The Respect We Deserve

I wasn’t able to get free enough to ask any questions on the Ivy Football Media Day conference call today until the very end of the event, (I asked Princeton’s Bob Surace about RB DiAndre Atwater and Yale’s Tony Reno about WR Chris Smith. Both coaches said their guys should be ready to play).

But we didn’t get much more than the usual “coaches’ speak” and platitudes that you usually get on media day anyway. 

For Columbia fans, the more telling event today was the Ivy Media Poll.

We can say it doesn’t mean anything on game day and that’s 100% true, but what it does mean right now is that the Lions have zero respect in this league right now.

We didn’t just come in last in the poll, we came in dead last.. the next highest finisher received double the number of votes.

That means that of the 17 people polled, only five at the most didn’t pick us for last.

That also means that last year’s wins over Yale and Cornell, the play of Marcorus Garrett and Zach Olinger, the arrival of Stanford QB Brett Nottingham, the recruitment of QB Kelly Hilinski,  didn’t really impress anyone as much as the 69-0 loss to Harvard.

And you know what? 

How can you blame anyone for feeling that way?

A lot of us, including our last few coaches, have made the point that only the way the team performs on the field matters.

But we SAY that, and then we find ways to get excited about 3-7 seasons.

We see an offensive line that’s dozens of pounds lighter than every other line in the league, and we say things like, “coach knows what he’s doing.” And then have a season where the team gives up 40+ sacks in 10 games.

Let’s put our money and coaches’ money, and our athletic director’s money where our mouths are.

Let’s not get angry at others for our position in this poll, but angry at how the team’s play on the field warranted this lack of respect.

Let’s NEVER FORGET that 69-0 loss, which was so unacceptable that Head Coach Pete Mangurian should have been forced to defend his job a Hell of a lot more than he did after that debacle.

Let’s stop praising an athletic director who in her long tenure has NEVER overseen a football or men’s basketball season with a better than .500 Ivy record.

Let’s stop making excuses for the close losses.

Let's root and support our players, but not let that cloud our grasp on reality. 

Let's be mindful of the great opportunity to surprise that being chosen dead last gives us, but not revel in the lack of respect. 

Let's get mad.

Let’s demand success and nothing less.