Around the Horned With Brian Estridge
Oct. 20, 2003
It wasn't too long ago that we visited in this column about patience. Early on in the 2001 season there were many of you out there concerned about the direction that TCU football program was headed.
You worried out loud that the magic of the 2000 season would be forever lost and that TCU would never experience that kind of gridiron success again. You thought that maybe it was TCU's 15 minutes of fame and now it was time for us to resume our place in the comforts of mediocrity.
You may not admit it now, but there were cries for a coaching change, some of you thought that Eric Hyman and the administration of TCU had made a mistake in elevating the defensive genius behind the Frogs recent success.
Would you admit that today? Would you admit it in the middle of the most successful stretch in TCU football history?
At no other time in the 107 years of TCU football have we had a 17-game stretch as productive. Dating back to the second game of last season, the Frogs have only dropped one game while racking up 16 wins. TCU is currently riding the longest winning streak in the country at eight games.
Would you still admit that you were one of those disgruntled Frog fans now? Or have you gravitated? Have you moved to that group who is dissatisfied with the way the Frogs are winning?
Now you find yourself clamoring for a blowout or some kind of lopsided, un-sportsmanlike attention grabber. I guess that is a sign of where this program has come in the last six years. Now we aren't satisfied that TCU won, we critique the way the Frogs get it done. We want them to put together pretty wins that don't hold our interest all the way through the fourth quarter. And when the Frogs do win, which has become a regular occurrence, you aren't pleased with the play that it gets in the media locally or nationally.
Let's not be shortsighted here folks. Seven years ago, we didn't want exposure for this team. Seven years ago, people around the country had forgotten that we played football at Amon Carter Stadium. Now they remember. They remember the good times, like the stretch we are in right now. And the media is coming around, just like all the fans that will fill Amon Carter to near capacity today. It takes time, and wins, for people to believe in the Frogs again.
I have heard Coach Patterson mention on several occasions that it takes years for fans to make an emotional commitment to a program that suffered through so many years of disappointment. And now that the commitments are starting to pile in, comes an elevated level of expectation.
But don't fret. I am not writing this to let you know that it is starting to get to Coach P and this team, because it's not.
For you see, no matter how high your expectations are, his are higher. No matter how much you want to win every game, he wants to win it even more. And no matter how successful you think this program will be, he'll make sure it's more successful than that.
From the streets and avenues of North Texas to the information superhighway, I'm Brian Estridge. We'll see you on the radio.
