Column: How much of a voice should fans have?
Published 12:00 am Thursday, November 16, 2006
Jon Laging, Talking Sports
The 2006 election is over. Our ballots have been cast and there have been some surprises and a change in the congressional leadership from republican to hopefully a bipartisan government. I hope the president and the Congress can rise above previous gridlocks and give us an effective two years. Although some would say that gridlock is not all bad.
There are two grand spectator sports in the United States. Sports itself and politics. Every two years we have the opportunity to rail against politicians or on rare occasion, believe in them wholeheartedly and with passion. A new movie is coming out, Bobby, which will speak to the idealism in politics and whether you liked Bobby Kennedy or not, it should be interesting to see.
There is not much idealism in sports, but there is a great deal of fanaticism and loyalty. Why else would grown men stand bare-chested in 30 degree weather with letters painted on them?
There are many similarities between sports and politics. Of course, in one we get to vote and in one we don&8217;t. Although we do vote in a general way by attending or not attending games.
I got to wondering what if we had ballots to determine the length of time a player or coach should serve? Voting was actually tried with a minor league baseball team as to lineups etc. The team fared poorly. Maybe we&8217;re not as smart as we think we are.
What I&8217;m suggesting is not the nitty-gritty of the game, but the bigger issues of managers, coaches and athletic directors tenure. For example, should Ron Gardenhire be given another two-year contract? Gardenhire has taken the Twins to the playoffs four out of the last five years. But only once in the four years has he got beyond the opening round. On the other hand he has had the team in the playoffs 80 percent of the time. I believe you have to go with a winner.
My vote is for Gardenhire to be given a two-year contract. (Which he recently was given by Terry Ryan and Carl Pohlad.)
Another tenure voting issue might be Kevin McHale&8217;s Timberwolf employment. Some would say he is a Minnesota native, garnered Kevin Garnett and the team has been in the playoffs 50 percent of the time. Others would say he has wasted one of the best five players of the past decade by failing to provide him complimentary players to win a NBA championship and has managed the team&8217;s affairs poorly. I would agree with the last opinion and would vote the incumbent out.
Perhaps even closer to home because their salaries are paid entirely by our taxes are University of Minnesota football and basketball coach&8217;s Glen Mason and Dan Monson. Granted Mason has a better record than Monson. In fact, you would have to go far afield to find a coach with a worse conference record than Monson. Their defenders would say they run a clean program. That&8217;s true there have not been scandals during their reigns, but only Monson has a good player graduation rate. Mason&8217;s ranks at the bottom of the Big Ten at 30 percent. Mason is the king of fair to mediocre bowl games and if that is all you want for Minnesota football I suppose we should keep him. Minnesota would then continue to finish fifth, sixth or seventh in the conference. However, my memory stretches back way too far and I remember fine football and basketball teams fielded by the U. Mason and Monson&8217;s combined 17 years should have been better.
I vote to send them on their way and as far as I&8217;m concerned, athletic director Joel Maturi can take the same bus.
(Jon Laging writes on regional sports issues from his home in Preston.)