Well, there has been quite a boisterous hew and cry from the masses lately. Yesterday, all throughout the LSU intertubes, the Silent Majority pushed back against the force of unrelenting negativity. There was my post about it, then Poseur's post, and then there was a post at Bayou Bengal Blog, a truly epic post about the state of the program in general:
And then for the last 20 minutes of the game, when at long last LSU finally began to put some things together, we got to see not only the performance we should have seen all game, but actual brilliance. LSU played sensational defense, they found a comfort level for Jarrett Lee, they found some new leadership to replace the unremarkable/lackluster/failed leadership they've been getting and most of all they charted a course for the program to return to relevance as a championship contender.
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Last, the booing. I noticed that it died off big-time as the crowd thinned out during the game, and so if you're one of the folks who booed and THEN left early I hope you'll e-mail me with your place of work so we can get up a group of folks to show up at your office, boo you and then punch out in time for a three-martini lunch. But what I don't understand is why these cretins persist in booing Jarrett Lee. What are you trying to gain from doing that? Are you booing because you want to see Jordan Jefferson? Congratulations. He played enough to prove why Lee is the starting quarterback. Do you want Andrew Hatch? He's still in a walking boot. Ryan Perrilloux? He can't hear you.
Read the whole thing. It's a great read.
After reading all of this and the reactions on the message boards, I think it is safe to say that the bulk of the LSU universe has soundly rejected the intense negativity shown by a few scattered but disproportionately audible people.
I do so hope the team can build on that second half, with the myriad strategic adjustments made on both sides of the ball, and find a "sweet spot" where this team can have success. It is not out of the question that this team could still finish in the top 10 if we win out, and there are no more Floridas, Georgias, or Alabamas on our regular season schedule. All that remains are games against Ole Miss and Arkansas, both of whom are capable but neither of whom can be described as outstanding.
It's good to see the fans reject the harsh negativity, which only makes us look whiny and desperate. And yes, it is entirely possible that a whiny and desperate fan base actually hurts the program. It's good to know that the whiny and desperate aren't the majority, but only a small and vocal minority that is finally getting seriously challenged.