Fans can be critical, but should still be loyal


Right now, being a USC fan is pretty hard. It was quite a task on Friday night as the team lost to Utah. To say it’s been difficult over the last couple seasons would be an understatement, but just because it’s been hard, doesn’t mean Trojan fans should stop supporting their team.

Tal Volk | Daily Trojan No hot seat yet · On Saturday, head coach Clay Helton said he talked to and has the support of Athletic Director Lynn Swann (above).

Tal Volk | Daily Trojan
No hot seat yet · On Saturday, head coach Clay Helton said he talked to and has the support of Athletic Director Lynn Swann (above).

It may not be as enjoyable as when the team only lost nine games in a span of seven seasons, but still, as a fan you should be with the team through thick and thin.

You’ll see it on Twitter and Facebook — a plethora of Trojan fans threaten to stop supporting the team or that they’re done being loyal. To even propose the idea doesn’t really make them true supporters.

By all means, fans can criticize the team and expect more from them. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly made a comment last week that if the fans aren’t upset with the team’s poor start, than they aren’t really fans at all. So yes, USC fans should be disappointed in the Trojans’ 1-3 start. This isn’t how a USC team is supposed to start their season. There was promise in young talent this season, but some of that promise is still there.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Darnold looked impressive against Utah. He showed spurts of talent that, with a bit more experience, could make him a great quarterback. If anything, he was the team’s bright spot against the Utes. That and the fact that junior wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster tallied up 98 yards in the game, just one yard shy of his season total and in two less catches. Darnold was able to inject a life into USC’s disorganized, lackluster offense. But, just because Darnold was behind center, doesn’t mean that their offensive problems were fixed.

It’s crazy to think that a running back who was averaging 12.6 yards per carry didn’t touch the ball in the fourth quarter while the other two backs averaged less than six yards combined. That’s nothing against the other two backs, it’s just that senior Justin Davis was having quite a night. It’s on the coaching staff for not putting him in. Head coach Clay Helton claimed that there’s a rotation and they “trust their backs.” While that’s great, you would have to be blind not to see that Davis was tearing up the Utah defense and not putting him in was a disservice to the Trojans’ offense.

Fans should opine on these decisions by the coaches to literally stray from what was working and try something else that was continually not working. It’s mid-game adjustments like that that the staff can’t quite seem to get themselves around this season.

Fans can do more than criticize, though. They can be upset, and rightfully so. USC has the talent to be better than this; they should be better than this.

After LSU fired head coach Les Miles, almost immediately, tweets popped up on my Twitter feed calling for Athletic Director Lynn Swann to fire Helton and offer Miles a job. If anything, USC does not need another coaching change in the middle of the season. Three times in four seasons is just ridiculous.

I may be in the minority, but Helton should remain the head coach of USC for the entirety of the season. After the Trojans’ final game of 2016, whether that be against UCLA at the Rose Bowl or at a bowl game, Swann can sit down, assess the team’s standing and — if he deems it necessary — look for another head coach.

USC fans, whether they back Helton or not, should support the Trojans the rest of the season. Against Utah, the players, pretty much as a whole, looked fired up and played like a different team than the one that lost to Alabama and Stanford. True fans owe it to the players to support the team this season, no matter what.

Jodee Storm Sullivan is a junior majoring in broadcast and digital journalism. Her column, “The Storm Report,” runs Tuesdays.

1 reply
  1. Crowldawg
    Crowldawg says:

    If Mr. Swann waits until the end of the season to fire Helton, the pool of available coaches may be limited. If Les Miles is interested in coaching at USC, take him immediately and fire Helton. This would be in the best interest of the school and the football team.

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