Very late Saturday night, I went to the local grocery store here in Edmonds, and spotted a buddy of mine who is a checker there. We started talking about the ASU game, and were very animated in our frustration and analysis of the loss.
This is not Husky football, we said. He asked me what I was going to write about. As we chatted amongst ourselves, a rotund, purple-clad gentleman went lumbering past. He overheard us and from it deciphered who I was.
"Oh, are you that Johnson guy from Dawgman.com?"
I indicated that I was, and he cut right to the chase.
"For your next article, I want you to give those coaches hell!" he bellowed. "They're running our program right into the ground!"
I looked at him, shrugged, and indicated that there are many factors involved with the team's failures this season. I said that in my opinion, the players, coaches and circumstances have all contributed to the struggles.
"That's a bunch of B.S., it's Neuheisel!" he scoffed, before storming off.
,br> I mention this exchange because of the irony involved. It was only back in August, I had written an article for the PigskinPost.com, entitled "Oregon has Legitimate Reason to Loathe Rick Neuheisel."
I learned a lot about fan mentality from that experience. In that article, I had detailed how a Duck friend of mine had sent me a videotape of the 1996 Cotton Bowl, when Colorado whipped Oregon 38-6. Then Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel had run a fake punt when leading 32-6, and kept up the aggressive play calling in an effort to score again. The essence of my article was that I finally understood why Oregon's fans hate coach Neuheisel so much. As I wrote, "if that had happened to a team I cared about, I would be seeing red, too."
You would have thought that I had been found guilty of setting fire to an orphanage. You should have seen my email inbox. I received well over 100 emails, with 80% of them being vitriolic rants. The Dawgman message boards also had a meltdown. People said that I had betrayed Neuheisel and the Washington team, that I had shamed the University of Washington. Others were saying that I should issue a public apology, and that I was not a "true Husky". The article was neither slanderous nor containing innuendo, and it never questioned his abilities as a coach.
It's now not even three months later. The people's staunch defense of Neuheisel has suddenly vanished. Everywhere you look, fans are foaming at the mouth and seething with rage at how Washington has decayed into mediocrity. For people who cherish this football program, it hurts deep in the heart. And many people, including my acquaintance at the grocery store, are furious at the coaches.
I must admit that find it intriguing, that many of the furious posts on the message boards are from some of the same people who defended Neuheisel tooth and nail, just three months ago. These days, my inbox has emails coming in with people demanding explanations for what has happened to the team.
I guess for players, coaches and even writers, it is very much a case of "what have you done for me lately?"
For me, lately I feel like my Dawgman column is turning into a weekly list of grievances and rationalizations.
To me, oddly enough, the best part of the game came right after Nate Robinson was screwed of an interception he made in the end zone. ASU was able to get a field goal on the next play. When the Devils kicked off, Robinson took the ball seven yards deep in the end zone and he didn't hesitate to bring the ball out. He was subsequently buried at the 6-yard line, and it was a very poor decision on his part.
But I loved it! Here was a guy who was robbed of a great play by the officials, he's fuming and frustrated, and damn it, he's burning to come right out and strike back. It showed pride and fire. This showed a sign of N-Rob being a great leader for the Dawgs in future years. I wish more of our players would make these kinds of mistakes. I would never advocate physically injuring an opponent, but I would rather see a Husky get a late hit penalty than to not line up properly following a time out. It's not just the mistakes, it's the kind of mistakes that's occurring that bothers me. Nate's mistake was somewhat from youth, but mostly from passion and the desire to compete.
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