Thanksgiving Day Dilemma

[mr.spider]

We have a lot to be thankful for at UR, despite the current struggles on the court. The commitment we have made to this program is enormous and impressive. We have an absolutely amazing facility in the Robins Center. Every time I walk in there, I am struck by its beauty. It is truly state-of-the-art, and I am filled with a strong sense of pride every time. I love the big screens, the terraces, the sound, the overall look - it is truly impressive, one of the very best in the country. We have showed tremendous commitment to basketball by upgrading the facility to this degree.

And in so doing, we have also addressed the long-standing atmosphere problem, which we obsessed over on this message board for years. The Robins Center is truly an exciting place to enjoy as fans! I love the opening videos, the lighting, the intros. It truly feels big time!

We have a state of the art practice facility on the way. We have impressive locker rooms. We have a good fan base, which we are actively growing by our focus on young people. We have all the tools for outstanding recruiting.

We are obviously willing to put tremendous money into our program, including paying the coaching staff big money.

We honestly have everything in place to have a national program, top 25 or at least top 50 on a regular basis. We have made the type of commitment required to make the NCAAs 4 out of 5 years, and make deep runs on a regular basis.

We have just one problem, albeit a big one. You know it well...the coach is not up to the standards we have set. Like many of you, I am 100% sure we can never experience our highest potential with our current coach. We will never make regular appearances in the NCAAs with Mooney. And we will certainly not make deep runs. The good thing is this is a very correctable problem. And if we do it now, we can reach our goals of being a national program. However, the longer we wait, the more difficult it is to re-establish ourselves, recruiting-wise, etc.

So, as a fan who does not have a deep pocket to invest in UR athletics, I seriously need help on deciding how to proceed. I, like all of you, want so badly for our Spiders to succeed. If this were your stock investment, I guarantee all of you would be jumping out as fast as you could. The return on investments listed above are piss poor. So, what do we do:

1. Continuing with the status quo of attending games and loudly cheering for our team is not producing results.
2. Cancelling season tickets is difficult for me to handle because Spider sports is such a deep part of me, but it would send a message if enough people do it. But then, that also hurts the program overall.
3. Voicing my concerns to the coach at the games is not something I feel comfortable with, but we as fans need to get our voices heard.

I am unfortunately at the point I don't want the team to win anymore until the coach is gone and we can reset. A roughly .500 season where we keep the coach is the worst possible outcome for the overall state of our program. Strangely after all the commitment to this program, it feels we must hit rock bottom before any action will be taken. And I don't even know where the floor is, because for me we have already fallen thru it!

4. And so, I am even considering cheering for opposing teams to help ensure a losing season, so that we will finally take action.

 

[iSpider]

We have a lot to be thankful for at UR, despite the current struggles on the court. The commitment we have made to this program is enormous and impressive. We have an absolutely amazing facility in the Robins Center. Every time I walk in there, I am struck by its beauty. It is truly state-of-the-art, and I am filled with a strong sense of pride every time. I love the big screens, the terraces, the sound, the overall look - it is truly impressive, one of the very best in the country. We have showed tremendous commitment to basketball by upgrading the facility to this degree.

And in so doing, we have also addressed the long-standing atmosphere problem, which we obsessed over on this message board for years. The Robins Center is truly an exciting place to enjoy as fans! I love the opening videos, the lighting, the intros. It truly feels big time!

We have a state of the art practice facility on the way. We have impressive locker rooms. We have a good fan base, which we are actively growing by our focus on young people. We have all the tools for outstanding recruiting.

We are obviously willing to put tremendous money into our program, including paying the coaching staff big money.

We honestly have everything in place to have a national program, top 25 or at least top 50 on a regular basis. We have made the type of commitment required to make the NCAAs 4 out of 5 years, and make deep runs on a regular basis.

We have just one problem, albeit a big one. You know it well...the coach is not up to the standards we have set. Like many of you, I am 100% sure we can never experience our highest potential with our current coach. We will never make regular appearances in the NCAAs with Mooney. And we will certainly not make deep runs. The good thing is this is a very correctable problem. And if we do it now, we can reach our goals of being a national program. However, the longer we wait, the more difficult it is to re-establish ourselves, recruiting-wise, etc.

So, as a fan who does not have a deep pocket to invest in UR athletics, I seriously need help on deciding how to proceed. I, like all of you, want so badly for our Spiders to succeed. If this were your stock investment, I guarantee all of you would be jumping out as fast as you could. The return on investments listed above are piss poor. So, what do we do:

1. Continuing with the status quo of attending games and loudly cheering for our team is not producing results.
2. Cancelling season tickets is difficult for me to handle because Spider sports is such a deep part of me, but it would send a message if enough people do it. But then, that also hurts the program overall.
3. Voicing my concerns to the coach at the games is not something I feel comfortable with, but we as fans need to get our voices heard.

I am unfortunately at the point I don't want the team to win anymore until the coach is gone and we can reset. A roughly .500 season where we keep the coach is the worst possible outcome for the overall state of our program. Strangely after all the commitment to this program, it feels we must hit rock bottom before any action will be taken. And I don't even know where the floor is, because for me we have already fallen thru it!

4. And so, I am even considering cheering for opposing teams to help ensure a losing season, so that we will finally take action.

All very good questions. It's not easy for anyone who is a devoted Spider fan in deciding how to proceed. I am on the fence as well and take stock daily of many of the options you have considered.

 

[SpiderRick]

Well said little mr. I also struggle with the same questions. I already regret renewing my season tickets....

 

[AnnapSpider]

Unfortunately, I’m not able to get down to Richmond for many b-ball games, but watch them religiously
on TV. I suspect my neighbors are concerned about my sanity when 4-letter words are shouted out
in my house. :-/

 

[spiderstudent17]

Good points mr. Spider. I think you hit the nail on the head when you say that we have the tools needed to be a top 50 basketball program. Coaching is the biggest thing holding us back. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we have a lot to be thankful for. We are a tremendous university in more ways than one. I will always be grateful for being a Spider. I can never root against my Spiders even with Mooney as coach. However, if we do lose, the losses don’t sting as bad because I know it will only support the change in coaching we need.

I don’t have any sway in athletics either, but I think the best we can do is to continue and respectfully voice our displeasure. You can email Hardt with your concerns, if Spider Club calls for donations, mention that Mooney is preventing you from wanting to donate more (or at all). I don’t think it’s a secret to the athletic department that fans aren’t happy with Mooney’s performance over the years. Mooney is also on the hot seat by many national sports writers. We have a lot of things going for us as a program. We just need the right leadership to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

 

[spider fan]

Going to the Robins Center and socializing with all the terrific Spider fans is a great experience that I enjoy. Lord willing I will be there no matter what. As much as I want better results on the court I will support the players with my attendance. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[MolivaManiac]

I spent some time thinking about mr spider's post above and the one below from SpiderVol from another thread that i thought belonged a little better with this thread. Here's what Vol said:

SPIDERVOL
Biggest positive is Mooney won’t be able to hide from his poor coaching much longer. The “FIRE MOONEY” chants are going to start and the few fans that show up to game will make it known what we want. I hate being this guy, as I’ve avoided doing it the last couple years. I will not only join in, I will one of the people starting them.
The administration has pushed the fans to this point. We’ve put up with mediocrity (now worse) for so long. Don’t give me some crap that his family doesn’t need to hear that at games. He makes a pretty penny and isn’t putting up the results. Changes should have been made and they weren’t. It’s time for the FMM to be heard. If he doesn’t want his family to hear it, then he can tell them to stay home. Divorce is never easy and that is where this is headed.

It’s time for the true fans to speak up. And not just on twitter and other internet and social media forums. It’s time to be heard in the RC in front of everyone to see

I know how I feel about things. I am very torn on how I should be acting about it. To date, i did not renew my basketball season tickets and have told anyone in the Robins Center that would listen that i am done with Chris Mooney as the basketball coach. I have bought a couple FMM shirts and plan to wear them out and about and also to the few games that i will attend this winter. There are people that I like and respect that will be annoyed with me for wearing the FMM shirts. Some of them might even be people that i'd like to do business with down the road. I hate the idea that i might injure that possibility.

At the Maine football game (which was the day after the Longwood basketball fiasco), our group turned the 'Go Pack Go / Go Spiders Go' song at the game into "Fire Mooney Now". We got some chuckles. I even got word that some up in the President's Box were giggling ... but we also took some arrows from some of the people around us. An old lady that told us 'Go Fire Yourselves'. A guy next to us yelled that it was the players' fault. What a maroon. Unbelievable that people still believe that stuff.

Additionally, i really don't want to do anything that might hurt the feelings of the Mooney kids, and to a lesser extent Lia. I'm sort of tired of her act like if the game doesn't work out they won't be about to afford to have 20 kids and only 19, but whatever.

Is there another more 'passive aggressive' chant we could do about 'Taking back Richmond Basketball' than a direct "Fire Mooney Now"? Ideas?

I was planning to call John Hardt when he is on Black and Drew and ask him how he'd be feeling if Iowa Football went to a couple toilet bowls and nothing else over an 8 year period ... what would he do? I hope he's on next week.

 

[SpiderVol]

I know it’s tough to handle. I have a lot of connections within the AD as well. For those who know me and know where I sit, they know that I come to as many games as I can with my family, we are close to the floor and my kids interact with the players. Doing this is not an easy choice, for many many reasons. But I love UR athletics, my kids love them, and I don’t want to see us continue to waste away.

I have become more vocal with the school leadership in recent weeks. I’ve talked with the Alumni Board, spoken with several friends inside the AD, and reached out to Hardt. I will continue to be vocal about this as long as we keep losing and IMO the first move is to find a new coach.

 

[spiderstudent17]

I know it’s tough to handle. I have a lot of connections within the AD as well. For those who know me and know where I sit, they know that I come to as many games as I can with my family, we are close to the floor and my kids interact with the players. Doing this is not an easy choice, for many many reasons. But I love UR athletics, my kids love them, and I don’t want to see us continue to waste away.

I have become more vocal with the school leadership in recent weeks. I’ve talked with the Alumni Board, spoken with several friends inside the AD, and reached out to Hardt. I will continue to be vocal about this as long as we keep losing and IMO the first move is to find a new coach.

I think this is the best approach to the situation. Everyone is fully aware that the fans aren’t happy with Mooney as a coach. The best thing is to reach out to Hardt individually through email, calls on the radio, or at Spider Club events. Additionally, if you know someone who has “more pull” in the athletic department, reach out to them.

 

[ur2K]

Anger is going to turn into apathy pretty soon

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

It's a legit dilemma. For me the choice is to direct all my monetary support to football (and other sports). Not one dime to basketball until changes are made. My business won't advertise until changes happen. These are fans I want to do business with, and certainly none of this is IMG's fault. I just can't think of a more effective way to send a message; I hope I'm just one of many and the message is getting through.

I can't ever root against the Spiders, even if losing might move us closer to regime change. It's just not fair to the athletes and everyone else giving so much effort to succeed on and off the court. I'm not much for booing, either. It's very hard for athletes to discern that the jeers are directed not at them, but at the person in charge.

 

[MrTbone]

Everyone is fully aware that the fans aren’t happy with Mooney as a coach.

I’m actually not sure that everyone is aware. It took circulating a petition to start a groundswell for change with Dr. Cooper. That kind of galvanized the view that there was a large and then vocal contingent of people unhappy with his leadership. I think individual communications while valuable tend to be dismissable in isolation. It’s hard to ignore a mass demonstration of displeasure.

 

[Spiders10]

The easiest way to make your voice heard without looking like a jackass is to stop going to the games, and continue to email/call leadership. What's the #1 priority of the Univ? Not wins and NCAA bids; they've made that perfectly clear. Otherwise, Mooney would have been gone long ago.

They're worried about fundraising and making money. They want your money. So, instead of yelling at Mooney and getting challenged to a fight in the concourse, don't go to the game. Stop buying tickets. Stop buying souvenirs. Don't spend hard earned money on beer and snacks every game. STOP donating.

Speaking of Lia, let's follow her advice. One night a guy got a little vocal with Mooney, which pissed off the Access Cravers Club. I heard Lia tell the guy, [paraphrasing] "Why do you come to the games then? If you don't like it, don't come to the games!"

 

[Eight Legger]

The only real solution here is to boycott The Tavern, unfortunately.

 

[MolivaManiac]

Speaking of Lia, let's follow her advice. One night a guy got a little vocal with Mooney, which pissed off the Access Cravers Club. I heard Lia tell the guy, [paraphrasing] "Why do you come to the games then? If you don't like it, don't come to the games!"

I remember this. It was the Friday night VCU game a couple years ago. It didnt strike me as entitled then as it does now, in hindsight.

Its just the craziest thing how this program really doesnt even want loyal supporters...just tells them to leave...or insult them for sitting "in the rafters"...or have a paid announcer call us a bunch of idiots.

I have said it before and I will say it again ... Richmond Basketball is a Monarchy. Draw a paycheck from it or get access to private events somewhere or drinks at the Tavern ??? Good enough for the "royal circle".

 

[KWeaver]

I haven’t turned a game on yet this season.