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Post by GoYotes on May 3, 2021 9:48:47 GMT -6
Football in the spring is no where close to football in the fall as evidenced by only 3400 fans showing up at the big blue empty on a beautiful football weather night. However, football was played and the other 3 Dakota FCS schools were on national TV yesterday.
I watched the SDSU game until midway through the 3rd quarter at which point it was past my bedtime (at my age it takes a couple of days to recover from staying up too late). Also watched most of the NDSU & UND games.
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Post by fightsd on May 3, 2021 10:38:52 GMT -6
The other 3 schools in the Dakotas were on ESPN yesterday playing for a chance to go to Frisco. I don't care if there's an asterisk by this season or not, I would love to have the Yotes still in it.
I get this season was a ridiculous s*** show. But for people to keep downplaying it and dismissing it just makes the fanbase look petty and jealous. Show me somebody that would have rather the season be cancelled instead of being in the playoffs and I'll show you a liar.
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Post by Yote 53 on May 3, 2021 11:08:36 GMT -6
We only played half our games and only ONE home game. Even if you flip the game results to 3-1 instead of 1-3 the season would still be a joke. Add in players, teams, and entire conferences not even participating, teams cancelling their games and seasons randomly. What a farce this was. There were so many things outside of a team's control this season that just "happened" to them that the playing field wasn't even close to being equitable for any of these FCS teams. Hard to persevere through a Covid year when you don't even get the chance to take the field.
Yes, I would have loved to watch USD play yesterday, that still wouldn't change the * put next to this season in the history books. USD's season was canceled by other teams. I will dismiss this season for all the totally legitimate reasons that have been stated.
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Post by fightsd on May 3, 2021 12:27:16 GMT -6
We only played half our games and only ONE home game. Even if you flip the game results to 3-1 instead of 1-3 the season would still be a joke. Add in players, teams, and entire conferences not even participating, teams cancelling their games and seasons randomly. What a farce this was. There were so many things outside of a team's control this season that just "happened" to them that the playing field wasn't even close to being equitable for any of these FCS teams. Hard to persevere through a Covid year when you don't even get the chance to take the field. Yes, I would have loved to watch USD play yesterday, that still wouldn't change the * put next to this season in the history books. USD's season was canceled by other teams. I will dismiss this season for all the totally legitimate reasons that have been stated. I agree with the asterisk and the fact that there were so many things out of USDs control. The part I can't get over and won't dismiss is the pathetic showing we put on in the games we did get to play.
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Post by yoteforever on May 3, 2021 13:49:42 GMT -6
We only played half our games and only ONE home game. Even if you flip the game results to 3-1 instead of 1-3 the season would still be a joke. Add in players, teams, and entire conferences not even participating, teams cancelling their games and seasons randomly. What a farce this was. There were so many things outside of a team's control this season that just "happened" to them that the playing field wasn't even close to being equitable for any of these FCS teams. Hard to persevere through a Covid year when you don't even get the chance to take the field. Yes, I would have loved to watch USD play yesterday, that still wouldn't change the * put next to this season in the history books. USD's season was canceled by other teams. I will dismiss this season for all the totally legitimate reasons that have been stated. I agree with the asterisk and the fact that there were so many things out of USDs control. The part I can't get over and won't dismiss is the pathetic showing we put on in the games we did get to play. If the Coyotes were in the playoffs we would be enthusiastic. No question. There’s also an asterisk on the season but I was a huge proponent of playing it out. NDSU getting Covid the morning of our game was unfortunate. Then through contact tracing we were responsible for not playing 2 games, then Western Illinois just plain quitting was the frosting on the cake. For our players, coaches, and fans it turned out to be a joke, which is unfortunate. Even if we didn’t win another game I would’ve like to see if we improved in any area or made coaching adjustments. Fightsd, you post regularly and by the tone of them I’ll assume you are a former player. It’s a pretty strong statement you make about being pathetic. I’m not making any excuses, but a win at Illinois State was good to see. Winning on the road against a team that was ranked at the time. I understand they probably shouldn’t have been but they were at the time. We won that game with our defense and turnovers. The Missouri State game we should’ve won but made stupid mistakes that cost us a win against a playoff team. North Dakota and Youngstown were awful. Pathetic. Here’s my question and topic for discussion. If you were handed the magic wand, and could orchestrate the next several moves to bring sustained success to USD, what would those moves be? You can’t just say fire so and so and hire so and so. You need to explain the move you make and why. You need to consider the economics of such a move. And add any other relevant move you would undertake to build a foundation built to last.
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Post by fightsd on May 3, 2021 15:54:01 GMT -6
I agree with the asterisk and the fact that there were so many things out of USDs control. The part I can't get over and won't dismiss is the pathetic showing we put on in the games we did get to play. If the Coyotes were in the playoffs we would be enthusiastic. No question. There’s also an asterisk on the season but I was a huge proponent of playing it out. NDSU getting Covid the morning of our game was unfortunate. Then through contact tracing we were responsible for not playing 2 games, then Western Illinois just plain quitting was the frosting on the cake. For our players, coaches, and fans it turned out to be a joke, which is unfortunate. Even if we didn’t win another game I would’ve like to see if we improved in any area or made coaching adjustments. Fightsd, you post regularly and by the tone of them I’ll assume you are a former player. It’s a pretty strong statement you make about being pathetic. I’m not making any excuses, but a win at Illinois State was good to see. Winning on the road against a team that was ranked at the time. I understand they probably shouldn’t have been but they were at the time. We won that game with our defense and turnovers. The Missouri State game we should’ve won but made stupid mistakes that cost us a win against a playoff team. North Dakota and Youngstown were awful. Pathetic. Here’s my question and topic for discussion. If you were handed the magic wand, and could orchestrate the next several moves to bring sustained success to USD, what would those moves be? You can’t just say fire so and so and hire so and so. You need to explain the move you make and why. You need to consider the economics of such a move. And add any other relevant move you would undertake to build a foundation built to last. You are correct in assuming I am a former player. I'm also a season ticket holder and Howling Pack member. I was a part a of some of big wins and some embarrassing losses. Learned a lot from both experiences and fell in love with USD and South Dakota in the process. My criticisms come from a place of hope that this program can get to a level where we are considered equals with the elite teams in the conference. Unfortunately, the XDSUs have been the top tier teams in this league for years. As much as I hate them and wish they would crawl in a hole and die, if you put USD next to either of them, our program does not match up at this point. I've also said on here multiple times that I don't know what the answer is, but I believe it's fair to have the hard conversations about Bob's future at this point. But I like the topic you put out there and I hope other people will join in. I'm not going to do a 'magic wand' vision here because I don't think Nick Saban is looking to relocate to Vermillion. But I will lay out a vision I would like to see and I believe would help elevate the program. 1) This offseason: Reimagine the strength, conditioning, and nutrition programs. If it means 'optional' 2-a-days all summer with weights in the morning an conditioning in the afternoon, so be it. Create a culture of competition amongst the guys that stay in Vermillion by making upper classmen accountable for the progress made. Senior-led practice sessions by position group including competitive drills. 7-on-7 and OL/DL 1-on-1s. Bottom line here: we need to catch up physically. In terms of recruiting, hit the transfer portal hard. Look for immediate difference makers. I don't care if they are 5th year grad transfers, JUCO guys, or whatever. Bring in some talent that can make a difference now. No personnel changes at this point. I've spelled it out here a couple times already, but you don't hire a coach in May. No spring ball and no time to hire his own staff. A coach that is serious about winning is already involved with another program for this season and we definitely don't need a rushed hire. 2) Fall camp: Open up the playbook for Carson Camp. Take the training wheels off of him and let him pull the ball and run some of those zone 'reads' we saw so much of this spring. Commit to running the ball successfully. Focus on winning the line of scrimmage through pure determination and will rather than trying to get cute with schemes and stunts. Defensively, install some blitz packages and get out of this 'bend but don't break' defensive style we've gotten used to. Where we stop the run twice but then are playing soft coverage on a tight end or something on 3rd and 8 and let them pick up an easy 15 yards. Basically, just develop an aggressive defensive mentality that focuses on wreaking havoc - sacks, turnovers, TFLs instead of just keeping everything in front of you. 3) 2021 (Fall) Season: Not much to say here really. Just win baby. I'm not going to put a win threshold here or anything like that, but we need to see NOTICEABLE improvement across the board from what we saw this spring. Use that new talent from the transfer portal and win some games, make some exciting plays, get the fans into the game. Create an electric gameday atmosphere through an exceptional product on the field. Something that will appeal to recruits. We can't get our asses kicked by conference teams at home and expect recruits to buy in to the program. Most of all, avoid embarrassing losses. I don't expect the team to go undefeated, but I do expect them to look like they belong on the field with whoever they are matched up with. 4) After 2021 (Fall) Season: Now is the time for evaluating the coaching situation. I don't know how many wins it would take to convince me that Bob has things headed in the right direction. Regardless, Herbster needs to be closely monitoring the coaching landscape. If I am the AD, I'm looking for a young, high-energy guy. A Sean McVay type personality. Somebody that only comes from winning programs - doesn't understand or accept losing. Even if it looks to be a "stepping stone" in his career, that's the guy I want. He will be motivated to win to keep moving that career forward. I love both Joe Glenn and Bob, but this was/is a golden years job for these guys. Joe came out of retirement and I don't see Bob looking for another head job anywhere after he's done in Vermillion. Financially, if we want to be a big-time program, we will need to act like a big -time program and figure out a way to buy out the multi-year contract Bob is on. Another multi-year contract would help in keeping an up-and-comer in Vermillion long enough to build a winning culture. This is obviously a super high-level plan and I don't have all the answers or details. But I think it captures what I would like to see happen with this program. Our program.
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Post by yoteforever on May 4, 2021 9:16:29 GMT -6
I will state what I believe to be where we are at and what we have to do to get there. For starters, I will say emphatically that Coach Nielsen is the right guy to lead this program. He’s a proven winner wherever he’s been and there’s absolutely no reason to think he’s not going to succeed here. I’ve bet on it. That being said, I would also agree that there has not been development in a 2-3 areas that I think should be. I’m not going to call anyone out but it’s apparent which areas of our team need to come further along.
If I was hired to evaluate and coordinate the status of this program, I would bring in a football expert that has zero ties to the school or current coaching staff. I would ask that each and every sector of this program go through his scrutiny. This “expert” would need to know how football operations run, especially at highly successful programs and also be familiar with the MVFC. Everything would be evaluated from individual coaches, recruiting, strength and development, progression towards degrees, his feeling if the team is all in or not, etc. EVERYTHING would go under the microscope.
Once I had possession of that report, I would make sure I understand in full each and every phase, then share that report with Coach Nielsen and obviously the AD. I would not sell this idea as a grounds for employment but rather a DAY 1 baseline in which to build upon. One example that I can think of, and this is 100% due to budget issues, is our lack of a full time recruiting coordinator. Right now I believe it’s Coach O, but his main job is coaching wide receivers. If I could find the money in the budget, I would hire one full time recruiting coordinator that simply lives and breathes recruiting. This game is relatively simple. You need good players + good coaches + good development. The administration then needs to be able to fund the $ to fund that success.
If the report identified areas of weakness then very simply Coach Nielsen’s job is to address it. That may mean letting someone go or it may mean putting them on a path of growth themselves that carries over into position coaching. If there’s something in the report that involves administration, such as proper meal plans, nutrition, etc...then that is reviewed with AD Herbster. Then that’s his job to find a fix. One area that comes to my mind in light of the racial tensions in this country the past 12 months is having a program that puts our athletes together with local law enforcement officers and just talk. Maybe have supper once a month and get to know each other, trust each other. I have heard many times from the athletes themselves that they do feel they are racially profiled. I’ve also heard from the chief of police that that is not the policy. Probably both sides are correct but by getting together periodically you change that culture. Once ALL athletes feel safe and secure in Vermillion that carries over into recruiting. One thought would be to take a local law enforcement officer each time we travel for away games. Be Coach Nielsen’s guard so to speak. That way that officer could start to get to know the kids on a personal basis away from vermillion.
My personal belief is this changes for the good once we put in place a winning culture with high expectations. The investment in facilities has been made. The Dome is simply out of sight. Very easy to recruit against SDSU and their new gorgeous stadium. Very simply do you want to play in 70 degree weather no wind or snow, or play outside where game day Saturday is a crap shoot. The Dike in Brookings is awfully nice, but they are totally at risk. The weight room and locker rooms are first class. Better than anyone in the MVFC. The one thing that desperately needs to happen, and has been an issue for years, is fan participation. Simply making the DakotaDome a hell hole to play in. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE this. If you haven’t been to a game in Fargo, I guaranty you will walk out of there shaking your head saying holy $hit. Those fans are crazy. And they are. That’s part of a winning culture.
I have preached this for 20 years when in 2000 I told the AD we had to make college football Saturday an experience, not a game. The worlds changed. People want to tailgate and have fun. I think our administration has done a pretty good job of trying to accommodate that, but we can always get better.
In closing Coach Nielsen is under contract for the foreseeable future, and I for one am glad he is. That being said, I do think having an analyst come in and do a total evaluation would be a great way for us to know. If the report says the program us in the tank, then we have to deal with that. If it says some changes absolutely need to be made in this or that area, then ok, we make the changes. I think it would be money well spent and an idea that provide an evaluation of where we are at.
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Post by fightsd on May 4, 2021 10:29:58 GMT -6
I will state what I believe to be where we are at and what we have to do to get there. For starters, I will say emphatically that Coach Nielsen is the right guy to lead this program. He’s a proven winner wherever he’s been and there’s absolutely no reason to think he’s not going to succeed here. I’ve bet on it. That being said, I would also agree that there has not been development in a 2-3 areas that I think should be. I’m not going to call anyone out but it’s apparent which areas of our team need to come further along. If I was hired to evaluate and coordinate the status of this program, I would bring in a football expert that has zero ties to the school or current coaching staff. I would ask that each and every sector of this program go through his scrutiny. This “expert” would need to know how football operations run, especially at highly successful programs and also be familiar with the MVFC. Everything would be evaluated from individual coaches, recruiting, strength and development, progression towards degrees, his feeling if the team is all in or not, etc. EVERYTHING would go under the microscope. Once I had possession of that report, I would make sure I understand in full each and every phase, then share that report with Coach Nielsen and obviously the AD. I would not sell this idea as a grounds for employment but rather a DAY 1 baseline in which to build upon. One example that I can think of, and this is 100% due to budget issues, is our lack of a full time recruiting coordinator. Right now I believe it’s Coach O, but his main job is coaching wide receivers. If I could find the money in the budget, I would hire one full time recruiting coordinator that simply lives and breathes recruiting. This game is relatively simple. You need good players + good coaches + good development. The administration then needs to be able to fund the $ to fund that success. If the report identified areas of weakness then very simply Coach Nielsen’s job is to address it. That may mean letting someone go or it may mean putting them on a path of growth themselves that carries over into position coaching. If there’s something in the report that involves administration, such as proper meal plans, nutrition, etc...then that is reviewed with AD Herbster. Then that’s his job to find a fix. One area that comes to my mind in light of the racial tensions in this country the past 12 months is having a program that puts our athletes together with local law enforcement officers and just talk. Maybe have supper once a month and get to know each other, trust each other. I have heard many times from the athletes themselves that they do feel they are racially profiled. I’ve also heard from the chief of police that that is not the policy. Probably both sides are correct but by getting together periodically you change that culture. Once ALL athletes feel safe and secure in Vermillion that carries over into recruiting. One thought would be to take a local law enforcement officer each time we travel for away games. Be Coach Nielsen’s guard so to speak. That way that officer could start to get to know the kids on a personal basis away from vermillion. My personal belief is this changes for the good once we put in place a winning culture with high expectations. The investment in facilities has been made. The Dome is simply out of sight. Very easy to recruit against SDSU and their new gorgeous stadium. Very simply do you want to play in 70 degree weather no wind or snow, or play outside where game day Saturday is a crap shoot. The Dike in Brookings is awfully nice, but they are totally at risk. The weight room and locker rooms are first class. Better than anyone in the MVFC. The one thing that desperately needs to happen, and has been an issue for years, is fan participation. Simply making the DakotaDome a hell hole to play in. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE this. If you haven’t been to a game in Fargo, I guaranty you will walk out of there shaking your head saying holy $hit. Those fans are crazy. And they are. That’s part of a winning culture. I have preached this for 20 years when in 2000 I told the AD we had to make college football Saturday an experience, not a game. The worlds changed. People want to tailgate and have fun. I think our administration has done a pretty good job of trying to accommodate that, but we can always get better. In closing Coach Nielsen is under contract for the foreseeable future, and I for one am glad he is. That being said, I do think having an analyst come in and do a total evaluation would be a great way for us to know. If the report says the program us in the tank, then we have to deal with that. If it says some changes absolutely need to be made in this or that area, then ok, we make the changes. I think it would be money well spent and an idea that provide an evaluation of where we are at. I like most of what you have to say here, but there are a few areas I would like to address. 1) I like the idea of having an independent consultant come in and take a look at the program from an impartial point of view. For the purpose of the exercise, that's the approach I took when you asked what I would change. Kind of took on that consultant role if you will. 2) I think we got a little off topic with the racial profiling argument. I'm not going to say whether or not that is a problem at the national level, but I refuse to believe it is a significant problem within USD football specifically to be what's been holding this program back. You're ideas of how to build relationships between local law enforcement and the student athletes are great, but I have a hard time connecting the dots between that creating a perennial winner in the MVFC. 3) Recruiting. Our facilities are now top-notch. I have been to all but 1 stadium in the MVFC, and I would put the updated dome above any of them. Unfortunately, facilities are only a piece of the puzzle. When you say it's very easy to recruit against SDSU, I assume you are referring to only comparing facilities. I hate to be a 'glass half-empty' kind of guy, but when you look at our two programs side by side, their recent (last decade or so) history is a big hurdle to overcome in terms of recruiting. 4) Fan participation. We both want the same thing here but it's a 'chicken or the egg' kind of situation. I'm on the side of give the fans something to be excited about. Have a level of play on the field that makes people want to get up and cheer on the team. Assuming again here, but it feels like you fall on the other side of the argument where the fans should be cheering no matter what all the time and willing the team to play harder. For the record, I am a stand up and cheer guy. I never have a voice at work on Mondays after a game, usually not Tuesday either. The reality of our current fan base is that there are a ton a casual fans in the stands. People that enjoy going, but don't let it make or break their whole week like most of us on this board. Those people aren't invested enough to feel like they have to encourage the team when the team isn't producing on the field. To get passionate people in the stands, we need to have a successful program that people can get passionate about. For me, it all comes back to getting a better product on the field. Elevate the level of play, create a standard of winning, and the rest of the pieces will fall into place. We all want the same thing here.
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Post by Yotes on May 4, 2021 18:27:02 GMT -6
Anyone else remember that one time we did have a winning season? I had absolutely no shortage of people looking to go to games with me that year. The fans are going to be the last piece of the puzzle because who wants to spend their entire Saturday making arrangements to watch a subpar product?
Yes, I'm frustrated these "fans" can't be bothered to just support the team. That's how this all works though. We here are among the upper levels of dedication. Most people don't care this much and just want to have fun. Hard to have fun when you lose more often than not.
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Post by Coyote Fan on May 8, 2021 13:27:14 GMT -6
33-3 blowout for the Jacks over Delaware and now they are one win away from the Coyotes worst nightmare. And if recruiting against them wasn't difficult before. The gap between these programs is probably greater now than the first game that the Coyotes played in D1 several years ago.
Some people get kicks out of beating them once or twice every decade. It's not beating them that counts as much as just being a better football program. That part has been virtually impossible.
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Post by captaincoyote on May 8, 2021 18:07:18 GMT -6
I agree that the timing isn't right for firing Coach Nielson, but he has not proven anything to me. And a consultant isn't a bad idea, but it would be very concerning if Coach Nielson can't recognize our program's weaknesses without a consultant.
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Post by Coyote Fan on May 9, 2021 2:18:54 GMT -6
Nielson doesn't really have anything to get motivated for. He has his contract. He got his facility upgrades that he was promised. Now what is he going to do to give back. I just don't see a guy with alot of energy or an identity. He has had time to get to know the conference and hasn't been able to deliver more than mediocre at best results. The odds of him figuring it out go down substancially as he gets older.
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Post by yoteforever on May 9, 2021 14:14:45 GMT -6
Nielson doesn't really have anything to get motivated for. He has his contract. He got his facility upgrades that he was promised. Now what is he going to do to give back. I just don't see a guy with alot of energy or an identity. He has had time to get to know the conference and hasn't been able to deliver more than mediocre at best results. The odds of him figuring it out go down substancially as he gets older. This post,in my opinion, is so wrong. 1.) Do you earnestly and honestly believe Coach Nielson doesn’t have anything to get motivated about? Really? You believe he’s not driven to win? You believe he has no personal pride? 2.) He does have his contract, and there’s many reasons he does. When he was extended the contract, coaches in the Valley were using the old contract against him in recruiting. Saying things like he’s gonna leave...or get fired. The state of South Dakota was not wise in having year to year contracts. Have you read his contract? Can you tell me if there’s performance clauses in it that would allow administration to let him go if he didn’t reach certain benchmarks? Or release him if he did as you suggest and just ate donuts and drank coffee now that he has his contract? 3.) USD football got the upgrades, not Bob Nielson. Those upgrades were made as a long term investment regardless who the coach is. 4.) Coach Nielson is certainly not a rah-rah guy, like Joe Glenn. In fact he’s quite the opposite. Does that make him a worse coach? Really? 5.) He’s knows the Valley inside out. Prior to USD he was coach at Western Illinois. Guess what league that schools in? The results thus far are not what anyone wants, INCLUDING COACH NIELSON. Does that mean you fire him? I don’t know in this day and age where it’s instant gratification and success I guess it does. The man won national titles in D2. He was in the playoffs at Western Illinois. We’ve been in the playoffs once. I agree, I want more. But I have been harping about this for a long time. It’s all about the culture. That has not been built, and if you truly want LONG TERM success and not fleeting success on a periodic basis, the culture has to be there in place. That falls on Bob as well. But cultures aren’t built overnight. The tone of your post in my opinion is negative. Unless a team wins 80% or more of their games you say negative things. Bob is our coach. Until the administration changes that, I’m going to back him every step of the way. And if they do make a change ( for the right reason ) I’ll back whomever they hire at that point in time. I bleed Coyote red. I’ll die Coyote red. Life’s not perfect...never has been, never will be. I will say this in closing, and NO it’s not making excuses. But we have paid the price for some decisions that were made over the last 20 years at different times that we are still paying for. Most likely you might not even know what some of those were. It’s time to hold everyone accountable . Coaches, players, and administration. The football team has everything they need to win. Everything. But to come in a public forum and say what you did is wrong. If you want to say he’s a bad coach based on records, or because of staff or player development ( or lack thereof ), then that’s your opinion. People can respect it or not. But when you come on and basically say he’s got his money so screw everyone else...he’s lazy, uncaring, etc...then that’s an attack on character. Of all people that post on here, I think you’d be most sensitive to character assassination.
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Post by captaincoyote on May 9, 2021 14:25:59 GMT -6
Coyote Fan could have said what he said in more of a questioning manner, but he might be on the right track. None of what Coach Nielson has accomplished in the past means anything to USD and he has had plenty of time to instill the right culture here. Everyone on the team was recruited by him. So why have we not turned the corner? Could it POSSIBLY be that his character does not match what USD Football needs? We probably need a rah rah coach who can help the team believe that they can win more and to stay motivated as well as someone who can instill accountability and strategy.
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Post by yoteforever on May 9, 2021 14:26:47 GMT -6
This is diplomacy
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