Frankly, the MOST important element to me is simply this....2 weeks ago we had a chance to become really relevant in the national stage. Had we beaten Notre Dame we would have become the hot ticket of the year on ESPN, and recruits everywhere would be looking at us more seriously. We might even begin to attract more sidewalk fans, which we need desperately. Even last week we still had the chance and hope that we could bounce back with a special season.
All of that would have really helped build momentum for GT as a football program. Improved recruiting would help our chances at national prominence, and a stronger, larger, growing fan base would begin an upward spiral in media attention. Those things increase the odds of winning national championships.
Now, those hopes seem crushed (again) and we have only our own small GT community that really cares about GT football. We aren't even an afterthought anymore on the national stage, and any recruiting juice we might have gotten from another special season seems gone with the wind. We have had 2 very good years under CPJ and 4 rather mediocre years (yes, I call 7-5 mediocre). You can argue about expectations all you want, but I would like more than 2 out of 7 years to be very good, and would love one more special year before I pass ...and time is running out for me.
I get what you are saying. But you are much younger than I. When you are my age, you will realize that there are not that many seasons left, and yes, you do begin to hope for one more really special season like 1990 was.
