Crisis: I’m not quite sure how I should feel about the fourth-ranked Red Rocks right now.
Admittedly, I’ve been a bit harsh on them in the early going of the season. Their problems on beam have occupied my thoughts far more than their success on vault, floor and bars. Utah is first, second and fifth in the country on those, respectively, yet I’ve had a hard time erasing from my mind the fact that Greg and Megan Marsden’s team is just 14th in the nation on beam.
My thinking is that, for as well as they have done through three meets, they’ve left so much out on the floor because of mistakes on beam, and those miscues could end up costing them down the road.
I suppose that’s what happens when expectations are high, and here’s where I’m struggling. At the outset of the season, I proposed that 2014 would be the best chance in the foreseeable future for the Red Rocks to win the national championship. A whopping 10 juniors and seniors would be returning, so not only would Utah have a wealth of experience to help them make it to the top, but the next two seasons at least are going to be rebuilding years to a large degree. In other words, winning it all is going to be a lot tougher in 2015 and 2016 than it is this season.rebuilding years to a large degree.
Because of this, anything short of “win now” is a disappointment in my mind. The Marsdens once led a dynasty in Salt Lake City, but the Red Rocks haven’t won the national championship since 1995. Utah is undoubtedly still one of the top programs in the nation and winning is what is expected, but it’s lost a bit of its luster in the 21st century. Only getting back on top will bring back some of the brightness that has faded, and the window to do that seemed pretty darn open at the beginning of the season.
Yet right now, the Red Rocks don’t quite appear to be good enough to win it all this spring. Yes, they’re talented enough to make yet another Super Six, and anything can happen the night of team finals in April, but thus far they’ve been outperformed by the likes of Oklahoma, Florida and LSU.
As far as beam is concerned, unless Utah figures out a way to get better on that event, you can kiss any shot the Red Rocks have of beating the Sooners, Gators, Tigers or any other team they might share the floor with on the final night of competition goodbye— assuming they make it that far in the first place.
This is where I need to make a decision. Should I continue to have the expectation that Utah can win it all and perceive it as a disappointment if the Red Rocks don’t take home the title, or should I lower my expectation and just be enjoying the fact that they’re as good as they are?
My hunch is that coaches and gymnasts would prefer the former, and that attitude of winning being the foremost goal may just propel Utah to the top.
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