Headway, Sternway, and the Dreaded Doldrums
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2022 1:04 pm
There was a point in the Mason era when after a very unfortunate beginning he registered a couple-few 5 and 6 win seasons in a row.
I remember thinking he needs to break through the 6 win ceiling to demonstrate the program is on an upward trajectory.
Everyone is familiar with the sailing term 'headway' - forward motion. Less well known is 'sternway' - going backwards. And 'doldrums' was the dreaded zone around the equator where the winds were weak or nonexistent, coming from all different directions. Ships could get caught in the doldrums for literally weeks or months at a time; just kind of wallowing aimlessly.
I felt like Mason was staying in the doldrums too long. "Come to Vanderbilt, where you can play on a consistently mediocre football team that isn't terrible!" is not a good recruiting pitch. Sooner or later recruiting will drop off and the doldrums will turn into sternway.
This year's freshmen are the best VU recruiting class since xCJF days, and Lea & Co seem to be putting together another solid class. But realistically we are probably at least one, more likely two, really good classes away from being a truly competitive SEC program.
My main hope for this year was that whatever the win-loss record, there would be a clear sense of headway in the program. So that the coaches can go on the recruiting trail and say the program is getting better and better and be believable. So the fans stay interested and the donors get excited and all the other good things.
I still don't think we'll do better than 3 or 4 wins this year, but Saturday's game made me think we've got a good chance of finishing the season with headway.
I remember thinking he needs to break through the 6 win ceiling to demonstrate the program is on an upward trajectory.
Everyone is familiar with the sailing term 'headway' - forward motion. Less well known is 'sternway' - going backwards. And 'doldrums' was the dreaded zone around the equator where the winds were weak or nonexistent, coming from all different directions. Ships could get caught in the doldrums for literally weeks or months at a time; just kind of wallowing aimlessly.
I felt like Mason was staying in the doldrums too long. "Come to Vanderbilt, where you can play on a consistently mediocre football team that isn't terrible!" is not a good recruiting pitch. Sooner or later recruiting will drop off and the doldrums will turn into sternway.
This year's freshmen are the best VU recruiting class since xCJF days, and Lea & Co seem to be putting together another solid class. But realistically we are probably at least one, more likely two, really good classes away from being a truly competitive SEC program.
My main hope for this year was that whatever the win-loss record, there would be a clear sense of headway in the program. So that the coaches can go on the recruiting trail and say the program is getting better and better and be believable. So the fans stay interested and the donors get excited and all the other good things.
I still don't think we'll do better than 3 or 4 wins this year, but Saturday's game made me think we've got a good chance of finishing the season with headway.