Tubby to the Rescue!!!

Tubby-mania has begun. The reaction from the press, fans, and even the people we had brunch with this morning has all been enthusiastic.

There are lessons to be learned here, given the case of our former football coach, Glen Mason. Before Mase was hired, I heard much of the Minnesota sports talk nation say they would have been satisfied with 6-5, 7-4 records, with an occasional bowl appearance. Well, cupcake schedules or not, the man did just that. I wasn't a big Mason fan, nor did I think he was a great coach, but the bar was set pretty firmly at that level. As he started to win a bit more, of course then the bar was raised. Being that Mason was arrogant, his attempts to manage expectations--especially with his new contract--became impossible. And that my friends, is where we have to be careful.

I think Tubby is a great hire, but it's going to take awhile to get back to being one of the five or six teams that qualify for the NCAA tournament every year. And, if we do just that, will we then be satisfied, or will we ask for more? Will we raise the bar beyond the ability to succeed? As has been pointed out many times in the last few days, Minneapolis/St. Paul is not Lexington. It will take some time to build up the program that hasn't been very successful for nearly 10 years, give or take a few tourney appearances. It's fine to want to win championships, but let's make sure we don't ask Mr. Smith to walk on water.

Having said that...Go Gophers!