But you're proving my point. That global executive should never be satisfied or be led to believe his organization is "fine." But if you noticed something wasn't working in his organization, how would you help fix that? By posting about it on a message board? That seems like a poor solution.

That's the point I'm making. The coaches and players should, of course, always be in a continuous improvement mindset. They should always be striving to improve themselves and the program. As a fan, if you see something that you think can be fixed, it would seem to make sense to reach out to the program officials and share your ideas.

But I don't think that's what is truly being reflected by all the "it could be worse is a loser's mentality" posts. Expressing such sentiments, it seems to me, is a projection of what is needed/useful mindset for players and coaches by the fans. In other words, when a fan comes on a message board and says, "Hey, it could be worse. We still have a shot to win the Coastal and compete for an ACC title" and someone responds with some version of "It could be worse is a loser's mentality" the respondent isn't doing anything that actually contributes to the success of the program. I think it is borne out of a fear that if a fan says "Hey, it could be worse" that the coaches and players might feel the same way. It is a conflation of what is expressed on message boards with what is happening inside Merryman. It's the same as the "focus police" stuff that happens on this board.

That's my push back. It isn't that continuous improvement mindset isn't important for players and coaches. It's that it isn't really all that relevant for message board fans. You and others are, of course, completely entitled to adopt whatever mentality you would like. I don't personally see the utility in taking a hyper-critical view of the team or program or reacting to every play of a game with a criticism. It accomplishes NOTHING, other than create a more negative vibe on the board.

We're not the players. We're not the coaches. It's okay to actually enjoy when the team wins and not lose sleep when the team loses. So I'm perfectly happy to say "It could be worse" or "Our goals are still intact" or "Hey, it's just a game and I appreciate the players and coaches giving it their best." I don't see the value in rushing past the good to hurry my way to the bad.

I don't think you and I actually disagree all that much. I think we're just framing the perspetive from different starting points. However, I could be wrong about that.