It is trendy right now for Virginia football fans to be pessimistic about the upcoming football season. Maybe it is just the result of this oppressive heat wave, but one does not have to look too far at the moment to find criticism of Al Groh's program.
Examples of this burgeoning despair are everywhere. The mood on the Virginia message boards is apocalyptic. In recent weeks, I have had numerous conversations in which people have expressed a mixture of disgust and low expectations for the program. Kickoff is still a month away but many Virginia fans seem to have already written off this season.
I have to ask these doomsayers one question, however: Why?
Sure, at least at least a cursory glance at the facts shows it has not been the best off-season. Several players were kicked off the team for off-the-field incidents. Groh has had to reshuffle his coaching staff. Also, eight members of this year's recruiting class were denied admission to the University. It certainly has not been the smoothest of off-seasons.
But let's face reality. What truly measures the state of a program is performance on the field. And despite the current atmosphere of negativity, Virginia has not played in, much less lost, a game yet this season. People need to relax, take a drink of cold water and allow this team the chance to prove itself on the field. The players deserve that opportunity.
Also, Virginia fans that hold negative feelings towards Al Groh need to learn to separate those feelings from their feelings towards the team. I am not dismissing all criticism of Groh as out of hand, but coaches at every major college football program take much heat these days. It is the nature of the job.
It is too easy for fans to second-guess coaches. Coaches do not always make the right decisions but there are also usually legitimate factors at play unknown to the public that play a role in those decisions. Coach Groh is not perfect but neither is anyone else. Anti-Groh Virginia fans would be better served to channel their energy into rooting for the team rather than contributing to an atmosphere of negativity.
It is not my intent to be a cheerleader for the football program. I will be critical when I need to be critical. But it's August. Training camp opens today and this team is not without potential.
If Christian Olsen can handle the quarterbacking duties, this team has the weapons to be able to go to a bowl game for a fifth consecutive year under Groh. There are many schools, including some in the ACC, which would love to be in that same position.
If this team flops on the field, it will be more than acceptable for fans to criticize the program. But it's disconcerting to hear such criticism in August. Virginia needs a cool breeze to sweep away both the heat wave and this stifling air of negativity.
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