FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[tommiegun]

After reading the Wabash posts on the other board for awhile, Lil' Giants is starting to make a lot of sense.  It started with posts about how "UST must not respect us because they aren't posting any trash talk about us" and "must not be scared at all..." What?

Then it appears some of them read Johnnie posts and the Caruso=classless attacks began...

then, when UST posters started to give thoughts about the game - immediately it was a hostile "my dad can beat up your dad" response; you guys just don't know how good we are, woe is me. I hate to say it but I'm missing good ol' fashion Johnnie hate mongering.  Johnnies are like that big scary dog at the end of the street that you hate because he doesn't let you get to the ice cream parlor.  It seems like the lil' cute ol' giants are like so many nippy little dogs, just out there to annoy.

NAPOLEAN COMPLEX MUCH.

I'm really hoping for a monkey-stomp now, maybe with multiple behind the back 2-pt conversions.

[jamtod]

Since I've started to post a little bit now, I thought I should introduce myself to the MIAC crew.  I've been reading D3Football.com for a while now and have fallen down the D3 rabbit hole reading these message boards since the Carleton game.  I've been a loose follower of the Tommies, going to several of the playoff and regular season games over the last few years but family life has made that tough as I have 3 kids under 5.

'07 UST Grad. I've been to far more UST games post-college than I went to as a student.  I've been in attendance at the Carleton, La Verne, and St John's games and plan to be back this weekend with my wife.

[wally_wabash]

then, when UST posters started to give thoughts about the game - immediately it was a hostile "my dad can beat up your dad" response;

I don't think that has happened even a little bit. 

you guys just don't know how good we are,

This is true, but that's not an indictment of anything other than the way we tend to consume Division III.  It's just easier for all of us to digest if we don't have to actually watch teams other than our own and make quality assessments based on what league the teams we don't know anything about play in.  That's not a bad thing- there's just too much Division III to know everything about everybody.  100% of the people (yes, self included) who follow this game do this to some degree. 

woe is me.

Maybe a little.  It's definitely frustrating that so many people won't even bother to give Wabash an honest analysis that goes beyond "oh, they play in the North Coast."   St. Thomas was a decent 8-3 team last year.  This year they may be the tournament favorite.  And everybody is cool with that year-over-year improvement.  We're all good with the idea that St. Thomas can get better from 2014 to 2015.  The analysis on Wabash is that they lost by 24 to Whitewater last year and that's just all that they are...that 2015 Wabash is the same as 2014 Wabash.  That part of the deal gets frustrating.  But I get it.  That's just how this is going to go until Wabash wins a game like the one they're playing on Saturday.  I think it's awesome that Wabash is getting the opportunity in consecutive years.  That's a major step. 

[OzJohnnie]

Since I've started to post a little bit now, I thought I should introduce myself to the MIAC crew.  I've been reading D3Football.com for a while now and have fallen down the D3 rabbit hole reading these message boards since the Carleton game.  I've been a loose follower of the Tommies, going to several of the playoff and regular season games over the last few years but family life has made that tough as I have 3 kids under 5.

'07 UST Grad. I've been to far more UST games post-college than I went to as a student.  I've been in attendance at the Carleton, La Verne, and St John's games and plan to be back this weekend with my wife.

Welcome to the boards!

Be careful where you park the Lambroghini.

[jamtod]

Welcome to the boards!

Be careful where you park the Lambroghini.

Does Lamborghini make mini-vans these days?

[faunch]

So here is some fun speculation. I see Haugen from GAC and Caruso of UST split the John Gagliardi MIAC coach of the year honors. For the record, and as much as it pains me to say this, I think Caruso deserved the award outright. While most people saw them as a top contender for the MIAC title this year, they ended up being absolutely dominant in every aspect. To go from a very good 8-3 team to an undefeated, legitimate Natl Champ contender speaks to the strength of the program. OK, let me pause while I swallow the vomit in my mouth....

Anyway, I'm assuming this award is based on a coaches vote? So lets speculate about which coaches voted for Caruso and which voted for Haugen? Of course others may have garnered votes. Fasching won the award last year, so I'm guessing he might not have had much support based on that alone. For my money, Rogesheske or Haege probably get the most out of the least, although Haege had Ayrton Scott, the MIAC MVP. Johnson at Bethel probably had to endure the most key injuries, but another season ending loss to Augsburg takes away some merit points. Horan also had some key injuries, but a late season loss to a team (GAC) that was handled by other other strong teams tarnishes the season a bit. 
I am assuming a coach can't or wouldn't vote for themselves:

Caruso (UST) - Hard to think he'd vote for Haugen after rolling GAC by nearly 60, maybe he felt sorry for him.
Pagel (Carleton) - Haugen, I'm thinking this is a safe bet as a non-vote for Caruso
Horan (Concordia) - Haugen - GAC defeated his Cobbers
Johnson (Bethel) - Caruso, same voting logic as Fasching (see below)
Fasching (SJU) -  - Caruso? Gary is a stand up guy, and as much as I'm sure he hates losing to UST, he knows a good team when he sees it.
Rogesheske (Hamline) - ?? ? Caruso
Haugen (GAC) - Caruso
Stern (SOC) - Haugen
Haege (Augsburg) - Haugen

Based on my guesses, you'd have 4 for Caruso, 4 for Haugen and 1 for someone else - hence the split award.

No comments on this so I guess I'll take the bait and bite. 
I tend to agree that GC absolutely is deserving of coach of the year honors.

I don't know what's the greater surprise.
A coach that starts back to back seasons 6-0 only to finish 7-3 this year gets four votes for coach of the year or a coach who's team runs roughshod through the league only getting 4 votes from his peers for coach of the year?  Are the coaches really the people that vote?  Is the voting somewhat based on respect (or lack of), friendship or envy and jealousy?

[RoyalsFan]

VOJ, great post.  Thanks for doing that.

Johnnie Nation loves the job that you do.  You are a priceless asset to the SJU sports program.  The game broadcasts are awesome.  Beyond that, the unrivalled pre and post game shows and all the work you do make this a financial win for WBHR.  I've said it before, I'll say it again.  SJU fans are fortunate to have such a high quality play by play guy.

Note to those who are not Johnnie supporters:  The target audience is Johnnie fans.  We appreciate VOJ's love and passion for Johnnie sports.  We want him to be a bit of a homer.  And we enjoy it when his outstanding team of commentators clarifies things.

WCCO is a different situation.  They are the 50,000 watt blowtorch.  They are trying to appeal to audience larger than the Tommie fan base.

That may have been true several years ago when broadcasts were only on the radio, but now that we have internet broadcasts you can't use that argument anymore.  Johnnie games can now reach just as big of an audience as Tommie games.

[DuffMan]

Are the coaches really the people that vote?

I was wondering the same.  I fired off an email to verify.

[RoyalsFan]

No comments on this so I guess I'll take the bait and bite. 
I tend to agree that GC absolutely is deserving of coach of the year honors.

I don't know what's the greater surprise is in this.
A coach that starts back to back seasons 6-0 only to finish 7-3 this year gets four votes for coach of the year or a coach who's team runs roughshod through the league only getting 4 votes from his peers for coach of the year?  Are the coaches really the people that vote?  Is the voting somewhat based on respect (or lack of), friendship or envy and jealousy?

You bring up some very good points Faunch. Why would a coach/team that didn't improve record wise over the previous year get as many votes as a coach/team that improves by getting 3 more wins, going undefeated and dominated every game?   

[Pat Coleman]

No comments on this so I guess I'll take the bait and bite. 
I tend to agree that GC absolutely is deserving of coach of the year honors.

I don't know what's the greater surprise is in this.
A coach that starts back to back seasons 6-0 only to finish 7-3 this year gets four votes for coach of the year or a coach who's team runs roughshod through the league only getting 4 votes from his peers for coach of the year?  Are the coaches really the people that vote?  Is the voting somewhat based on respect (or lack of), friendship or envy and jealousy?

You bring up some very good points Faunch. Why would a coach/team that didn't improve record wise over the previous year get as many votes as a coach/team that improves by getting 3 more wins, going undefeated and dominated every game?

Well, remember, Gustavus did improve by one win over last season.

[Retired Old Rat]

I don't believe that many on here, other than the Johnnie posters, listen to your pre game shows. I find them to be informative and very objective. You are correct in your self analysis there.

I had to watch/listen another "enemy" feed a couple times, and one stuck out - though I can't remember which school's broadcast is the culprit. The announcers barely knew who was playing for the Johnnies. They knew Martin, Bungham, Sura and maybe one or two others. They identified the others most times by number or position, and when they did try to find a name, either were wrong, or mispronounced. They then went on to lament the use of the same number for two players. I guess they wanted SJU to issue numbers for away games that weren't the same numbers used in home games where there were too many players to not have recurring numbers. They also seemed unaware of the fact that Benson and Gagliardi were cousins, even merely supposing that Gagliardi might be related to the Legend. This shows a lack of preparation. I doubt that you overlook many "inside stories" and have given us many such insights into other teams.

As far as the homerism, I can see where others might find it off-putting. Let your conscience be your guide there.

First of all I want to qualify my comments as coming from someone who has known of and respected the SJU program since 1976 when my father turned on the TV and sat me down to watch the Johnnies in the title game. I do recall a bit of the game even though I was 12 years old. I was a passionate football player and fan even at that age. Later in life I played against the Johnnies as an Auggie, really respected them back then and still do today. SJU is without a doubt a great college football program.

Lets assume that the visiting team "enemy" broadcasters were Tom Witschen and Mike Gallagher. Just for the sake of discussion.They could have dug up the fact that these guys were cousins, but really? Not everyone bows down to kiss the ground at every Johnnie fact. Assuming it was Augsburg and it could have been any of the MIAC radio guys I get that. Let's just toss that possibility out and look at the SJU/AUG game this year. Did the SJU homer broadcast team know that there were two brothers playing on the Auggies? Maybe but I doubt it. You know what, who cares? Sometimes (often) you Johnnies need to get over yourselves.

I would give a high probability that they know the Gustavus guys are cousins.  I'd be utterly amazed if they did not know about the Auggie brothers.   Like or dislike VOJ the man does his homework.

There was a comment earlier about MIAC coaches not wanting to grant VOJ an interview for the pre-game show.  I believe only one coach in the MIAC has ever declined an interview with Mark.

[faunch]

No comments on this so I guess I'll take the bait and bite. 
I tend to agree that GC absolutely is deserving of coach of the year honors.

I don't know what's the greater surprise is in this.
A coach that starts back to back seasons 6-0 only to finish 7-3 this year gets four votes for coach of the year or a coach who's team runs roughshod through the league only getting 4 votes from his peers for coach of the year?  Are the coaches really the people that vote?  Is the voting somewhat based on respect (or lack of), friendship or envy and jealousy?

You bring up some very good points Faunch. Why would a coach/team that didn't improve record wise over the previous year get as many votes as a coach/team that improves by getting 3 more wins, going undefeated and dominated every game?

Well, remember, Gustavus did improve by one win over last season.

[Whitecarrera]

After reading the Wabash posts on the other board for awhile, Lil' Giants is starting to make a lot of sense.  It started with posts about how "UST must not respect us because they aren't posting any trash talk about us" and "must not be scared at all..." What?

Then it appears some of them read Johnnie posts and the Caruso=classless attacks began...

then, when UST posters started to give thoughts about the game - immediately it was a hostile "my dad can beat up your dad" response; you guys just don't know how good we are, woe is me. I hate to say it but I'm missing good ol' fashion Johnnie hate mongering.  Johnnies are like that big scary dog at the end of the street that you hate because he doesn't let you get to the ice cream parlor.  It seems like the lil' cute ol' giants are like so many nippy little dogs, just out there to annoy.

NAPOLEAN COMPLEX MUCH.

I'm really hoping for a monkey-stomp now, maybe with multiple behind the back 2-pt conversions.

Tommiegun -- I don't think you're going to get the Wabash gang too riled up. The bad blood is pretty much reserved for DePauw and Wittenberg, two programs who have already shown their stripes (pardon the pun). In fact, if this game were in Crawfordsville, I expect tailgate invitation would have been extended to all of you, inviting you to enjoy the day and let things be settled on the field. Oh wait a minute ... Do you guys know what tailgates are?

[RoyalsFan]

No comments on this so I guess I'll take the bait and bite. 
I tend to agree that GC absolutely is deserving of coach of the year honors.

I don't know what's the greater surprise is in this.
A coach that starts back to back seasons 6-0 only to finish 7-3 this year gets four votes for coach of the year or a coach who's team runs roughshod through the league only getting 4 votes from his peers for coach of the year?  Are the coaches really the people that vote?  Is the voting somewhat based on respect (or lack of), friendship or envy and jealousy?

You bring up some very good points Faunch. Why would a coach/team that didn't improve record wise over the previous year get as many votes as a coach/team that improves by getting 3 more wins, going undefeated and dominated every game?

Well, remember, Gustavus did improve by one win over last season.

Sorry, missed the 1 game improvement, but still, improving by 1 game warrants coach of the year?

[Pat Coleman]

There was a comment earlier about MIAC coaches not wanting to grant VOJ an interview for the pre-game show.  I believe only one coach in the MIAC has ever declined an interview with Mark.

Probably have to expect that -- if you're going to badmouth a coach on the air to the extent cited here, you might not get a pregame interview.