I think if you asked any fan that was aware of KU's situation heading into the season, they wouldn't be surprised that we didn't win a game (or won one game pending this weekends outcome). Now that doesn't mean they were expecting this, were happy with how the season turned out, or anything like that...it just means that I don't think people were all that surprised who really understood the situation KU was in. When you are facing a season like this, it also isn't surprising that it would be hard for fans to support a season like this. We can pat our backs all we want on this board about being superfans, and maybe it is deserved after a season like this, but it is understandable why some fans are down right now.
That being said, the bright side here is that we won't be facing a winless season again under Beaty IMO. Things in the future will be better than we are seeing this season. The roster will inch closer to being back to normal. The system they are running will be in the second year of being implemented. There are some really solid young kids to build this team around. When we look back five years from now, this year will be by far the hardest for a fan base to sit through IMO just because of the situation. Low roster numbers, low experience coming into the season, and the coaching staff's first year together...we will for sure not have low roster numbers this bad or lack of coaching experience going forward and low experience if it does happen won't be common. This is the lowest point we will have seen at KU and we are just about past that.
Now it doesn't mean everything is rainbows and hugs from here on out for a couple of reasons. While this is the hardest part, there is still some hard parts left. The staff still has to build this roster up. They still have to develop guys. This will take some time unfortunately, which when you look at the past handful of seasons or so is a lot to ask the fanbase to be patient - we have been patient for a while. It looks like at best we are a year away from challenging for a bowl game, but that is a best case scenario and could be a couple of years away. Things will be improved immediately, but it is still a process and will take time to turn this around.
The other thing related to that is while this is the hardest part for fans, it is not the hardest part for coaches. It is easier to go from 0 wins to 3 wins than it is to go from 3 wins to 6 wins. It is easier to go from 3 wins to 6 wins than it is to go from 6 wins to 9 wins. The more wins, the harder it gets. The staff still has a lot of work to do and it won't necessarily get easier, although it will help having more ammo than this season, so their mountain is harder to climb here.
In a couple of days we will be in offseason mode. As hard as the season has been, I am still a little bit sad the season ends tomorrow. Unpacking and putting away the tailgate equipment is usually a pretty sad deal for me regardless of how the season has gone. But on the other hand it is a little bit refreshing because I truly believe better days are ahead and we are through the hardest part as fans...
That being said, the bright side here is that we won't be facing a winless season again under Beaty IMO. Things in the future will be better than we are seeing this season. The roster will inch closer to being back to normal. The system they are running will be in the second year of being implemented. There are some really solid young kids to build this team around. When we look back five years from now, this year will be by far the hardest for a fan base to sit through IMO just because of the situation. Low roster numbers, low experience coming into the season, and the coaching staff's first year together...we will for sure not have low roster numbers this bad or lack of coaching experience going forward and low experience if it does happen won't be common. This is the lowest point we will have seen at KU and we are just about past that.
Now it doesn't mean everything is rainbows and hugs from here on out for a couple of reasons. While this is the hardest part, there is still some hard parts left. The staff still has to build this roster up. They still have to develop guys. This will take some time unfortunately, which when you look at the past handful of seasons or so is a lot to ask the fanbase to be patient - we have been patient for a while. It looks like at best we are a year away from challenging for a bowl game, but that is a best case scenario and could be a couple of years away. Things will be improved immediately, but it is still a process and will take time to turn this around.
The other thing related to that is while this is the hardest part for fans, it is not the hardest part for coaches. It is easier to go from 0 wins to 3 wins than it is to go from 3 wins to 6 wins. It is easier to go from 3 wins to 6 wins than it is to go from 6 wins to 9 wins. The more wins, the harder it gets. The staff still has a lot of work to do and it won't necessarily get easier, although it will help having more ammo than this season, so their mountain is harder to climb here.
In a couple of days we will be in offseason mode. As hard as the season has been, I am still a little bit sad the season ends tomorrow. Unpacking and putting away the tailgate equipment is usually a pretty sad deal for me regardless of how the season has gone. But on the other hand it is a little bit refreshing because I truly believe better days are ahead and we are through the hardest part as fans...
