Rebuffed and Welcome Back

(With apologies to Norman Rockwell)

Well, if you have been here before, welcome back to the fan's blog. And if you are new to this blog, welcome. A few disclaimers that may or may not need to be said. This isn't the sports section, this is the op-ed part of the Rutgers football scene. I love Rutgers football...that used to sound like the opening line in a support group, "Hi, My name is RaritanSam" The group replies, "Hi Raritan," and then I state, "And I have been a Rutgers football fan for 30 years..."
So, yes, I feel like my seat on the bandwagon is a little more worn than most, but I don't feel like there should be limited seated on that wagon. No, I encourage all to come aboard (and I even don't mind that some will bail when, somehow, these Knights have a bump in the road that will toss a few faint-at-heart fans who can't stand the sight a few bumps or bruises).
Ok, onto the game last night. First off, don't call it a scrimmage. Yeah, I know it is a cute way of describing a less than stellar opponent, but it's jumped the shark (although, jump the shark may have jumped the shark at this point...but that is another rant). Enough of complaining about the schedule. It's like complaining about a receiver dropping passes. Yeah, we know it ain't cool, but they aren't trying to drop them, and Rutgers isn't trying to schedule bad teams, but what do you expect them to do, ring up Notre Dame and ask if they wouldn't mind coming to Piscataway next Saturday and then call Buffalo and say, thanks but no thanks. C'mon, be realistic sports writer types.
This game wasn't close. It was a showcase of talent, and a confidence builder and the polar opposite of the old way of opening AT Texas or AT Cal and getting smoked and injured before the season began. If anything, this is the proper way to start the season. And I know that from watching most contenders doing the same thing. And the other question to pose is, who would want to play Rutgers these days. Top tier teams have little available and not too much to gain. Middle tier teams, where the Scarlet Knights now sit (let's be honest, they are good, but I am not ready to annoint them national title contenders just yet...) aren't sure they want to get into it. Someone will be brave enough to add them, because at some point pride and money will enter the mix, Rutgers seems to be traveling people a bit more, and pride in remembering the old Rutgers and 'knowing' that they can stomp down this Cinderella with ease.
I don't look gift victories in the mouth, never will again. And while beating Buffalo isn't going into the vault (except for Tiquan nudging Emmers out of the record book for receiving yards), it is nice to have another laugher to enjoy.
Go Knights.

Handing It Down

There once was a day when I used to count victories before a season and hope we could scratch our way to .500 at the end of the day. Now I am dealing with learning to temper my expectations and trying to keep too many people from thinking this team is destined for a bowl, maybe an undefeated season, maybe a national title. Look, in addition to being a big-time Rutgers fan, I have also bled Phillies red for many years, so I know about expectations that can be so lofty that people forget about actually having to play the games. So for me, predictions are nice, but results come from the same breaks that led The Scarlet Knights to 11-2 could have easily been 7-4.

So here I am, in a new type of day where I am tempering my expectation, not hiding my eyes from the upcoming horror show, and I see a new phenomena on the Banks. Guys who fought through adversity (which we have had a multitude of) and know what they did do taste success (which football hasn't had for a long while). A guy like Brian Leonard is the poster child of someone who could sit around a campfire with a piece of straw dangling from his lips and talk about the bad ole days of 1-11. Now there are guys like Ray Rice or Jeremy Ito who are taking young guys under their wings and showing them the right way. And as with any success in the making, it takes a few generations to build up the gene pool so that you produce consistent winners. Not that I am getting all Jimmy the Greek here, but I am talking about the culture of winning that has guys constantly saying things like "The team comes first" or "We still have goals we didn't accomplish" and almost shunning a Texas bowl massacre as not really being all that much of an accomplishment. (I have a slightly off-key version of "born to Run' on a karaoke machine in the middle of a bar that says it was anything but an unsuccessful end to a season).

So as we all learn to deal with this newfound success, let us remember to take notes of how we got here, and try to pass on the new fans who are going to fill the Chophouse, and maybe the often cited 6,000 people on the waiting list, that it isn't always 11-2 and Texas toast. And when someone fumbles on a Saturday, that it isn't time to throw in the ax. We have been building this thing for many years, through all the insults and taunts, and it takes patience and passion to bleed Scarlet. Remeber to hand that down.

Keeps your Big Ten Hands to Yourself

Uh, welcome back, I guess to me, and in theory, whoever else is blogging over to read my random and personal Rutgers football notes and thoughts.

This article about Rutgers potentially going to the Big 10 is most likely speculation on a slow news day after all the dust has settled on Major League Baseball trade day. But it is a scary thought that Rutgers would even be mentioned to be leaving. First of all, there is a serious loyalty issue to be resolved and I for one, won't easily forget the traitor mentality of three schools that slunked into the ACC (and by the way, none of them have had the success uf RU in football thus far, thank you very much) So there is the bad taste, loyalty thing.

But I would also point to the fact that we don't want to run with the Big Ten fellas, I mean, who cares about them. I know there are those who would claim it is a better overall conference, but I think much of that is past reputation, which only can carry you for so long. The Big East is a quality conference. I won't say that on many given years we have as many quality teams top to bottom as some other conferences, but I do believe the potential is there....if schools would stop this bailing for greener pasture pastures crap.

Please Rutgers, let this be a media rumour on a slow news day, please.