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What is this?
Fairweather fanhood be gone
Published Saturday, October 31, 2009
You probably go to the bank once or twice a week. You get your money or leave your money and go on about your day. Does that experience qualify you to manage a bank?
You probably eat out every now and again. You order your food. You pay for your food. You eat your food. You leave. Does that experience qualify you to run a restaurant?
You probably like to go out to the movies once in a while. You pay for your ticket. You sit through the previews. You watch your film. You go home. Does that experience qualify you to make a good movie?
For rational people, the consensus answer to each of the above questions is a resounding “no.”
You probably go to a football game from time to time. You pay for your ticket. You find your seat. You yell for the home team. You go home. What about that experience qualifies you to be a football coach?
It is funny what the game of football does to otherwise intelligent people. It can make them suddenly begin vomiting mindless dribble.
“Well Paul, I know we lost 21 out of 22 starters, but I think we’ve got a real chance to win the national championship. This year. What do you think? I’ll hang up and listen.”
That’s kind of the beauty of the game. It commands passion in a way that no other sport can. The line that must be walked is that a fan must be a respecter of persons where the game itself is not.
Fans must be able to differentiate between levels of the game. At the collegiate level, yell and scream about how bad your team’s coach is all you want. He pulls plenty of money. And you pay upwards of $50 to the game or send your kid to that school or support the program. That’s fine. In the NFL, if your favorite team is terrible, fire the coach. After all, the NFL is about nothing but winning.
But can you really apply the same philosophy to lower levels?
Think about it. Do you send your child to school to win football games or to learn how to overcome? When he has a setback in college, will you demand his professor be fired? If he is reprimanded at work, will you call for the head of the boss?
Such practices would be ludicrous. Why then would you question the competency of his coach when his team loses a football game?
At its lowest levels, the game of football is not all about winning and losing. It is about persevering. It is about developing character. And here in Demopolis, there is no question that the young men in the high school football program are developing character.
The question is, are the fans? With plenty of time left on the clock in a one-possession game against rival Thomasville Thursday night, droves of fans began piling out of the Demopolis stands.
What message does that send to players? “Our support of you is contingent upon you winning football games.”
Perspective must be maintained. These young men are high school kids. They are in the most crucial part of their formative years. And support, especially in the difficult times, would do much more to help them grow as people than basing affections on their win-loss records.
It is an unfortunate truth that their head coach is one of the few consistencies they see. He loves them. He loves them when they win. He loves them when they lose. He loves them after good practices and bad. And because of it, they believe in him and themselves.
But sometimes, it is all too easy to watch a game and hurl criticisms.
“He can’t win with that offense.”
“He’ll never win a state championship here.”
“What is he doing?”
Making a withdrawal doesn’t make you a banker. Ordering a steak doesn’t make you a restaurant operator. Watching a movie doesn’t make you a producer. And buying a ticket to a football game doesn’t make you a coach.
But being there for your team and coach — from kickoff to conclusion — makes you a fan. Patting a player on the back, regardless of the scoreboard, makes you a better one. And doing it consistently makes your team and your community better.
Jeremy D. Smith is the sports editor of the Demopolis Times
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Comments
Posted by gunnut (anonymous) on October 31, 2009 at 4:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
And being a propagandist for the coach doesn't make you a good sports writer. Maybe Causey should step aside and become the team chaplain or counselor if that is what he is good at.
Posted by JDSmith (anonymous) on October 31, 2009 at 4:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You know what I like about you gunnut? As long as you are around, the world always has room to become a better place.
Posted by gunnut (anonymous) on November 1, 2009 at 1:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If only you felt the same for the football program...
Posted by BAMA11 (anonymous) on November 2, 2009 at 6:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Jeremy loved the article !!! Gunnut please just find another team to watch.
Posted by voiceofreason1 (anonymous) on November 2, 2009 at 8:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think he does feel the same way about the football program. If you'd go away, the stadium would be a much better place.
Loudmouth, Internet tough guy.
Posted by gunnut (anonymous) on November 2, 2009 at 4:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I won't apologize for not tolerating mediocrity. Is this the state of Oregon? Let's just give Demopolis a medal for trying, although some people on the team aren't even doing that anymore.
Posted by DHS08 (anonymous) on November 3, 2009 at 12:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah it's ok to bash the coach for everything huh? That's not the case here we lack leadership form the seniors and we have fans like you that come to the game and talk about coaches and leave the games before they are over. You are not helping the situation it's hard try and help kids see that it's their year and what they make of it is totally up to them, because the coaches put them in the right places to make plays every game whether they make them is up to them. Just save the drama man! Players if you guys are reading this we are supporting you no matter what, if any of you seniors want to go all the way you got to step up today and put this team on your backs and lead! Ignore (gunnut) he is still living in the past for some reason! Causey= Success to our kids
Posted by voiceofreason1 (anonymous) on November 3, 2009 at 11:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Then apologize for being a ...(this comment edited by the staff)
Posted by gunnut (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 3:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You dorks remind me of the morons who wanted to keep Mike Shula. Remove your heads from the sand and grasp a bit of reality for once.
Posted by DHS08 (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 5:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I didn't want to keep him, but what does that have to do with anything give me some reasons why we should get rid of Causey besides a couple of losses to top10 schools in the state? he has a record of what here? 24-10 that's not bad for 3 years with the kid's learning a totally diffrent offense and still learning.
Posted by gunnut (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 8:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm looking to the future and see no chance at all of winning a championship with the spread-option. Look at Rich Rodriguez. The spread works at rinky dink schools like West Virginia, but not at Michigan. He's going to be fired this year or next. Unless you have a Tim Tebow and a stout defense, it doesn't work well enough. I think Causey should dump the spread-option and to go a balanced, base I-formation. You can run option out of that, but it's more physical because the o-linemen are't lined up in those ridiculous wide splits. Heck, the Notre Dame Box would be more efficient.
Posted by DHS08 (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 9:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You are correct in many phases of what you are saying. Causey has formation when he runs out the I formation it works you are correct, but he knows how to run the option and is what he prefers. If you pay close attention half the time the plays would work it just blown assignments people blocking the wrong people,and not lined up properly if you are off a little bit the plays are a failure almost always. It's interesting once everyone learns we will be hell for anyone we face. Last year the o-line was doing everything right at the end of the season, and we have 3 out of 5 back I don't know maybe it was the shift in their positions, but we have to trust in the things Causey is doing.
He brings so much joy to the kids, town, and community we don't want to run him off without even giving him a chance. Take a look at Goodwin when he first started out at Demop. Before we moved down to 4a we were a slitely above avg 5a team some year and partly because of our cup cake schedules we used to have. Nut just give the man the respect he desires many players look up to him.
Posted by DHS08 (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 9:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You are correct in many phases of what you are saying. Causey has formation when he runs out the I formation it works you are correct, but he knows how to run the option and is what he prefers. If you pay close attention half the time the plays would work it just blown assignments people blocking the wrong people,and not lined up properly if you are off a little bit the plays are a failure almost always. It's interesting once everyone learns we will be hell for anyone we face. Last year the o-line was doing everything right at the end of the season, and we have 3 out of 5 back I don't know maybe it was the shift in their positions, but we have to trust in the things Causey is doing.
He brings so much joy to the kids, town, and community we don't want to run him off without even giving him a chance. Take a look at Goodwin when he first started out at Demop. Before we moved down to 4a we were a slitely above avg 5a team some year and partly because of our cup cake schedules we used to have. Nut just give the man the respect he deserves many players look up to him.
Posted by gunnut (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 10:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
One thing is for sure...he will have the ingredients to compete with Greenville and host in the first round of the playoffs next year. All the Tuscaloosa teams coming into the region are down in the dumps currently. On a side note, I can't stand Mike Smith of Northridge, and I want to see his team annihilated by Demopolis.
Posted by DHS08 (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 3:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
LOL why the bad blood with Smith I don't really know him though. Yeah looks like we have Greenville back in the region should be competitive game next year with us returning a lot of players.
Posted by gunnut (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 5:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Smith made some disparaging remarks about Demopolis after one of Goodwin's teams kicked his arse. I think it was the '04 championship year...anyway, he basically said Demopolis was overrated. Also, I heard he was buttclown when he was an assistant at Demopolis back in the early 90s.
Posted by DHS08 (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 7:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
oH yeah I remember him he is a clown of a character. Almost all the teams from Tuscaloosa call us country boys and they said they hate coming to Demopolis, but oh well we beat them almost everytime we play anyone of them and they hate it. Coach Wright of (Hillcrest Tuscaloosa) was mad as hell after the game this year because they called is a tune up team for them, but end up getting beat.
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