Fire Chris Ault

Here's a comment left a couple of posts ago on our board:

Coach Ault's secret to winning has always been the heart and character of the "Nevada Player."  Where did that go?  When I see the reactions of tacklers, showboating after giving up first downs.  Receivers faking injury after dropping passes or talking trash instead of getting back to the line, it's clear where improvment's needed.  Hey Coach, do you want to improve?  Fire # 4. -Anon.

I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to reply to this one as it hits a nerve with me as well.

The heart & character of the "Nevada Player."  The same concept that coined words like Nevadatude and phrases like it's the name on the FRONT of the jersey that matters.  I've argued things like this even with a number of my closest friends...even at least one contrubutor to this board!  It's nice when I know who a given player is, and it's easy to single out certain numbers.  It's even nice to know the name of the gent who just made that incredible, leaping catch on a screen pass and boogied in 22 yards for the score.  But for me first things come first, and that is that the beloved Wolf Pack made that incredible score; then it's a matter of fact that it was the effort of the entire team that made that score possible.  That's how I see it, and that's how Ault has always professed: not the gain of the individual, but the gain of the team, the school, and the community represented by the school.  Call me olde fashioned, but that's an idea I respect.

Conversely, I deplore showboating, excessive celebrating, and, well, most forms of tom foolery on the field.  Your team comes from behind with 35 seconds left in the 4th?  You've earned the right to bounce a little bit, then hurry back! there's still the PAT forthcoming.  But to turn to the stands and 'show your guns' for making a tackle, a more-or-less routine task for which you are receiving a free education...well, that's your job; you do it, you head back to the trenches, and you do it again.  You're not a pro, yet, but you are getting that free education at the expense of taxpayers and fans, so stop acting like that tackle was your single destiny in life and realize that you are getting something that millions of people around the world only dream about while, at the same time, getting to do what you love.

This is one of the things that has really irked me for the past five-and-a-half seasons.  Granted nobody's stealing phone cards from the DC anymore, nor are they grabbing a .38 and attempting to get that free education at the hands of Wells Fargo.  But I am deeply and sorely dissapointed each and every time I see the ten second party for doing their 'jobs.'  I thought I'd see players benched for such infantile displays, but no, it seems to be accepted as just part of the game now, a sign of changing times, I guess.

I should say that at least a part of that, I think, is on the hands of the NCAA, though.  I remember watching Tis' teams get flagged for excessive celebrating for high fiving after a touchdown that brought the game to within two scores.  Again, call me olde fashioned, but nowadays even college players can get away with those ten second parties shy of actually dancing a little jig on the 'N.'

But regardless of what officials are willing to call in the 21st century, I think I'd have a lot more respect for a 6-6 Ault team if I saw a 'showboater' benched, at least for a while.

Which brings me to something on the opposite side of the spectrum: Mike Ball.  He represents everything Ault said of the "Nevada Player" when he came back in 2004, and is obviously a hard working kid who is relishing the opportunity to play 'FBS' football & everything that goes with it.  When he takes the field on the return team he's always the first one down field, roaring and ready to go, and trying to get the fans into the game.  It never seems to matter the score, there he is, getting the fans behind the Pack.  If the rest of the team had that same swagger...look out!

As for #4, well, maybe I haven't watched him as closely.  I haven't seen the cockiness from him, but what I have noticed is that he is a fairly sure-handed receiver who has earned my faith in his ability to catch the ball, hold onto the ball, and then gain yards after the catch; moreso, might I add, than I have with any Wolf Pack receiver in the better part of a decade.  I have kept watching the Pack tout talented receivers with dubious production; guys who drop passes at the letters with no coverage!  Whatever happens through the conference schedule, expect Wimberly to be a major player.

Kids are going to let their emotions get the better of them from time to time, that's just a fact (not 15 penalties worth, mind you, but a fact none the less).  But I wish I'd see a more of the "Mike Ball Challenge" out there and fewer free tickets to the gun show.

Best of luck vs. LaTech...I'm hoping for #200, too bad it couldn't have come this past weekend, that would have been pure cosmic poetry.