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That was deflating, I didn't get to watch / listen because of work, but watching the play by play ticker on ESPN communicated the point succinctly. I wouldn't go as far as the message board warriors calling Creighton a loser, no one who can remember 1990-2015 can say that and be taken seriously. I will say though the fact that coach and the athletic department have ostensibly disconnected this program from it's history because of the woefulness of it, is a problem as well. The grey field, the fact that we wear more grey than white at home, "The Factory" moniker. All of this divorces this program from it's past. I know that new traditions are needed, I know that the mascot change still lingers, and I know that we exist in Michigan's shadow. But dammit we've been successful before, and that history might not be mythologized easily, but it says a whole lot more about who we are than a grey field. I'm worried this program has become too Creighton dependent, and he is still just a man, a man who will eventually leave. I believe that he is the greatest coach we've had since Jim Harkema, he could easily surpass all except Rynearson if he wins out this year. At the same time, this is a man who needs to have the bar raised on him, players see a coach who's job security is absolute and so regardless of how they feel about him they know their play has little impact on his job. Potential fans see a team that's only had two winning streaks of 3 or more games (in one season) since 2000 and don't become invested. The stadium needs to be more connected to the main campus, and the football team could certainly do more events on main campus to make them more integrated with the rest of the student body. The national media spends more time talking about the field and the various props than they do talking about the team's play, and when they do, their standards are "at least they don't shit the bed". The local media mostly ignores the team, or works for the university (making objectivity difficult), or are Alex and the Echo (and I'm not sure the Echo sends someone to press conferences). Eastern Michigan Football deserves being taken seriously, Chris Creighton deserves respectful scrutiny, and this program as an institution is capable of more. It is up to everyone who surrounds it to embrace this mentality.

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