men against boys...

[Dr Z]

Why is it that every season at least one game causes many Zips fans, including self-described die-hards, to step onto the ledge, forget every victory of substance in the past 5 years, and entirely lose faith in "their team"? It was one game. And yes, I'm asking about you.

This one hurt for me. Saturday afternoon, on national TV (ESPNU) during the winter (can't go outside). Good opponent, so I thought it would be a good measuring stick. I was really looking forward to this game. We didn't look good losing. The team looked ready to play (as opposed to Ken+ game). I was expecting a better showing. I don't want to think "well, we're just a good mac team", but I think that is the reality. VCU is a better team. I was "basketball pumped" after watching a good half of Siena/Butler game before my alma mater got pounded. I'm not good at rationalizing a loss to make myself feel better about losing. Final score is the only thing I care about. A win against Buffalo will make me forget and start to get me excited about the MAC tourney.

[Dave in Green]

I haven't seen a single Zips fan on this forum express pride about a Zips loss.

17-point ass-kickings at the hands of 4th place CAA teams will do that.If you can puff your chest out after that loss, good for you. You coping mechanisms are far superior to anyone else's on this board. And as a Zips fan, you don't know how valuable a gift from God that is. Cherish it.

What's with this persistence in trying to portray an imaginary character who doesn't exist? No one is expressing pride or puffing out their chest over the loss no matter what someone's imagination may be telling them. It has simply been dispassionately noted that some aspects of the Zips play were not as bad as others, and that some in fact were as good or better than those of the team that whipped them. That objective observation in no way mitigates the reality and the pain of such a loss, and no Zips fan is smoking a victory cigar over it.Not everyone looks at everything in the world in stark black and white terms. Some try to examine and analyze a situation and see many shades of gray ranging from extremely dark to extremely light. If you shut your eyes after a loss, then everything is pitch black. If you try to keep your eyes and mind open to analyze what went wrong, you begin to see the nuances in shades of gray. This is the kind of analysis that good coaches and players should try to do after losing a game. It's also a valid option for fans to consider.The same applies after a big win. Not everything will have worked to perfection in a win, and the best coaches and players will analyze the various shades of gray in different performance categories and focus on improving in the darker (weaker) areas. This is also a valid option for fans to consider.There are also fans who want to soak in their misery after a loss and spread their misery around on sports forums. They only see black, and are offended that anyone dares mention shades of gray. They try to portray those who see shades of gray as Pollyannas who see everything only in pure white. That doesn't work because it's not true, no matter how many times it may be repeated.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I haven't seen a single Zips fan on this forum express pride about a Zips loss.

17-point ass-kickings at the hands of 4th place CAA teams will do that.If you can puff your chest out after that loss, good for you. You coping mechanisms are far superior to anyone else's on this board. And as a Zips fan, you don't know how valuable a gift from God that is. Cherish it.

What's with this persistence in trying to portray an imaginary character who doesn't exist? No one is expressing pride or puffing out their chest over the loss no matter what someone's imagination may be telling them. It has simply been dispassionately noted that some aspects of the Zips play were not as bad as others, and that some in fact were as good or better than those of the team that whipped them. That objective observation in no way mitigates the reality and the pain of such a loss, and no Zips fan is smoking a victory cigar over it.Not everyone looks at everything in the world in stark black and white terms. Some try to examine and analyze a situation and see many shades of gray ranging from extremely dark to extremely light. If you shut your eyes after a loss, then everything is pitch black. If you try to keep your eyes and mind open to analyze what went wrong, you begin to see the nuances in shades of gray. This is the kind of analysis that good coaches and players should try to do after losing a game. It's also a valid option for fans to consider.The same applies after a big win. Not everything will have worked to perfection in a win, and the best coaches and players will analyze the various shades of gray in different performance categories and focus on improving in the darker (weaker) areas. This is also a valid option for fans to consider.There are also fans who want to soak in their misery after a loss and spread their misery around on sports forums. They only see black, and are offended that anyone dares mention shades of gray. They try to portray those who see shades of gray as Pollyannas who see everything only in pure white. That doesn't work because it's not true, no matter how many times it may be repeated.

You write too much.

[Dave in Green]

You write too much.

I thought you wanted to keep traffic level up to attract paying sponsors to fund the site.

[Captain Kangaroo]

You write too much.

I thought you wanted to keep traffic level up to attract paying sponsors to fund the site.

There aren't enough sponsors in the world to pay for the bandwidth you're consuming.

[Dave in Green]

You write too much.

I thought you wanted to keep traffic level up to attract paying sponsors to fund the site.

There aren't enough sponsors in the world to pay for the bandwidth you're consuming.

OK, let's just make it clear that it's my traffic volume that's objectionable and not the fact that I express disagreement with some of the prevailing opinions on ZN. It's important for other forum members to understand this so they can avoid repeating my transgression. I can easily cut back on the number of posts I make here. But I do not change my opinions just to fit in and be one of the regular guys.

[RACER]

the difference between the 100 ranked team,and the 50-60 ranked is none.this team thats ranked between 50-60lost to wmu.they lost not won at wmu.the same wmu team we beat on the road.if vcu is so great how come they lost to one of the worst teams in the mac.they won one game against us.that does not make them a great team.50-60 rpiteams don't lose to one of the worst teams in the mac.

[Dr Z]

the difference between the 100 ranked team,and the 50-60 ranked is none.this team thats ranked between 50-60lost to wmu.they lost not won at wmu.the same wmu team we beat on the road.if vcu is so great how come they lost to one of the worst teams in the mac.they won one game against us.that does not make them a great team.50-60 rpiteams don't lose to one of the worst teams in the mac.

I would argue that they show up for the "big" game. This was a big game for them (sell out). Everybody can have a game like Akron did against EMU. I'm guessing that is how their game against WMU went. I want to play big in big games. One team did on Saturday, one did not. We need to fix that.