It makes us all sick. Tim said it, I know Boilerdowd is feeling it and probably can't bring himself to write about this debacle.... and I'm just angry. I'm angry that I invest in this team every year. And no, I don't mean monetarily.
I mean, I INVEST in them. I really CARE what happens and it pisses me off. Sure, I've learned over the years (see: 2004) not to care TOO much because I know how sour the taste of disappointment and wholly unfulfilled expectations can be. But still, because of how connected I am to this University I cannot help but care in a major way. About the success of the program, about the respectability of the team and, yes, what others think of us. I hate some of the things that are said about the team but, as Boilerdowd often says, "let's face it." Yeah, we're middle-of-the-pack, and too many damn people are satisfied and maybe even PLEASED with that. Well, I'm not. It sucks.
Kansas can have an 11-0 start. Stanford can knock off USC. Navy can beat Notre Dame. Rutgers can have an 11-win season ('06). Northwestern -- NORTHWESTERN!! -- can have fleeting years of Rose Bowl-caliber success. Illinois can have a year where they upset OSU. Appalachian State can beat Michigan. Syracuse can beat Louisville when they're 41-point 'dogs.
What's my point?
Why doesn't this kind of stuff EVER happen to us? I mean, seriously... what did WE do? And if you're some dumbass anonymous poster who just wants to rip on Purdue because you've got a tiny ding-dong and it makes you feel good, don't bother. We've all admitted at various times that our program is a disappointment. That big, long word that, when you parents used it, made you feel worse than anything. A fricking major-league disappointment. Hell, we were saying that we'd tolerate 9-3 but deep down we all knew losing those three to UM, OSU and PSU would still sting because it would be more proof that we couldn't get over the hump against legit top programs. Well, we did our typical give-up routine and it appears nobody even cares anymore.
Boilerdowd has said in the past that he thinks the old alumni would tolerate almost anything so long as we kept pasting IU every year. Well, that has even stopped now, so maybe something WILL happen. I think something NEEDS to happen, either at the athletic director level or, more likely, at the head coaching level. I've defended our mediocrity for too long. 7-5 is absolutely unacceptable and it pains me to even SEE those numbers in print. We began 5-0 in September, then went 2-2 in October and 0-and-effing-3 in November. Simply UNACCEPTABLE.
That's it, I'm on board. It's time for change.
http://www.firecoachtiller.com/
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Postscript: The only good thing today was that Coach Hep's drive was fulfilled and the Hoosiers won one for their beloved coach. Can't help but feel good about that. A good man, taken too soon. Good on ya, boys.