Most will not like this and that's ok because like it or not, it's impossible to argue.
We as fans do have a part in the narrative Jim's comments re: the program has created which I'll come back to in a minute.
First, I will say, the facilities talk is ridiculous. I'd argue about 98% of the programs in America would kill to have our facilities. Now, I get that to keep up with the other 1-2% we need to continually upgrade and refine. But for Jim or anyone else to insinuate that we can't win at the highest level at FSU because we're not keeping up in the facilities "arms race" is asinine.
Largely, aside from the necessities (i.e. an indoor practice facility which was absolutely critical for us), the over the top extras are nice to haves, primarily for recruiting, but don't make the difference in winning and losing. And not landing the best talent in the country isn't the reason we haven't won a title the last 4 years anyway. We haven't been won since 2013 because of severe underachievement starting at the top with an antiquated, boring, slow paced offense, loyalty to a fault, a bad DC hire and subsequent unwillingess to admit the mistake and fix it, lack of player development primarily on the Oline, and I'd surmise having lost the team's ftrust / faith at some point! We could spend a billion $ on new facilities and it wouldn't have changed the results of the last 4 years.
On the other hand, everyone here wants to believe FSU is a "top 5 job" or that we're a "top 5 program". And in most respects we are... of the top several attributes that define a top job/program, we've got most.
But in the one for which we as fans have the most direct impact, we often fall short. When the stadium is 3/4 or 1/2 full on many game days, fans walk in 15 minutes after kick and/or leave in the middle of the 2nd half, our claims of top 5, take a MONSTER hit. The excuses/explanations are plentiful - and meaningless. "It's not a quality opponent", "it's a noon game", "it's too hot", "we're out of contention", blah blah blah. I live in Columbus and despise Ohio State, but the Shoe is filled EVERY week, EVERY game no matter what. Yeah, it's a much bigger city, but the same could be said for UGA, LSU, Bama, Penn State, Clemson, Notre Dame, among many others in smaller towns that still pack their stadiums week in week out.
When Herbstreit and others talk about "big game atmosphere" and "rabid fan base" I believe this is what they're referring to. No one's saying we're not capable of having it on those occasions when "all the starts align", they just recognize that in comparison, there are other programs where its a foregone conclusion that week in week out, the fanbase will show up, fill the stadium no matter what the circumstance. If we truly want to be top 5, we can and must do better in this respect.
We as fans do have a part in the narrative Jim's comments re: the program has created which I'll come back to in a minute.
First, I will say, the facilities talk is ridiculous. I'd argue about 98% of the programs in America would kill to have our facilities. Now, I get that to keep up with the other 1-2% we need to continually upgrade and refine. But for Jim or anyone else to insinuate that we can't win at the highest level at FSU because we're not keeping up in the facilities "arms race" is asinine.
Largely, aside from the necessities (i.e. an indoor practice facility which was absolutely critical for us), the over the top extras are nice to haves, primarily for recruiting, but don't make the difference in winning and losing. And not landing the best talent in the country isn't the reason we haven't won a title the last 4 years anyway. We haven't been won since 2013 because of severe underachievement starting at the top with an antiquated, boring, slow paced offense, loyalty to a fault, a bad DC hire and subsequent unwillingess to admit the mistake and fix it, lack of player development primarily on the Oline, and I'd surmise having lost the team's ftrust / faith at some point! We could spend a billion $ on new facilities and it wouldn't have changed the results of the last 4 years.
On the other hand, everyone here wants to believe FSU is a "top 5 job" or that we're a "top 5 program". And in most respects we are... of the top several attributes that define a top job/program, we've got most.
- Fertile Recruiting Ground - probably the best... top 2 state but also proximity to 2-3 other top states
- Track Record of Success / Tradition - our success makes up for the 50+ years some of the others have on us
- $/Resources - look no further than where we rank in staff budget, etc- it's good enough
- Full Commitment to Winning from the University/Administration - I believe we've botched several opportunities (i.e. uniform/logo changes, JF contract, scoreboard etc) but more in execution. Not due to lack of commitment to winning.
- Facilities - good enough
But in the one for which we as fans have the most direct impact, we often fall short. When the stadium is 3/4 or 1/2 full on many game days, fans walk in 15 minutes after kick and/or leave in the middle of the 2nd half, our claims of top 5, take a MONSTER hit. The excuses/explanations are plentiful - and meaningless. "It's not a quality opponent", "it's a noon game", "it's too hot", "we're out of contention", blah blah blah. I live in Columbus and despise Ohio State, but the Shoe is filled EVERY week, EVERY game no matter what. Yeah, it's a much bigger city, but the same could be said for UGA, LSU, Bama, Penn State, Clemson, Notre Dame, among many others in smaller towns that still pack their stadiums week in week out.
When Herbstreit and others talk about "big game atmosphere" and "rabid fan base" I believe this is what they're referring to. No one's saying we're not capable of having it on those occasions when "all the starts align", they just recognize that in comparison, there are other programs where its a foregone conclusion that week in week out, the fanbase will show up, fill the stadium no matter what the circumstance. If we truly want to be top 5, we can and must do better in this respect.
