ShotgunDawg
12-02-2014, 01:10 AM
Not talking about recruiting
It's been a few days since our game, and I think everyone realizes that we got our asses kicked, have some things we need to improve upon, and I think many on here have thrown out some great ideas and thoughts on how we can do that.
My question, however, is can the experience we gained from this run, improve our program?
Since the game, I've been trying to put my finger on what went wrong, and, sure, there were many schematic and personnel problems in the game, but I think it was something more. I think since this team went up 21 in the first quarter against Auburn, they began to feel like I feel when I birdie to first two holes of the golf course and start believing I'm going to shoot my best round ever. When this rare event happens, I start playing to not screw up, rather than playing free and easy. I start over analyzing every shot, over analyzing my swing, start believing the wind is blowing when it's not, and generally begin to do a terrible job of just playing golf; not because I've gotten lazy, not because I wasn't "hyped up" but rather because I created a paralysis by analysis situation, which soon became mental exhaustion, and then resulted in poor play.
My overall point is: The Amateur never wins The Masters, the professional marathon runners always win the major marathons, and the San Antonio Spurs continue to win NBA Titles when they aren't the most talented team. I believe there is major value in having been there and done that, and most of all, having your expectations high enough, so that when you are competing for a championship, you don't feel like a fish out of water and that you are just hanging on because you don't belong. Hanging on is mentally and physically exhausting.
For these reasons, I'm leaning towards believing that the 2014 MSU Football team didn't waste an opportunity, but rather played a crucial role in the maturation of this program. The true wasted opportunity would be if we don't follow up this season with another great season next year, and another great season after that, because just like training for a marathon, you don't go on three mile jogs everyday and then run a marathon. You have to build up to running a marathon in order to actually run one and have a chance to win. Playing 8 SEC games a year, like Ole Miss did this year, isn't the marathon I am speaking of. Playing 8 tough SEC games while carrying the weight on a number 1 ranking, national championships hopes, and having to take everyone's best shot is what I'm talking about. Ole Miss didn't stay undefeated long enough into the season to understand the true fishbowl of pressure that our players endured and the mental and psychological exhaustion that resulted from it.
Can you win a championship without going through the maturation process? Sure, but it's highly unlikely. Most of the teams at the top, don't win championships more than they actually win them, but no one remembers that because they keep getting back.
In conclusion, this season was a great piece of the learning and maturation process for all involved from our players to coaches and on to our fanbase. Our fanbase grew up a lot this year. When we reached number 1 in the polls, everyone went ape-shit because we had never been there before. Can you imagine how the players felt? Can you imagine the attention to detail at practice, the effort they were giving everyday, the pressure that they felt to hang on to a spot that MSU had never been in before. Frankly, it was an incredible weight that they weren't used to carrying, and over the course of the season, they mentally wore down from exhaustion. I don't believe they came out flat at Ole Miss because of a bus ride, I believe they came out flat because they were mentally on empty, after enduring a 6 game stretch where they were ranked in the top 4 and in the conversation to play for a national title. Sure, Mullen had coached national title teams before, but he coached them at school and with a fanbase that was used to being in that situation, knew how to handle it, and coached players that expected to carry that weight when they signed on the dotted line to play at Florida. It was the expectation there, but at MSU is wasn't.
However, what makes Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, etc great programs, is that because they carry that weight so often, they become professionals at carrying that weight, they have an expectation of carrying that weight because they sign up to do so, and they feel like they should carrying that weight and thus aren't hanging on.
Some have asked, "Would you trade our season for Ole Miss'" the answer is "Hell no" because our program is and fans are further along than theirs because we have carried the weight of a championship season on our shoulders and are in the midst of the maturation of our program. Make no mistake, they held a psychological edge in the Egg Bowl because they could play loose and free because they were playing for nothing and no one expected anything from them. As an MSU fan, I would rather be playing for something and fail than be playing for nothing and win. The point of having a football program is to fund other sports, and compete championships. If your not competing for a championship, then your season is a failure.
So, IMO it's time to circle the wagons, figure out our problems and areas of improvement, be open to new ideas, and whip someone's ass in the bowl game so that we can get 2015 off to the right start because I know that next time we are in a position like we were this year, we will feel like we belong a little more, have a little better idea about how handle the moment, and, ultimately, have a better chance of finishing it off.
2014 wasn't a wasted opportunity, but rather a one of the keystones of the championship building process. The true shame and wasted opportunity wasn't losing to Ole Miss in Oxford, the true shame and wasted opportunity will be if we don't get back and have a chance to put into the practice the lessons and wisdom that we gained from this journey.
It's been a few days since our game, and I think everyone realizes that we got our asses kicked, have some things we need to improve upon, and I think many on here have thrown out some great ideas and thoughts on how we can do that.
My question, however, is can the experience we gained from this run, improve our program?
Since the game, I've been trying to put my finger on what went wrong, and, sure, there were many schematic and personnel problems in the game, but I think it was something more. I think since this team went up 21 in the first quarter against Auburn, they began to feel like I feel when I birdie to first two holes of the golf course and start believing I'm going to shoot my best round ever. When this rare event happens, I start playing to not screw up, rather than playing free and easy. I start over analyzing every shot, over analyzing my swing, start believing the wind is blowing when it's not, and generally begin to do a terrible job of just playing golf; not because I've gotten lazy, not because I wasn't "hyped up" but rather because I created a paralysis by analysis situation, which soon became mental exhaustion, and then resulted in poor play.
My overall point is: The Amateur never wins The Masters, the professional marathon runners always win the major marathons, and the San Antonio Spurs continue to win NBA Titles when they aren't the most talented team. I believe there is major value in having been there and done that, and most of all, having your expectations high enough, so that when you are competing for a championship, you don't feel like a fish out of water and that you are just hanging on because you don't belong. Hanging on is mentally and physically exhausting.
For these reasons, I'm leaning towards believing that the 2014 MSU Football team didn't waste an opportunity, but rather played a crucial role in the maturation of this program. The true wasted opportunity would be if we don't follow up this season with another great season next year, and another great season after that, because just like training for a marathon, you don't go on three mile jogs everyday and then run a marathon. You have to build up to running a marathon in order to actually run one and have a chance to win. Playing 8 SEC games a year, like Ole Miss did this year, isn't the marathon I am speaking of. Playing 8 tough SEC games while carrying the weight on a number 1 ranking, national championships hopes, and having to take everyone's best shot is what I'm talking about. Ole Miss didn't stay undefeated long enough into the season to understand the true fishbowl of pressure that our players endured and the mental and psychological exhaustion that resulted from it.
Can you win a championship without going through the maturation process? Sure, but it's highly unlikely. Most of the teams at the top, don't win championships more than they actually win them, but no one remembers that because they keep getting back.
In conclusion, this season was a great piece of the learning and maturation process for all involved from our players to coaches and on to our fanbase. Our fanbase grew up a lot this year. When we reached number 1 in the polls, everyone went ape-shit because we had never been there before. Can you imagine how the players felt? Can you imagine the attention to detail at practice, the effort they were giving everyday, the pressure that they felt to hang on to a spot that MSU had never been in before. Frankly, it was an incredible weight that they weren't used to carrying, and over the course of the season, they mentally wore down from exhaustion. I don't believe they came out flat at Ole Miss because of a bus ride, I believe they came out flat because they were mentally on empty, after enduring a 6 game stretch where they were ranked in the top 4 and in the conversation to play for a national title. Sure, Mullen had coached national title teams before, but he coached them at school and with a fanbase that was used to being in that situation, knew how to handle it, and coached players that expected to carry that weight when they signed on the dotted line to play at Florida. It was the expectation there, but at MSU is wasn't.
However, what makes Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, etc great programs, is that because they carry that weight so often, they become professionals at carrying that weight, they have an expectation of carrying that weight because they sign up to do so, and they feel like they should carrying that weight and thus aren't hanging on.
Some have asked, "Would you trade our season for Ole Miss'" the answer is "Hell no" because our program is and fans are further along than theirs because we have carried the weight of a championship season on our shoulders and are in the midst of the maturation of our program. Make no mistake, they held a psychological edge in the Egg Bowl because they could play loose and free because they were playing for nothing and no one expected anything from them. As an MSU fan, I would rather be playing for something and fail than be playing for nothing and win. The point of having a football program is to fund other sports, and compete championships. If your not competing for a championship, then your season is a failure.
So, IMO it's time to circle the wagons, figure out our problems and areas of improvement, be open to new ideas, and whip someone's ass in the bowl game so that we can get 2015 off to the right start because I know that next time we are in a position like we were this year, we will feel like we belong a little more, have a little better idea about how handle the moment, and, ultimately, have a better chance of finishing it off.
2014 wasn't a wasted opportunity, but rather a one of the keystones of the championship building process. The true shame and wasted opportunity wasn't losing to Ole Miss in Oxford, the true shame and wasted opportunity will be if we don't get back and have a chance to put into the practice the lessons and wisdom that we gained from this journey.