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EDITORS NOTE: Sorry for the delay in this post, we experienced some unforeseen technical difficulties.
The Gophers failed to show against Maryland and the reaction from the fanbase has been mixed to say the least. Are you a glass half full or a glass half empty person? That is the question I have been wrangling with since the Maryland game.
A glass half full person will realize the Gophers weren’t going to go undefeated this season. Some of us even had this down as a loss to begin with. They will understand the Gophers failed to show up for this game, yet were tied with less than two minutes remaining. Not saying the Gophers are the better team, but if they wold have played with the same discipline and energy they had in their previous two games, they would have most likely won this game. If Antoine Winfield Jr. doesn’t get hurt the Terps DJ Moore most likely doesn’t have the game he does. The loss of Duke McGhee to suspension also hurt an already thin secondary. Add it all up and it just wasn’t the Gophers day. A glass half full person will understand this and know better days are still ahead.
A glass half empty person saw this loss as an indictment on the staff. It’s the staff’s responsibility to get the players up for the game and they didn’t do that this game. The head coach’s job is to win at all costs. Suspending key players would never happen at a program like Alabama. So why did PJ Fleck suspend key players here? Tracy Claeys and Jerry Kill would never have suspended key players. But Fleck did, he must be fired immediately. They loss to Maryland playing their 8th string QB. Obviously PJ Fleck truly is Tim Brewster. They can’t run the ball. Jerry Kill and Tracy Claeys could run the ball on lowly pathetic Maryland. Maryland had 800 yards rushing. Remember what Tracy Claeys and Jaw Sawvel did against Wazzou in the bowl game? Obviously they are better coaches and should never have been fired.
Maybe I’m getting soft in my old age. I fall into the glass half full category here. I’m not too broken up about this loss. I had this down as a loss from the get-go. I understand this was a frustrating loss. They should have won this game. But I’m not about to let this bring me down as we all knew there were going to be losses this season. We are only four games into the Fleck tenure, can we please let the process play out a little more before we jump to conclusions?
I also feel obligated to say this. For those who went off on Fleck. For those who were pining for the old regime and how they were so wrongly fired. Please stop! Just stop already! You are only serving your own agenda. It was/is obvious you were waiting for the first loss to happen to spout off about Fleck. If you truly love and care for this program the way you say you do, jump on board and support the program. Don’t try and divide it. The old regime is gone. They are not coming back. End of story, move on.
Now for what really matters, this weeks Stroll Through Twitterland.
The main hashtags for this week were:
#RowTheBoat
#RTB
#Ski-U-Mah
#GopherGameday
#Gophers
-So much this @MaroonAndGold. It is a process. Let it play out.
Rome wasn't built in a day. Keep rowing. GO GOPHERS#RTB pic.twitter.com/I5CxTbBmjd
— Maroon & Golden (@MaroonAndGolden) October 1, 2017
-Even though we didn’t get the result we were all looking for, I hope your kids enjoyed the game @LeahVanGorp
Super excited for Minnesota game day and bring my kids to their first Gopher football game! #RTB #SkiUMah @GopherFootball pic.twitter.com/k5lZlCXSp4
— Leah V (@LeahVanGorp) September 30, 2017
-We could have used Sampson in the secondary against Maryland @mandycousins525
Sampson is ready for #gophergameday #RTB #SkiUMah pic.twitter.com/PZkwF4FKoT
— Amanda Cousins (@mandycousins525) September 29, 2017
-Former Gopher @TonyBrinkhaus bringing his family to the game. Do we see two future Gophers in this picture?
#GopherGameDay with the family. Ski-U-Mah! pic.twitter.com/oYwaNwFum8
— Tony Brinkhaus (@TonyBrinkhaus) September 30, 2017
-Yeah, @CarissaAnders88 we agree, this is pretty awesome!
We love our Gophers and our PJ! We loved being part of the tunnel team! Row the boat! #GopherGameDay pic.twitter.com/vKSqmkGHwc
— Carissa Anderson (@CarissaAnders88) September 30, 2017
-I didn’t realize I said that outloud @CallMeCrowe
Overheard at #GopherGameDay
— Crowe (@CallMeCrowe) September 30, 2017
"PJ you're my spirit animal"#rowtheboat
-I’ll just let @VonGopher and this picture do the talking.
Man that was a great catch by Eric Carter #gophers bounce back for next game pic.twitter.com/epPOtiMMpE
— Steve J (@VonGopher) October 2, 2017
-Let’s take a moment to remember Kill/Claeys couldn’t find a role for him. Too bad he is torching teams week-in and week-out for USD. Wonder if Fleck could have used a QB with his skill set...
South Dakota QB Chris Streveler accounted for four touchdowns and 417 total yards
— NFL Draft Diamonds (@DraftDiamonds) October 1, 2017
-Huh, never saw that one coming...
This boat has lotta holes. Fleck is Claeys in younger body - both as boring as hell. No wonder nobody is here TCF Bank Stadium! #gophers
— Len McMorrow (@Lenmcmorrow) September 30, 2017
Last but certainly not least. This smile put things into perspective. Let’s try and remember to have fun and enjoy the moment. Thanks @Lindo_227 for positing this!
tailgate party #CFLGameDay #GopherGameDay #rowtheboat #Gophers #SkiUMah pic.twitter.com/Rf7wAH6tuX
— Erik Lindstrand (@Lindo_227) September 30, 2017
So there you have it, this weeks Stroll. Did you have a favorite Tweet from the Maryland game? Should we blow the program up and start over or do we give Fleck more time to implement what he wants to do?
#RTB
#Ski-U-Mah
Follow: @dvits14