Todd’s Take: Words Of Reason Aimed At Fans Can Be Lost In The Messenger

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Sometimes a good message is lost in the messenger.

Purdue men’s basketball coach Matt Painter was asked about the soon-to-be-open Indiana job after the Hoosiers’ 73-58 victory over the Boilermakers. As Painter is wont to do, he slipped into a stream of consciousness soliloquy about the state of fanhood and his impressions of Indiana from his not-so-faraway perch in West Lafayette.

He talked about “common denominators” like the often divisive and severely critical Indiana fan base. He talked about the nature of social media and how it takes on outsize importance. He talked about fans being supportive at times of adversity. He talked about the propensity to over-hype incoming players. He talked about how all of the above has an adverse effect on players and their ability or willingness to focus when they don’t feel supported.

Almost everything he said was wise, considered and hit home.

But because it is Painter – coach of arch-rival Purdue – a lot of it went in one ear and out the other as far as some Indiana fans were concerned.

Some were angry Painter would have the temerity to speak on the topic at all. That Painter should mind his own business. Others disagreed with Painter’s assertions on the vitriolic nature of Indiana fans.

This is unsurprising. Indiana fans have become so accustomed to the factions within its own fan base that they are conditioned to believe its normal. It’s part of the double-edged sword of the passion of Indiana fans. Great in many ways, counter-productive in others.

In a grander scheme, I think Painter was using Indiana fans as an example of ills that happen all across the sport. Indiana fans aren’t the only ones who have a reactionary bent – there’s just a lot more of them compared to most other basketball fan bases.

However, there are Indiana fans who need to heed those words, because their criticism can be way over the top and unnecessarily nasty. I don’t have much hope that will happen. The folks who need to hear the message of moderation are the ones most resistant no matter how wise the words might be in telling them they're doing more harm than good.

Painter tried to deliver that message on Sunday, but many fans tuned him out. I wrote a column back in December noting that the criticism of Mike Woodson had become so over-the-top as to be worse than any coaching sin Woodson had committed on the floor. While some thought the column served its intended purpose, many Indiana fans were upset I even broached the subject.

Mike Woodson. — Indiana Hoosiers head coach Mike Woodson celebrates with his players after a game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Woodson himself dove into this world when he infamously spoke of “true fans” during his Senior Day speech in 2024. My interpretation of Woodson’s comment was that he appreciated the support he got whether thick or thin from the percentage of Indiana fans who chose to back him.

However, a lot of Indiana fans were offended that Woodson went there. That he was allegedly dividing the fan base by bringing the subject up.

Why do Indiana fans need to hear the chill out message? The vitriolic fans have become, at very least, a perception problem. Some opposing coaches might use the reputation against Indiana in talking to players and parents in recruiting. It's a problem that will continue to fester for whomever the new coach is going to be – unless they win at a Big Ten championship clip straight out of the box.

The wash, rinse, repeat cycle where Indiana fans get excited about a coach, disappointed at the drop of a hat when a coach can’t reach sky-high expectations right away, and then turn on that coach needs to be broken. But who is the messenger who can break it to fans who indulge in this behavior?

I’m not sure the most vitriolic fans care that their behavior permeates into the locker room, to recruits, and to parents of recruits, some of whom don’t want their kids in that kind of fishbowl.

“It's hard for young people to hear all that and then go out and collectively play, like hey man, we're playing for you guys, but you dog us when we lose and we're the best when we win. Well, we're somewhere in between, right,” Painter said.

A problem is that fans who spew vitriol get plenty of positive reinforcement in huzzahs from other fans or angry reactions from those who disagree with them. It’s a weird world that isn’t as big as it thinks it is, but that gets amplified out of proportion to the amount of fans it represents.

Painter asserted that the majority of fans in any fan base are not usually the ones running to Twitter at the first sign of adversity.

“It's just that everyone has a bad percentage of their fan base now because of Twitter, and then we think that's their fan base. It's not our fan base. It's not their real fan base either,” Painter said.

It goes to the paradox of being reasonable. The silent majority of grounded fans stay silent because they don’t feel the need to amplify reasonable opinions, especially when confronted by those who are aggressive in venting their spleen.

When reasonable fans stay quiet, it just means the fans who lash out at the smallest bit of adversity take on an outsize voice because they’re the ones willing to speak up. It’s a feedback loop that isn’t unique to sports. It’s a malign dynamic in many walks of life.

Basketball-wise, the part of Painter’s words that I liked best was the part about over-hyping players.

“Don't get recruits and like 'It's Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen,' and then they come out here, and it's like, well, they're not Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. They're good college players. Like, then they build it up and then go, 'What's wrong?' Well, they're part of it,” Painter said.

Bryson Tucker, Mackenzie Mgbako — Indiana Hoosiers forward Bryson Tucker (8) and Indiana Hoosiers forward Mackenzie Mgbako (21) celebrate after a play during the second half against the Michigan Wolverines at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

A case can be made that the disappointment that has characterized this Indiana season was largely based on unrealistic expectations based on questionable evidence placed on the players who were brought in.

Once again, this is not a uniquely Indiana problem – hype happens everywhere – but there has been a weird amnesia that set in the last two Indiana offseasons. The reality of underwhelming regular seasons gave way to hyped-up offseasons, fueled by sometimes misplaced excitement in new players coming in from the portal or late high school additions like Mackenzie Mgbako and Bryson Tucker.

It’s as if the root problems that caused mediocrity are forgotten upon arrival of some new shiny toys.

Fans are guilty of this, but we are in the media, too. I don’t recall many in our field during the past offseason raising the too much, too soon banner up the flagpole.

Tapping the brakes doesn’t sell. Fans want their belief in their shiny toys validated. In that sense, the media is just as guilty as the fans are of creating unrealistic expectations.

So who gets through to fans who over-do it online? Those fans who don’t understand or don’t care that their negativity can have a chilling effect on the very thing they think is worthy of their unceasing tough love?

I’m not sure what the answer is. It will take a special coach to unite the Indiana fan base in the way everyone wants it to be. Indiana has been trying and failing in that regard since 2000.

I know that in the meantime those who try to preach the gospel of moderation to those who need to hear it will be given the kill-the-messenger treatment. It’s a shame that appealing to reason is such a controversial thing.

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