Fans prove impetuous when coaching changes are on the horizon
By GREG AUMANN
Published May 9, 2003
A year ago, when Ron Zook was hired at Florida and nearly immediately slammed on sites devoted to his future dismissal, it was clear how quick-witted - and bitter - college football fans can be.
This week, there's a new king of instant Southeastern Conference online scrutiny: former Bucs assistant Mike Shula, who was hired Thursday as coach of Alabama.
First, the good news: On Tuesday, Tide fans already were celebrating his arrival at mikeshula.com, a kind, complimentary site thrown together impressively well on short notice.
"I had almost forgotten about it," said Dale Gorham of Birmingham, who registered the Shula site (as well as jimleavitt.com) when the coaches were candidates to replace former Tide coach Dennis Franchione. "I remembered it Monday and said to myself, "Gosh, I should put something up.' It's really taken off this week."
Now, the bad news: On Wednesday, a Seattle man registered firemikeshula.com, proving that even when you replace a man who was fired before he ever coached a game, you aren't guaranteed much of a honeymoon. The site isn't up yet, so give them points for waiting until Shula is actually hired before the fun begins.
On the other hand, Mikeshula.com has everything a new coach could ask for, given its premature arrival. There's a photo gallery, complete with a shot from Shula's playing days at Alabama. There are links to stories about this week's hiring process, including an online poll from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution showing Shula as the leading candidate, with 47 percent. You want enthusiasm from his fans? The guestbook entries are overrun with multiple exclamation points!!!
On other Alabama sites such as tidefans.com, fans flocked to message boards to speculate on their new coach and stew at the depths to which the program has plummeted. It's a tough crowd, one that refers to Franchione as "Skippy" for the way he bolted from Alabama to coach Texas A&M.
Last week, after photos had circulated showing Iowa State basketball coach Larry Eustachy apparently drinking with coeds at college parties, the message board posted a pair of pictures that appear to show former Auburn coach Terry Bowden, awfully red in the face and sitting next to a smiling young woman who has one arm around him, the other holding a Corona.
The photos are far from Eustachy levels of incrimination - they're touted as drunken, but there's no way to prove anything. There's no telling if they were taken while he was coaching at Auburn or in the five years since. It's still embarrassing for Bowden - guys holding beers in the background, others holding "bunny ears" up behind their heads.
If anything, it shows that Alabama fans still might not hate Mike Price as much as they hate Auburn. Just consider one poster's signature left at the end of each musing, writing about the rivals' school colors: "Winners wear red. Losers wear orange. Just ask the Tampa Bay Buccaneers!"
TID-BYTES: Who says house arrest can't be fun? Former Rays outfielder Jose Canseco, through his official site, josecanseco.com, is offering fans the chance to spend an afternoon with him at his South Florida home for $2,500. Of course, why would anyone want to do that? ... Football cards for this year's NFL rookies are already out, and one for Bucs quarterback Chris Simms, with a multicolor swatch of a jersey he wore at Texas, went for $100 on eBay.com last week.
- If you have a question or comment about the Internet or a site to suggest, e-mail staff writer Greg Auman at auman@sptimes.com
