On one hand, our team completely shitting the bed on a night when so many revered alumni are in attendance could push things over the edge.
On the other hand, I am a Wake Forest fan and I'd like tonight to be an enjoyable night.
Definitely understand jaybone not wanting to watch. I think this is one I'll tune in for, though.
If I tune in, I'll root for them, cannot help it.
The team reminds me of watching Travis McKie. I liked him, liked his game, but understood why a Wake team with him as our #1 or #2 option was never going to make the Dance. I actually think this Wake team is for the most part playing to expectation. In some ways, this is Manning's best coaching effort. It makes sense, he was too green when we hired him, and not a dynamic leader at all, at least as a coach. For the life of me I can't reconcile the Kansas player that led a less than talented team to the national championship, willed them to a championship, with the milquetoast coach we've watched for the last half decade. Was Larry Brown the heart and soul of that team???
Anyway, I think Manning has figured some stuff out in the last 6 years - he's essentially a good Dad/coach - takes the kids to important historically significant locations in each city we travel to; suspends them when they don't meet expectations. I am sure he's a good/great guy and the model of consistency. He just doesn't make a very good program head. He would have been better off to stay at Tulsa and take advantage of the new college landscape in which mid conference teams can play themselves into the top 5/top 10. Tulsa would have been a safe to learn how to become a head coach with much less pressure.
I think the work the staff has done with Ody and Sarr has been pretty admirable. Our defense has been more intense and less bad this year.
All that said, it is too late to salvage.
Hoping Mit and Ben have parlayed the flush stock market of the past few years into more cash than they expected, providing enough buyout dollars for us to hit the reset button again.
