Fans

[Holladay Ute]

I recognize that it’s not my place to tell other people how to be fans, but I have to say I’m generally disappointed with how pockets (and it’s more than just one or two) of our fan base have responded to the last couple of weeks. People calling him Scam Rising. People saying they wouldn’t mind if we moved on from Whitt. People acting like the sky is falling on our season and that our team is completely mediocre. These aren’t stupid fans, but these are stupid takes. It’s neither fair nor logical to say any of these things at this point in time w/ the information we have. Way too early to start making judgements about the season. We can debate it (and already have), but I just think these are so off base. Very emotional overreactions, in my opinion.

Fans invest a lot of money and time into the sport and so they have every right to form whatever perspective they want. Whatever, to each his own. I am also disappointed and frustrated w/ last year’s and this year’s injury situation, especially how it’s been communicated, and of course our huge letdown against Arizona. Part of being a fan is getting upset about the bad play calls, a poor game plan, a lack of half-time adjustments, in-game mistakes by players, etc. All of that stuff comes w/ the territory. But at the end of the day, this is our team and these are our guys…and good fans support them through good times and tough times. We’ve had a LOT of good times w/ Cam Rising, Kyle Whittingham, etc. After all they’ve done for us, how can we not give them the benefit of the doubt? We probably all agree they’ve made mistakes (we might disagree about what the mistakes actually were) and I wouldn’t fault anybody for feeling disappointment or frustration. But the definition of a fair weather fan is someone who stands by their guys in good times but not in tough times. And although the Arizona game was a tough time, we are 4-1 this season after a lot of key injuries. This hasn’t even been that hard of a time! There’s a lot to be positive about. We’re a nationally respected football program. We’re still right there in the hunt for a B12 title. With Cam Rising, we’re a top contender in the conference. With Isaac Wilson, we’re still a pretty good and dangerous team. I’ve just been disappointed w/ the negative vibes I’ve picked up on UteHub, etc.

[2008 National Champ]

kinda feels like when someone starts the sentence “with all due respect” because they think that allows them to say disrespectful things.

[Holladay Ute]

What did I say that was disrespectful to you?

[Jim Vanderhoof]

I’ll second that Holladay. Tommorrow will tell us a lot more about this team. We have the talent with or without Rising to take care of business with ASU. If you heard Kuithes comments about social media it’s clear the players have heard all the rumblings going on. I expect the TEAM to play good regardless of the QB. If Cam plays look out for a blowout.

[Tony (admin)]

If we want to avoid all these “sky is falling” takes from fans we just have to make sure we don’t lose before the bye week. 🙂

[Herk]

“Fans invest a lot of money and time into the sport and so they have every right to form whatever perspective they want.” Your words and I agree with them.

I could care less how other fans think about the current state of the team and I’m not going to shame them for thinking so. I get my own opinion. I can choose to spend my own money however I please. Both the coaching staff and now players are a “for profit” organization and in my eyes are fair game for any scrutiny any person wants to express.

I also don’t get how people will speak as if they know how Rising is thinking/feeling. I have no idea how bad he wants to play. Maybe he doesn’t want to play at all since he’s already been paid out his NIL money regardless if he takes another snap. I appreciate what he’s done but the last time he did anything meaningful for the team was two years ago. I do know that Utah needs to find a way to win games any way possible in order to stay relevant in this new environment.

Seriously the fan policing/shaming on here is crazy.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Herk I hope you’re kidding about Rising. Maybe he doesn’t want to play at all? That’s the most asinine comment I’ve heard yet. He came back to play and win a championship. He is the ultimate teammate and competitor. I agree we all have our opinions but that’s ridiculous. He’s not playing because he can’t throw period.

[2008 National Champ]

He came back because it was his best chance to get to the NFL. Playing at less than 100% doesn’t put anything better on tape than what he had shown pre-Penn State.

None of us knows how healthy Rising is. At the same time, let’s not pretend that his only motivation is to get Utah a championship or that he only plays because of his love for his teammates.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

I’m glad you know. Rising isn’t getting drafted regardless of tape. He doesn’t have an NFL arm. Maybe his motivation was to get a big 12 championship and playoff birth. I’m sure he is fully aware this is most likely it for him. Some NFL eyeballs on the big stage and maybe a free agent landing spot.

[The Miami Ute]

Listen, a guy that is now 25 plus and in his seventh college season is still a Ute because: A. NIL money. Where else is he going to get $1M+ in salary? Not the NFL as a 3rd string rookie QB. B. The possibility to raise his stock and possibly (admittedly a longshot) make it to the NFL. and C. Grab some glory and leave Utah as the best QB that ever played at RES.

In my life, one thing that I’ve learned is never to underestimate the power of the profit motive. To me, Rising is still with us because of Money, NFL dreams, and Utah glory, in that order. You take the NIL component out of the equation and I’d be hard-pressed to believe that Rising would still be at the Hill. You’d think that, at that point, he would just move on with his life.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

No doubt Miami money is a factor. Who would turn down a million dollars. Don’t underestimate the fact that he has a chance to do something no Utah QB has ever done and make the playoffs.

If he was an NFL QB he would be long gone. He knows this most likely his last chance to play high level football and get paid doing it. I think he would have played if NIL didn’t exist. His exposure on the biggest college stage could be worth more than a scout team contract.

[Ute Dub]

Agree. Cam gets 70% of Utah’s NIL, right? It’s ok to evaluate the ROI against the preseason expectation and lament where the things are at and what needs to be corrected.

Jaquindon Jackson has 10 TD’s on the season. Hindsight is 20/20 but it would be nice to have more funding for better players.

[Holladay Ute]

Totally agree w/ your logic here. A big part of what I’m saying is that I think it’s premature to evaluate the ROI. The season isn’t over. Also, we have hindsight bias. If Cam hadn’t gotten injured, maybe we’d be 5-0 w/ blowout wins every night and ranked 5-10. We also don’t have all the information to evaluate the ROI. We don’t know what the options were for Cam or for JJ.

[Holladay Ute]

Based on what I already wrote, I obviously respect what you have to say here. I definitely believe everyone has the right to their own perspective. I’m not trying to shame anyone per se, but just voice my own perspective that I think it’s lame how negative people have been for the past two weeks.

I would say that I care enough about how the general fan base behaves and acts b/c I view it as a community that I’m a part of. I don’t know how anybody can be a part of a community and not care about how the other members of that community act and behave. I interact w/ this community and I want to have good interactions. And on some level, I believe I am a reflection of the community and that the community is somewhat a reflection of me as a fan. No problem at all if you’re somebody that just likes to watch the games on TV alone and you don’t care about the community. That’s totally fine. You said you couldn’t care less how other fans think or feel about the team, etc. If you’re on this forum though (especially if you’re commenting), I think it’s fair to say that you do care about what other fans think and feel, just like I do.

[Holladay Ute]

Your point on Rising is a big part of my point on Rising. Nobody knows how he’s feeling or what he’s thinking. So stop labelling him as Scam Rising. I agree, I can’t say there’s a 0% chance he’s scamming us all. But what I am saying is that I think there’s PLENTY of evidence to suggest otherwise: 1) Cam has been a fierce competitor and leader for at least two seasons here. His knee exploded last year. Based on what you said (i.e. that he hasn’t done anything for us in two years), it sounds like you’re faulting him for that? 2) His teammates stand up for him. His coaches stand up for him. They know a lot more than we do. 3) I think it’s logical to say he would be hurting himself in the long-term (via NFL prospects or future NIL deals if we wanted to try for an 8th year in college) if he were indeed guilty of what some are accusing him of.

Clearly, Cam is aware of fan’s calling him out (e.g. he did that interview last year explaining exactly what happened to his knee). Clearly, his teammates are aware of it (e.g. the media interviews from earlier this week). Clearly, the coaching staff is aware of it too (Whittingham’s press conference comments). The negative vibes from fans might not make a difference at the end of the day…but they’re definitely not a positive thing for the team and they could be a negative.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Yep Holladay your QB gets run out of bounds into a table and hurts his throwing hand. You lose a game and suddenly Whitt can’t coach and Cam is just collecting a check. Are we becoming Ohio State or Alabama. If Cam doesn’t return this year and we lose to ASU and a couple more games then we’ll have something to really complain about.

I’ve been this site for two years and enjoyed the positive posts and the friendly interactions with each other. Let’s not lose that perspective.

[The Miami Ute]

Are we becoming Ohio State or Alabama.

If we’re not, we need to.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Man Miami you like to pounce on people. I was referring to fans not teams. Ohio State loses 1 game to Michigan and they want him fired.

[The Miami Ute]

Ok, I got you Jim…

[Walkman]

Fans are quite literally fanatics – by definition. it’s our jobs to be unapologetically irrational.

I think the coaches caused all the friction with their bullcrap “gametime decision” comments – that has inspired a ton of fan drama and heartburn

If Cam is cleared medically after being a game time decision – that allows fans to ask all sorts of questions of the staff.

I for one am hoping for a healthy Cam to light it up tomorrow – I hope he tries to get Singer the ball, keeps the TEs involved, that we don’t have to hope for another hero game from Bernard, that the running lanes open up enough for Mitchell to finally find a hole big enough he can actually hit it, that we can some how punch it in when in the redzone, that we remember we have 6 TEs that can catch the ball in the redzone, that we find a way to get our burners involved again (cue Stanley becoming part of the game plan again) and that we end the game without significant injuries to anyone. Oh yeah and that we remember how to defend the run……let’s not make an all-american against this skatabo guy

[Holladay Ute]

I agree w/ everything you say here. And I do agree that as fans who invest time and money into the program, we have a right to scrutinize the product we receive. I have no issues w/ us being disappointed or frustrated w/ how the season has gone (I’m a little disappointed and frustrated too). I have no problem criticizing Whittingham for the way he’s communicated and handled injuries this year and last. I have criticized Rising for taking the hits he was taking earlier this year. I just think some of these comments about Whittingham and Rising are ridiculous and unfair. And I think this “sky is falling” vibe is a bit overboard.

[Central Coast Ute]

One of the biggest knocks on AZ is their defense. I’m not sure how anyone can claim Utah is dangerous by scoring 10 points at home against a bad defense. I’ve usually been one who doesn’t like to publicly criticize because these guys know their job way better than I do. But that was ridiculous. Every mediocre football fan could see what the Utes were doing from a mile away, and it showed in the red zone. If that doesn’t get cleaned up, I don’t see how the Utes can contend or be dangerous. The Utes defense has been great, however.

[The Miami Ute]

The big tip-off or downer, take your pick, to me in that game was the way that Arizona continually blitzed Isaac time after time without Utah adjusting. You’d think that somehow Ludwig would adjust and make them pay but it never happened.

[UteNamedOg]

Paraphrasing, but I remember Saban saying something along the lines of “nobody wants to win more than they do, and nobody feels worse than when they lose”. I try to imagine how nervous I’d be trying to do my job in front of 55k people in person and another few million at home, then add that Hercules Mata’afa dude chasing you the entire time. Or Anthony Barr. Or the memory of a game in 2010 against a purple team that I’ve wiped from my brain.

Utah won’t ever be flashy under Whitt, but everyone will always be bought in to the process of doing things the right way. The injury confidentiality has sucked. “Cam’s status is optimistic, Cam is throwing in pads, aaaaand Cam is in street clothes” can be read as the rug being ripped out from under us, but is very likely Whitt giving Cam every chance to see how well he’s healed and opting to not risk it when his throwing during warm-ups shows he’s not. Not that anyone ever asks for it, but here’s my take:

Yes, Utah’s offense sh*t the bed. Another yard on a run or a little more air under a jump-ball, and it’s probably more of a back and forth punch up of a game. Arizona has a few players who are getting first round grades, and they all (Fifita as well) played up to the hype.

No, the sky is not falling. Utah is a very good team. Next year? Also likely to be very good. Year after? Same deal. I see a consistent trend of recruiting good defense and the number 1 offensive lineman in the state. Wilson has also grown in leaps and bounds from the time he’s been given to play. Defense, the line, and QB are in good shape going forward. Keep showing up to games and donating to NIL, and maybe we can snag a WR or two.

[Itacoatiara22]

He is Scam Rising.

[Author]

Posts