Why I drove more than two hours for yesterday's game... and why I would do it again

[patriot2000]

I have come to despise Paul Hewitt. I still can't dislike him as a person since I can only base that on personal experience. The few times I've met him, I like him. But I hate him as a basketball coach. I've sat directly behind his bench in game, I've heard him speak at Insiders events, and I've watched almost every game his Mason teams have played. I just don't like what I see or hear.

I don't enjoy watching Mason play basketball in 9 out of 10 games. Even that 10th game I actually enjoy still doesn't produce the kind of enjoyment it used to. I don't like the predictability (unless it's the kind of predictability we had in 2011 - we will win and we will beat the spread. I know this, yet it's not boring!). I don't like the way it makes me feel to watch them lose at home. I don't like spending the toll, gas, and ticket money. I definitely didn't like hearing and seeing the GW student section at our game. I really don't like driving home.

I don't usually enjoy the boards. The same people say the same things and it's meaningless. It's not fun. I like Ricky. I like wedunk. I like picture threads. I don't like analyzing the same bullshit the same way. I don't like the same people feeling the same way about the same thing. I don't enjoy being one of them. I don't like checking them literally every day, and saying I'm going to stop literally every day. I don't like being a battered spouse/dog.

I don't like supporting people financially who are doing things I don't like. I don't like feeling hypocritical and ineffective by NOT hitting the athletic department where it hurts - in the wallet.

But I did/do all of this stuff. Because, as I see it, we have two choices this season
1 - hope to lose every game to facilitate change faster
2 - hope to win some games because I like seeing Mason win

I choose 2. Whatever I'm doing by buying tickets, donating to the Patriot Club, continuing to be an Insider even though I truly don't enjoy it anymore, and being in the stands cheering for my team whenever it is feasible for me to make the trek, has at least some chance at helping them win. We used to have one of the best home court advantages in div1. I want to help have that again. I want my dollars to improve recruiting, help with a coaching buy-out, or get the team on an airplane instead of a bus. I am a public school teacher; I ain't rich. But what I do have, I am happy to share a little with Mason. A very loud voice in my head says, "Stop buying tickets! You do this for fun, and you're not having fun!" And like a stupid, loyal dog, I come back and do it again.

I'm not trying to toot my own horn; I'm not proud of myself. I'm also not one of the popular, moralizing posters on here who make it clear that "If you don't agree with me, you're wrong." So, I'm not even telling you to choose option 2 like I did. I'm just using you, and your free time, to vent to someone other than my wife. I don't care what you do, and I don't know why you'd care what I do. But I typed it anyway. Deal with it.

If you do want some advice from a fellow fan, I honestly would urge you to choose one of the options above. Either root for us to lose, or root for us to win. Then, like you are always urging our players to do, throw yourself wholeheartedly into one or the other. If you want us to lose, admit it. If you want us to win, help it happen.

Or don't. I don't give a shit.

 

[gmutom]

P2000, it was great seeing you at halftime of yesterday's game and catching up. I've always appreciated your passion for the program, especially now that you live a few hours away. Not many fans who live outside the area — especially the most vocal critics — would make the effort you did to support the team. Kudos.

 

[GMUSSTN]

Even when we do win, it's ugly. It's been that way since Hewitt got here and I think we've witnessed maybe 2 blowouts and probably 8 or 9 "comfortable" wins during his tenure. Every other win has come down to the wire, featured a prominent scoring drought, something or other that has kept the other team in it. It's not fun to watch. I used to watch Mason turn a 6 point lead into a 12 point lead and just hold it there for 30 minutes, usually. Now I watch mason turn a 6 point lead into a 3 point deficit, then a 5 point deficit, then, well, you know where that goes.

I'm still going to keep donating and continue to come because I like Mason basketball, but I am seriously considering downgrading to a Saturday-only plan for next season. Sitting in an hour of traffic to get to Fairfax never bugged me when we were winning, but now it's like the Bataan Death March. Throw in some snow/rain and it's that much worse.

I don't make much money and I live in Arlington, but I give what I can because I like being a season ticket holder. Still, until the product improves I'm not gonna go out of my way to watch it. Why keep going back for seconds on a dish that doesn't taste very good?

 

[gmubrian]

But I did/do all of this stuff. Because, as I see it, we have two choices this season
1 - hope to lose every game to facilitate change faster
2 - hope to win some games because I like seeing Mason win
...
If you do want some advice from a fellow fan, I honestly would urge you to choose one of the options above.

2000, I have had a similar thought several weeks ago to what you suggested above. I would change the word hope to root (maybe that is what you meant), though, because what I hope for is meaningless. What I root for, might have an infinitesimal effect, though, along the lines of home court advantage. And, I can feel good about rooting for the team.

As have you, I continue to do what might be considered stupid things given the choice you pose. Case in point, my family is vacationing in Florida without me at this very moment, in part, because I wanted to be at the GW game to keep my consecutive home/post season game streak going.

So, I was left with a conundrum. I refuse to root against our team, even if that might, in some way, help to get us to where we need to be to encourage a change even sooner. Instead, I have have chosen what I feel is a third option. I choose to go to as many games as possible and continue to support the team 100%. Along with that, though, I am also going to express my views on the coaching situation. For the long term good of the program, I am going to do my best to convince those that don't see what I see, that there is one significant problem that needs to be addressed before we are going to see much if any success at Mason. This way, I get the best of both worlds. I get to support the team which is good for the team, while pushing for a change that I also feel is good for the program in the long run.

 

[patriot2000]

I don't see your choice, which is the same as mine really, as any different from my "option 2." I root for us to win and support the team, but make my discontent clear. Ultimately, being honest about the state of the program is the only way to improve it.

 

[gmubrian]

2000, it is very similar to your number two, but in my mind it changes significantly with a change of the word hope and root. There is the subtle difference I pointed out above, and the fact that my hope reservoir is dry because of the main issue we have beaten around a million times on here (I think tweeder posted the exact count previously).

It was not explicit in your second option included rooting while expressing discontent. Since that is cleared up, I think we are in near 100% agreement.

 

[gmutom]

How are both of your #2s different than Jollay's #2?

 

[gmubrian]

I keep my #2 here on the boards. Jollay seems to spread it everywhere.

 

[patriot2000]

My number 2s have been unusual lately. I need to analyze my diet

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk

 

[GMUSig03]

I can't believe Brian's family scheduled a Florida vacation during a Mason home game, knowing he would probably not go…

 

[gmubrian]

I can't believe Brian's family scheduled a Florida vacation during a Mason home game, knowing he would probably not go…

You have a point there. That is kind of suspicious timing... I blame you for the fight we are about to have.

 

[GMUgemini]

You have a point there. That is kind of suspicious timing... I blame you for the fight we are about to have.

They didn't go to northern Florida did they? BRRRR

 

[gmubrian]

They didn't go to northern Florida did they? BRRRR

81 when I spoke to them earlier, compared to my 14. This is going to be an epic fight!

 

[GMUgemini]

81 when I spoke to them earlier, compared to my 14. This is going to be an epic fight!

Well, I'm pretty sure the cold front is supposed to hit us at some point this weekend, but it'll never get THAT cold here.

 

[Old Man]

Now I know how the Democrats felt during the Bush administration when they would constantly say they supported the troops but didn't support the President's policies.

As every game goes by, I am pulled more and more into this camp. I'm not involved enough for my opinion to count for anything in regards to policy, i.e. who is running the show, and my support for it wanes with each passing day, but I support fully our boys in green and gold and root/hope/hope/root for a win every night. Why? Because I can do no other.