Heading into the CSU game, Buff Nation was overwhelmingly positive toward Hawkins.
I'd say there were 4 groups of Buffs fans:
1) Hawk Lovers. True believers that Hawkins is high character, great recruiter, great leader, and a heck of a coach who's proven he can build a consistent winner.
2) Hawk Likers. Excused 2006 (Montana State, overall season & recruiting class), really pumped up after 2007 improvement to a bowl game and recruiting class, felt like he slipped in 2008 season and recruiting but excused the season based on youth/injuries while preaching that the recruiting was better than it looked on paper. Said that Hawk stepped into a bad situation, has done a ton of good, is great on everything except his won/loss record... and he needs to show he can pull it together with wins/losses in 2009 to keep the support.
3) Hawk Dislikers. Pretty much the same as the "Hawk Likers", except for thinking that he's a bit too weird, wasn't necessarily their top choice for a hire in 2006, and skeptical that he or his assistants know what it takes to get it done in an upper echelon BCS conference.
4) Hawk Haters. Questioned his resume when he was hired, read his quotes and figured him for more of a Boulder nutter than a head football coach, probably lost any hope that Hawk could get it done after the Montana State loss, and has ripped Hawk at every turn for over 3 years.
What's amazing to me is that the people in the #2 camp seemed to skip #3 and go straight to #4 after one game. Most of the rest followed after the second game.
Why did so many of us go from sunshine pumping with a bit of wait-and-see mixed in... straight to "FIRE HAWKINS"?
I've been giving this a lot of thought because it's how it went for me and normally I would have just gotten very skeptical after starting 0-2 but still been in the #3 opinion group.
For me at least, I think that I was so enthusiastic about what Hawkins was saying. I bought it when, in hindsight, I should have been more skeptical. What I saw against CSU caused everything I'd hoped was true to come crashing down in one big reality check. Toledo confirmed my fear. I realized that I'd been duped, was angry at myself, and lost all faith in Hawkins or his staff. I also stopped believing a word they said. At this point, I have no faith in anything they say or do. Usually when I'd become negative on a coach, I still had hope that he could possibly prove me wrong. I don't even feel that with Hawkins and I just want to start over with a new coach who will make me believe again.
I'd say there were 4 groups of Buffs fans:
1) Hawk Lovers. True believers that Hawkins is high character, great recruiter, great leader, and a heck of a coach who's proven he can build a consistent winner.
2) Hawk Likers. Excused 2006 (Montana State, overall season & recruiting class), really pumped up after 2007 improvement to a bowl game and recruiting class, felt like he slipped in 2008 season and recruiting but excused the season based on youth/injuries while preaching that the recruiting was better than it looked on paper. Said that Hawk stepped into a bad situation, has done a ton of good, is great on everything except his won/loss record... and he needs to show he can pull it together with wins/losses in 2009 to keep the support.
3) Hawk Dislikers. Pretty much the same as the "Hawk Likers", except for thinking that he's a bit too weird, wasn't necessarily their top choice for a hire in 2006, and skeptical that he or his assistants know what it takes to get it done in an upper echelon BCS conference.
4) Hawk Haters. Questioned his resume when he was hired, read his quotes and figured him for more of a Boulder nutter than a head football coach, probably lost any hope that Hawk could get it done after the Montana State loss, and has ripped Hawk at every turn for over 3 years.
What's amazing to me is that the people in the #2 camp seemed to skip #3 and go straight to #4 after one game. Most of the rest followed after the second game.
Why did so many of us go from sunshine pumping with a bit of wait-and-see mixed in... straight to "FIRE HAWKINS"?
I've been giving this a lot of thought because it's how it went for me and normally I would have just gotten very skeptical after starting 0-2 but still been in the #3 opinion group.
For me at least, I think that I was so enthusiastic about what Hawkins was saying. I bought it when, in hindsight, I should have been more skeptical. What I saw against CSU caused everything I'd hoped was true to come crashing down in one big reality check. Toledo confirmed my fear. I realized that I'd been duped, was angry at myself, and lost all faith in Hawkins or his staff. I also stopped believing a word they said. At this point, I have no faith in anything they say or do. Usually when I'd become negative on a coach, I still had hope that he could possibly prove me wrong. I don't even feel that with Hawkins and I just want to start over with a new coach who will make me believe again.