The state of UVa Football seemingly has been one of transition for the past several years. We are yet again in a true transition as members of the current staff exit and are replaced for the 2009 season. Maybe if for the same reasons that Barack Obama won the election I suspect that these moves will be well received. They represent significant change for a fan base was ready for change, any change that will give us hope that we can be consistently competitive with the top programs in the ACC. I am a hopeless Cavalier fan, no matter how frustrated I get, no matter how many times I am left with hanging expectations, I will always come back for more. There is always next year and with it hope for a better outcome. However I am worried about empty seats at Scott Stadium. I am concerned that the home field advantage is not what is was just a few years ago. I am worried about apathy setting in on this program like a thick fog.
So here are some suggestions Al Groh, help us help you improve the state of UVa football. The first point is going to be cathartic for me and seemingly negative, but a constructive suggestion nonetheless. It has to happen, this way there is too much pent up frustration that has to diffuse into space. Then we can move on with other more ideas that have nothing to do with the past but are all about the future of this program we love.
First off Al, stop with all the NFL program crap. We have heard it over and over and it does not resonate with the UVa fans. While there is less NFL-like garbage revolving around the program there is still too much. We are finally over the fiasco of building an NFL-type of defense around "jumbo athletes" who are too slow to keep pace with our competitors from VT, FSU, and others. The college game is a speed game. 6-7 270 pound kids are defensive ends in college not OLB's. I love watching Florida and LSU play football, they are all about speed. Get speed into the program and get it on the field in the right position. Always have someone on offense who is the fastest player on the field. Florida, LSU, WVa have won lot of games with this as part of their program. Also, dump the "one voice of the program" garbage let the fans see and hear from the staff. Help up build a relationship with these people. Help us like them and support them. These folks are professionals and if they cannot have a relationship with the media and the fans, then they are in the wrong job. As mentioned before, speed kills in this game, and if you do not have it, you get killed. Quit slotting players based on NFL potential. Vic Hall was a better high School QB than Ron Curry. He has been a pretty good CB for the past three years, which is a travesty. The fans want to win games at Scott stadium much more than they want to watch UVa graduates in the NFL. This is not an NFL program, don't run it like one, don't slot players like one. The fans hate it when you do and the results have not been stellar to date. I feel better, and hopefully that was was a constructive rant, though I know a rant when a write one.
Second, Al, I know you are a tireless worker. I suspect your staff is as well. Please spend great time and effort creating a visceral relationship between the fans and the program. That includes everyone in the program. We have some great coaches and great personalities that no one knows. We have some fantastic talent coming back next year. I want to hear about it. Go out on a limb, risk some locker room bulletin board material for next season, but tell us why we should be pumped about next year's team. Tell me how good of a defensive backfield we will have with Ras-I Dowling, Chase Minnefield, Chris Cook, Corey Mosely, Mike Parker etc. There is scary good talent back there. I want to hear just how freaking good they are. I want to hear that the staff is giddy about two total stud shutdown corners with a potential third all in the same backfield. I want to hear how good our running backs, and WR's can be next year. We all know the talent is there. Beat the drum, let us know that this is a program that can go places in 2009. Quit with the milk toast comments. Quit worrying about saying anything that could be construed as over the top. Go over the top, the fans are dying to support you and this program, just light the fuse and I promise we will make the noise for you.
I know you understand this about our fan base and out University. We have to run things differently at UVa. We do not want Apparel Management majors at UVa. We want student athletes. We want kids who will represent us and the University well. We understand that there are kids that are high academic risks at UVa. If you have to pass on those kids, pass on them. In fact, when in doubt, pass. We understand. We want it that way. However, if we are going to be the college football program that has kids who belong at UVa, make a big deal about it. Talk about it, sell it to the fans and the media. I think that when a players picture and bio is posted on the jumbotron, his major should be listed in bold and if he has a 3.0 gpa or better, that would be posted as well. If we are going to be the university of real student athletes, let's point it out every chance we get. It will not take long for the fan base to figure out that if only 3.0 gpa's are posted, and your GPA is not posted, then you must have one below 3.0. Who is going to want that known to the fan base? Create some competition on the team to go with public acknowledgment of how well these kids are doing in the classroom as well as the football field. Make a big deal about this. I want to hear about kids who graduate from this team who go to graduate school, become coaches/teachers, or go to work on Wall Street. Connect us with what UVa does especially well - graduate smart kids who do well in professioanl life.
Similar to the second point, tell us the stories of the kids in this program. I am not talking about stuff that is personal that should not be discussed, but I would bet that there are a dozen stories of kids on this team over coming obstacles, gutting out injuries, persevering through a family crisis that would warm the hearts of the fan base. Tell us the stories about these kids. Tell us why we should pack the stadium to cheer them on to victory, even against the longest of odds. Don't be so distant with your team and so closed with every tidbit of information. I promise that any bit of competitive advantage you may give up with this information will be returned many times over with loyalty and commitment from the fan base.
Al, everyone that supports this program is hungry for winning program. However, unlike many programs, style matters to UVa fans. We want to win the right way. Help us help you bring the results we all want by connecting yourself and your program with the fans. George W Bush is not the worst president in United States history. He is a man of deep convictions who has, by an objective measure, done many things right. However, he is one of the worst salesmen on the planet. He has no clue that packaging the message matters and that being right does not guarantee success. Don't make the same mistakes that "W" has made. The message and how it is packaged matters. Selling the program and all the personalities in it matters, especially to those who support this program with their checkbooks in addition to their time. Spend time letting us know that you care about the fans and how they feel. Make the connection between all this program has to offer and the fans. You do not have to change who you are, you do not have to be a back-slapper, joke telling glad hander. However, become outward facing. Let us know why you are as committed to these players as you clearly are. Help us be just as committed.
Back when the UVa program was giving FSU all it could handle at Scott Stadium, Bobby Bowden commented on time that no one talks about the game day atmosphere at UVa, but that when he was in town, UVa was as tough a place to play as any. Help us make that game day excitement the norm. Make us feel part of the program, part of the advantage, and part of what makes UVa special. You can do it, I am certain, but we need you out here creating those connections. We aren't watching the NFL because we don't care about it like we care about UVa.
