Expectations of athletes and their teams, like expectations in presidential primaries, are, fairly or not, a frequent measure of a team's success. The Cobber athletes who live with those expectations can see them as burdens or inspirations or irrelevancies. But they are there. And they have to be dealt with. Most coaches, like presidential candidates, hate high expectations.
High expectations can make a win seem like a loss and a loss seem like a disaster.
Other coaches, a minority, see them as a challenge, a constant reminder that being pretty good might not be good enough, and working pretty hard might not be hard enough. The expectation of winning, these coaches argue, can actually get you some wins. Following Cobber sports is enhanced by knowing both the people behind the numbers and the expectations that hang over our teams. Here, then, at some risk, is a capsule look at some of those people and the expectations they face. Steve Baumgartner's crew was tabbed early as one of the top three teams in the nine-team MIAC hockey race.