As an alumnus (yes, I'm sorry, I'm going to play the alumni card) and a fan idealist, I think if you don't help plan and prepare for the party you don't get to go to the party. 2008 is a great example, all the KU fans that came out of the woodworks to be a part of the celebration had to feel awfully awkward shedding the loyalty of the other teams that they began rooting for instead of KU. And therein lies the problem. How stupid would you feel if KU suddenly regained the swagger that they had a few years ago (I know, it's a long shot)? It's a part of being a fan. I've been a Chicago White Sox fan my entire life. They've been terrible that entire time...but when they were able to put it all together in 2005 it was one of the sweetest feelings ever. That's what being a fan is about. The KC Chiefs are the same exact way. When/if that team ever puts it together and wins the Super Bowl, it will be the sweetest feeling ever for Chiefs fans.
To me, it's a gutless move and it makes KU fans look really, really bad to be so one-dimensional. I go to Ohio State now and when I get asked whether I'm a Buckeye fan, it's laughable to me. I'd never dream of rooting against KU or picking another team besides KU. It seems incredibly gutless to me for some KU fans to root for the Jayhawks during one part of the year, and root for another team during the football season, especially if they ever play each other. To me there aren't moral victories. What I mean by that is, if KU lost to Ohio State in the Final Four or in football for that matter, I couldn't be like 'well at least it was Ohio State." F that! Losing sucks no matter who it is. To me the biggest thing is that It's good for the university to have a football team that can at least go to bowl games. And if you care about KU as a school at all, then you should want the football team to be successful.
To answer the initial question though... I am excited for KU football the same as I am every year. The first game is always the eye-test, which KU usually fails by allowing some horrible D2 team to put up 21 points. However, this year I am cautiously optimistic. The few times that the KU offense was humming last year it was when they were running the spread (then Weis would go to a pro-style offense with subpar talent and KU would quickly go 3-and-out). Now, KU will actually be running an offense suitable for the college game. With the addition of another proven wide receiver in Nigel King to go with Nick Harwell, Cozart will have some weapons at his disposal (provided he can get the ball there). KU has some high level talent, and with the right kind of scheme I think KU can take a big step forward. An element that a lot of people don't realize is that KU's defense was pretty good last year (and that's when they were on the field for 40+ minutes a game). You can argue that increased time on the field led to higher production value statistically, but I was impressed with the defense's ability to keep opponents from running all over us. Think about it, the Texas Tech game was close (we were actually leading 14-3) until Weis went pro-style...and called a fake punt from our own 15 yard line. The game against TCU is won with a competent offense. Simple as that. The game against WV showed what KU can do when the offense can actually get first downs. The game against K-State is another example. Defense played pretty well, but with Jake Heaps and James Sims trying for a school record in turnovers, that game became un-winnable. I'll stop there, but you get the idea.
So to actually answer the question, I'm probably at a 2.5. I'm excited to see the changes and I'm confident they can actually lead to some success. That being said, I'm by no means expecting a bowl game, and I really don't know where to even speculate where we land in number of wins. But I'm cautiously optimistic.
