Why FSU Football fans should temper expectations moving forward
It’s no secret that the FSU Football program is in a current state of turmoil and that the fan-base has grown increasingly irritated with the performance of the team.
It is really not a good time to be a FSU football fan. Plain and simple. I mean, it is really hard to try and identify any positives to build on at this point – and we are barely three weeks in to the 2019 season. The truth is, this football team just isn’t very good. Hasn’t been for some time now. I don’t think I’m breaking any news with that statement.
SO WHY DO FSU FAN’S KEEP EXPECTING TO SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT?
Look, I get it. I absolutely understand the frustrations and the anger. I am right there with you! I really wish this team could compete in the ACC and on the national stage. I wish this team wasn’t the laughing stock of the state. And I REALLY wish my football season wasn’t virtually over before October has even started.
But realistically, coming off a 5-7 season last year, what could I reasonably expect coming into 2019?
Truthfully, I saw the ceiling of this team being somewhere around nine-wins and the floor being five or so wins. I thought an 8-4 record would be perfectly acceptable, given what we went through in 2018.
It is still very early in the season, but I would be willing to bet that we probably aren’t going to win eight games this year. Or seven – and six is probably a stretch, at this point. Think I am being overly critical? Look at the rest of that schedule. Seriously, besides Alabama State, what games could honestly be considered an “automatic win?” If we play like we did last weekend, against any of our remaining opponents, we will lose those games. No doubt about it.
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Florida State has been on the steady decline since 2016 and last weekend is all the proof you need that this team is miles away from being where we once were.
That is really the salient point I need my fellow ‘Nole fans to grasp on to and understand. I am sorry to break it to you, but Bobby Bowden isn’t coming out of retirement, Charlie Ward and Derrick Brooks aren’t in next year’s recruiting class, and Deion is not high-stepping through the door to save the day.
In other words, Seminole fans need to stop expecting a five-star meal to be made with dollar-menu ingredients (no offense to McChickens everywhere).
That is a tough pill to swallow for most and naturally so. It really wasn’t all that long ago that we sat atop the college football landscape, as champions. We ruled the ACC with an iron fist and dominated our rivals year in and year out. Maybe that’s why this recent stretch has been so much harder to endure; because we aren’t that far removed from the greatness that was.
Still, it does us no good to dwell on the past. Believe you me, I still fire up the 2013 Rose Bowl game if I’m feeling nostalgic. I still watch the ’99 Sugar Bowl from time to time, when I need a pick me up. I love revisiting the past greatness of this team just as much as the next ‘Nole fan. But, watching old highlight reels and replays isn’t going to do a damn thing for this team moving forward. It just isn’t.
That is why I need FSU fans to take a long look in the mirror and reassess what we are as a program. There is absolutely nothing left from that 2013 championship team. No coaches, no players, not even the Athletic Director; literally nothing. So it really makes no sense to continue to draw comparisons between that team and this 2019 team.
Most any team in the country would pail in comparison, when stacked up against that 2013 team (really any national championship team for that matter); let alone a team that is 6-8 collectively over the past two seasons. If you continue to view this season through the lens of a title contender, you will continue to get let down week in and week out.
So what should we expect moving forward?
Well firstly, I really won’t be “expecting” too many more wins until I see some marketed improvements all across the board. As things currently stand, I am just hoping we can keep things competitive in our remaining games, and maybe steal a few against some of the lesser teams. I am hoping I see this team make some strides and players get better from one game to the next.
I am hoping the same issues we are complaining about now in week three, are solved by the time this season ends. Basically, I just want to see this team improve week to week and be better than where they are at now. Setting the bar low, I know.
Look, this isn’t me waiving a white flag and it‘s definitely not me becoming complacent with where we are currently at as a program. This is just me trying to act as a voice of reason during some extremely trying times for us Seminoles fans. We haven’t been this bad in a while (maybe ever). Take that for what its worth.
Regardless, it takes time for a rebuilding project to take form and we are clearly have a long ways to go. Y’all, this one might take a while. Bear with it Seminoles, it’s our only choice.