Thunderbird Football.. Why So Bad?
James Mello
The past few football seasons have been very rough for the T-Birds. MCC hasn’t had a winning record since the 2007 season.
The team posted one win last season, in a year that was a transitional season for the team because of late coaching changes right before the season began.
This year has been much of the same for the team, with hype at the beginning of the season turning into lackluster results for the T-Birds. It is again a transitional season because of it being head coach Greg Croshaw’s first season with the program.
One win so far this year, with the team going into their bye week, to some extent is excusable. If you look at any football program around the country, it is a very hard feat for a coach to come into a new place and succeed in the first year.
It was a feat that Croshaw was able to do at his last long-term job at Dixie State.
“It’s very similar to when I took over at Dixie. They won one or two games the year before, but were able to put together a 5-5 record,” Croshaw said last season. “With the freshmen who had gained experience the year before, we were able to win the 2nd ever Valley of the Sun Bowl.”
It was a confident, but not cocky, statement by Croshaw, showing he had been there and done it before. With the resume behind him, I still believe this program will be turned around under his guidance.
But recently Croshaw has pulled back a bit from his early comments.
“It’s fairly obvious it’s a work in progress. It’s not an overnight fix … I thought I could come here and fix it pretty quick, but it’s turned out to be a bigger challenge then I thought ,” Croshaw said after the Scottsdale game. “We have to get over the mental obstacles, and that is a large part of what’s holding us back.”
As a reporter for the last two years following the team, one thing that sticks out to me, and I believe has begun to stick out to Croshaw, is the losing attitude the team has started to develop.
Losing happens and teams go through down periods. It is the circle of life in all levels of sports.
But being outscored 185-26 in the last four games should not happen. But to give up and lie down to another team is inexcusable to me in sports, and it is what has begun to plague this team.
Mesa has had a tough schedule so far this season, facing many ranked teams, but the end of the schedule is a little easier with winnable games. Even if you do not win, I would like to see this team stand up. Play the game as hard at the opening whistle that you do at the end for your pride despite the score.
That is all I ask as a fan and reporter of this team.
