Dec 9, 2005 7:14 am US/Mountain
McIntosh: Buffs Fans Must Step Up
By Mark McIntosh
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) ―
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Athletic director Mike Bohn on Thursday
CBS4
I can remember quite vividly Gary Barnett's first press conference upon his arrival in Boulder to take the reigns of the Colorado Buffaloes' football program back in the winter of 1999…..He pledged that the CU Buffs would "Return to Dominance" under his watch at the foot of the Flatirons.
That didn't happen.
So now the heat is on new athletic director Mike Bohn to find the next head coach who holds promise of restoring the Buffaloes' name among the nation's elite football programs like it earned during the latter years of Bill McCartney's reign in Boulder.
But Buff fans, you have to realize, one person will not make a difference…this is a critical time for the fans of this program to, as the CU fight song suggests, "shoulder to shoulder we will fight, fight, fight, fight, fight."
Don't blame Gary Barnett for your inability to pack the stadium; don't blame Gary Barnett for your unwillingness to financially support the program's much needed upgrading of facilities; don't blame Gary Barnett for sitting back and allowing a state legislature to have archaic state laws concerning university employment that mandates assistant coaches only receive one year contracts.
Guess what? Those three issues: fair weather fans; lousy facilities and job insecurity for assistants affect the CU football program profoundly where it matters most: in the recruitment of blue chip athletes. They have options!
They visit the Texas, Oklahoma's, Nebraska's of the Big 12 and see something much different: packed stadiums, great facilities, coaches with job security.
So Mike Bohn hits the recruiting trail looking for a new football coach. In reality, perhaps his most important recruit must be the CU fan. A long time ago, the great Mahatma Ghandi once said "we must be the change we wish to see in this world."
Well, Buffs fans, I gonna turn it toward you….."You must be the change you wish to see in this world of big-time college football."
Go to the games in larger numbers; go to your wallet and support in larger numbers; go to your state representatives and ask them for more support.
If none of that stirs your soul to action, then please, can you do one thing?
Go away and quit complaining.
Superman is busy saving the world and is not available to succeed Gary Barnett. Only a team effort will save the Buffs, and Buff fans, it starts with you!
(Copyright © MMV CBS Television Stations, Inc.)
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