Taking the Heat

I just got late word that Pete Mangurian and Dianne Murphy are furious with Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. Instead of doing the honorable thing like he did when he took full responsibility for the bad call that lost the Super Bowl last night, Mangurian and Murphy wanted him to blame his untalented players and my blog.

Okay, I made that up. 

But I sure found it refreshing to hear a manager of any kind, in this case Carroll, face the music for his blunder and not throw a player or anyone else under the bus.

For years now, I’ve been hearing the dubious claim from the Columbia athletic department and its minions that the real problem is the fact that this blog allows anonymous critics to bash the program from time to time.

Well, when you can’t beat someone with the facts, resort to complaining that the rules aren’t fair.

I agree that criticism from anonymous commenters isn’t the best way to make a point. And yes, people should generally identify themselves and say their piece openly. 

Kinda like I do every day. 

And as someone who in addition to this blog writes regular political columns that generate thousands of mostly negative comments, let me be the first to say: “welcome to the party pal!”

Getting anonymous criticism is an unavoidable byproduct of technology. It’s astounding that our administration doesn’t get that, and even more discouraging that a multi-billion dollar institution can’t take it without crying like a small child.

Why is it that I and so many other people can take criticism of all kinds when we make public decisions, or create products and content that allows for scrutiny and judgment?

Answer: because we’re adults. And also because we’re people who know that cutting off criticism of any kind or silencing it is a highway to a failure not unlike our football program.

0-21 anyone?

I wouldn’t bring this up if it weren’t for the fact that so many people connected to the Columbia administration are so focused on it themselves.

You’d think that a program with so many losses and so little success wouldn’t make silencing critics, albeit anonymous ones, such a priority.

But that’s what it does.

And that sensitivity and weakness really shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s that kind of weakness of spirit that contributes to our weaknesses on the field.

I have news for those who think that somehow the full extent of the football program’s dysfunction would be a secret if it weren’t for this blog.

It’s NO secret.

If you want it to be a secret, take it up with the scoreboard operators, not me.

That said, this blog can be an extremely positive tool for Columbia and it still is most of the time. Most of the incoming committed recruits follow me on Twitter and link to this blog all the time. Clearly, the truth hasn't discouraged them. Good for them.

Meanwhile, when we get news of who the new AD and head football coach is, I will absolutely use this blog to give them a full and fair chance to succeed. And if they turn out to be people I already know and admire, the blog will get behind them so strongly it will make heads spin,

But the blog will also never be a vehicle for silencing critics. If commenters keep their words clean and decent, and identify themselves with a consistent Internet name, they won’t be deleted.

It’s as simple as that.

So, when you hear people  talking about how this blog is somehow a problem for recruiting or anything else other than a challenge to the dead weight in the athletic department, call that “B.S.” for what it is. It’s as dumb and weak as if Pete Carroll blamed the media for losing the game last night.

And more than that, you might want to point out that if Columbia officials spent as much time trying to win as they do trying to silence critics, we might actually start to win.

And with the hiring of Rick Taylor, (who regrettably has also been regaled with a lot of B.S. about this blog by folks in and outside Columbia), I think that coordinated and full effort towards winning has finally begun.

So let’s get ready to welcome our new AD tonight or tomorrow with open arms and take it from there.