A View from the Upper Deck
Mark Willard
Teamkong.net

Well, well, well….where to start?  OK, who’s to blame for this debacle?  The Coaches?  Yes.  The Defense? For sure.  The Offense?   Certainly.  Special teams?  You bet.  The fans?  Absolutely!  Wait a minute; did he just say the fans are to blame too?  Damn Skippy I did!

Lets take a look at the game from a little different perspective, shall we?  The announced crowd was 10,383.  That’s a fantastic crowd, for a huge game.  And when things went well for the Gorillas, the crowd was LOUD!  And occasionally, during particularly tense situations, the fans got revved up somewhat.  But, for the most part, the crowd was far too quiet.  If something went wrong, you could hear a lot of mumbling and grumbling, and verbal pointing of fingers.  While that may help some fans feel better, it doesn’t help the players at all.  When they make a mistake, they know it, and no one feels worse than they do.

Now, this next part is going to really annoy some people (don’t worry Rick, Rob, I won’t use your names :-} ).  Can someone explain to me exactly what good comes of screaming at players (or coaches) to “get your head out of your ___” or “(insert name here) you stink!” or similar types of things?  I have heard both of these comments, and many more at games over the years.  Do you really think they hear you?  Do you think they are thinking “Oh, that guy up in row 13 says I need to hold my blocks longer.   Now, why didn’t I think of that?”?  Do you honestly think that the players are any less desirous of winning than the fans?  These guys bust their butts all week long, all season long, all YEAR long.  You think they don’t want to win?  Maybe people who think that way are the ones who need to “get your head out of your ___”.

Why is it so difficult to be positive for some folks?  Is it really that hard to yell words of encouragement and support to the team when things aren’t going perfectly?  Surely you know that if you yell positive things after a bad play, they don’t think you mean for them to repeat the failure?  At least I would hope not.

No one is (at least I’m not) saying you have to be a “homer” or “have blinders on”.  It’s OK to criticize, question judgment, play calling, etc.  The key is, everything has a time and place.  Energy flows from the stands to the field, both positive AND negative.  Never underestimate how much we, the fans, can do to boost the team, or by our lack of support, let them down. 

Several times last week, the yell leaders tried to get the “PITT”………”STATE” yell going.  Every time, it died on the vine.  With 10,000 plus in the stands, that cheer should have been echoing off buildings for miles!  Instead, it was carried only by a small contingent of the fans, for a short time.  About the only consistent cheer was the “First Down PITT STATE!” one, which is unbelievably cool, and if Kevin Smith doesn’t like that, too bad.

The moral of our story?  Let’s not bail out on these Gorillas.  Let’s go to Joplin and take over Fred Hughes Stadium.  Technically, it’s a road game, but we all know better.  Gorilla fans will fill the house, and be Loud and Proud.  Let’s run the Lions out of their own den!

A few random thoughts on the game and its consequences (I’ll let the “experts” dissect the on-field difficulties, I’ve probably annoyed enough of you already):

      At least the kickoff coverage was better! (Hey, we gotta
      laugh about   something, right?)  

The season is NOT over; we are still the Masters of our own Ship.  Now we just  have to get the ship righted, and pointed back in the right direction.

Yes, we played poorly in all 5 phases (offense, defense, special teams, coaching and fan participation) but we still had a good shot at winning.  Most teams executing that poorly against a top 20 team would have gotten destroyed.  But, then again, it’s still a loss…..

Well, it’s time once again for the Unsung Hero Award.  This week’s winner is DL Cole Vap.  The 6-4, 305 pound sophomore from LaCrosse is starting to make strides in his progress as a Gorilla.  After a non-descript freshman year, and a slow start this year, Vap is beginning to make an impact in relief.  While he doesn’t always make the tackle, his size and strength are allowing him to occupy opposing linemen, freeing up others to make plays.  There were several times last week when he was inserted into the lineup, and caused some disruption in the ESU running game.  Unfortunately, it didn’t happen enough times, as we are all too painfully aware.  However, for his efforts, and his improvements, Cole Vap is this weeks Unsung Hero.

Well, a little something to talk about, I hope.  Let’s remember the #1 cause, in spite of whatever differences of opinion we may have.  It’s all about driving the Gorillas to VICTORY!

See you all in Joplin.