(12-30-2013 09:47 PM)7 Wrote:  If you think I've matured at all, well, I would have to disagree with you lol.

You will get no argument from anyone here.

(12-27-2013 04:05 PM)niu_1087 Wrote:  People always overreact after a bad loss, let alone 2 bad losses in a row. I don't think Carey should be fired, but he needs to make a lot of improvements in decision making and game management before my faith in him will be restored.

More than anything, the biggest lesson to be learned over the past 2 games is that this team wasn't anywhere near being as good as we thought they were. Not even close, in fact. We were small, fairly one dimensional, and we stumbled through an easy schedule and got exposed badly by mediocre teams with the right defensive schemes.

Regardless though, these past few seasons have been like a dream for an NIU fan, as I don't think anyone could have ever expected the success that both Harnish and Lynch, among others, helped bring to the program. Maybe the problem is that along the way most of us really started to expect that success, which is why a 12-2 season seems like such a terrible disappointment.

As disappointed as I am in the outcome of our final two games, I'm probably more disappointed in the fact that over the course of those games the best player in MAC history looked absolutely terrible. I had hoped my final couple opportunities to watch him play (I don't see him ever playing in the NFL) would have been more representative of his career as a whole, but it just didn't turn out that way.

This is a brilliant post, which I think captures what most NIU fans are feeling. I'll add to it with this...

We were all intoxicated with wine of a 12-0 record, national rankings and a Heisman candidate. We began to think we were unstopable. To lose the last two games was crushing. If on the other hand, we had started the season 0-2 and then won ten in a row, as a fan base, we would have been much more grounded in our attitude.

This year was the perfect storm for potential disappointment - and we were crushed.

We've got a lot to be proud of these last several years. Yet we are still seeking a crown of legitimacy the rest of the college football world. We needed to win vs. BGSU - then do what UCF did to Baylor to earn that crown. We were so close we tasted it. We dreamed of it. And it all came crashing down.

We also have a long way to go, but plenty to be proud of.

(01-02-2014 11:04 AM)3OrangeWhips Wrote:  

(12-27-2013 04:05 PM)niu_1087 Wrote:  People always overreact after a bad loss, let alone 2 bad losses in a row. I don't think Carey should be fired, but he needs to make a lot of improvements in decision making and game management before my faith in him will be restored.

More than anything, the biggest lesson to be learned over the past 2 games is that this team wasn't anywhere near being as good as we thought they were. Not even close, in fact. We were small, fairly one dimensional, and we stumbled through an easy schedule and got exposed badly by mediocre teams with the right defensive schemes.

Regardless though, these past few seasons have been like a dream for an NIU fan, as I don't think anyone could have ever expected the success that both Harnish and Lynch, among others, helped bring to the program. Maybe the problem is that along the way most of us really started to expect that success, which is why a 12-2 season seems like such a terrible disappointment.

As disappointed as I am in the outcome of our final two games, I'm probably more disappointed in the fact that over the course of those games the best player in MAC history looked absolutely terrible. I had hoped my final couple opportunities to watch him play (I don't see him ever playing in the NFL) would have been more representative of his career as a whole, but it just didn't turn out that way.

This is a brilliant post, which I think captures what most NIU fans are feeling. I'll add to it with this...

We were all intoxicated with wine of a 12-0 record, national rankings and a Heisman candidate. We began to think we were unstopable. To lose the last two games was crushing. If on the other hand, we had started the season 0-2 and then won ten in a row, as a fan base, we would have been much more grounded in our attitude.

This year was the perfect storm for potential disappointment - and we were crushed.

We've got a lot to be proud of these last several years. Yet we are still seeking a crown of legitimacy the rest of the college football world. We needed to win vs. BGSU - then do what UCF did to Baylor to earn that crown. We were so close we tasted it. We dreamed of it. And it all came crashing down.

We also have a long way to go, but plenty to be proud of.

You have a brilliant screen name. My roommates and I used to reference 3 orange whips all the time. Blues brothers is where it's at.