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Brett Smith is a great QB and a great ambassador for the school and state. I think the calls on him were bull-poop. Personal fouls happen during the heat of competiton. The only lesson here is not to put yourself in the position to get two PFs in game.

The majority of UW fans (probably 98%) stand behind Brett and the rest of the players.

WestSalemFootballFan wrote:No he doesn't need me to defend him, I choose to do that freely. You know, the same way people felt free to throw scripture in his face. Check the game thread and tell me it didn't cross the line from critical to personal. if someone crossed that line with your family, I'm guessing you wouldn't keep quiet either.

Most would agree the scripture part was ridiculous and I'm pretty sure that poster was called out. I called out a young poster that made a ridiculous assertion to boo Brett in class. I'm sure the young poster didn't really think that thru and also said that in the heat of the moment.

Personally, I think it is typically best if family members refrain from posting too much or taking anything personal on a message board. People are human and type things in the heat of the moment that they truly didnt mean and later regret (also the anonymity of message boards skew things from reality quite a bit). (Also every fan base has a few bad apples...luckily, IMO, Wyoming doesnt have too many of these bad apples).

I think you do have the sense though that most fans/Wyonation/Wyoming in general (if not all) appreciate Brett Smith and most of the players for not only how they perform on the field but how they handle themselves off of it. I would say it is fair to critique Brett's handling of his emotions on the field and the effects that they may have on the team (and it seems to be that he understands that). All of us have also been young and made plenty of mistakes along the way. I think Brett will continue to mature and only become a better teammate, but obviously that is up to him.

Also to "WestSalemFotballFan," one of my closest friends is also a former sophmore captain at Wyoming (there are only three). He faced about as much scrutiny as Brett Smith during his time at UW. He doesnt post on here, but he thinks very highly of Brett Smith's ability.

The scripture was one asking him to be humble and move on. It wasn't a sleight towards him. I said I didn't mean ill will, and brett is the man. He is always quoting scripture, and I thought that would be 1 that would fit the situation for him.

I was obviously wrong. Let's move on. Brett needs to be humble like all of us need to. Not meant in a demeaning way. I man up to it, but it came out different than intended. Sorry. Foolish.

djm19 wrote:The scripture was one asking him to be humble and move on. It wasn't a sleight towards him. I said I didn't mean ill will, and brett is the man. He is always quoting scripture, and I thought that would be 1 that would fit the situation for him.

I was obviously wrong. Let's move on. Brett needs to be humble like all of us need to. Not meant in a demeaning way. I man up to it, but it came out different than intended. Sorry. Foolish.

+1,000 Couldn't agree more...enough said...time to move on. Go Pokes!

The UGA quarterback found out his dad had cancer, lost to SC, and then came home to find his house egged and T.P.'d by UGA fans. These young players don't deserve so much criticism but UW's fan base is far better than some.

For being a small school (compared to other D1) UW fans are passionate about the cowboys. Many of us live hundreds miles away and sacrifice thousands of dollars for a quality product. I agree, that sometimes we are too harsh on what are young men, really. I admit, I am critical, but like I said earlier, so many Wyoming fans are just as passionate as the players. I'm not going to say that these losses hurt us worse than a player, but son of a ##### they hurt. I am still thinking about the third and one complete screw up. I'm dying inside cause of the cowboy football team. My wife has to remind me that it is only a game, but to me, the Wyoming football team is all I had growing up. No NBA, no NFL, no MLB, not even another college. To me, it was Wyoming football and that was IT.

So, after so many should have, could have, would haves, you naturally are so emotionally invested it sucks.

So, as for criticism of brett, we all agree that he is a freak talent that UW is lucky to have. On the same token, he is human, and there is always room for improvement. Often times many of us are probably venting more about SITUATION and not PERSONAL.

That being said, after we can get on a three game win streak here, we will forget all about these rifts along the way and all will be singing koobuya with gleeson and his hair.

Its an emotional game. Anyone who ever played knows that.

The guy was fired up and I like his enthusiasm. If he could 'infect' the D with a little of that stuff, it would be fine by me.

AfiPoke wrote:Its an emotional game. Anyone who ever played knows that.

The guy was fired up and I like his enthusiasm. If he could 'infect' the D with a little of that stuff, it would be fine by me.

If Mertens and Purcell brought it on every down, opposing QBs might actually have to be seriously worried. Purcell has been getting steadily better game by game, though. If he continues to improve at this pace, he'll be a monster by the end of the season.

Asmodeanreborn wrote:

AfiPoke wrote:Its an emotional game. Anyone who ever played knows that.

The guy was fired up and I like his enthusiasm. If he could 'infect' the D with a little of that stuff, it would be fine by me.

If Mertens and Purcell brought it on every down, opposing QBs might actually have to be seriously worried. Purcell has been getting steadily better game by game, though. If he continues to improve at this pace, he'll be a monster by the end of the season.

I've noticed that with Purcell. He's turning into a pretty good pass rusher, but is also strong enough to bring down RBs. And push a LT into his QB (Idaho game).

Mertens is more like a NT than a DT, forcing o-lines to either double team him, or pay for it.

Does anyone else think that the way some Cowboy fans are responding to this situation could hurt our future recruiting with WestSalemFootballFan? It seems to me like he is related to Brett Smith and we are glad to have Brett here and wouldn't we like his younger brother to come too? If he is worth a scholarship like we think he will be?

We are a minority though. So, it's basically a minority of a minority.

But being at the game, I wouldn't have blamed any of the players for getting frustrated with refs, especially Smith. No call on the late hit and picking up the flag when it should have been PI, add on to that the Toledo game, and I can't blame our most firery player for getting frustrated.

thirtyseven wrote:Does anyone else think that the way some Cowboy fans are responding to this situation could hurt our future recruiting with WestSalemFootballFan? It seems to me like he is related to Brett Smith and we are glad to have Brett here and wouldn't we like his younger brother to come too? If he is worth a scholarship like we think he will be?

I would hope westsalemfootballfan would recognize that the cowboys fan base is like every other fan base ane we are passionate about our cowboys. I'm sure he at least knows brett personally and consequently would know his brother. I would hope he recognizes that we all love brett and are happy he's a poke. Brett Smith is the reason I get fired up to go to the stadium this year and that's no joke.

I would be highly surprised if a player makes a decision based on a stupid forum of fans. And trust me, these players know (unfortunately) that these crazy things are said. Reality is, no matter the team, you are going to find criticism. I'm not condoning it, but it is what it is. Google any school and you will find a fan forum. Go to any page of that forum and you will find a thread about the qb, rb, coaches, etc. No way around it.

So the same ones criticizing qb, rb, coaches, etc on here are the same ones with butts in the seats, with #16 jerseys on losing their voices cheering brett and company on. It's being a fan. Some of us are just bigger A holes I guess. But we continue to spend money and love our team.

Dave Christensen loses this much sleep because of the fans....none. likewise, I think some players know they are doing something many of us didn't. Play football at the next level. They are big boys.

A win this weekend would sure a lot of us therapeutically (if that's a word)

I love his fire and how he makes this team better, but being a true team leader we can't have anymore meltdowns like last week against Nevada....get er done Pokes