Instant gratification is an unfortunate byproduct of living in a microwave era.
In that regard, Lobo football head coach Mike Locksley’s glass-half-full approach has, so far, worked against him.
With great aplomb, Locksley defiantly professed to be a handyman when he was hired in December 2008 to refurbish a well-erected foundation. He talked about having a fluid offense. He envisioned creating a worthy product. But harsh realities started to set in as the 2009 season wore on, all his talk rendered an exercise in fluff. And, turns out, in Year 2, the Lobos are just breaking ground.
“There is no quick fix in this sport,” Locksley said.
That is the take-home message fans should heed as Saturday’s Cherry-Silver scrimmage at University Stadium signals the conclusion of spring practice. Taking into account the Lobos’ schedule (at Oregon, home against Texas Tech and Utah, before traveling to UNLV) should fans expect different results this season? Probably not. Unfortunately, patience, in this day and age, is largely a forgotten virtue.
College football’s volatile, prevalent what-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitude is alive and well. Loyalty is as obsolete as helmet-less football players. Even Bobby Bowden, Florida State’s monumentalized head coach, was essentially run out of town after 34 years with the Seminoles.
That’s why coaches dash madly from institution to institution in search of behemoth paychecks and prestige. They understand their sell-by dates change daily. Their shelf lives are shorter than milk.
In that vein, Locksley is armed with a six-year contract and the support of the UNM administration. However, with the exception of super fans, the greater public isn’t exactly beckoning for Locksley.
Largely, Locksley was viewed as a pariah, several bloggers on DailyLobo.com and in the Albuquerque Journal’s Sports Speak Up demonizing his shortcomings on and off the field. The message posters were less than curt in their descriptions of the head coach. A Web site, Fire-Mike-Locksley.com, was insurrected, calling for Locksley’s ouster.
Still, Locksley said he’s never heard speculation about his job security.
“I’m not worried about that. What happens is going to happen,” Locksley said. “I’m a man of faith.”
This is true. But if the man of faith believes others share his convictions about the program, he must be Saran-wrapped in a bubble of naiveté.
Inasmuch, the team was openly mocked on campus, said wide receiver Chris Hernandez.
“You hear people on campus that don’t know that you’re on the team, and yet they’re making comments like, ‘Our football team is horrible. We’re so bad.’ And this and that,” Hernandez said. “It gets to you.”
Hernandez said the worst ribbing actually came from one of his professors.
“Every week, I’d go in his class on Monday, after our games, and he’d ask if we won or not,” Hernandez said. “Then he’d sarcastically say, ‘Get ’em next time.’ Every week.”
A generation groomed to take solace in negativity looked at Lobo football games as weekly train-wreck occurrences, making it allegedly justifiable and all-too easy for students to besmirch players. Defensive end Jaymar Latchison shared similar instances of on-campus ridicule.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“We were in class, and my teacher made a comment about Athletics,” Latchison said. “Out of nowhere, a girl in that class was like, ‘They get too much money, anyway, and they don’t even win.’ Just going off. I was sitting in my chair just thinking, ‘Man, if nobody knew me, I’d stand up and say something to this girl.’”
He didn’t, instead absorbing her soapbox diatribe. If anything, Latchison said he’s now a realist when it comes to how athletes are perceived.
“There’s so many people that I’m starting to realize are anti-Athletics,” he said. “We appreciate the support if you come to the games, but if you’re anti-Athletics, we’re anti-you.”
Many will scoff at Latchison’s indignation. This, Latchison said, he knows since the only way to quiet critics is by winning football games — what his coach’s performance is judged against.
“You are where you stand,” Locksley said. “(The) scoreboard’s not going to define the type of team we were. It’s not going to define where we’re going.”
But ultimately it might define where Locksley’s headed, though he stops short of saying this is a make-or-break year for the Lobos or for him individually.
“Part of the process when I took this job, I knew what I was getting into,” Locksley said. “I’ve been a part of rebuilding programs and rarely does it happen in Year 2. Our goal is to take the next step.”
Rationally, success should be defined by pacing forward. But, fair or not, in the age of instant gratification, anything short of bowl appearances is considered a step back.
