If This Is Pandering, Give Me More

Well, the cyber-papers are starting to send out their guesses about the upcoming season. And it's a mixed crop, as usual.

There's an always-interesting one here at Nebraska State Paper: http://nebraska.statepaper.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2008/07/20/488379503950e

The crew at College Football News has its latest roundup out too:
http://cfn.scout.com/2/753576.html

Now--the CFN story has some good ideas--some of which I will weigh in on later. (Among other things, it says that 8 wins will be a good year--I agree).

BUT--BUUUUUTTTT---the writer of the story, one Mr. Pete Flutak, had to toss in this little stink bomb about us Scarlet And Cream types out here in the G.A.D. (Great American Desert for all fans of pre-1840s maps). Let's have a look at this little gem:

"Callahan had to make the Nebraska a monster again, and while former athletic director Steve Pederson actually had the right idea in wanting to give the program a make over and a fresh paint job, it happened while cheezing off the Husker nation.

So will pandering to the fan base by bringing back Tom Osborne to run the show and getting more marginally talented walk-on farm kids make Nebraska a national powerhouse again? No, but it makes everyone feel more comfortable again. What's going to change things around will be 1) better coaching, 2) better players, and 3) better schemes." (Emphasis mine)

Wow. As my good friend and walleye fishing expert Mike would say, "Jeepers Criminy." There is so much wrong on so many levels in that set of tripe. (I'm really doing everything I can to keep this a G-rated comment.)

I won't even go into the reference to our former head coach (but I do have a blog item that will relate to Mr. Callahan later this week). Nor will I take the bait of the Steve Pederson comment.

But my big old red-neck Red Neck gets pretty darn hot when this dude talks of "...pandering." My god--what does he think we are? Pimps in a cornfield?

Try this line on for size instead: "Will recognizing that the program was getting its arse handed to it without any fighting back---and asking players who care about doing a good job over the next 4 years instead of waiting for maybe a call from the Not For Long crowd make Nebraska a national powerhouse again? No, but it sure as heck gets the job jump-started."

Pander. I'll tell you what pandering is. Pandering is every magazine and the ESP-freaking-N crowd yelping every year about how the Golden Domers have theee---best coach this side of Song Girl U and will "....yup----this time around fer sure" be in the hunt for the Big One. Pandering is also the constant evangelizing that's done by the aforementioned publication and E-freaking-SPN crew about the absolutely cutting edge game put out by the (not so) Big Ten (plus one).

That, sports fans, is pandering. Putting people in place who believe in and know about such basics as blocking, tackling, speed, and work ethic isn't pandering. It's called having a purpose.