bluengold07 made a post titled, "ND Nation - The face of the most bitter, angry, jaded" and went on to remark how the posters at NDn (I used the small n as this website in no way reflects the feeling of the true Notre Dame Nation) would find things to complain about even if Kelly won a national championship. Bruno95 answered, "This is a place that holds coaches and employees to higher standards than players and students. No, we don't like fake grass, gimmick uniforms, games in NFL stadiums, $300 tickets (wait for the Clemson release), and every good game being at night. No, we don't think beating one top 20 team is any great shakes. If you like being happy about Kelly and Jack and mad about this website, go treat the Michigan game like an asterisk, a funny little blip to chuckle about. There’s a home for you, and this isn’t it. I don’t understand why you would post here. I hope you never come back." Jvan, apparently a moderator, then confirmed bluengold07 was kicked off the board.
Since I know good old Bruno will probably read this, I have this to say: How "nice" that "you" hold the coaches and employees to a higher standard than do the players. As if you're opinion matters. I will trust the words of the likes of Tony Jones Jr., who sincerely thanked the coaches, and Cole Kmet, who said leaving was incredibly difficult because of so many amazing people. Not to mention the other players who think likewise. So if Kelly is the fool you think he is, the players must be as dumb as rocks to not have the wisdom you do.
And laughably, in one sentence the clowns at NDn say, "Swarbrick doesn't care about winning" and in the next, "Swarbrick made Kelly make changes after 2016." Well, which is it? Swarbrick both cares and not cares about winning? Not to mention the ridiculous statements about what's in Brian Kelly's mind. You know what you all remind me of? A bunch of adolescent schoolgirl sycophants all clamoring to be part of the in-crowd, all trying to out-hate Kelly over the next guy. And anytime one actually gives Kelly some praise ("Give the coaching staff credit - the team was prepared for Iowa State"), the next sentence has to demonstrate your anti-Kelly bona fides ("But don't get me wrong - I still detest the guy") so you don't face the same fate as bluengold07.
As for Kelly himself: No, he hasn't performed to our expectations on this board, either, except for maybe DonMiller's. But I'd take 1,000 DonMillers to the bitter, angry, and yes, ridiculous hate you all have as a requirement (as so perfectly confirmed by Bruno) to be a member of your board. Further on Kelly: You can laugh all you want at the concept of Kelly 2.0, but the fact is if we had, let's say, Matt Ruhle the past three years with the exact same results, you'd all be saying what a great change from Kelly. Kelly made substantial changes to the way he did things. Yes, he still drives us nuts with sitting talented players in favor of players who apparently make fewer mistakes. Yes, we get angry at the beatdowns of the past three years. Yes, he has his faults - as all coaches do. And since the next couple of years seem so promising, if results aren't delivered then we can honestly say Kelly 2.0 has run its course. But these past three years are a good start to his new ways of doing things. (And please spare me the "Kelly never changed" bullcrap. If you really believe that, you haven't paid attention.) He deserves a fair shake for at least the coming year to see if this continues to trend upwards.
Finally, this isn't 1940. You can lament the fake grass, jumbotron, piped-in music, etc., but the fact is you've got to stay current with some 21st century things. I'm surprised you knuckleheads haven't lamented the demise of the T-formation, straight-on kicking, and leather helmets. But maybe I missed those posts.
In closing, I will leave you all (both UHND and NDn) with the words from Quenton Nelson's father. He has more credibility than the entire NDn will ever hope to have.
Link: Nelson's dad tells it straight
Both places have their strengths and weaknesses.
Rocks House has become almost unreadable. Whoever said "Lord of the Flies" made an very apt analogy. There are a couple of the posters there that I enjoy reading who break down the x's and o's and obviously have played and/or coached the game for a long time at a reasonably high level . A lot of them don't know what they don't know and have never learned the value of an unexpressed thought. The more civil tone on the football board here is a big plus.
I find the other boards there are fine; for the most part, the snark and arrogance of RH is missing from them. NDN has dedicated boards to many sports that just aren't followed here and that's okay; you focus on what you want to focus on. I find their politics board superior to the political discussions here mostly because the one here consists of the same 4-5 people shouting over each other. This board has no one equivalent to BeijingIrish, a now 75ish year old who spent a career in international banking living all over the world and who can provide a view based on experience that few anywhere can match. Of course, this board has no ACross, a douche of epic proportions who has to be playing a character. No one can be that big of an ass and get by in life (he is one of the few who has earned an ignore from me and I read/post on many forums).
Regarding the post in question, that was a poster looking to get launched. The message had a lot of truth to it but you don't make your first post on any board in that tone without an agenda going in.
Anyway, my two cents.
Anyway, that's my take on things.
you missed perhaps the biggest distinction between the boards even though you touched on it.
This board hardly ever launches people. The moderator/s are fantastic at allowing freedom of expression as long as it is not extreme.
You are correct that their football board is unreadable. One would be hard pressed to find more anti Notre Dame posts on MGoBlog than on Rock's House. All dissenting views have been culled out, and they are left with only bitter, sour, and angry people.
The political board carries the same air of pretention, and dissenting voices are also removed. The Back Room has some actual human beings worth meeting.
But the whole site is peppered with self importance, and echo chamber virtue signalling which aren't the characteristics of posters who are actually worth reading.
That is my two cents. And neither one of us has to worry about being tossed for expressing our views.
Hope all is well Baron with you and yours.
All is well. My youngest begins the college application process now. Son goes off to Chicago after graduation with a good job. Daughter #1 graduates this spring as well.
I hope all is well with you also.
They can actually make some good points. But their negatively is sometimes overwhelming. Now they doubt Rees can succeed because "all he knows is Kelly's crap offense." Forgetting he spent a whole year with the Chargers breaking down film, and it's not like he can't study other offenses. I'm very optimistic Rees pleasantly surprises everyone.
I'm sure that folks want Rees to be successful. I hope he is! But you need access to offensive minds and real experience, not offensive tape to become proficient at game calling and game planning, both highly nuanced processes.
The fact remains that Rees' primary exposure to offense is his 7+ years in the "Kelly" offense (plus 1 year on the staff at NW plus 1 year on the staff with the Chargers, neither of which are exactly temples of offensive football.)
Unless one worships at the altar of Brian Kelly, that justifiably ought to cause concern....much concern.
I agree that there are forums at "the nation" which aren't as "melodramatic" as the main football board and can make for interesting and enjoyable reads.
To me, the big joke is that the site continues with the self-delusion to be the high ground and to have board rules. But, as we all know, those "rules" are only enforced against those who disagree with the party lines and have been capriciously used by some of the board mods who act as thought police particularly when it comes to the mods' own thoughts/posts. In the meantime, those said mods routinely violate their own "rules" with impunity and ignore the "indiscretions" of those who spew the holy grail of their site.
As for the poster (by the way, that was far from his 1st post) "looking to get launched," it is funny that he knew that even by politely disagreeing he would get launched. What he posted was small potatoes in relation to the routine abuse/browbeating heaped on other nonconforming posters, players (recently by one of the key mods himself), coaches, and other staff.
But, hey it is their board and they can run it as sanctimoniously as they wish. For me, it can be as routinely entertaining and inane as FaceBook and "People of Walmart."
to dictate the tone. They have been selected by, and given free reign by the board mods, who are for the most part, insufferable pricks. The " It's Gruden " headline they posted for 10 min. long ago has left them butt hurt forever. You either go along, don't post, or you are bounced. There is NO alternate viewpoints allowed, none.
Can you elaborate some more on how awesome it isn't trying to shut other people's viewpoints down because you don't like them?
say that ?
I am proud to say that I was booted from NDn for disagreeing with the party line.
For a New Year's resolution, I deleted my desktop shortcut to NDn and stopped reading it, after about 15 years. I feel noticeably better as a result. Try it.
Ever read "Lord of the Flies?" Guys like that are the ones who move over to Jack's camp.
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It is what they do.
Disagree and you get attacked and booted.
Two of the most insincere and vacuous people I have ever met,
Let NDN have their say.
I was awfully, awfully impressed that you've met Phil Jurkovec's parents, by the way. Did you impart any advice to them?
I'm almost impressed as I was with the now-deceased Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who used to post here who had an "inside source." He knew the equipmen manager.
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The student center? The classrooms? The academic department offices? The career center? The premium seats?
Crossroads had very little to do with student and academic life improvement. It was a vain cash grab from the word go.
Link: https://irishrover.net/2014/02/notre-dame-at-a-crossroads-misplaced-priorities-and-a-flawed-vision/
ND Nation. you'd fit in well over there.
I never met either, and no, from all I've read, I don't think Swarbrick is the greatest guy ever. But when the players seem to like Kelly, and when Quenton Nelson's father penned a letter that basically put NDn to shame, I'm happy with the current direction of the football program. Yes, I'd like to see more, as we all do, but given the enormous advantages the SEC has over everyone right now, a national championship will be very difficult to obtain.
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He is a very educated man with little common sense. Crossroads being an example.
You did not dispute his insincerity.
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His legacy is “build and gild”.
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known as big10
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they are a sorry, sorry lot in a way you have to feel sorry for them, I for one have enjoyed the last three years, Im happy you minimized the n, because they are a minute, virtually next to nothing, part of the fan base, totally insignificant, who talk to the walls..
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