Is there a problem with expecting more after two decades

[hammen]

He/she continues to beat a dead horse. Like you Brett, I would love to know who's he/she gets the second or third hand information to support his/her views.

[sudden_victory]

About 12 years ago Barry Davis had an online chat at uwbadgers.com. I asked if Badger fans could look forward to a bigten championship. He said definitely yes. I just really appreciate how hard he has been working all these years to get that championship.

[billymurphy]

The Badgers have a much better team now than we had 12 years ago.
When Cael Sanderson came to coach at Penn State, that
pretty much ended any chance the Badgers had at winning the Big Ten.
Naturally, with Iowa there, we never had a chance the past 12 years either.
Ohio State now has a rock solid program too.  Thus, best case results
for next year is fourth place in the Big Ten, even with 3 AA's and RR coming back.

[sudden_victory]

There is nothing wrong with fans having realistic expectations, like the best we can hope for is third or fourth  place. Is the educational experience for the athletes compromised when the coach stops trying to win championships? That is the question.

[Numbers]

Everyone can look at the Big Ten projected wrestling rosters for next year and see that the Badgers are not going to be a preseason favorite to win the Big Ten.  That does not mean the Badgers will be uncompetitive against the best teams in the nation. 

Realistic expectations vs. ultimate goal.  The coaches have stated the ultimate goal is to win the national championship.  Can Wisconsin win a national championship?  Sure, but we know it won't be easy.  It will likely take a few elite high school seniors to say "We are going to win individual championships and team championships...and we are going to do it at Wisconsin."  (It should be interesting to watch the Arizona State program the next few years to see how that program may turn around.)

Barry Davis will likely be the coach for a few more years.  Things are not going to get worse from here.  They will get better, the questions are how much better and how soon?  For those that don't know Trevor Brandvold yet, go out of your way to meet him.  I don't know him well, but every time I speak with him, boy I think he has what it takes to bring the Wisconsin program to the next level.  Trevor is from Wisconsin, wrestled for UW, and understands today's high school kids.  When it comes to program building, marketing, and relating to the superfans that read this board, I am not sure anyone gets it more in Wisconsin than Brandvold.  (fine, Ben Askren would qualify too, but he is busy right now and I for one am counting on future AWA graduates to be part of the Badgers solution.  Sorry Missouri - Madison is closer to home.)  I don't really know Kyle Ruschell at all, but I'll assume he has helped Issac Jordan be a two time AA in two years.

Nobody said it would be easy.  After seeing the Kohl Center attendance at the Big Ten wrestling tournament a year ago, I believe it is possible.  And if the Badger wrestling team effectively markets to all the high schools in Wisconsin, maybe the next time the Kohl Center hosts the Big Tens, the third deck will be filled as well.  (And I am not saying it will take a decade for the Badgers to make a run at a national title, just that it will likely be a while before the Big Ten Championships return to Madison.)

Go Badgers!