As many of you on this board can tell, I've been a fan of Griz basketball for years. Way before football became the dominant sport, way before many of you made your appearance on this earth.
And so the loss last night, such a humiliating, deflating performance against our main basketball rival going back decades, the despised Weber State, should have been cause for crushing sadness, an emotional eclipse of the sun, the beginning of the apocalypse!
But guess what? I could care less. I have simply lost any emotional connection to this team.
And so this morning, I have spent a lot of time wondering why.
It started with the absence of Money Williams. Okay, he's hurt, unable to play. That's not the issue.
Mine was, nobody told me he wouldn't play. This has been a question on the minds of Griz fans since he got hurt: Would he play against Weber? But nobody on this coaching staff cared enough to tell its fan base he wouldn't play. I tried to watch the game on my laptop, not the best clarity of image, but when I scanned the bench, I did not see him there.
If I missed the announcement, my bad. But no mention of it on this board, or on the lengthy pre-game article on the Griz app. Another small gesture to indicate this coaching staff has zero connection to its fan base. And while I don't live in Missoula, it's clear from the comments on this board that the administration's attitude toward the fans and the students at home games has not been beneficial to the program.
And remember, of the three elements of any sports program--the Administration (including the coaches), the Talent (the players) and the Fans (ah, us!) the Fans are the most important, because with us, without our support and our money, the other two elements become the Cross Country program.
But there's more.
For football fans--and I am one too!--there is a strong connection to the players. While I am no fan of Bobby Hauck's mumbling press conferences, I am of the kids who also show up--A.J. Forbes, Braxton Hill, Junior Bergen. The championship run has amplified their presence, and while I confess I don't live in the Missoula media market, I don't know the last time I've seen an interview with a Griz basketball player.
Then there's the tradition. It's become chapter and verse of memorable games that are part of Griz lore: The championship win at Marshall; the App State game; the stunning comeback against South Dakota State; and now the win in OT against North Dakota State. Basketball? The greatest game was a loss against UCLA before most on this board were born, followed by a first-round victory over Nevada under Kyrstkowiack. Any others? Not off the top of my head.
Then there's the Montana element. The football program prides itself on its Montana players, and has established a tradition around the number "37." But basketball? It's just chapter and verse of great Montana players who've left the state completely, going all the way back to Wayne Estes and Mike Lewis, continuing with each of the three Tinkle kids, and most recently, Rollie Worster, now a starter for Utah. I'm not a huge homer but I have to confess, it does make a difference over time when there is not a single Montana kid in the eight-man rotation.
So there you have it. I don't express this sentiment out of anger, more of sadness. Because my l-o-n-g emotional connection to the great tradition that once was the Montana basketball program is drying up faster than the Great Salt Lake.
And so the loss last night, such a humiliating, deflating performance against our main basketball rival going back decades, the despised Weber State, should have been cause for crushing sadness, an emotional eclipse of the sun, the beginning of the apocalypse!
But guess what? I could care less. I have simply lost any emotional connection to this team.
And so this morning, I have spent a lot of time wondering why.
It started with the absence of Money Williams. Okay, he's hurt, unable to play. That's not the issue.
Mine was, nobody told me he wouldn't play. This has been a question on the minds of Griz fans since he got hurt: Would he play against Weber? But nobody on this coaching staff cared enough to tell its fan base he wouldn't play. I tried to watch the game on my laptop, not the best clarity of image, but when I scanned the bench, I did not see him there.
If I missed the announcement, my bad. But no mention of it on this board, or on the lengthy pre-game article on the Griz app. Another small gesture to indicate this coaching staff has zero connection to its fan base. And while I don't live in Missoula, it's clear from the comments on this board that the administration's attitude toward the fans and the students at home games has not been beneficial to the program.
And remember, of the three elements of any sports program--the Administration (including the coaches), the Talent (the players) and the Fans (ah, us!) the Fans are the most important, because with us, without our support and our money, the other two elements become the Cross Country program.
But there's more.
For football fans--and I am one too!--there is a strong connection to the players. While I am no fan of Bobby Hauck's mumbling press conferences, I am of the kids who also show up--A.J. Forbes, Braxton Hill, Junior Bergen. The championship run has amplified their presence, and while I confess I don't live in the Missoula media market, I don't know the last time I've seen an interview with a Griz basketball player.
Then there's the tradition. It's become chapter and verse of memorable games that are part of Griz lore: The championship win at Marshall; the App State game; the stunning comeback against South Dakota State; and now the win in OT against North Dakota State. Basketball? The greatest game was a loss against UCLA before most on this board were born, followed by a first-round victory over Nevada under Kyrstkowiack. Any others? Not off the top of my head.
Then there's the Montana element. The football program prides itself on its Montana players, and has established a tradition around the number "37." But basketball? It's just chapter and verse of great Montana players who've left the state completely, going all the way back to Wayne Estes and Mike Lewis, continuing with each of the three Tinkle kids, and most recently, Rollie Worster, now a starter for Utah. I'm not a huge homer but I have to confess, it does make a difference over time when there is not a single Montana kid in the eight-man rotation.
So there you have it. I don't express this sentiment out of anger, more of sadness. Because my l-o-n-g emotional connection to the great tradition that once was the Montana basketball program is drying up faster than the Great Salt Lake.
, are: the over-arching pillars of principle that guide the program (is everyone pulling in the same direction/100% buy-in, team and staff unity, high levels of camaraderie and morale). Every team, in every sport, in every season (unless you're SDSU Football, apparently) will hit stumbling blocks. How these bumps in the road are responded to says much about a team and staff's character. So that becomes the other important metric that I use on my SoJ in thinking about a program. TDC is a Missoula legend as both a player and coach, and as such, gets damn-near endless rope, as far as I'm concerned, to run the program as he sees fit. Their's likely never been a more challenging era in which to coach at the college level...especially at the mid-major level. So I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet on this team. Not even close...
