HearstMining said:
panda said:
Econ141 said:
eastcoastcal said:
mbBear said:
eastcoastcal said:
Made this thread out of my own curiosity. If you're a poster on this forum you must still follow the program to some extent so I'm curious if Fox being retained would fully end your interest in the program.
Throw it back to you a bit, because you are a student: among your friends, how would you and they answer his question?
None of my friends had any interest in going with me to games this season. Even the free t-shirt giveaways couldn't make up for the game to them this year. In my life I've never generally had a problem going to games even when my professional teams have been bad. I can usually find some enjoyment in the sport and gameday atmosphere even when they lose a lot. But this season it just hasn't even been fun. We are just so poorly coached and it hurts to watch the on court product. The energy's so lackluster in the crowd, which makes sense since what is there to root for? It's just not enjoyable to go to the games, as many people here have said. I think I'd sit out next year if Fox is back.
All I want is ONE good season in football or basketball before I graduate. Just one!! Please!!!
Many cal students have shar d this dream. Only few have succeeded.
It's funny seeing Eastcoastcal follow every student's trajectory of being a Cal sports fan in college. You start off optimistic and filled with spirit… only for it to be crushed as the years progress.
I really hope his experience isnt the same but damn it might start looking that way…
Many of us can feel eastcoastcal's pain. Growing up in Berkeley in the '60s-'70s, I learned to temper my expectations about Cal sports. I started at Cal the same time as Mike White became HC and the first couple of years were pretty rough. But then came those '74 and '75 seasons which always felt like karmic payback for the bleak years. I'm sure many fans experienced this during the late Snyder and early Tedford years - coming into the sunshine after years of wandering in darkness.
Every August, I hope for (but never expect) another Cal renaissance. NIL, higher academic standards, and AD incompetence make the odds longer against it happening, but hey, "fan" is short for "fanatic" so why try to be rational about it? Just grab your sunglasses and start walking up Piedmont to the stadium.
The thing is, we have had just enough high level success in the revenue sports at Cal to know it is possible to win at a high level at Cal with the right coaches. However, in our best years with our best teams we have come within inches of grabbing the brass ring. We have dreams left unfulfilled. We know it is possible. We long to build another great team under a coach capable of building a great team to take another shot at the brass ring.
Knowlton and other outsiders completely misread us. Knowlton and Christ think we are Air Force or an Ivy League school. They think we are content to have mediocre teams because that is our norm and we supported those teams in the past. The life of a Cal fan is hope for greatness (and our traditions and a beautiful day in Strawberry Canyon or a packed Haas with the Stawhat Band).
That was the problem with hiring Fox, there was ZERO chance he was going to turn out to be a coach that could build a great team at Cal, give us a shot at a PAC-12 title and make a deep run in the tournament. At least a first time head coach MIGHT turn out to be great.
That was also my issue with the 5 year extension given to Wilcox a year ago. I am hoping Spavital turns it around for him, but a coach finally breaking through to the top of the conference in his 7th or 8th year is pretty much unprecedented. Of course, being given that chance is pretty much unprecedented.