with Jenni Carlson as the young reporter who was the recipient. Looks like "payback time".
Mike Gundy can only blame himself for depleting goodwill with Oklahoma State football fans
Jenni Carlson
The Oklahoman
Mike Gundy has never liked the idea that
Oklahoma State fans would be critical of his
Cowboys.
You can find myriad instances of that disdain in his comments over the years.
But earlier this week when
the Cowboy coach once again lambasted complaining fans — even though there’s plenty of reasons to complain when a preseason top-15 team enters November winless in conference play — his words infuriated the
OSU faithful like nothing else has.
“In most cases, the people that are negative and voicing their opinion are the same ones that can't pay their own bills,” Gundy said in part. “They're not taking care of themselves. They're not taking care of their own family. They're not taking care of their own job.
“But they have an obligation to speak out and complain about others because it makes them feel better. But then, in the end, when they go to bed at night, they're the same failure that they were before they said anything negative about anybody else.”
Saying fans are a failure if they complain? Saying they’re unable to take care of themselves, their families, their jobs or their bills?
Yep, it’s easy to see why fans are furious.
What is Mike Gundy's connection to Oklahoma State football fans?
But there’s something else that should incense
Cowboys everywhere: Gundy’s words indicate that after 20 years as head coach, he has no clue who OSU fans are.
At a time when many are wondering whether Gundy will be fired after this season, worthy arguments abound on both sides. I tend to believe Gundy has filled a deep well of goodwill over the past two decades, building a contender where one never existed before, going to 18 consecutive bowls and playing for the Big 12 title two of the past three seasons. One bad season, even as bad as it is and as much worse as it could get Saturday at
TCU, won’t drain the well completely.
But Gundy drained it more with his comments this week.
Now, he did issue a clarification. I refuse to call it an apology. Apologies include expressions of regret and remorse and responsibility. They often include an “I’m sorry.” There were scant shades of that in what Gundy posted on social media.
“I apologize to those who my comments during Monday’s media call offended,” Gundy wrote. “My intent was not to offend any of our fans who have supported us and this program through the years.”
That’s more “I’m sorry you were offended” rather than “I’m sorry.”
But even if you’re more forgiving of Gundy for his clarification, the real issue remains that I’m still not sure he actually understands who Cowboy fans are.
There are plenty of college football programs with bandwagon fans. They jump on when the going is good. They jump off at the first signs of trouble. They are interested but lack deep-seated loyalty.
Nothing wrong with that, but it’s the reality.
Oklahoma State football fans have been loyal to program
OSU’s fan base isn’t filled with bandwagon fans. Not to say there aren’t any, but the number is very low.
Most of the Cowboy faithful are long-time fans, either the offspring of an OSU family or an alumni of the school or both. They remain fans through good times and bad.
Look to football ticket sales for evidence.
OSU sold every ticket for every home football game before the start of this season. That included every suite, every club seat, every seat in the main bowl as well as every student All Sports Pass, every three-game mini plan and every single-game ticket. Of course, these Cowboys were supposed to be a Big 12 and College Football Playoff contender, but still, the preseason season sellout was a program first.
Here’s the thing, though: OSU’s season sellout a year ago might’ve been more impressive.
It didn’t happen until Oct. 10, a few days after OSU beat Kansas State. That ended up being the turning point for the Cowboys, but we didn’t know that at the time. Didn’t know OSU would win six of its next seven games. Didn’t know it would beat OU and Kansas, both ranked at the time. Didn’t know it would make the Big 12 title game.
But Cowboy fans nevertheless gobbled up tickets even though there was every chance OSU was the team that lost to South Alabama, not the team that beat K-State.
OSU fans lean into “loyal and true,” but that doesn’t mean it’s inaccurate.
And if you talk to people inside the athletic department, they’ll tell you that lots of those Cowboy fans are blue-collar folks. Sure, OSU has a good number of white-collar boosters and even some seven-figure ones, but lots of fans who buy tickets, concessions, merchandise, and fund a sizable chunk of OSU’s budget are Average Janes and Joes. They work a job, maybe two. They raise families. They pay bills. And on Saturdays, they make time for OSU football.
If they want to complain that the defense has played like unmitigated trash or the offense has been a colossal disappointment, that doesn’t make them failures.
For Gundy to say so signals that he’s completely out of touch.
Frankly, that might take more water out of the well of goodwill than this disaster of a season will. OSU needs its fans to help fill the coffers for NIL now and revenue sharing in the future, but many of them are going to wonder why they should write a check now.
The face of the franchise, after all, called them failures.
Gundy insulted the very people who help pay his salary and fund his program, then issued a statement that focused more on their outrage instead of his mistake.
Gundy has made a mess of a season way worse.
Listen, I’ll say it again: I don’t think Mike Gundy is getting fired after this season, but I also didn’t think he was going to unfairly label his fans and expose his lack of understanding about who they are.
Keep creating firestorms that need putting out, and that well of goodwill is going to get mighty dry.
Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at 405-475-4125 or jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
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