Ten.

On the football side apathy just oozes which seems unacceptable in an era of big money and big contracts, money spent on facilities, etc. I just want to see Kirk act the part and that would take care of much of the negativity swirling around the program.

Fran is actually a really good game coach. How else can you explain how much his teams over achieve in relation to their talent? The only problem is, when they over achieve too much and get national attention, they can't sustain the success purely on in game coaching.

 

[tksirius]

 

[hawkeyemark]

Fran is actually a really good game coach. How else can you explain how much his teams over achieve in relation to their talent? The only problem is, when they over achieve too much and get national attention, they can't sustain the success purely on in game coaching.

This seems a discussion best suited for the basketball board but I will say that I don't think Fran's teams have over-achieved relative to their talent. The late swoon last season with a senior dominated team seems one example and in six seasons Fran has won only one NCAA tournament game against a relatively weak Temple team. Fran has benefited IMO from following Lickliter.

Perception really matters and that really hurts us in football right now. I live in the south where people treat college football like religion and our program looks like a joke to most people around here. It doesn't help when you have the national media chiming in and pointing out the obvious as has started to happen with the contract situation. When the program has a weak national reputation that negatively impacts an already somewhat weak recruiting effort. It all ties together starting with how people see the program.

 

[STLhawkeye20]

Don't delude yourself that the Cubs "pulled off the improbable." Maybe you think it was "improbable" based on their historical failures, but in reality teams from the 1940s or 1950s or 1960s have no bearing on a team from 2016. There are no curses, no jinxes, nothing external influencing sports outcomes other than what takes place on the field. Simply put, the Cubs were by far and away the best team in baseball when you look at all of the pieces they had. If anything, they were the odds on favorites to win. It's not "improbable" just because YOU thought they would never win the World Series.

 

[IowaHawkeye2010]

Don't delude yourself that the Cubs "pulled off the improbable." Maybe you think it was "improbable" based on their historical failures, but in reality teams from the 1940s or 1950s or 1960s have no bearing on a team from 2016. There are no curses, no jinxes, nothing external influencing sports outcomes other than what takes place on the field. Simply put, the Cubs were by far and away the best team in baseball when you look at all of the pieces they had. If anything, they were the odds on favorites to win. It's not "improbable" just because YOU thought they would never win the World Series.

Yes, because teams down 3-1 are likely to win the series and an unhittable closer gives up a 3 run lead in the bottom of the 8th of game 7 to tie it up. Making cubs fans remember the likes of a black cat, goat, Batman game (not his fault, cubs being cubs more than anything).

Either way my point was I have lost excitement for the Hawks and lack of trying to make change. Albert Einstein said it best with his quote on insanity, doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. It is time to make changes this season before it drives the people who don't have a Cubs world series to celebrate insane.

 

[STLhawkeye20]

Yes, because teams down 3-1 are likely to win the series and an unhittable closer gives up a 3 run lead in the bottom of the 8th of game 7 to tie it up. Making cubs fans remember the likes of a black cat, goat, Batman game (not his fault, cubs being cubs more than anything).

Teams that are down 3-1 that have Lester, Arrieta, and Kyle Hendricks pitching respectively in the subsequent games ARE likely to win. Cleveland blew its chance to win the series when it didn't capitalize in game 5. It was over after that. Not sure why Cubs fans want to make it into some historic comeback. It wasn't - they were the odds on favorites to win.

 

[IowaHawkeye2010]

Teams that are down 3-1 that have Lester, Arrieta, and Kyle Hendricks pitching respectively in the subsequent games ARE likely to win. Cleveland blew its chance to win the series when it didn't capitalize in game 5. It was over after that. Not sure why Cubs fans want to make it into some historic comeback. It wasn't - they were the odds on favorites to win.

Someone sounds butthurt.

 

[STLhawkeye20]

Someone sounds butthurt.

Not butthurt at all. Just a realist.

 

[IowaHawkeye2010]

Not butthurt at all. Just a realist.

Did I think we would win when the series started, yes. Did I think we would win down 2-1, yes. When we got down 3-1, no I definitely felt we were not the favorites as did Vegas and statistical history. Anyway I'm done discussing baseball with someone who wants to just rain on a parade that hasn't been able to happen in 108 years.

Hawks have issues, something needs to change.

 

[STLhawkeye20]

Hawks have issues, something needs to change.

That's definitely one thing we can agree on.

 

[barker91]

Could care less, now that the Cubs are world champs. Watched the first quarter last night, saw the same old BS, then switched to Alabama- LSU.

Iowa Football = BORING

 

[IowaHOCKS23]

Don't delude yourself that the Cubs "pulled off the improbable." Maybe you think it was "improbable" based on their historical failures, but in reality teams from the 1940s or 1950s or 1960s have no bearing on a team from 2016. There are no curses, no jinxes, nothing external influencing sports outcomes other than what takes place on the field. Simply put, the Cubs were by far and away the best team in baseball when you look at all of the pieces they had. If anything, they were the odds on favorites to win. It's not "improbable" just because YOU thought they would never win the World Series.

I sense a salty cardinal

 

[Seth53]

To echo the OP....while I won't quit *watching* the Hawks (I'll watch every single game...I guess season tickets forces me a bit to do so....), I have quit *following* this team...i.e. player development, end of season positioning for a possible bowl game, awards, coaching strategy, BTN dissection, etc.

Call it apathy, call it being disinterested. I call it being realistic and quite frankly, tuckered out from the mediocre product on the field. My attention was waning and now has evaporated.

This is a rarity for me. I usually follow the Hawks religiously with some hope. Not this year, sorry.