E-mailed 4/5/11
To cap off my last foreseeable e-mail, I'll return to a quote from Rock M Nation: “…the fanbase is demoralized (and when the insecure Mizzou fanbase gets demoralized, it gets embarrassed ... and when it gets embarrassed, it gets angry).” Demoralized. Embarrassed. Angry. Think it over. That has to be what we're all feeling right now. Its what I'm feeling right now. And I'm pretty sure its what the majority of the rest of the fan base is feeling.
Last night I was real angry. I watched the Mike Alden show last night and was so mad I was going to start off today saying I've switch sides from Alden defender to Alden antagonist. Last night was, at best, amateurish and insincere and at worst was sleazy and filled with outright lies. It was the definition of a shit show. To watch in horror for yourself, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkjkqEFFE6U
Then the press conference today happened and Alden led off with Respect, Responsibility, Discovery, and Excellence and the responsibility of leading an athletic program at the premier land-grant institution in the state. I then felt pretty stupid for my anger the night before. I then felt pretty stupid for feeling pretty stupid because its clear this is one of the worst decisions--regardless of the values based reasons behind it--made by a major athletic program in recent history. Then comes the demoralization and a possible realization: maybe its true and we aren't a major athletic program. Maybe Haith is the best we can get...not just an odd Alden hire. Cue the embarrassment. And a few hours later cue the anger.
As McKernan (St. Louis radio personality) says: "At this point, whether Missouri fans---myself included---agree with this hire or not, it's obviously not going to change. That doesn't mean the incredibly odd move of hiring someone with the resume of Haith is forgotten...at all. But, cheering for Haith's failure if you're a Missouri fan is like claiming to be a proud American...but then hoping a president fails. To me, that seems rather odd. So, I'm excited to see what Haith is able to pull off. He's got his work cut out for him." (Full story here: http://www.insidestl.com/insideSTLcom/McKernan/tabid/61/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/6416/Timmys-Tidbits-The-insideSTL-Family-Expands.aspx ... interesting last line: "Two ways to know whether or not he's got some game off the court before the team even takes the floor? 1. Keep the Presseys in Columbia 2. Get Otto Porter to Columbia."
So today and the days after will be all about reconciliation: at the feelings within ourselves and our feelings toward each other.
The link today's press conference is here: http://www.mutigers.com/allaccess/?media=240489 From it some things are clear:
(1) He's won over the team
(2) He's won over most of the media who are glad he has...say...a personality and is...say...willing to talk to them. Stark contrasts from the previous coach.
(3) He's probably not going to fall flat on his face...immediately. The guy's pretty savvy. Combine that with a good roster that is already in place and he'll do decent enough not to get run off for at least three years.
Speaking broadly, reconciliation of the fan base will be between two big groups, those who hate Alden, and those who don't. I'll end as I started, with the links from each of those camps. BUT, if you read no other link, read this one: http://www.rockmnation.com/2011/4/5/2090070/frank-haith-what-to-expect A great overview by Rock M Nation. While they fall into the "stand by Alden" group it gives those who love him, and those who hate him, insight into his process. The key conclusion: "For that reason, if this makes sense, I admire this pick more than I like it. We'll find out if it was a good choice soon enough, but it sure was a brave one. It shows extreme confidence in the potential of both Frank Haith and the Missouri athletic department as a whole."
Links for those that love and trust Alden:
(1) As mentioned, from Rock M Nation: http://www.rockmnation.com/2011/4/5/2090070/frank-haith-what-to-expect
(2) A blast from the past from the Trib...outlines what Alden was looking for in a coach and ultimately he delivered on each point perfectly. So why is everyone so surprised by this hire? http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2011/03/23/missouri-athletic-director-mike-alden-gave-his-plans-missouris-search-its-next-mens-basketball-coach/
(3) From rivals.com, an interview with the head of canesports.com. Premise: hey, this guy ain't that bad: http://missouri.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1207844
Links for those that hate Alden, all this values talk, and everything he stands for:
(1) From the KC Star. Basic premise, we've seen this all before. Why can't he seem to get this right the second time around? http://www.kansascity.com/2011/04/04/2775625/mus-alden-faces-controversy-again.html
(2) From the KC Star. The meat of the article: "With most hires, the question is whether the new guy is the right guy. With this hire, the question is whether the new guy can do enough to fight through a fan base that is convinced he’s the wrong guy." Full article: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/04/04/2776458/haith-hullabaloo-all-on-aldens.html
Doug's take:
I think its cute when Haith says things "This is my destination job" and "I'm not Mike Anderson." It shows how out-of-touch he--and Alden who has to be the one coaching him at this point--is with the fan base. Trust us: WE KNOW. We know you wont get hired away by another school and we know you aren't the same coach as Anderson (at this point you might be qualified to be an assistant on his staff). But our fan base's anger towards him also shows how out-of-touch we are. If he hadn't coached at Miami and was "on the market" this off-season as a head coach, its pretty clear the list of candidates to take over Anderson would have went, in order, something like this:
(1) Painter
(2) A bunch of people we couldn't ever get: Stevens, Buzz Williams, etc.
(3) Mick Cronin
(4) Frank Haith
(5) Everyone else on the previous list
That wouldn't just be our list, it would be anyone's list who had an opening. Unless you are into Lon Kruger (looking at you OK), which I am not. The problem is that isn't how things played out. Haith did coach at Miami and didn't do a good job at that. The ACC is tough, but guess what, the Texas State Football Championship League is also very tough (at least in basketball) and if he can't win there, he can't win here. Blaming his losses on the fact he was at Miami is a fatal flaw. What that would do is basically say, "Instead of our coach making our program better, our program is going to make our coach better." Not a recipe for success. Neither is hiring the recently fired, and even more terrible, OU head coach to lead your staff: http://blog.newsok.com/ou/2011/04/05/jeff-capel-headed-to-missouri-to-assist-frank-haith/
But there is also, underneath all of that, quite a bit of hope and promise in the Haith hire. You just have to work to find it. Needless to say, I haven't fully reconciled.
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