For years (pre-Bob), TiCat Management has held their fans ransom - buy tickets or else! Clearly, this didn't work as owner after owner left town without ever sustaining any real effort to put a decent team on the field and much lighter in the pocketbook for their so called efforts.
For the past three years all Bob has done was thank us for showing up and TRY and improve the team. Regardless of the results, there's no denying that the player and staff changes made, especially during the past 12 months, have demonstrated great intent towards improving the team.
I like you am extremely disappointed in the on field results. Quite frankly I'm also shocked because I believed that this team would be far better than it is. Read back through the off season threads and it's clear that most of you did too.
Current TiCat Management has approached this team the honest way and for that effort I thank them. This group has clearly improved (and continues to improve) the off field experience AND has made a tremendous effort towards rebuilding the on field product as well.
I'm not about to propose blind faith, but we all know it's unrealistic to airlift 50 players and an entire staff mid season. We all have thoughts as to who should be moved and who should stay. I'm not going to delve any further into this topic because it can't result in improvement over the dozens of other threads already underway - threads that can be fun and healthy!
All I'm asking is why is it OK for us to hold the team ransom now when it wasn't OK for past Management to do the same to the fans. I've read many differnt ways to accomplish this, but most boil down to some form of boycotting - skip next game, miss the rest of the season, don't renew season tickets etc.
When the team made no effort to improve and tried to hold the fans ransom we didn't show up (some did, most did not - this isn't about the loyal few)). This ended in the team coming within a Bob of extinction. Now that they're making and effort to improve we want to stop showing up again? NOT ME! So long as the effort to improve continues like it has (and it's clearly the best it's been in decades!) I'm a supporter. Some will call this blind faith, but I call it belief in what I see.
Here's hoping that more of you will see the actions behind the poor results and come to respect the effort. If not, stay away and long term we'll all be worse for it.
Go Cats Go!