IâÄôm tired of hearing that the Gopher football team canâÄôt win without five-star players and that we canâÄôt recruit those players unless we win. This thinking is similar to the job seeker who thinks they canâÄôt get a job without experience, and canâÄôt get experience without a job.

In order to get a foot in the door, the job seeker needs a connection or an ace up his sleeve. As football fans, we can be that ace.

Our current football players give their best effort during games, and they have heart. The coach of the team has heart and shows it as well. As fans, we also need to demonstrate our heart and love for the team.

We can do this by going to the games, filling up the stadium and cheering on the Gophers no matter what happens, even when the odds are stacked against us. 

If we do this, we will always be the winners. By having fun participating in a game that was always meant to be fun âÄî regardless of the outcome âÄî we should continue to show hope.

If we share our spirit and cheer on the team, maybe more talented high school football players will recognize that and want to play for the Gophers.

We can become the spark that starts to turn this unfortunate trend around.

Down the line, when the scoreboard reflects our attitude and behavior, we can say we were there to help start the fire and usher in a true winning football team.