My University is growing up.
We now have enough fanatics that love their football program so much that they can criticize the decisions made in a game. I say Hooray! We have made it!
Twenty years ago, the only complaining I heard about the program came from grumpy old guys. Now we have the passion that so many of us have been wanting for years.
Apathy has been the enemy of the UNI Panthers in Iowa for so many years. This year we saw unprecedented growth in our fan base. Sell out audiences during the season, sellout audiences during the playoffs and statewide media attention. The real kind of attention, not the pat of the head we used to get...you know like patting your kid brother on the head and saying, "you have such a nice little football program."
Here's the difference between us and the rest of the major college programs in Iowa. It's Access. Many of us get to know the coaches at UNI. We know them to be great people who happen to love what they are doing and enjoy having us fans along for the ride.
No one is beating themselves up more than our coaches right now. That's because they are competitors. We run zone defense in the secondary because our coaches believe that gives us the best chance to win. We mix up the pass and run to keep opposing defenses off balanced. I haven't heard anyone say that we are predictable. That's a complaint we hear a lot from the fans south of here. Listen to Coach Farley on the postgame show. He gives us an unique perspective into the coach's thought process during each game. He rarely sugarcoats it.
It's a fans right to moan and complain. Especially after a disappointing loss. Let's just remember that we have come a long way with this current staff and we continue to see improvement. Coach Farley and his staff IS going to deliver us a national championship. No doubt about that. Look at what we have accomplished in the last several years.
Let's make sure our critque of the program is fair and doesn't get personal. That's what we fans are supposed to be...fanatical!
This was a fun year. The stuff legends are made of. I can't wait to see next year!
Go Panthers!