If any of us were fairweather fans, we would have left this board a long time ago for greener pastures.  GO OWLS!

Seems like it's a lot of new board members that are calling people out here about being "fair-weathered fans" or "armchair coaches." I'm not worried about threats to my credibility nor should anyone else here that's a regular contributor.

dusky256fc said

fauowls44 said

SouthernOwl said

I am a true Owl fan. I have read these message boards for quite some time and love how many fair-weather fans there are giving their opinion. When we're good, everyone takes credit. When we're bad, people are easy to blame.

What you described is not people being fair-weather fans, just regular fans.  You think there is any fan base out there that wouldn't be calling for change after the last 4 seasons that we have had?  Are you OK with what has gone on since 2007?  It's been a pretty steady decline…

I agree, offering opinions and having discussions about the problems and issues facing the team, especially the last two years, does not make you a fair weather fan.

If anything the opposite is probably true about the vast majority of the people on this board.  Although I disagree with a lot of the statements I don't believe these people are fair weather fans.  This board is comprised of the hard core Owls fans that show up at every game(if they live local)  whether we win or lose but we know something had to change.

A fair weather fan is the guy who shows up at the stadium when the team is winning and tells everyone he's been a fan of the team since day one. When FAU is  1-11, that same guy tells everyone FAU sucks, and anyone that goes to the stadium to watch them play is wasting their time. Most on this forum have been fans of this team since '01 and have painstakingly made their way to Lockhart or FAU stadium and have watched a team that has lost alot more than won.  I don't think FAU has too many fairweather fans. We really haven't built a big enough fan base yet to have many fair weather fans.

As far as the critiquing on this forum, most people on here are a bunch of good natured arm chair quarterbacks that throw in their 2 cents on just about anything relating to FAU. At the end of the day, we all just want to see the athletic program and university in general be the best that it can be. 

walty12 said

Agreed, the underlying reason these boards stay mostly civil and have good tempored conversation is because 80% of us are die hard FAU fans.  That common denomenator of truly caring for the university and its programs over rules whatever disagreements or differences in points of views some of us may have.

That being said…d-owl, owlcountry44, georgiaowl…who wants an argument?!?   ;D

LOL! Not today - just glad we finally have our guy and can look towards the future!

I have a few questions for you all. How many of you played football? And not Pee-Wee football. How many of you have coached? And yes, this can even be Pee-Wee football. How many of you have teenage sons/daughters? If you have played football, then you understand the pressures of performing on the field, off the field, and have seen/heard Monday Morning Quarterbacks give their two cents on what you should have done better. If you have coached, then you understand that your players do not always do as you ask, do as you practiced, and that at the end of the day, you really can’t control how well they perform. You also understand that no matter what you do, those in the stands expect more of you and are usually the ones that talk about how bad you are without even knowing the other side of the story or even having a true understanding of the game. If you have a teenage son/daughter, then you know that they do not always do as you ask, even if you discipline them. And that you have folks looking in from the outside that are quick to point.

Call me a fair-weather fan just because I have recently joined the board. I don’t care.  But it’s incredibly sad that folks are so easy to throw someone under the bus, call for them to be stoned (Yes. I saw that post on a different thread earlier this season.), and talk about their lack of loyalty, when you probably have never been in their shoes.

It seems as if “walty12” understands, and I which more would join in. I know several folks (outside of FAU – for you “Rick”) that have coached and are coaching at various levels and in various sports. Unless you understand or are willing to understand what coaches have done to get where they are, what they have to sacrifice (family, health, time and so on), and the desire to make themselves and their players better each and every day, then you have little to no ground to criticize.

Okay. I’ve given my two cents. Whether you like it or not, that’s what this forum is about, right?!

Coaching is like any other business, you produce,  you are rewarded.  You don't you're fired.
THERE ARE NO EXCUSES

I'll amend this by saying that there are certainly individual coaches that will do a great job while others do not and those coaches ultimately sink the whole team - unfortunately.  As is the case with the 2011 Owls team

BeastOwl said

Coaching is like any other business, you produce,  you are rewarded.  You don't, you're fired.
THERE ARE NO EXCUSES

Agreed 100%.

I sympathize a little bit with anyone who is going into a difficult and/or demanding profession (I'm going into one myself) although the reality is that coaching, like most demanding jobs, is a choice you make. No one should go into coaching thinking it will be a cakewalk and you're right, the product on the field may not reflect your true coaching ability - which is unfortunate. Ultimately, you have to know what you're getting into. Your family should know what you're getting into too.

Hopefully the rewards are worth the effort but come on, you can't claim immunity from criticism just because your job is hard. That's nonsense. It's not a disrespect thing either. Construction workers have very difficult jobs and don't get paid well enough but if a building collapses because of faulty construction, they get criticized too. Doesn't matter if they're 10 stories up walking on beams, mixing concrete in the hot sun, working both days on the weekend to get a project done. At the end of the day, the building fell down and people got hurt. That's what people focus on. And that's just how it is.

What I understand is that if you judge coaching a college football team in just wins and losses you are going to end up chasing your tail.

As I have said time and time again, college football and college sports are cyclical.  You have to have faith that you hire the right guy that lines up with the right work ethic and morals to match your program and give it the identity you want it to have.  That is the most important thing.  Wins and losses in football are by inches.  You can just as easily go 4-8 as you can 8-4…few injuries and bad timing on turnovers and you are there.  Doesn't mean you need to fire the coaching staff.

That being said, HS…I love all he did for us but he let the slide go too far.  He and most of his staff needed to move on.  A 4-8 season is one thing with some missed opportunities but to not compete in the Sun Belt is unnacceptable.  Its not the W/L that gets to me its the inability to compete.

People who defend coaches saying "Oh, there's a lot of pressure on these guys" "They sacrifice a lot" blah blah blah…you are going out doing something you love to do and you get paid for it. Ya, I'll give credit to assistant coaches who get paid squat but still work just as hard as guys whoi get paid 5x what they do, but at the end of the day (and most people forget this) they are a part of a GAME. So who cares if there's a lot of pressure. If you are the head coach in the Sunbelt you make 6 figures, make your own schedule and get to play a game for a living. Yes, it may be stressful and a ton of work, but that's your choice. Go get a 8-5 job making less than half what you make as a coach and then complain. Like I said, I sfeel bad for our assitant coaches who get paid nothing for a ton of the work they do, but again, it's their choice and  remember, it's just a game.

End rant.

I know several folks (outside of FAU – for you “Rick”) that have coached and are coaching at various levels and in various sports. Unless you understand or are willing to understand what coaches have done to get where they are, what they have to sacrifice (family, health, time and so on), and the desire to make themselves and their players better each and every day, then you have little to no ground to criticize.