We will never be on the level of UA and tOSU consistently. That is an absolute fact. Why? It is a cultural problem that starts in places that aren't even in the AD. It comes from generational mediocrity. Sort of like in the movie, Inception, we have been embedded with the idea that it's a positive to be different from UA. This came from a place of insecurity in generations before mine because they didn't feel like we could consistently compete with UA. Many of these people, or their children, are still around and are seriously threatened by anyone that wants to change the culture. Some on here, maybe being this way subconsciously, are most definitely threatened by this.
I'll give you an example of this. Sonny Golloway sees this problem and tries to change it. What happens? He almost gets fired after his first year on the job. He has done a great job at AU and is in the process of turning them into a consistent winner. Many on here want(ed) him out after year one.
I know many on here won't want to hear this either, but when Saban went to UA, they were in full on shit sandwich mode... They had gotten their ass whipped by us on the reg, they weren't getting to Atlanta, and forget about competing for MNC's at that point. Saban pointed this out to them and rubbed their noses in it after the LaMo game his first year there. That's when they finally gave in and gave him total control.
That is what it takes to be at that level. The willingness to commit to excellence from EVERYONE involved, including the fans. We simply don't have that. My hope is that in my lifetime, AU is willing to commit to that. To see why that probably won't happen, look no further than posters on here that will respond to this by saying childish things like "if you like them so much, why are you a fan of AU?"
Let me go ahead and preemptively address that. I am not a "fan," I'm a graduate. I went to school at Auburn and am incredibly proud of my alma mater. To say someone is a fan implies they just go to games or whatever. It's much bigger than that to me and I take it personally when I see AU not doing the best they can do at something.
My whole reason for posting this is I heard something recently that deeply disturbed me RE our AD. I was told that Gary Patterson interviewed for the job after the 2008 season and when he tried to pitch himself as a game changing culture shock, he was told thanks but no thanks. To turn a guy like that away in lieu of a yes man makes my stomach turn. If this is the level of ineptitude we are dealing with, I can't imagine it will get better any time soon.
Anyone with any thoughts on this, feel free to chime in... Thanks for reading anyway.
I'll give you an example of this. Sonny Golloway sees this problem and tries to change it. What happens? He almost gets fired after his first year on the job. He has done a great job at AU and is in the process of turning them into a consistent winner. Many on here want(ed) him out after year one.
I know many on here won't want to hear this either, but when Saban went to UA, they were in full on shit sandwich mode... They had gotten their ass whipped by us on the reg, they weren't getting to Atlanta, and forget about competing for MNC's at that point. Saban pointed this out to them and rubbed their noses in it after the LaMo game his first year there. That's when they finally gave in and gave him total control.
That is what it takes to be at that level. The willingness to commit to excellence from EVERYONE involved, including the fans. We simply don't have that. My hope is that in my lifetime, AU is willing to commit to that. To see why that probably won't happen, look no further than posters on here that will respond to this by saying childish things like "if you like them so much, why are you a fan of AU?"
Let me go ahead and preemptively address that. I am not a "fan," I'm a graduate. I went to school at Auburn and am incredibly proud of my alma mater. To say someone is a fan implies they just go to games or whatever. It's much bigger than that to me and I take it personally when I see AU not doing the best they can do at something.
My whole reason for posting this is I heard something recently that deeply disturbed me RE our AD. I was told that Gary Patterson interviewed for the job after the 2008 season and when he tried to pitch himself as a game changing culture shock, he was told thanks but no thanks. To turn a guy like that away in lieu of a yes man makes my stomach turn. If this is the level of ineptitude we are dealing with, I can't imagine it will get better any time soon.
Anyone with any thoughts on this, feel free to chime in... Thanks for reading anyway.
