Mizzou fans are a funny bunch. We are as passionate as any fan base in America…well, at least, we PMers are…but we are also more negative about our team than any other fan base I am aware of. The entitlement of the piggies and the nubs?? We mock them for it. Yet, the only entitlement we feel is the entitlement to get kicked in the crotch. And when it’s not happening, then dammit, we’re going to go looking for a way to feel a size 12 shoe right to the twig and giggleberries.
I’ve never considered myself a sunshine pumper, but I do lean more to that side than the other. However, more than anything, I consider myself a long-term investor. Regardless of whether we’re talking about a stock portfolio, a relationship or Coach XXX at Mizzou, I’m in it for the long haul and want to see results over an extended period of time rather than using a couple of months (or even a year!!) as an acceptable sample size.
I never got too far down on Pinkel, even when Troy was stomping us up and down the field. I waited out LMA’s flirtations with Oregon and UGA, foolishly taking his man at his word that he wanted to retire a Tiger. I had faith in Haith…until he chose Tulsa, OK over CoMo and left us with a complete mess to deal with…which, of course, led to everyone’s favorite whipping boy. I was patient with the dumpster fire that was Kim Anderson and, ultimately, we all know what a disaster that turned out to be. And yes, I did eventually lose patience in KA and was ready for him to coach Gorillas instead of Tigers.
I don’t say any of this to tout myself or suggest that I am some modern version of Job. But I say this on this Sunday morning while we have a basketball team that is 1-0 and a football team that is 5-5 after 4 straight wins, something that once seemed completely impossible. Barry may or may not be the long-term answer for Mizzou. I hope he is and he looks a lot more like that than he did a month ago. Yes, we still have questions about his recruiting and his ability to build a program. I get that, but nothing we say on November 12 is going to prove whether he is or isn’t up to that task. Time will tell.
Cuonzo looks like the second coming of Jesus and John Wooden, wrapped into one. He arrived in CoMo with a world-creating Big Bang, pulling our program out of the black hole in which it was mired and proving there is light yet in this particular star. But, will he and our hardwood Tigers shine bright and stand out in the darkness or will they ultimately flicker out and slowly fade back into the universe of the 3,752 Division I basketball teams that currently exist? We shall see.
Ultimately, my friends, the point of my rambling (other than Sunday morning boredom when no one else is yet awake) is this: patience. Let’s not write people off based on small sample sizes. Let’s give players and coaches time to learn, develop, grow and improve. Let’s admit that maybe, just maybe, our collective knowledge on how to run a collegiate athletic department – formidable as it may be – pales in comparison to what Sterk, Odom, Martin, etc know.
Drink the Black and Gold Koolaid. Express concerns and doubts. We need to support our Tigers in every which way we can…and that includes giving them time to be human and prove themselves. Not over a game or a month or a season, but over time. To quote Warren Buffett, “The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect.” I’m invested in my Tigers and I’m not about to argue with the world’s second wealthiest man.
Patience, grasshoppers. Patience.
I’ve never considered myself a sunshine pumper, but I do lean more to that side than the other. However, more than anything, I consider myself a long-term investor. Regardless of whether we’re talking about a stock portfolio, a relationship or Coach XXX at Mizzou, I’m in it for the long haul and want to see results over an extended period of time rather than using a couple of months (or even a year!!) as an acceptable sample size.
I never got too far down on Pinkel, even when Troy was stomping us up and down the field. I waited out LMA’s flirtations with Oregon and UGA, foolishly taking his man at his word that he wanted to retire a Tiger. I had faith in Haith…until he chose Tulsa, OK over CoMo and left us with a complete mess to deal with…which, of course, led to everyone’s favorite whipping boy. I was patient with the dumpster fire that was Kim Anderson and, ultimately, we all know what a disaster that turned out to be. And yes, I did eventually lose patience in KA and was ready for him to coach Gorillas instead of Tigers.
I don’t say any of this to tout myself or suggest that I am some modern version of Job. But I say this on this Sunday morning while we have a basketball team that is 1-0 and a football team that is 5-5 after 4 straight wins, something that once seemed completely impossible. Barry may or may not be the long-term answer for Mizzou. I hope he is and he looks a lot more like that than he did a month ago. Yes, we still have questions about his recruiting and his ability to build a program. I get that, but nothing we say on November 12 is going to prove whether he is or isn’t up to that task. Time will tell.
Cuonzo looks like the second coming of Jesus and John Wooden, wrapped into one. He arrived in CoMo with a world-creating Big Bang, pulling our program out of the black hole in which it was mired and proving there is light yet in this particular star. But, will he and our hardwood Tigers shine bright and stand out in the darkness or will they ultimately flicker out and slowly fade back into the universe of the 3,752 Division I basketball teams that currently exist? We shall see.
Ultimately, my friends, the point of my rambling (other than Sunday morning boredom when no one else is yet awake) is this: patience. Let’s not write people off based on small sample sizes. Let’s give players and coaches time to learn, develop, grow and improve. Let’s admit that maybe, just maybe, our collective knowledge on how to run a collegiate athletic department – formidable as it may be – pales in comparison to what Sterk, Odom, Martin, etc know.
Drink the Black and Gold Koolaid. Express concerns and doubts. We need to support our Tigers in every which way we can…and that includes giving them time to be human and prove themselves. Not over a game or a month or a season, but over time. To quote Warren Buffett, “The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect.” I’m invested in my Tigers and I’m not about to argue with the world’s second wealthiest man.
Patience, grasshoppers. Patience.
