Yong: I don't 'Like' your football Facebook status
November 11, 2012
I was upset after Saturday's game. Not only because of what had just unfolded in front of me in Ann Arbor, Mich., but also because of what I saw on Facebook — statuses people had posted just minutes after the Wildcats' overtime loss.
Was the game a heartbreaker? Yes. Was the last quarter disappointing? Sure. I mean, I can't argue with these statuses. I just watched my team give up a tying field goal, battle through overtime and lose in front of a record crowd of more than 112,000 people screaming “Go Blue” and furiously waving maize — not yellow — pompoms, all in a matter of about 10 minutes.
And to top it off, I had Wolverine fans sarcastically telling me that they were "sorry" as I walked out. Yeah, OK, I agree, the game was a disappointing heartbreak, and it sucked.
We all know the Cats have blown double-digit leads in the fourth quarter in all their losses this season. The corners have struggled, and sometimes the defense isn’t just on the struggle bus, it drives the struggle bus. Sometimes it's the offense that struggles.
But do you know what the football players do in preparation for these games that isn't included in the game statistics? They get up at 6 a.m. every morning and head to Ryan Field for meetings, lifts and a full-blown practice, all before they even go to class. During Fall Quarter, the majority of them don't see their families until Christmas, and, even then, it’s only for about three days.
Now some people may be quick to counter with the argument that the players are on scholarships, so playing football is their job. However, the football team brings in roughly $23 million and nets a profit of about $7 million, which is used to fund non-revenue-generating sports. On average, football players bring in more than their scholarships are worth.
And the thing is, the Cats are 7-3 and have been ranked twice this season. They are not getting blown out of games. Before we go bashing the team and its coaching staff on Facebook, maybe we should start trying to fill up our own stadium and show our Cats we appreciate all the effort they put in to make our Saturday afternoons great. If we're going to expect so much from the players, they should be able to expect everything and nothing less from us.
As I walked out of the Big House, a Michigan fan told me that NU would never get to the Wolverines' level in the Big Ten. I was upset, but I did not immediately pull up Facebook on my phone to post a status about how mad I was at the Cats for blowing their third double-digit lead this season. I acknowledge and appreciate all that the football team has already done to make my fall Saturdays some of the best memories I'll take away from NU. And because of this, I will never, ever lose hope in the Cats.
We'll get ‘em next Saturday.
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You are absolutely correct. There are no better memories than those watching NU sports teams, win or lose, with your best friends. Thank you NU athletes.
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I support NU football. But I also realize the athletes are getting a $200k scholarship to play football, and so I don't find it irrational to think they should win more.
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The football program is past the point of being complimented on just giving their all. When a team starts performing well, inevitably, there are expectations that come with that. Northwestern has turned a corner in that setting a bar at "competitiveness" does not cut it anymore. Northwestern is 7-3 this year and could very easily be 10-0. Northwestern has gone to 4 straight bowl games. However, the streak of 64 years without a bowl victory and 9 straight bowl losses still hangs over the program. Am I glad that Northwestern competes with every team every week? Of course. Do I stil respect athletes for all the work that they put in? Obviously. But if the program and the fans have it as a goal to just compete and be satisfied with that, the program isn't going to go anywhere. The fact that people took to facebook to voice their opinions shows that they have higher expectations for their team than to play tight and eventually lose. I'm pretty sure the players and coaches are far from satisfied as well. There's nothing wrong with people voicing disappointment when the job doesn't get done.
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NU students are so eager to throw them under the bus and yet so unwilling to board one and watch the Cats in person at their own stadium.
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To Sally: The article made the point that the football team brings in far more than it dishes out in scholarships to players, so I'm not sure if your point has too much validity.
To Benjamin: First of all, NU could be 3-7 (BC, Syracuse, Vandy, Minn) just about as easily as they could be 10-0 so that argument does not fly. At the beginning of the season if you told me we would be 7-3 at this point I would be more than content. Secondly, when does the article say that "giving their all" is good enough? I don't think it says that anywhere. It acknowledges that our team has struggled mightily at times this season. It also makes the point that fans should look themselves in the mirror before vehemently criticizing the team through social media. Voicing hopelessness on Facebook does nobody any good. Our program is certainly trending upwards and in the near future I think they can make a serious Big Ten and National Championship threat. And I think fans should be grateful for that and show their support, not disdain.
Overall, I could not agree more with this article.
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Josh have you been at the home games this year? The student section has been packed at every home game, , even games before classes started.
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James Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 9:09 pm
Dude our fans suck. Including student section. the fans who do go don't get there til the end if the first quarter and many leave early. Its seriously a joke compared to other big ten schools, especially the student section. Opposing fans are routinely louder than the home fans at ryan field. I know we have a smaller student body than other schools but still.
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rj Reply:
November 15th, 2012 at 8:53 pm
People actually do show up when the team is relevant, i.e. this year. I find it funny that people have complained about Northwestern's attendance over the past few years despite the fact that they've put out a very average product overall. Not exactly like this team is competing for Big 10 championships, and bowl wins are basically nonexistant.
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The value of an NU scholarship is so much more than the value of a scholarship at public universities. So when a punter kicks the worst punt I've ever seen in a clutch situation, I consider whether that was money well spent.
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Jack Reply:
November 14th, 2012 at 1:14 pm
An NU scholarship worth is approx $60,000 per year. The football program brings in $7,000,000 per year. There are 85 scholarship players on the team.
So follow my math here Sally:
$7,000,000 / 85 players = $82,353
As the article says, each player is "worth" significantly more than their scholarship.
Yes, our players make mistakes, but they are relatively few and far between. How does one bad punt warrant questioning the punter's scholarship? (Also, FYI our punter came to NU as a walk-on and spent the first two years here paying his own way, so criticizing him is an especially low blow.)
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It's sports. Fans should allowed to discuss the team in a context other than waving pom poms. While I am less inclined to bash individual players than I am when I discuss pro sports, I think coaches are definitely fair game in college. Fitz is making big $ and should be accountable for the team's performance. It's tiring to see the same collapses year after year at the end of games and they're getting very predictable. If Northwestern holds a lead in a game, I'm actually shocked.
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The value of an NU scholarship is comparable to the value of a four-year scholarship for an in-state athlete at a public school. And those public schools have bigger stadiums than we do. I love NU football. But whenever there was a fourth-quarter collapse when I was in school, I couldn't help remembering that kids who redshirt are getting $300,000, basically. I understand that revenues are brought in, but I don't think it's wrong to expect better.
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