Now, to address a couple of things (don't worry about reading this, Stanger86... it'll likely be a tl;dr).
Originally posted by Moorhead123
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That being said, as Winona fans can attest to, reminiscing on the past is fun, but what's more important is the direction the program is going moving forward. Obviously Augie has some elements that need to be corrected between now and the next few seasons. On one hand, we have highly regarded recruits coming in, which should help with getting us back on track. On the other hand, we have highly regarded recruits on the current roster too and we're still struggling more than most fans probably expected. Like I said, our coaches have some work to do. I'm pretty sure they're aware of that. Personally, I'm excited to see how we bounce back the next couple of years.
What will be interesting with Moorhead is what things will look like when Bergstrasser is on his own. He's achieving a very high level of success this year with kids he helped recruit, but I'd imagine Walthall was a pretty important factor in getting kids like the Beeningas, Baumgartner, etc. I'd imagine Moorhead123 will express his absolute conviction that Bergstrasser will keep the program running at top-of-the-standings levels. It's very possible he will. But it'll still be interesting to see if they dip in 2-3 years when it's a Bergstrasser-only squad and Walthall's residual influence has worn off.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on this little "remember that time when..." thing we were doing.
Now, to argue with a fellow Viking fan for a minute...
Originally posted by vikingfaithful
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More important thing: Why does it matter if he shows disgust for NSU posters? Nobody says we have to love all of the programs in the conference. I more or less despise everything about USF's athletic programs. Frankly, I haaaaated Winona the first 5-6 years I was on the boards (partially out of jealousy, partially out of disliking several of the WSU posters on here). I felt no obligation to show respect to them. I was in the group that went and actively cheered for Metro State in the 2009 Regional Tournament. It's one of my favorite memories as a basketball fan and it doesn't even involve Augie. I feel no shame or regret for that at all. I would love if people hated/envied Augie so much that they showed up just to cheer for their opponent in a Regional game. It would be a good indicator of where our program is at (as it was for Winona in 2009).
Being completely honest, this is the range of emotions I feel toward other NSIC programs, with occasional fluctuation here or there:
Hate: USF
Strongly dislike: Moorhead, Mankato, SMSU
Generally dislike: Northern, Duluth, Upper Iowa
Essentially completely ambivalent about: Concordia, Mary, Minot, Crookston, Bemidji, St. Cloud, Winona
Don't necessarily "like" but would like/support if I stopped being an Augie fan: Wayne
I don't understand—and have never understood—why it's not ok in your mind to not like all of your opponents. I respect some of these programs in my dislike categories (very much not USF, but Moorhead and Northern, for example), but I don't like them, I never want to see them win, and I would love it if they somehow managed to all go 0-22 in conference play every year, as impossible as that may be.
It often seems to grind your gears when posters say negative things about other teams or programs on the boards, and I have never understood why it bothers you so much. I have zero qualms or regrets about saying I dislike other teams. It doesn't make me a bad fan or a mean-spirited person. I just don't like seeing the teams my team competes against doing better than my team. I feel like that makes me competitive, not mean.
It also doesn't mean I dislike other posters on here or wish ill upon them. Frustratingly, I like most of the posters on here these days. A handful have tendencies that annoy me, just like my siblings have tendencies that annoy me, but I don't actively dislike most/any of them like I used to in my fiery youth.
I've just never understood this mindset of having to be nice to the programs we don't like. If it makes us look petty to other fans, so be it. I hope anybody reading this (other fans, parents, potential recruits, etc.) knows I'm an Augie fan and knows I'll be supportive of our athletic programs and our athletes. If it bothers someone that I'm not nice to other teams/fans/players/coaches, then that's their choice. But I'd hope they appreciate that I'll be fiercely loyal to them if they're pro-Augie. I think that's more important than how nice I am to Northern, Moorhead, usf, etc. (lowercase intentional... :) )
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