Thursday, December 3, 2015

Bear With Me

I’ve got some random thoughts. If you continue reading from here you are agreeing to bear with me. You’ve been warned.

* Tracy Claeys

DO YOU, CLAEYBRO!

Remember a few months ago when everyone was pissy with Matt Limegrover for poor play calling and poor offense in general? There was discussion about how he should be let go, but that Jerry Kill would never pull the trigger.

Then the unimaginable happened. Jerry Kill retired abruptly and the whole empire suddenly looked shaky.

Here’s the question. Let’s say Kill never retired. Let’s say that the season continued to play out exactly as it did, but that Kill was still the head coach. Same outcomes. Same wins. Same losses. Same struggles.

And then let’s say it was Jerry Kill who fired Matt Limegrover and Jim Zebrowski.

What then?

Wouldn’t we all be saying “well, yeah, it was time for a change.”

I was a proponent of hiring Claeys, but I had some concerns on Claeys assertiveness. Would he be a leader, or would he be a wallflower? Would he make the tough decisions, or would he wait for things to come to him?

Well folks, I no longer have that fear.

For better or worse, ClaeyBro made a big statement. He’s going to run this team. He’s going to blaze the trail his way. Carried around town on the shoulders of the fans or ridden out of town on a rail, when it’s all said and done, make no mistake, Tracy Claeys just pronounced: “I’m the captain now!” (h/t @MVofDT & @FrothyGopher (R.I.P.))

* Reusse

My favorite thing about Reusse is how he’ll constantly use the word “we” when talking about what’s going on with the Gophers, and then he turns around and calls the fans names (most recently: Maroon Wearing Zanies. I think we should all adopt #MWZ on Twitter, but I’m only one man.).

* Bowl Bid

Speaking of Reusse, I actually agree with him on something.

“You cannot say, ‘Our kids worked so hard; they deserve a bowl game,’ when the work produces completely negative results.

You should not say this. If you are saying this, you should not be saying it and you are being an idiot.

However, saying the Gophers deserve a bowl game isn’t the same as saying that the Gophers should accept an invitation to a bowl game.

They most certainly do not deserve to go to a bowl game. But should they accept a bowl bid if they get one? HELL YES.

And don’t give me any BS about pride and how we shouldn’t be willing to accept a “reward.”


It’s not a reward. It’s a glitch in the system. It’s an outlier. It’s not a normal circumstance. And the Gophers should take advantage of the opportunity if it presents itself. 

In the words of Steve Miller “Take the money and run.”