1987alum wrote:Schadenfreude: I think you're spot on Brandon and Imstufft
Let me elaborate.
Again, I'm sure they hate it. Denny Stolz never took the kind of abuse Brandon can read on a regular basis here.* We hyperanalyze his every move. The great Vance Joseph debate is just one example. Most of us would have been oblivious to the situation were it not for AZZ.com.
And, heck, Brandon doesn't even have it that bad. Imagine being Stutz -- and knowing every online comment from some of your fans now contain the words "Fire Lou West."
These boards make the job of coaching a MAC program tougher than it was 20 years ago, no question.
On the other hand, I think boards like these are a blessing for emerging programs like Bowling Green. In fact, for the sake of argument, I'd submit AZZ.com has done as much to stir up interest in our program as anything else. (And interest is strong; our attendance average this year may be the largest ever)
For a long, long time, the dynamic of media in this country was top down. We've long been beat over our heads with the programs the big media think we want to hear about: Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame, for example.
It was very, very lonely work, being a Bowling Green fan -- and almost impossible to get good information about your team unless you happened to be within The Blade's subscription area.
The Internet, and boards like this, have changed that. Now we can *choose* the sources of information we want. And, suddenly, it has become a lot less lonely being a Bowling Green fan.
I'd argue that without AZZ.com, a lot of us would have given in to peer pressure and stopped caring -- especially those of us in outside of Northwest Ohio.
And I'd argue that this is one reason why we appear now poised to break a school attendance record this season, despite the fact that our current era of plenty does *not* measure up to the runs of the early 90s or early 80s, at least in terms of titles.
(In fairness, let me offer two alternate explanations for why support is so strong at this point:
1. Our unprecedented success against BCS programs. Despite the fact that we have not won a MAC title during this run, Falcon fans geuinely think we have a shot against any team in the country. That's an unprecedented place to be for us. In some ways, the knowledge that we can beat teams like Purdue or Northwestern may be more important for fansthan winning MAC titles.
2. The runs of of the early 80s and early 90s have set up this period of fan interest. I've always said the '94 season locked me in as a fan. In this era of success, we are building on one additional good era, the good Blackney years. That means we have a larger reserve of fans who were just waiting for the team to get good again).
So the coaches may not like this site. But they need it, too.
Eventually, they'll come around to accept that.
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* I mean while he was coach. Stolz has certainly received his share of abuse since this board was up and running
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