Another loss brings more questions
When a team loses its third game in a row, people can understandably be upset.
When a team loses three games in a row like the Chips have, apathy becomes the biggest fear, both on the field and in the stands.
The rumors of the legendary apathy of Central students came to bear on Saturday as a crowd of 9,012 came to cheer on the Chips.
By the end of the game though, the crowd looked about as big as my oceanography class.
The majority of these souls were probably out to just enjoy another week of tailgating and were herded into the stadium by CMU's finest.
They soon realized that the Chippewas were playing terrible and no amount of alcohol can help hide that fact.
For those of you who missed it, the Chippewas lost to the Toledo Rockets 32-13 in a truly pathetic performance.
Toledo, who was 3-5, ran for 472 yards, its most ever against a Mid-American Conference school.
The Chips had 162 yards rushing and only 177 yards of total offense for the game.
Backup William Bratton was three yards away from being the third Toledo back to go over the century mark in Saturday's game. Tailback Chester Taylor's career-best 218 yards and quarterback Tavares Bolden's 115 yards led the Rockets.
And it's not like the Rockets ran the ball 100 times. No, they averaged 8.7 yards per carry on 54 rushing attempts.
CMU had four rushing plays the whole game that went for more than eight yards.
But this game had implications beyond just being the Chippewas' seventh loss of 1999.
This single game may have turned the writing on the wall regarding the future of CMU Head Coach Dick Flynn's coaching career, into a flashing neon sign.
I think we're all smart enough to realize that a decision on Flynn's future will be made regardless of whether I ask for it in this column - which I won't.
I'm just here to present the facts. It's not my decision to make.
Among the things which Chippewa coaches are evaluated on each season by CMU Athletics Director Herb Deromedi are; "(a) positive results in terms of...win-loss record" and "(b) positive results in terms of...spectator interest."
It's safe to say that Flynn's performance, with an overall record of 28-37 in his six seasons as head coach and CMU fans possibly starting to show their disappointment with the team as evidenced by Saturday's "announced" crowd, has been less than satisfactory.
Give Flynn credit though, he truly thought his team had a team to win throughout the contest, as he has all season.
"I don't think we were ever out of the game. We moved the ball well all day and with 10-13 minutes left in the game there was no doubt in my mind that we could move the ball and score a couple of times," he said.
The frustration and disappointment of the game and the entire season was visible on the face of senior tailback Eric Flowers as he spoke following the loss.
"It's very frustrating. Who likes to lose." Flowers said.
Unfortunately for Flowers, Flynn and others, hard work and dedication can only get you so far, there's a point where athletic talent and skill must take over.
Although this season may be a lost cause for the team; Flowers and company need to finish their season strong for their own sake.
"We play for class, our backs are against the ball," Flowers said. "We're fighters and we're gonna win these last two."
I sure hope so, words like frustration and disappointment are getting old and I know you're all getting tired of reading them.
