Nate Miekle's article on KSL

If any of you want to know why I seem to come to the defense of Riley and Bronco, read this article. Nate shares my feelings on player coach treatment 100%



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But this is not like watching a movie. People donate to the Cougar Club--buy season tickets, purchase hats, sweatshirts, you name it. If people are paying $10 for a 90-120 minute movie that is one thing--but when you are asking to be a fan like the football program wants you to be a fan, you can't expect people to be that detached from the game.

Fans (especially Cougar Club and season ticket holders) are most like shareholders, except they don't have any legal/financial ownership (their shares aren't valued based on the financial success of the program.



But they aren't mere spectators. They have made financial commitments based on foreward looking publications (I can't unbuy my season tix, and Cougar Clubbers can't undonate).



So Nate's analogy is a mixed one at best.



Without the support of the ticket buyers, the program as we know it doesn't exist. That's like a movie.



But there are more than just walk-up purchases. Season tickets and donations in addition to tickets are also involved (and generate benefits for the donors). That's like a corporation.

From the article:



"As players, we know that some fans are fickle — and we know football is just a game. But psychologically, it can still be crushing to feel so loved one moment and feel so hated by the same group of people moments later.



To this day, I have former teammates who refuse to watch BYU games, refuse to enter the stadium due to the betrayal they felt at the hands of those that once supported them. My heart aches for those players. Sure, they should forgive and forget. I’m sure they have tried. And ultimately, each player alone is responsible for how he feels toward others."



Back to my thought: these are young kids. I don't care how badly Riley plays, he doesn't deserve the literal hatred that the fans have directed towards him this year. One of the reasons Heaps was a broken QB last year when he got benched is because he KNEW that the fans had turned on him. The fans cheered when he got benched vs utah. Fans need to quit being so spoiled, nate is right. A former player should never feel unwelcome or negative feelings towards his fans after he leaves the team via graduation.

So what did Heaps expect when he was a turnover machine and was single-handedly costing BYU the USU game? What does Riley expect when he turns the ball over 3 or 4 times in a game? If guys have to have the fans cheering for them--even when they don't deserve it--in order to be around the university then maybe they don't have the right mentality for college football. At some point the "too bad tiger, get 'em next time" just doesn't get it done.

Fido wrote:
So what did Heaps expect when he was a turnover machine and was single-handedly costing BYU the USU game? What does Riley expect when he turns the ball over 3 or 4 times in a game? If guys have to have the fans cheering for them--even when they don't deserve it--in order to be around the university then maybe they don't have the right mentality for college football. At some point the "too bad tiger, get 'em next time" just doesn't get it done.

I would expect that most kids don't expect to play perfectly from start to finish in their careers at BYU. I don't think that any of them expect to have massive struggles and I really think that they don't expect their fans to turn on them like Rabid dogs if they aren't perfect. In kids minds they are giving 100% to BYU football and want to be treated with respect. Getting booed by the fans you dreamed of being adored by or cheered when you are removed from the field could really hurt. You guys talk about Bronco needing to get over when the fans booed him and maybe he does but something like that is easier said than done. I read remarks by Steve Sarkisian when he came back in 10, they were honoring BYU's All american QB's at half time and he made comments about remembering negative comments towards him before he became an all american. I can't remember the comments but they were indicative of him still being hurt by it. This was a guy who led us to our second most successful season ever.

I don't recall Heaps getting booed last year. I remember a Riley chant when the change was made, but Jake wasn't booed off the field.

SpiffCoug wrote:
I don't recall Heaps getting booed last year. I remember a Riley chant when the change was made, but Jake wasn't booed off the field.

I never said he was booed off the field. He was cheered off the field when Riley replaced him. Some stupid reporter asked him how he felt whan that happened and his face flushed and he said "next question" it was perfectly clear that the fans in the stadium wanted him off the field. They had turned on him.

But how could he expect to stay on the field with the fan support when he was playing so poorly? That is improper expectations. College football is big business and big time football. Unless you want to play in the WAC or something. I don't think players deserve all the venom going their way--nor the praise they get when they do something positive. Bottom line--when you stink it up you won't get pumped up by the fans. Sorry, that is football.

Fido wrote:
But how could he expect to stay on the field with the fan support when he was playing so poorly? That is improper expectations. College football is big business and big time football. Unless you want to play in the WAC or something. I don't think players deserve all the venom going their way--nor the praise they get when they do something positive. Bottom line--when you stink it up you won't get pumped up by the fans. Sorry, that is football.

I don't disagree. I wouldn't expect fan "support" when guys play badly either. I just think that it is telling when former players always mention being hurt by BYU fans when they weren't playing well. I would hope that fans would be respectful of players feelings and maybe choose not to boo them off the field or chant the back ups name when the starter is struggling or cheer when he gets pulled. That is all I am saying, and I think that is what Nate Miekle is saying.

Can't handle the pressure of performing for the fans, don't play football.



It's entertainment. People watch because it's fun and it's fun to be emotionally vested in a team.



BYU fans have high expectations. Every player coming in needs to know that, and at the end of the day it's the fans that make the game. No fans, no football.



Any player/coach that complains about the fans being fickle is an ungrateful fool.

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So, Gunk, Bronco should apologize to you and other fans whose expectations were too lofty this year?

Schmoe wrote:
So, Gunk, Bronco should apologize to you and other fans whose expectations were too lofty this year?

No. I never said that.



What he and any other player should never do; however, is criticize the fans. We should hear nothing but love from them. Without us, the game they love to play becomes no different than a backyard pickup game.



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Gunk wrote:

So, Gunk, Bronco should apologize to you and other fans whose expectations were too lofty this year?

No. I never said that.



What he and any other player should never do; however, is criticize the fans. We should hear nothing but love from them. Without us, the game they love to play becomes no different than a backyard pickup game.



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I agree. Entitlement works both ways. Coaches may feel fans think they are entitled to 10 win seasons. But fans see coaches as thinking they are entitled to critical immunity even they make their money due 100% to fan support. I'd say it's more on the coaches to reciprocate the love and support that fans offer, in most cases, simply by default.

Gunk wrote:

So, Gunk, Bronco should apologize to you and other fans whose expectations were too lofty this year?

No. I never said that.



What he and any other player should never do; however, is criticize the fans. We should hear nothing but love from them. Without us, the game they love to play becomes no different than a backyard pickup game.



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So, since they depend, in part, on fans, they should never criticize us? So you may never criticize your employer? Your boss at work? The fans have to be 100% right all the time, even though many have shown their ignorance time and time again?



I'll say this, it is seldom that a coach or player should criticize fans, but putting the absolute umbrella of "never" over them is simply absurd. Has Bronco criticized fans when he should have kept quiet? Sure, but he's also made some valid points when doing so.

Schmoe wrote:

Schmoe wrote:
So, Gunk, Bronco should apologize to you and other fans whose expectations were too lofty this year?

No. I never said that.



What he and any other player should never do; however, is criticize the fans. We should hear nothing but love from them. Without us, the game they love to play becomes no different than a backyard pickup game.



[ Post made via Mobile Device ] http://cougarcorner.com/images/mobile.png" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

So, since they depend, in part, on fans, they should never criticize us? So you may never criticize your employer? Your boss at work? The fans have to be 100% right all the time, even though many have shown their ignorance time and time again?

The better analogy would be "would you ever criticize your customers?", you may not love them, but if you're not willing to do what it takes to keep them happy, you're in the wrong business. Fans may be ignorant, but good luck running a program without them.

Schmoe wrote:

Schmoe wrote:
So, Gunk, Bronco should apologize to you and other fans whose expectations were too lofty this year?

No. I never said that.



What he and any other player should never do; however, is criticize the fans. We should hear nothing but love from them. Without us, the game they love to play becomes no different than a backyard pickup game.



[ Post made via Mobile Device ] http://cougarcorner.com/images/mobile.png" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

So, since they depend, in part, on fans, they should never criticize us? So you may never criticize your employer? Your boss at work? The fans have to be 100% right all the time, even though many have shown their ignorance time and time again?



I'll say this, it is seldom that a coach or player should criticize fans, but putting the absolute umbrella of "never" over them is simply absurd. Has Bronco criticized fans when he should have kept quiet? Sure, but he's also made some valid points when doing so.

Coaches and players depend 100% on fans. Fan support is what separates football from tag. Both great games, but one is a bit more fun to watch than the other.



Bronco wouldn't have a job and players wouldn't have scholarships. No ifs ands or buts about that.



As such, coaches and players should NEVER criticize the fans unless the fans are engaged in criminal behavior.



It's one thing to think ill of your employer or even criticize them behind closed doors. It's another to publicly criticize them. Sending out a company email criticizing your boss is a sure way to find yourself unemployed. Bronco can go home and whine about the fans and the checks they essentially write for him all he wants, but in press interviews or away from home or his office it should be nothing but love. Any coach or player that does otherwise is looking a gift horse in the mouth and when things go bad will find himself out of support.



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Boosters, much more than casual fans, fuel the football program. Are they fans? Yes, but a very specific type of fan that I'm sure Bronco is careful around. There are plenty of companies that insult their customers and do just fine, because they put out a good product. That hasn't been true for Bronco the last 2 years, but before that he has been outstanding.

Yep, Bronco's been so careful around boosters the last few years that he took to call them Pharisees.

Gunk wrote:

Coaches and players depend 100% on fans. Fan support is what separates football from tag. Both great games, but one is a bit more fun to watch than the other.



Bronco wouldn't have a job and players wouldn't have scholarships. No ifs ands or buts about that.



As such, coaches and players should NEVER criticize the fans unless the fans are engaged in criminal behavior.



It's one thing to think ill of your employer or even criticize them behind closed doors. It's another to publicly criticize them. Sending out a company email criticizing your boss is a sure way to find yourself unemployed. Bronco can go home and whine about the fans and the checks they essentially write for him all he wants, but in press interviews or away from home or his office it should be nothing but love. Any coach or player that does otherwise is looking a gift horse in the mouth and when things go bad will find himself out of support.

I think you're overestimating how much fan support depends on reciprocated love.



If a coach had nothing but good things to say about whiney fans, but produced losing records every year, would he still have your full support? Players and coaches that have never said a negative thing about the fans still get booed if they don't coach/play well. People still love Nick Saban and other coaches who are jerks because they win.



Coaches and players depend 100% on wins. Wins are what separate Alabama from New Mexico State. Both are D-I football programs, but one draws a bit more fan support than the other.



I think that, except in extreme cases, win total has a much bigger effect on coach popularity than their unconditional love of the fans, and Bronco is by no means an extreme case. People tend to ignore how much praise and thanks he heaps on fans on almost every KSL postgame show and only focus on his once-a-year criticism.