Buck Bravo

According to the message board at GopherHole.com, sophomore wide receiver Brodrick Smith is officially transferring.  Apparently he has a son at home and wishes to be closer to family.  Smith had a breakout Spring Game, and will likely see the field at whatever school he ends up on.  His departure is definitely a loss for the Gophers, but is probably a much bigger gain for his son.

by guest blogger Bobby Springfield

Where do you stand on stadium alcohol sales?

There are those who wish to have selective sale of alcohol drinks restricted to the preferred seating areas. Others wish a more equal access to drinks throughout the stadium, as in the dome. Others wish to forbid the sale of alcohol completely in the stadium. The issue needs debate, as there are many options and alternatives. This is not the most crucial issue to be faced, nonetheless, it is an issue worthy of debate. Obviously outcomes such as profit, collegiate standards, and personal beliefs come into play. How would alcohol sale affect the stadium experience? Is it a good thing for college football games, or something that is inappropriate? I remember Coach Mason created quite a bit of controversy with the student section members when he mentioned that students were seen with beer in the dome during games, something not seen at other Big Ten schools. What do you think?

by guest blogger Bobby Springfield

Smooth sailing for the ticket selection process. The clock on the gophersports website ticked down to the final second and instantly I was given my seat selection time of five minutes just as advertised.  Clicking on the overhead stadium diagram took me to the stadium section of choice, and green dots lit up the available seats.  Clicking on the green dots awarded the seats and then it was on to the parking selection.  Parking was limited to allowed areas with not all available areas allowed at the time of my selection.   Simple enough, click and it is reserved.  Seal the deal and pay online.  The whole process took less than 5 minutes and couldn’t have been any better.  Thank you gopher ticket office for a well planned and well executed seat selection process for seating in the new stadium.  The rules were clearly presented ahead of time through mailings and the online experience worked well and as expected. Go gophers.

by Guest Blogger Bobby Springfield

No doubt this will be a tough season with games against Air Force, California, Syracuse, Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue, Northwestern, Iowa and South Dakota State.  Coach Brewster deserves our all out support in my opinion.  He has tried everything possible to recruit and inspire us with a competitive team.  Give him a break.  Better yet, give him support as it will be a very demanding season.  This is a defining third year for him and his program.  He has had some tough breaks with the coaching staff and some of the players leaving, but he is our coach and our team needs our support.  I feel that the negativism and sarcasm in some of the media wear down our coaches and our fans.  Where is the support?

We have a big ten team and we play visibly on a national level.  What a great asset for the university and our community.  Minnesota is on the map!

Love him or leave him, coach Mason put together a competitive team and some great victories were earned by the gophers over his ten years as head coach.  Can you imagine the pressure he faced with responsibility for around 100 players and coaches, and back at that time a less than supportive administration?  Constantly recruiting with the dome as his draw.  We know there are almost as many local detractors as there are supporters for gopher football.  Remember the previous administration and the failure to get the stadium going?  The ruthless press incessantly criticizing the coach even when he was at 7 or 8 victories.

Get behind the team now, they need us more than ever. The players are going to face brutal competition, cheer them on in the outstanding new venue.  Most of all, rise above the Minnesota disease known as pessimism and refuse to give up on this team or this program.  Show the country this is a great team at a great university in a great state.  It is the best we have, and our support will make it better.  Do we really want another coach to leave?

Can’t wait to see the gophers in the new stadium playing the best teams in the country.  Go Gophers!!!