Well, maybe nearly to the end, but I digress. I was wrong then and I didn't see it soon enough. I admit it. There are a few reasons I still supported Crowton at the end while I've jumped off the Bronco bandwagon now:
1) I believe that head coaches deserve to be given enough time to implement their system, with players they recruited, before judging whether they can be successful. Bronco has been here long enough that this team (and the last several seasons' teams) have been 100% his.
2) I really believed Crowton could turn it around. He was recruiting great talent. I believe that Bronco, on the other hand, has settled firmly into mediocrity in terms of the talent going through the program, and with ten years under his belt I no longer believe that the program can progress beyond what he's shown us in recent years.
3) I didn't realize how bad the honor code issues within the program were under Crowton until the end. If I did I would've jumped of the Crowton bandwagon much earlier. If there's one reason that Bronco deserves credit, and a long leash, it's that he's run such a clean program.
4) I didn't find Crowton's demeanor so offputting as Bronco's. I want to feel invested in the team and I want to feel like my support is valued and makes a difference. Bronco treats fan support like a spoiled child who's given a gift. He immediately runs to his room and locks the door so nobody can watch him play, and if his parents (i.e., the administration) make him say thanks for the gift, he does so insincerely and grudgingly. (Now if Bronco were delivering great teams, I wouldn't care, but when you're fielding such thoroughly mediocre teams you don't have the luxury of being a prima donna with fans.)