The thing is, I will miss Ralph. He is a great Terp. Our team had not done anything for years. Then Ralph showed up and we went to the Orange Bowl and a #11 national ranking. Then won 10 games and beat Tennessee in the Peach Bowl and wrapped up that run by beating WVU in the Gator Bowl. What a three years it was.
7 bowls in 10 years. Finished in the top 20 the first three years. Rebuilt the stadium, great deal w Under Armour and then the sizzle began to fade. Lots of players made the pros, but the Terps could not get a signature win later in the season.
What looked like miracle start (for fans, it was a miracle) could not be repeated. The DC metro area stopped caring about going to the games. The poorly planned TV contract ended up putting most of the Terp games on the Internet instead of local TV. The economy tanked. Whatever the reasons, the Terps could not give away tickets to a home game. No sellouts, no suite sales, little football budget spelled tough times to pay the bills.
At this juncture o the story, you could go two different ways. One way is to commend the coach and staff who made it through this confluence of bad tidings and still won 8 games. The other road is to recognize that the Terps football team needs a big draw coach and the is not Ralph.
The administration was not going to extend any more credit to Ralph that next year (or the next, etc) for him to bring back the magic of 2001 and the sellout crowds.
Not only does one have to worry about selling game tickets, season tickets, sponsorships there is the added burden of leasing suites. Money had been spent to upgrade the stadium and we could not find anyone to help pay the bills.
A story I have been telling the past couple of days is the difference between a Gary Williams event and a Ralph Friedgen event. The Gary crowd is a much better heeled crowd. Bigger spenders and more money. The Ralph crowd is a bit down at the heel, a more towney gang if you will. I would say that from the outside, one would say that you need the football crowd to be as monied as the basketball gang if you want long-term results.
Money, big money, seems to bring long-term football success. If one has the opportunity to bring in a coach who has rich friends, then i guess you make the move. A prolific, high scoring offense doesn’t hurt. A media darling is a big help as well. Went to a bowl every year at his former gig. Enter Mike Leach.
I guess we will see.
Goodbye Ralph. I'll miss you.