Looking back at my earlier post (and the only one, this semester has been completely hectic since I'm assuming a larger workload this time), it seems that everything I stated is coming to fruitition, and more.
This is a brief departure from my otherwise humorous stance...but it must be understood that this is a desperate situation.
ISU Football is becoming a failed state. We are collasping faster than our friends of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ISU's average game attendence may be reported at 5,000 or so but there's no way. We're lucky to have about 1,000 left after the 3rd quarter.
We have suffered bad losses and they haven't even been close. Remember how I said that we live or die in October? Well, we're being driven to extinction. Central Washington was supposed to be our game, our time when we could finally get back on track after being body bags for Oklahoma, Arizona State and Weber State. Instead, we got humiliated by a Central Washington team, at home, and they were still playing very sloppy football. CWU could have droppped 40 or 50 points on us. October has been even crueler, with traditional doormat Northern Colorado beating us by 30 points and getting their first Big Sky road win. None of our games has even been close, with most of our losses being in the 20-30 point range. The players have given up entirely and the coaches don't seem to have a clue with what kind of team they want to build. Normally stuff like this doesn't bother me. It hurts but I get over it and am ready to face another week with determined resolve. However, the football team doesn't even care anymore. They are more concerned with getting the season over with and have lost almost all hope in themselves and in each other. We fall apart completely when the other team scores or makes a big play. That's all it takes.
And all the while this is happening, the program continues to suck up scholarships that could be better used by a winning soccer team so they are able to retain players and become a stable program and eventually a consistent contender for the Big Sky's bid to the NCAA Touranment. Volleyball continues to get better and they compete with a lot of heart every game, even in losing efforts. Track and field retains its national reputation of being a respected program. None of these solid programs get any help from the athletic department; it seems that the department prefers to continue giving all the support to a football program that is hemorrhaging players and fan support.
A fan should always give his/her support no matter what, through the dark times and the light, the rainy days and the sunny days. This is no mere rainstorm we have entered. We have entered a hurricane the likes of which we may not survive to see the end of. It'd be one thing if the team showed some heart, but none do other than a very precious few. This is one of the biggest killers for a fan. When the team finally gives in to their doubts and refuses to budge further because they are completely listless and frustrated from their efforts (or lack thereof). This drives even the best fans away, and it is doing so to Yours Truly.
Divisions run deep in this team, although out of what little respect I have left I will refrain from greatly deliniating on who said what. The players are no longer responding to the coaches; the coaches have failed to motivate the players and the players seem to lack unity. This is what I see from watching them play and occasionally seeing some practices, this is what I sense from them on a daily basis.
We were at a crucial juncture this season and now we have crossed the Rubicon and in a very bad, haphazard way.
Whatever the outcome of this terrible season is, there is one thing for certain. The final song that plays on November 14th against Portland State won't be the ISU Alma Mater. It will be Adagio For Strings.
