By far the hardest part of waiting, is the wait. We are a society and a people not fond of, nor accustomed to waiting, and patience no longer remains a hallowed virtue. When the computer locks up, we reboot. When we are hungry, we pop something in the microwave and eat 2 minutes and 45 seconds later. If we need an answer, we hit the google button and have it in less than a minute. We live out our existence much more frequently in five minute, not five year, increments. Thus, when we are asked to wait, the first reaction is always to seek another, less time consuming solution. Because, if there is anything we really hate about waiting, it's the wait. And the wait is not fun.
For football at the University of Kansas, there will be no less time consuming solution than patient waiting. There is no QB, WR, DT, Coordinator, AD, or donor who is going to fix this situation in a timeframe that we would all be more comfortable with. The road back to respectability will require at least three cycles of recruiting, developing, and coaching. This year will be ugly, and next only marginally better, if at all. In year three, with a few cycles behind us, and hopefully $250 million pledged towards new stadium we will start to see glimpses of hope, and tangible evidence of a brighter future. By year five, we can be competing in the top half of the Big 12, or Big 10, if all goes well. But, that is five years, not five minutes from now, and waiting sucks.
So why bother? First, because that's what loyal fans do. Second, because the pain now is part of the exhilaration then. I am a loyal fan to a fault. I picked my teams years ago, and stick with them through thick and thin. As a sports fan, that's just what I do, and I am now old enough to have seen things cycle several times. No matter how many superlatives you want to attach to our current woes, KU football is in no different position now than the Chiefs were in prior to Schottenheimer, KSU prior to Snyder, WSU basketball prior to Mark Turgeon, Royals prior to Dayton Moore, or KU football prior to Mason or Mangino. Under the right leadership thing can, and do, change. But, they don't change quickly. To the second point, some of my best sports memories came watching John Randle bury KSU, storming the field after KU defeated Nebraska for the first time since Grover Cleveland, and catching an orange thrown by Aqib Talib on his way to the tunnel after an Orange Bowl victory. In themselves, those were good wins, but they were enhanced by the memory of all the games I had sat in a near empty Memorial Stadium not being able to imagine any such thing was possible. And that is where many of us are right now- unable to imagine that anything better can come.
It can happen, and likely will- but not this week, or next, not this year, or likely next. We will simply have to endure, and wait. And, the hardest part of the waiting, is the wait.
JayDocB
For football at the University of Kansas, there will be no less time consuming solution than patient waiting. There is no QB, WR, DT, Coordinator, AD, or donor who is going to fix this situation in a timeframe that we would all be more comfortable with. The road back to respectability will require at least three cycles of recruiting, developing, and coaching. This year will be ugly, and next only marginally better, if at all. In year three, with a few cycles behind us, and hopefully $250 million pledged towards new stadium we will start to see glimpses of hope, and tangible evidence of a brighter future. By year five, we can be competing in the top half of the Big 12, or Big 10, if all goes well. But, that is five years, not five minutes from now, and waiting sucks.
So why bother? First, because that's what loyal fans do. Second, because the pain now is part of the exhilaration then. I am a loyal fan to a fault. I picked my teams years ago, and stick with them through thick and thin. As a sports fan, that's just what I do, and I am now old enough to have seen things cycle several times. No matter how many superlatives you want to attach to our current woes, KU football is in no different position now than the Chiefs were in prior to Schottenheimer, KSU prior to Snyder, WSU basketball prior to Mark Turgeon, Royals prior to Dayton Moore, or KU football prior to Mason or Mangino. Under the right leadership thing can, and do, change. But, they don't change quickly. To the second point, some of my best sports memories came watching John Randle bury KSU, storming the field after KU defeated Nebraska for the first time since Grover Cleveland, and catching an orange thrown by Aqib Talib on his way to the tunnel after an Orange Bowl victory. In themselves, those were good wins, but they were enhanced by the memory of all the games I had sat in a near empty Memorial Stadium not being able to imagine any such thing was possible. And that is where many of us are right now- unable to imagine that anything better can come.
It can happen, and likely will- but not this week, or next, not this year, or likely next. We will simply have to endure, and wait. And, the hardest part of the waiting, is the wait.
JayDocB
