Fellow fans,
I've been a fan of Florida State since my freshman year in 2004 (I grew up in NC and didn't really grow into football until my senior year of high school). Since that time, I've been checking warchant probably once per day on average, and have followed several rosters of players from high school to the draft and beyond. I've seen plenty of top 5 recruiting classes come and go, and I've endured my fair share of 6-6 seasons and even a home game shutout to Wake Forest. So, please spare me the "you're not a true fan" schpeal.
So, it may bother many of you that I don't see more than 8 wins this season. Anything more than that will be a huge bonus as far as I'm concerned. And, if any players read this blog (and for their sanity I hope they never check the Tribal Council), just know I'll be cheering you all on to victory each and every game, come an undefeated season or 0-12.
I could bore you with what you already know - we've lost tons of players to the NFL, not to mention the greatest QB we've ever had, and are raw in key areas everywhere - so I'll spare you that. No, I'm speaking more to the "we're loaded with talent" crew who's confident in 10 wins at least. I'm also speaking to fans who have joined us since, say, 2012.
The transition from high school to college is very tough on almost every player. There are about a thousand reasons why players fail beyond high school, with talent being the obvious reason, but the one killer for players of all ability levels is attitude. Attitude drives effort in practice and discipline during a game. I'll take it a step further: talent is but a small percentage of what drives succes; persistence, determination, and discipline drive success. Character drives success.
I've seen a lot of games and a lot of seasons, and I'm convinced losses forge character more than anything else. I haven't seen this level of success at FSU, ever, but I've seen other teams go through success and the results aren't pretty after a few years. Success can breed complacency. Success can slow down a team. Success killed FSU after the 90's. Success killed UF.
I foresee a period of adversity for these players, because I'm worried that they haven't developed the killer, never-say-die attitude that is forged from losses. So why am I excited? For me, a big part of the fun is witnessing the growth in the players and the team overall. When these guys become champions, and they will with time, it will make that success so much sweeter, knowing that we've walked the long journey together as fan and player.
This post was edited on 3/22 7:41 PM by dwk04d
I've been a fan of Florida State since my freshman year in 2004 (I grew up in NC and didn't really grow into football until my senior year of high school). Since that time, I've been checking warchant probably once per day on average, and have followed several rosters of players from high school to the draft and beyond. I've seen plenty of top 5 recruiting classes come and go, and I've endured my fair share of 6-6 seasons and even a home game shutout to Wake Forest. So, please spare me the "you're not a true fan" schpeal.
So, it may bother many of you that I don't see more than 8 wins this season. Anything more than that will be a huge bonus as far as I'm concerned. And, if any players read this blog (and for their sanity I hope they never check the Tribal Council), just know I'll be cheering you all on to victory each and every game, come an undefeated season or 0-12.
I could bore you with what you already know - we've lost tons of players to the NFL, not to mention the greatest QB we've ever had, and are raw in key areas everywhere - so I'll spare you that. No, I'm speaking more to the "we're loaded with talent" crew who's confident in 10 wins at least. I'm also speaking to fans who have joined us since, say, 2012.
The transition from high school to college is very tough on almost every player. There are about a thousand reasons why players fail beyond high school, with talent being the obvious reason, but the one killer for players of all ability levels is attitude. Attitude drives effort in practice and discipline during a game. I'll take it a step further: talent is but a small percentage of what drives succes; persistence, determination, and discipline drive success. Character drives success.
I've seen a lot of games and a lot of seasons, and I'm convinced losses forge character more than anything else. I haven't seen this level of success at FSU, ever, but I've seen other teams go through success and the results aren't pretty after a few years. Success can breed complacency. Success can slow down a team. Success killed FSU after the 90's. Success killed UF.
I foresee a period of adversity for these players, because I'm worried that they haven't developed the killer, never-say-die attitude that is forged from losses. So why am I excited? For me, a big part of the fun is witnessing the growth in the players and the team overall. When these guys become champions, and they will with time, it will make that success so much sweeter, knowing that we've walked the long journey together as fan and player.
This post was edited on 3/22 7:41 PM by dwk04d
