I absolutely don't blame you for being beyond pixxed off about where this program stands but I'll have to respectfully disagree with your lashing out at everyone who doesn't totally agree with you to the point of accusing them of complacency or worse. I don't know who you or Steve66 or anyone else on this thread are but if they're taking the time to regularly read this thread and occasionally post their opinions, then trust me--they care, and probably passionately.
As for me, I've been living and dying with this program (mostly the latter) for more years than I want to admit to. How I've managed to survive the grief and frustration and pain this program has delivered to me for so many years without it killing me is something of a miracle. But I keep coming back for more because I care about this university in general and this hockey program in particular. Passionately. And I put my money where my mouth is and regularly write checks earmarked for this program. Not enough to have even a water bottle named for me but nonetheless consistent.
And I occasionally put my mouth where my money is. I'm probably the only person on this thread to have told the President of this university, to his face, that the hockey program is in trouble and needs fixing. Maybe not in so many words, but that was the message. And I know for a fact that at least one other person in the room on that occasion delivered substantially the same message. So if you think the older alums are content to sit back and accept the status quo, you're flat-out wrong!
So will my verbal shot across Dr. Vowel's bow do any good? Probably not. But neither will insults hurled on internet message boards. It should be painfully evident to all that that the upper echelons of the university administration are content to see our varsity athletic teams play nice in the sandbox. They do not--or will not--see the link between consistent athletic success and the broader impacts on institutional reputation that places like Notre Dame, Stanford, Duke, and even BC not only see but emphasize. But does this mean we have to throw our hands up and accept more mediocrity? Hell no. But let's be honest: We can do little more than tilt at windmills and hope it attracts the attention of some of the mega-donors who have the leverage to force change.
But one thing we can do something about is to stop the name calling. We ought to be better than that. It is inevitable (and healthy) that people will have differences of opinion on the direction of the program, the quality of recruits, coaching decisions, whether or not the coaching staff should get another year, and more. But where there are disagreements that can't be resolved, let's agree to disagree without the personal invective. In the end, we're all on the same team.
