Golden Gophers – Page 84 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

QB Kirk Cousins’ Image Changes in 2022

Posted on November 15, 2022November 15, 2022 by David Shama

Kirk Cousins is on a historic personal path in 2022. The Vikings’ quarterback is being viewed as a winner after a past of mostly mediocre results by teams he led in Washington, D.C., and Minnesota.

The 8-1 Vikings are off to a start unlike anything Cousins has experienced since he became a regular in Washington in 2015. That season the Commanders finished the season 9-7. Cousins’ next two seasons in D.C. saw the Commanders go 8-7-1 and 7-9. A hefty free agent deal (reportedly three years, $84 million) brought Cousins to Minnesota before the 2018 season where he has been part of teams with records of 8-7-1, 10-6, 7-9 and 8-9-1.

That’s a cumulative record of 57 wins, 54 losses and one tie as an NFL starting quarterback dating back to 2015. Cousins also has a 1-2 playoff record with the Commanders and Vikings.

At age 34, in his 11th year in the NFL, Cousins is gaining ground in the public view as a winner and even being mentioned as a potential NFL MVP. He is flourishing in a quarterback friendly environment unlike anything he has experienced before as a professional.

Cousins is making both routine and difficult throws that have the Vikings headed to their first NFC North championship since 2017. He has been primetime this season leading the Vikings to comeback wins, with the most recent Sunday’s game for the ages overtime victory against the Bills in Buffalo.

Cousins’ performance and leadership has been questioned in the past but he’s answered critics by thriving under new head coach Kevin O’Connell who is known as a quarterback whisperer.

Cousins’ disconnect with previous head coach Mike Zimmer is well documented but now the veteran has found a productive relationship with O’Connell whose skills include superb play-calling and creativity in adjusting offensive schemes. O’Connell said Monday, while praising Cousins, that his quarterback has been tasked with a new system this year and “we’re asking a lot out of him.”

Putting labels on football players is dicey business. For critics to label the Cousins of the past something other than a winner really depends on perspective. Just being able to quarterback an NFL team year after year can be viewed as enough to gain respect with fans and media. Cousins has been a regular starter for the last eight seasons and along the way earned a reputation as a top 12 to 15 pro quarterback.

Not bad. But the 2022 version of Cousins looks better than ever and he is surrounded by coaches and players that can do their share of the heavy lifting. Whether it’s the phenomenal WR Justin Jefferson, the explosive RB Dalvin Cook, the improved offensive line or timely playmakers on defense, the vanquishing Vikings are far from a one-man show.

Give the Vikings credit for winning seven consecutive games since losing to the Eagles on September 19. But four of their eight wins are by four points or fewer and their schedule has not been daunting. Their nine opponents have a cumulative record of 42-43. Only three opponents, the Eagles, Dolphins and Bills, have winning records.

And that stat brings up one of the beefs that has dogged Cousins’ quarterback career. He has long been criticized for his performance against teams with a winning record.

He has lost about two-thirds of such games as the Vikings’ quarterback (per Fanduel), but in fairness remember that football is a team game and a lot can go into outcomes and records (Rams QB Matthew Stafford won a Super Bowl last winter after a dreadful record of wins and losses with the hapless Lions). If the Vikings finish with a gaudy regular season record and make a deep playoff run, even that Cousins wrap of not beating teams with winning records will lose some of its sting.

Cousins believes lessons from the past help his leadership now. “…Sometimes when you’re not winning, those are the times where you have to come in with a smile on your face, upbeat, still bring energy, make sure practice is still fun,” he said. “That’s really, I think, the test of leadership, is when it’s not easy to do things, that you still bring energy and focus and preparation. And so, certainly, when you’re winning, there’s a little more wind at your back, but you can’t really let it change the way you approach things and not ever get too high or too low.”

Worth Noting

Former University of Minnesota and Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz talking about Harvey Mackay’s 90^th birthday: “He doesn’t count his years. He makes his years count.”

Mackay hosted a birthday celebration in Phoenix last weekend. Mackay, the Minnesota-born, UM alum and New York Times best selling author, is close friends with Holtz who coached the Gophers in 1984 and 1985 before going to Notre Dame and winning the 1988 national championship.

“The Amazing Hondo,” St. Paul’s John Hughes, is a Mackay favorite and he entertained with his magic tricks at the birthday celebration. Hondo, 70, is still playing recreational basketball in the Twin Cities with pals including Dennis Fitzpatrick, the former St. Thomas star.

Hughes took his nickname years ago from legendary Celtics great John “Hondo” Havlicek.

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‘Erban Safaris’ Full of Golden Gopher Tales

Posted on November 8, 2022November 14, 2022 by David Shama

In about two weeks Steve and Dorothy Erban and their Minnesota guests will be enjoying the warm temperatures of California. Their Stillwater-based Creative Charters company is offering five-and-seven-day packages to watch the Golden Gopher men’s basketball team play in the SoCal Challenge November 21 and 23 in San Juan Capistrano while experiencing the warm weather and attractions of the California Coast.

Like many of the company’s trips, there will be more to enjoy than the game. “We call ourselves creative, because that’s what we try and do,” Steve told Sports Headliners.

Creative could mean spending nine days in Hawaii as the Erbans did in 1996 when the basketball Gophers were playing there. Or it could mean experiencing what Steve refers to as the “ultimate Gopher hole.” When the football Gophers played in El Paso, Texas for the 1999 Sun Bowl, Steve came up with the idea of taking his travelers on a three-hour trip to visit the Carlsbad Caverns (maximum depth 1,600 feet). Then the Creative Charters group visited a ranch for a big party that included a country band for entertainment.

“You try to make it so it’s not just the game,” Steve said. “It’s something people can enjoy and remember.”

With a show biz flair, it’s not surprising Creative Charters’ admirer Jim Erickson said: “Steve and Dorothy are the Barnum & Bailey of Gopher sports travel.”

Creative Charters has been promoting mostly Gophers men’s basketball and football fan trips since 1993. The Creative Charters’ website does have other offerings including travel to the Kentucky Derby and to the state of Montana where Steve once lived. The Erbans come up with varied destinations and stay flexible like during the Gopher women’s dream basketball season of 2004 when Creative Charters filled up planes to attend the Final Four.

The Erbans are passionate Gopher fans and the last 29 years have been emotionally gratifying, if not always financially successful. Among recent successes was an extended trip to Pennsylvania to experience more than the Minnesota-Penn State football game. The 160 guests got to see Gettysburg National Battlefield and were appreciative of the opportunity. ”You don’t…get any better than that, when they all thank you for getting them set up,” Steve said.

Steve is an architect, and both he and Dorothy are passionate about horse racing. They have been racehorse owners, promoters of the sport in Minnesota and regular attendees at the Kentucky Derby. In 2021 they were inducted into the Canterbury Park Hall of Fame.

The Erbans devote a lot of time to Creative Charters. After all, you don’t just go out and charter an airplane. Dorothy handles much of the back-end work including reservations and transactions. “We kind of say, Steve is the creative, I am the charter,” Dorothy said.

The Erbans estimate they have taken Gopher football and basketball travelers on 500 to 600 trips over the years. And then there have been many other trips including travel to Kirby Puckett’s induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001 in Cooperstown, New York. That excursion came up in conversation when Steve was talking about how things don’t always go as planned.

The Erbans had four groups going to Cooperstown. Steve was bringing the last one to New York when the flight out of Chicago was cancelled. The Erbans responded by using their resources and ingenuity to make other arrangements including taking a ferry across a lake. “We walked into the (Hall of Fame) breakfast five minutes late at 8 o’clock in the morning,” Steve remembered.

After nearly three decades the Erbans are considering selling Creative Charters. “I think our reputation and what we’ve done with Gopher fans…is sort of amazing when you think about it,” Steve said. “…Obviously, we’re getting a little long in the tooth, and it’s time to hope that there are some people out there that have that same sense of Gopher sports.

“We’re not…travel agents. We create things for our Gopher fans because we are fans and season ticket holders. And so, yes, I think we’re open now to talk with people that would be interested in continuing this on.”

Creative Charters got its start when coach Clem Haskins’ Minnesota basketball team was playing in the 1993 NIT Finals in New York. For the semifinals there were only a handful of fans at Madison Square Garden watching the Gophers defeat Providence. Erban decided to charter a 727 so Gopher fans could cheer on the team in the championship game.

Response was so enthusiastic Steve chartered a second plane. “We filled two airplanes in less than 24 hours,” he said.

Steve’s delegation arrived in New York on gameday without tickets for the game. He met with the assistant ticket manager who told him a big block of seats would be far from the court. “I said, Listen, these people paid $200 to fly out to see (their team) and they’re not sitting up there. We gotta be closer to the court. ..”

Steve asked for every available ticket 20 rows or closer to the court, knowing his customers would be scattered but have prime viewing. He bought 286 tickets and had one extra. The Gophers made their fans happy winning the NIT, 62-61 over Georgetown.

Steve’s interest in travelling to Gopher games got started in 1988 when Haskins’ team played in the NCAA Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina. A pilot himself, he flew his young son Bryce to Greensboro where there were eight to 10 Minnesota fans. With such small numbers, the strangers became friends watching the Gophers win two games in Greensboro before being eliminated from the tournament the following weekend.

Among the friends Steve made is Paul Dillon, now a semiretired farmer living near Porter, Minnesota (west of Marshall). Steve and Paul have attended every Gophers NCAA Tournament game (24 total) dating back to 1988. “I think what’s interesting about it is that we can say we’re the only human beings on planet earth that have ever done this, and you had to be at the first one (to get the streak started),” Steve said.

Paul has been a Gopher basketball season ticket holder for over 45 years, saying he “just fell in love” with the program decades ago. He and his wife have travelled often with the Erbans and are going to California later this month. He refers to the trips as “Erban safaris” and describes Steve as a “very, very close” friend.

Steve is proud of the 11 total years he and Paul attended all the tournament games. “What was real interesting is two years ago, (with) COVID, they weren’t letting anybody in except parents. Obviously, we were going to tell (AD Mark) Coyle if we got to the NCAA (Tournament) we can’t stop this tradition.

“And so, with COVID what we were going to do is if the Gophers got in, we were going to go to the stadium and stand between the doors, and listen to it (the game) on the radio, so we could say we were in the gymnasium. But we didn’t get in (the tourney), so it didn’t make any difference.”

There you go, more creativity.

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U Basketball Ticket Sales Hold Steady

Posted on November 1, 2022November 1, 2022 by David Shama

As of last Wednesday, public season ticket sales for University of Minnesota men’s basketball were approaching last year’s total of 5,666. An information request to the U by Sports Headliners generated various ticket sales numbers including that the sale for 2022-2023 public season tickets was at 5,517.

The number of public season tickets accounts for 2021-2022 was 1,908, compared to last week’s total of 1,857 for the coming season. There is no change from last year in pricing of public season tickets.

As of last week, University student season tickets totaled 2,138 and had surpassed last year’s 2,096.

There is positivity among fans about second-year head coach Ben Johnson and optimism regarding his recruiting and transfers. The Gophers’ 2023 recruiting class has two hyped players who have verbally committed, center Dennis Evans from Riverside, California and guard Cameron Christie of Rolling Hills, Illinois. Recruiting authority 247Sports rates Evans the fourth best center prospect in the 2023 national recruiting class and Christie the 23^rd best shooting guard. This season’s team features North Carolina transfer forward Dawson Garcia who was a McDonald’s All-American playing at Prior Lake High School.

Minnesota has an exhibition game at Williams Arena Wednesday night against St. Olaf (tickets $6 to $16) and then opens its regular season schedule with a nonconference game against Western Michigan November 7. Asked about possible sellouts this season at 14,625 seat Williams Arena, the U ticket report document speculated the February 12 Iowa game and March 5 Wisconsin game might do so.

The Gophers’ overall record last season was 13-17. In Big Ten games Minnesota finished with a 4-16 record and tied for last place with Nebraska in the 14-team conference.

The outlook for the upcoming season is the Gophers will be an improved team but forecasters still have them finishing among the bottom group in the Big Ten. Minnesota’s Big Ten and NCAA Tournament records the last several years has impacted fan support. Dating back to the season 2017-2018 season the Gophers’ conference record is 31-67. Minnesota qualified for one NCAA Tournament during that time, splitting two games in 2019.

Home attendance has been declining for years. About 15 years ago public season tickets totaled over 9,000.

The pandemic prevented fans from attending games for the 2020-2021 season, but the three prior years the public season ticket totals were as follows: 5,944 (2019-2020), 6,155 (2018-2019) and 6,524 (2017-2018).

The average attendance of 10,267 last season was the second lowest since 1970-1971 (8,395). The 2019-2020 average was 10,232.

Gophers Notes

The Gophers play in the SoCal Challenge November 21 and 23 in San Juan Capistrano. Creative Charters is offering five-and-seven-day packages to enjoy not only the games but to experience the weather and attractions on the California Coast. The Stillwater-based company of Steve and Dorothy Erban has been offering Gopher and other fan travel since 1993.

Through a request for information to the University of Minnesota, Sports Headliners has learned the Gophers will pay legendary football power Alabama $300,000 to play at Huntington Bank Stadium September 18, 2032. Alabama will guarantee the same amount to Minnesota for the September 17, 2033 game in Tuscaloosa.

Minnesota and Alabama athletic departments will both generate large revenues, with the assumption here each will keep all home game revenues including ticket receipts. Guarantees for nonconference games are often much larger than $300,000, further creating big paydays for both schools.

Minnesota is 1-0 all-time against Alabama. The Gophers beat the Crimson Tide 20-16 in the 2004 Music City Bowl in Nashville. Minnesota is 9-8-1 against current teams in the SEC.

With balmy weather and an attractive 1:30 p.m. start, the Gophers announced a surprisingly large attendance of 49,368 for their game against Rutgers last Saturday. The Gophers haven’t sold out a game this season in their 50,805-seat stadium but could November 19 against Iowa. Big Ten teams keep all home revenues.

Despite ups and downs over the decades, interest in Gopher football in the state is considerable. That interest can translate into ticket sales and TV eyeballs. The Minnesota at Penn State game October 22 was televised on ABC nationwide and in the Minneapolis-St. Paul marketplace had 250,000 viewers, per Darren Wolfson on a recent SKOR North podcast.

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