I actually had forgotten NIU was playing Toledo Tuesday night. I only remembered because I got an alert on my phone the game was starting. I was sitting on the couch, watching television, and I almost put the game on. However, I had just started 'Walking Dead', and I decided I'd rather watch that. I periodically looked at my phone to check the score, but I moved to 'Chicago Fire' after I finished with Rick and his crew. I never watched one moment of the football game.

I thought about it later - I used to move mountains to ensure I was able to watch every single Huskie football game that was televised or streamed. Now I just don't care. I was indifferent to watch it, indifferent as to who won or lost.

It's not because we are having a down season. I've witnessed many down seasons for teams I've supported yet still stuck through to the bitter end. My indifference stems from a head coach that I don't believe in and an administration that seems resigned to leave him at the helm in spite of the program falling apart.

I am not arrogant enough to presume I speak for all Huskie fans, yet I kind of get a sense from this board and other Huskie sources that I'm not alone in becoming apathetic towards Huskie football.

Apathy should be scary to AD Frazier and everyone associated with Huskie athletics. An angry fan base is a passionate fan base. We've seen that for the past year or so. It means our alumni and supporters still care deeply about the program.

So I ask, are we still invested in Huskie football or have the ineptitude of Frazier and Carey taken us to the point where we cease to be invested in the team we all once loved?

If you forgot NIU was even playing your apathy says a little more about your fandom than allegiance to a single coach

(11-13-2016 01:57 AM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  If you forgot NIU was even playing your apathy says a little more about your fandom than allegiance to a single coach

+1. Well said.

He really forgot because the game was Weds not Tues.

I sort of feel the same way. This homer coach has made me lose interest.

I too have a little apathy, but not to the point I would rather not watch it...that's a little deeper then apathy. I will say that much my passion went toward basketball this season where I do personally like the coaches and the players. Only thing I agree with you is that there are good players on football, but not much identity, especially from the coaches. We need a Bible Belt charmer like Kill to pep everyone up

Here lies the problem with our fan base. Nothing against you but we don't have enough die hards. It's your choice if you decide not to follow the team anymore but a diehard would continue to support the team. The players aren't to blame for having a bad coach. I'm going to stick with the team and express my disappointment along the way.

(11-13-2016 12:50 AM)VegasHuskie Wrote:  I actually had forgotten NIU was playing Toledo Tuesday night. I only remembered because I got an alert on my phone the game was starting. I was sitting on the couch, watching television, and I almost put the game on. However, I had just started 'Walking Dead', and I decided I'd rather watch that. I periodically looked at my phone to check the score, but I moved to 'Chicago Fire' after I finished with Rick and his crew. I never watched one moment of the football game.

I thought about it later - I used to move mountains to ensure I was able to watch every single Huskie football game that was televised or streamed. Now I just don't care. I was indifferent to watch it, indifferent as to who won or lost.

It's not because we are having a down season. I've witnessed many down seasons for teams I've supported yet still stuck through to the bitter end. My indifference stems from a head coach that I don't believe in and an administration that seems resigned to leave him at the helm in spite of the program falling apart.

I am not arrogant enough to presume I speak for all Huskie fans, yet I kind of get a sense from this board and other Huskie sources that I'm not alone in becoming apathetic towards Huskie football.

Apathy should be scary to AD Frazier and everyone associated with Huskie athletics. An angry fan base is a passionate fan base. We've seen that for the past year or so. It means our alumni and supporters still care deeply about the program.

So I ask, are we still invested in Huskie football or have the ineptitude of Frazier and Carey taken us to the point where we cease to be invested in the team we all once loved?

It really is a shame because NIU was on one heck of a run and not a lot of fans responded to the excitement. NIU laid another egg on national TV under this coach!

(11-13-2016 09:09 AM)Stpetebeachrocketfan Wrote:  It really is a shame because NIU was on one heck of a run and not a lot of fans responded to the excitement. NIU laid another egg on national TV under this coach!

You'd certainly know what laying an egg is like.

I'm tired of hearing how we are going to upgrade our terrible out of date stadium and not even an update has come through since the season started. Updating our out of date, glorified high school stadium would be a big boost to recruiting and the fan base.

(11-13-2016 10:54 AM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  I'm tired of hearing how we are going to upgrade our terrible out of date stadium and not even an update has come through since the season started. Updating our out of date, glorified high school stadium would be a big boost to recruiting and the fan base.

But it's the budget. The budget won't let us. The trustees. they won't let us. The budget. The budget!

Yes, I agree. This program is on thin ice and there is nothing but talk and Mickey Mouse ideas for mid to high rollers. What about 37 game day options. Just fix and update the stadium for the average fan experience, reach out. Reaching out ship may have set sail as stated in other threads in failure to capitalize on Orange Bowl. All this talk of 150 million dollar improvements everywhere was a pipe dream and nothing but an appeal to bigger conference and pad Frazier's resume. All they got is some JV style suites and glorified bar under the stadium, a big tv and tents in prime tailgate area which has ticked off some donors and season ticket holders. There is no plan B right now to replace the far fetched plan A that never had $ fanbase and was only going to go through with about 5 more 0 or 1 loss seasons and another BCS bowl or 2.

(11-13-2016 10:54 AM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  I'm tired of hearing how we are going to upgrade our terrible out of date stadium and not even an update has come through since the season started. Updating our out of date, glorified high school stadium would be a big boost to recruiting and the fan base.

Hard to convince donors, when your team in trending downward, your team has won 3 games(against the 3 worst teams in the conference), your attendance is declining, etc..

MAC football is fun when your team is winning, ok if your team is average and unbearable when your team is a loser

(11-13-2016 07:34 AM)niu79 Wrote:  

(11-13-2016 01:57 AM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  If you forgot NIU was even playing your apathy says a little more about your fandom than allegiance to a single coach

+1. Well said.

What was well said? His entire comment, as is often the case with MaddDawgz, is non-nonsensical. At no point in my post did I lay claim to any allegiance to a coach. There is nothing that would lead one to think I was even alluding to any type of allegiance to a coach.

And yes, my apathy does say something to my "fandom". That was the point of my post. I'm a disillusioned Huskie fan who has moved past being angry about the state of the program to where I am now simply bored and indifferent about the team.

I think I will give you a -1 for giving him a +1

(11-13-2016 12:50 AM)VegasHuskie Wrote:  I actually had forgotten NIU was playing Toledo Tuesday night. I only remembered because I got an alert on my phone the game was starting. I was sitting on the couch, watching television, and I almost put the game on. However, I had just started 'Walking Dead', and I decided I'd rather watch that. I periodically looked at my phone to check the score, but I moved to 'Chicago Fire' after I finished with Rick and his crew. I never watched one moment of the football game.

I thought about it later - I used to move mountains to ensure I was able to watch every single Huskie football game that was televised or streamed. Now I just don't care. I was indifferent to watch it, indifferent as to who won or lost.

It's not because we are having a down season. I've witnessed many down seasons for teams I've supported yet still stuck through to the bitter end. My indifference stems from a head coach that I don't believe in and an administration that seems resigned to leave him at the helm in spite of the program falling apart.

I am not arrogant enough to presume I speak for all Huskie fans, yet I kind of get a sense from this board and other Huskie sources that I'm not alone in becoming apathetic towards Huskie football.

Apathy should be scary to AD Frazier and everyone associated with Huskie athletics. An angry fan base is a passionate fan base. We've seen that for the past year or so. It means our alumni and supporters still care deeply about the program.

So I ask, are we still invested in Huskie football or have the ineptitude of Frazier and Carey taken us to the point where we cease to be invested in the team we all once loved?

Bye

(11-13-2016 12:31 PM)VegasHuskie Wrote:  

(11-13-2016 07:34 AM)niu79 Wrote:  

(11-13-2016 01:57 AM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  If you forgot NIU was even playing your apathy says a little more about your fandom than allegiance to a single coach

+1. Well said.

What was well said? His entire comment, as is often the case with MaddDawgz, is non-nonsensical. At no point in my post did I lay claim to any allegiance to a coach. There is nothing that would lead one to think I was even alluding to any type of allegiance to a coach.

And yes, my apathy does say something to my "fandom". That was the point of my post. I'm a disillusioned Huskie fan who has moved past being angry about the state of the program to where I am now simply bored and indifferent about the team.

I think I will give you a -1 for giving him a +1

All I can say Vegas is the NIU team should be bigger than any one person. PJ is gone, and will soon be at Purdue, he wouldn't have been here long anyway, move on and be a big boy about it.

(11-13-2016 01:27 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  All I can say Vegas is the NIU team should be bigger than any one person. PJ is gone, and will soon be at Purdue, he wouldn't have been here long anyway, move on and be a big boy about it.

Here you go again MD, there's zero reason to bring PJ into this discussion and typically you're throwing out extremes again. Since you're convinced PJ has such a massive ego, then you should know it's above Purdue. It's interesting to note you say "he wouldn't have been here long anyway," which implies he would either have been fired or been successful enough to move on. So why can't some on here suggest it's time to part ways with Carey? Guess what, aside from John McDougal or Joe Novak, there haven't been any NIU coaching hires who didn't plan / hope to move on eventually.
How about you and some others become big boys about the fact people can love, support and root for the Huskies, but become frustrated enough to speak out. If you don't think fans becoming disillusioned isn't an issue, then worry about why the fan base has not and isn't growing. That master plan was excessive and unrealistic from the start, and if Illinois' sad financial state is such a road block, then yes, a plan B or revision should be made.
Since beginning an allegiance to Huskie athletics back in 1980, I've seen every AD make proposals that looked great in architect's renderings but never became a reality; there have been slogans galore "world-class, building champions, etc."; and the Huskie Club evolved into the HAF, then HASF, etc. just like a dog circling its bed before settling down. It's wrong to consider blind loyalty as the measure of a die-hard fan.

After 6 MAC West titles in a row and 3 MAC titles, I'm not going to be apathetic due to 1 bad year. Casual fans might, but they didn't show up in numbers when the team was doing well either, except for a couple games in Lynch's senior year.

(11-13-2016 12:50 AM)VegasHuskie Wrote:  So I ask, are we still invested in Huskie football or have the ineptitude of Frazier and Carey taken us to the point where we cease to be invested in the team we all once loved?

Maybe you're in a different place in life and have things you'd rather do than watch a 3+ hour football game? Especially when you can watch the highlights and check the box score as soon as the game is over if you want to do that. This happens to any sports team and their fans when the team isn't playing well.

(11-13-2016 03:41 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  After 6 MAC West titles in a row and 3 MAC titles, I'm not going to be apathetic due to 1 bad year. Casual fans might, but they didn't show up in numbers when the team was doing well either, except for a couple games in Lynch's senior year.

This is a very good response to my post and yet, though I want to share your opinion, I can't manage to do so.

I guess it's because I have held a poor opinion of Coach Carey ever since the blowout loss to Bowling Green in the game that would have put us in back to back BCS bowls. He was exposed badly in that game and I've been expecting the free fall to disgrace we are now experiencing a lot longer than other Huskie fans have.

show me when NIU pulls all the stops to get students to go to games, then I will lose some apathy. These gimmick games are mere band aids that will be forgotten in a year, and do nothing for the real growth of a fanbase. Show me you can start to rebuild the fanbase from the ground up - IE from the students first, then i will be convinced of a real commitment to the growth of the program from the school.