Back in business for 2014
(Written by kencraw)
Another year is upon us with fall camp starting on Monday and I’ll be back to regular posting at least a few times a week between now and when the Bears wrap up their Rose Bowl winning season on 1/1/15 (ahhh… wouldn’t that be nice… OK back to reality).
Of course, commenting requires info/stuff to comment on and to that end, it’s nice to see how many practices are open to the public this fall, although I wish it was back-loaded instead of front-loaded. (see here for details.) Unfortunately I’ll be lucky to make even one of them… although I might be able to get one in. Nevertheless my data will mostly be limited to what I read from others.
Speaking more broadly about the upcoming season, I think what I’ve been working through in the off-season in my mind is how to set my expectations appropriately. What do I reasonably want from this season?
Here’s what I’ve come up with:
- First and foremost I want to see something that is for the betterment of the student athletes. When they look back on this 10, 20, even 50 years down the road, they validly look at their time at Cal as something they’re glad they had in their life.
- Second, I want to have an enjoyable time watching and thinking about Cal football, with my family, particularly with my sons. Saturday’s in Strawberry Canyon can be a great joy.
- Third, I want to see a strong effort on the field. I want to see a team that has little to regret when the game is over. If they lose, it was a noble effort. If they win, it’s something we can all be proud of.
- Finally, I want to see a team that gives me hope for the future. I want to see a team that is improving and that’s there’s reason to believe at some point in the not too distant future I can have more specific goals for the team than the above.
I very specifically don’t have a win total I’m shooting for nor specific games I want them to win. But I’m pretty sure that all the above goals won’t be met without at least a few wins and far more competitive games than we had last season.
Any thoughts on those goals?
(More specific posts on various units, predictions and projections to come.)
August 2nd, 2014 at 7:36 am
As sad and pathetic as it sounds, your list is about all we can hope for this year. Realistically we only have one W on the schedule, so I’m just hoping we can avoid going to 21 points in the first quarter of every game.
The only good thing about losing this year will be getting rid of the mistake that was Dykes and moving on to someone else.
August 2nd, 2014 at 7:05 pm
Well, it’s good to see the off-season has restored your optimism Joshiemac. 🙂
August 3rd, 2014 at 12:00 pm
Ken,
Good to see you posting again.
This is the year of the future of Sonny Dykes at Cal. Who knows what will happen?
We do know that the rest of the league is getting better. With the enhanced TV revenues, all Pac 12 teams can financially support high quality programs. It’s a tough league that requires a strong program to be competitive.
We will find out this year is this program is up to the task. To assume systemic failure is premature.
August 3rd, 2014 at 6:08 pm
Ken,
Glad you are back. i look forward to your perspective.
Agree Strawberry Canyon is agreat place ot spend a Saturday with the family.
August 4th, 2014 at 3:30 pm
I wish it were premature to assume systemic failure! We were one of the worst teams in college football last year. Colorado killed us (a dismantling I was lucky enough to see in person) and they were bad themselves. And it’s not like that came out of the blue…we haven’t had a winning season in years. This program is in a very bad state at the moment.
Ugh, I don’t mean to be such a negatron but I just have no faith in this program to do anything worthwhile this year or the next. Or perhaps the bar has been lowered so much (let’s only give up 14 in the first quarter!) that we will see some progress, subjective or otherwise.
I’ll still follow every game, and attend many live. I’m doomed to this for the rest of my life. I couldn’t quit them if I wanted to. I just wish they gave me a little more joy besides good weather and fond memories.