Saturday, December 12, 2009
Respect
I am SO annoyed with all the people commenting on UC students' and fans' Facebook statuses regarding the Sugar Bowl and/or Brian Kelly leaving and saying that UC is going to lose to Florida and trying to start crap. Stop being so egotistical and be happy for a football program that went from being nothing to being 12-0 in 3 years. Respect that these football players gave everything they had to earn those wins and shut up about what you think will happen in the game, especially if you are a bitter fan of some team that ISN'T undefeated or ranked #3. UC is going to the Sugar Bowl for the first time ever, has an undefeated record for the first time in school history and all the students, players, fans, faculty and anyone else who considers themselves a Bearcat in any way is just proud that we have come so far. Stop running your mouth and try to have some respect, it's a good virtue to have.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Honesty? Integrity? Oh, really...
In light of Brian Kelly announcing tonight that he has taken the head coach job at Notre Dame, I felt the need to just lay some things out there. These are my personal opinions and viewpoints on the events and the situation:
First of all, the worst thing about the entire situation is not that Kelly is leaving UC. No, that would have been sad, but I could have dealt with it. What I can't deal with is how he boldfaced lied to his team. Straight up to their faces told them he was staying, assured them that if something should change they would be the first to know. Yet the afternoon of the football banquet to honor the seniors that have given this team everything they had this season, reports surface that Kelly is going to Notre Dame. Senior quarterback Tony Pike told the media that he was trusting Kelly, that Coach gave his word to the team that they would be the first to know about his decision and that Pike had no reason to not believe that Kelly would stick to that. Then Kelly told the team he was leaving. Not only were they NOT the first ones to know, they were among the last. I'm sorry, but where's your integrity, Coach? You made a promise and you went back on it. I can only hope that the Notre Dame players see that and learn to take everything you say at face value because who knows what you will actually do? Like the little boy who cried wolf, I don't know when I can trust you and I don't know if I can believe anything that comes out of your mouth. Good luck with that.
Second, people not involved at UC, and even some who are here but just don't get it, keep saying that Kelly had to do what was best for his family. Is Notre Dame really what is best for them? He has two young kids and a wife. Do you really think his kids want to leave their friends and their lives behind? Do you think it's fair to put them through the hell of the bureaucracy of the Notre Dame program? The fact is that Notre Dame has the money and power to tear you apart should you step one toe out of line or bend one little rule they may have. They don't care about you, they want to win. They want Brian Kelly to take them to the National Championship because they are greedy, they could care less about the man under the visor. As far as the money goes, sure, it's a lot more money. But seriously? He was already hitting about a million and a half here. And quite honestly, I think that's REALLY overpaid. (The fact that coaches and athletes are absurdly overpaid in general is a whole other issue.) That's more than enough to live by...in a mansion with maids, butlers, a chauffeur, private school for the kids, the best college funds in the state for those kids, and there's STILL a ton left over. So what are you going to do with twice as much money? I'm really glad that money took precedence over your family, because I sure as hell would be okay with my dad merely making a little over a million dollars and getting to stay with my friends than my dad making three million and having to move my whole life.
Third, Notre Dame is just stupid. All along they said they wanted their new head coach to be two things: a Notre Dame alum and defensive-minded. Kelly is neither. The many hardly spoke to his defense on the sidelines of games. No offense to the defense, but they were weak this year. And that's not necessarily their fault, and it really isn't even Kelly's fault either. Our offense was strong enough to make up for our young and fairly inexperienced defense. But how can you say that there are two stipulations you want in someone and then throw it all out the window? I guess honesty and integrity isn't big with Notre Dame athletics, so after this little stunt Coach Kelly should fit in swimmingly.
Fourth, I really wonder what Kelly would have done if Nebraska had held Texas off. In that one second, if Nebraska had held the lead over Texas and won, we would have been headed to the National Championship. That said, would Kelly still be leaving? Would he really give up coaching in the National Championship to become the head coach of a team with a shitty record for the last three years? As it is, he's giving up the Sugar Bowl. He won't even get to be there, whether UC wins or loses. But what if they win? He will have thrown away a 13-0 season. And what if he never makes a good bowl at Notre Dame? The man isn't Jesus, he can't work miracles. If he does, why don't you go ahead and make Touchdown Kelly on the other side of your stadium?
Fifth, he's been at UC for three years. THREE YEARS. Yes, he brought us here. He helped take the program from one where students could just walk in without a ticket because the idea of selling out Nippert Stadium would cause any UC student, parent, faculty or alum to have an asthma attack from laughing so hard to a program where almost every home game in the 2009 season set a new attendance record at Nippert. But these seniors aren't his seniors. These are the last of Coach Dantonio's recruits. Mardy Gilyard? Dantonio. Tony Pike? Dantonio. He has proven that he can mix his own recruits with some pretty standout inherited recruits, but he hasn't taken his OWN team to a Big East title or a BCS game. Would it have killed him to stick around just a couple more years and prove to everyone that he really is as good as everyone, including him, seems to think? And just think, if he had continued winning like this, taking the Bearcats to BCS bowl games, winning Big East titles, being Coach of the Year in the Big East every year, etc. he could have had all the job offers he could imagine. He probably would have been offered something in the NFL or at least he would have caught the eye of those NFL owners. But as it stands, he's leaving a program that he helped nurture but didn't actually parent and going somewhere where he will be starting over again. What's he going to do, start over every three years? Is this his shtick, he can build a team but he can't maintain one? So what's he going to do with that? Build college football teams all over the country, tell him he will never leave, then ditch them and run because he has commitment issues and do it all over again? Sounds like an awesome life.
Sixth, what makes him think he's any different than any of the other coaches Notre Dame has blown through in the last decade? On ESPN tonight they showed that each of those coaches starts off winning, leading the team to winning seasons and success, but then they flop. So what, you went 12-0 in your last season at UC. Woohoo. Didn't you ever think that maybe it was more than just you? What about all the assistant coaches, the athletic department staff, the athletic directors, the fans and most, of all, the players? They helped build the program, too. Like I said, Brian Kelly is not Jesus. He didn't do it all alone. He wasn't putting his body on the line for his teammates every day and he wasn't faced with the pressure of catching game-winning receptions and making game-turning tackles. He didn't tape up the twisted ankles or ice the swollen joints, massage the tight muscles or fit the braces on the knees of his players. He didn't buy a ticket to watch the game, helping to sell out Nippert and he didn't lead the stadium in the fight song, the alma matter or Down the Drive. (In fact, he never responded to any cheering, even his own name being chanted by the entire student section. Again, that's a whole other subject.) So who's to say Notre Dame isn't going to fire him in 3 years? Oh, what's that excuse you're whining now that you're getting fired after only a few years? You think 3 years isn't enough time to prove yourself? Oh, funny, because you left your job of 3 years before because you thought that your work in those three years proved how good you were. Does that mean that that 12-0 season was a fluke, that we got lucky? I don't think so. Our boys don't deserve the accusation of luck.
And finally, I'm calling you out, Brian Kelly. You thought I was calling you out in the rest of this blog? Wrong. I was merely stating my views and asking some questions, playing out a few scenarios. But here's the part where I illustrate to you just how much of a douche you are. Last year you gave Coach Rodriguez crap for leaving his team high and dry right before their bowl game. Yet here you sit, doing the exact same thing. That, my friend, is called hypocrisy. And you have displayed it to it's finest. You lied. You told your team, the guys who followed you through rain and snow, who trusted you with their futures, their lives, that you would give them the decency of telling them first if you decided to leave. But you didn't. You broke their trust and you went back on your word. And not only did you lie, but you had the nerve to say that our program is built on honesty and integrity and you were glad to be a part of that program? No. I'm sorry, but in one night you showed your true colors and you showed that honesty and integrity mean nothing to you. So that's yet another lie you told. Well good riddance. If our program is built on honesty and integrity, as you say it is, then it's pretty good you're leaving, in my opinion, since you clearly don't possess those attributes. It's too bad, really, because UC would have - and has - given you everything you want. But you threw it all away to go coach some crappy team with too many rules. Good luck with that. Pack your bags and get out of my city.
As always,
T
"Pain is temporary. Pride is forever."
"People don't play sports because its fun. Ask any athlete, most of them hate it, but they couldn't imagine their life with out it. Its part of them, the love/hate relationship. its what they live for. They live for the practices, parties, long bus rides, invitationals, countless pairs of different types of shoes, water, Gatorade, & coaches you hate but appreciate. They live for the way it feels when they beat the other team, and knowing those two extra sprints they ran in practice were worth it. They live for the way they become a family with their team, they live for the countless songs they sing in their head while training all those hours. They live for the competition, they live for the friends, the practices, the memories, the pain, its who they are. It's who we are. WE ARE ATHLETES."
-Adidas
First of all, the worst thing about the entire situation is not that Kelly is leaving UC. No, that would have been sad, but I could have dealt with it. What I can't deal with is how he boldfaced lied to his team. Straight up to their faces told them he was staying, assured them that if something should change they would be the first to know. Yet the afternoon of the football banquet to honor the seniors that have given this team everything they had this season, reports surface that Kelly is going to Notre Dame. Senior quarterback Tony Pike told the media that he was trusting Kelly, that Coach gave his word to the team that they would be the first to know about his decision and that Pike had no reason to not believe that Kelly would stick to that. Then Kelly told the team he was leaving. Not only were they NOT the first ones to know, they were among the last. I'm sorry, but where's your integrity, Coach? You made a promise and you went back on it. I can only hope that the Notre Dame players see that and learn to take everything you say at face value because who knows what you will actually do? Like the little boy who cried wolf, I don't know when I can trust you and I don't know if I can believe anything that comes out of your mouth. Good luck with that.
Second, people not involved at UC, and even some who are here but just don't get it, keep saying that Kelly had to do what was best for his family. Is Notre Dame really what is best for them? He has two young kids and a wife. Do you really think his kids want to leave their friends and their lives behind? Do you think it's fair to put them through the hell of the bureaucracy of the Notre Dame program? The fact is that Notre Dame has the money and power to tear you apart should you step one toe out of line or bend one little rule they may have. They don't care about you, they want to win. They want Brian Kelly to take them to the National Championship because they are greedy, they could care less about the man under the visor. As far as the money goes, sure, it's a lot more money. But seriously? He was already hitting about a million and a half here. And quite honestly, I think that's REALLY overpaid. (The fact that coaches and athletes are absurdly overpaid in general is a whole other issue.) That's more than enough to live by...in a mansion with maids, butlers, a chauffeur, private school for the kids, the best college funds in the state for those kids, and there's STILL a ton left over. So what are you going to do with twice as much money? I'm really glad that money took precedence over your family, because I sure as hell would be okay with my dad merely making a little over a million dollars and getting to stay with my friends than my dad making three million and having to move my whole life.
Third, Notre Dame is just stupid. All along they said they wanted their new head coach to be two things: a Notre Dame alum and defensive-minded. Kelly is neither. The many hardly spoke to his defense on the sidelines of games. No offense to the defense, but they were weak this year. And that's not necessarily their fault, and it really isn't even Kelly's fault either. Our offense was strong enough to make up for our young and fairly inexperienced defense. But how can you say that there are two stipulations you want in someone and then throw it all out the window? I guess honesty and integrity isn't big with Notre Dame athletics, so after this little stunt Coach Kelly should fit in swimmingly.
Fourth, I really wonder what Kelly would have done if Nebraska had held Texas off. In that one second, if Nebraska had held the lead over Texas and won, we would have been headed to the National Championship. That said, would Kelly still be leaving? Would he really give up coaching in the National Championship to become the head coach of a team with a shitty record for the last three years? As it is, he's giving up the Sugar Bowl. He won't even get to be there, whether UC wins or loses. But what if they win? He will have thrown away a 13-0 season. And what if he never makes a good bowl at Notre Dame? The man isn't Jesus, he can't work miracles. If he does, why don't you go ahead and make Touchdown Kelly on the other side of your stadium?
Fifth, he's been at UC for three years. THREE YEARS. Yes, he brought us here. He helped take the program from one where students could just walk in without a ticket because the idea of selling out Nippert Stadium would cause any UC student, parent, faculty or alum to have an asthma attack from laughing so hard to a program where almost every home game in the 2009 season set a new attendance record at Nippert. But these seniors aren't his seniors. These are the last of Coach Dantonio's recruits. Mardy Gilyard? Dantonio. Tony Pike? Dantonio. He has proven that he can mix his own recruits with some pretty standout inherited recruits, but he hasn't taken his OWN team to a Big East title or a BCS game. Would it have killed him to stick around just a couple more years and prove to everyone that he really is as good as everyone, including him, seems to think? And just think, if he had continued winning like this, taking the Bearcats to BCS bowl games, winning Big East titles, being Coach of the Year in the Big East every year, etc. he could have had all the job offers he could imagine. He probably would have been offered something in the NFL or at least he would have caught the eye of those NFL owners. But as it stands, he's leaving a program that he helped nurture but didn't actually parent and going somewhere where he will be starting over again. What's he going to do, start over every three years? Is this his shtick, he can build a team but he can't maintain one? So what's he going to do with that? Build college football teams all over the country, tell him he will never leave, then ditch them and run because he has commitment issues and do it all over again? Sounds like an awesome life.
Sixth, what makes him think he's any different than any of the other coaches Notre Dame has blown through in the last decade? On ESPN tonight they showed that each of those coaches starts off winning, leading the team to winning seasons and success, but then they flop. So what, you went 12-0 in your last season at UC. Woohoo. Didn't you ever think that maybe it was more than just you? What about all the assistant coaches, the athletic department staff, the athletic directors, the fans and most, of all, the players? They helped build the program, too. Like I said, Brian Kelly is not Jesus. He didn't do it all alone. He wasn't putting his body on the line for his teammates every day and he wasn't faced with the pressure of catching game-winning receptions and making game-turning tackles. He didn't tape up the twisted ankles or ice the swollen joints, massage the tight muscles or fit the braces on the knees of his players. He didn't buy a ticket to watch the game, helping to sell out Nippert and he didn't lead the stadium in the fight song, the alma matter or Down the Drive. (In fact, he never responded to any cheering, even his own name being chanted by the entire student section. Again, that's a whole other subject.) So who's to say Notre Dame isn't going to fire him in 3 years? Oh, what's that excuse you're whining now that you're getting fired after only a few years? You think 3 years isn't enough time to prove yourself? Oh, funny, because you left your job of 3 years before because you thought that your work in those three years proved how good you were. Does that mean that that 12-0 season was a fluke, that we got lucky? I don't think so. Our boys don't deserve the accusation of luck.
And finally, I'm calling you out, Brian Kelly. You thought I was calling you out in the rest of this blog? Wrong. I was merely stating my views and asking some questions, playing out a few scenarios. But here's the part where I illustrate to you just how much of a douche you are. Last year you gave Coach Rodriguez crap for leaving his team high and dry right before their bowl game. Yet here you sit, doing the exact same thing. That, my friend, is called hypocrisy. And you have displayed it to it's finest. You lied. You told your team, the guys who followed you through rain and snow, who trusted you with their futures, their lives, that you would give them the decency of telling them first if you decided to leave. But you didn't. You broke their trust and you went back on your word. And not only did you lie, but you had the nerve to say that our program is built on honesty and integrity and you were glad to be a part of that program? No. I'm sorry, but in one night you showed your true colors and you showed that honesty and integrity mean nothing to you. So that's yet another lie you told. Well good riddance. If our program is built on honesty and integrity, as you say it is, then it's pretty good you're leaving, in my opinion, since you clearly don't possess those attributes. It's too bad, really, because UC would have - and has - given you everything you want. But you threw it all away to go coach some crappy team with too many rules. Good luck with that. Pack your bags and get out of my city.
As always,
T
"Pain is temporary. Pride is forever."
"People don't play sports because its fun. Ask any athlete, most of them hate it, but they couldn't imagine their life with out it. Its part of them, the love/hate relationship. its what they live for. They live for the practices, parties, long bus rides, invitationals, countless pairs of different types of shoes, water, Gatorade, & coaches you hate but appreciate. They live for the way it feels when they beat the other team, and knowing those two extra sprints they ran in practice were worth it. They live for the way they become a family with their team, they live for the countless songs they sing in their head while training all those hours. They live for the competition, they live for the friends, the practices, the memories, the pain, its who they are. It's who we are. WE ARE ATHLETES."
-Adidas
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
It's Life
You say you don't want to hurt me
Don't want to see my tears
So why are you still standing here
Just watching me drown?
And it's alright, yeah I'll be fine
Don't worry about this heart of mine
Just take your love and hit the road
There's nothing you can do or say
You're gonna break my heart anyway
So just leave the pieces when you go
-Leave the Pieces by The Wreckers
After recent discussions with friends and different events occurring in my own life these lyrics really jumped out at me today and got me thinking. As a girl, I love to be protected, to have a guy in my life who looks out for me, to have that special bond with someone so that when you are standing with them or sitting with them you know they are with you and you have the comfort of their presence. But I'm also very independent. I don't like to be mothered or patronized or overprotected. I can take care of myself and I don't have to depend on anyone because I know who I am and I am capable of getting what I need and where I need to go. That being said, just because I am capable of something doesn't necessarily mean I want to go it alone. There needs to be a balance.
While I appreciate being protected from situations and I understand that you care for me and don't want to see me hurt, you also need to understand that you can't protect me from the world, and you don't need to. Some of the best things in life come from mistakes and without mistakes we have nothing to learn from. It's a necessary part of life.
So yes, I get that you don't want to get me mixed up in your personal issues. I love that you care enough about me to try to keep me out of situations that are tough enough for you to be involved in, let alone me as well. But at some point you have to let me in. While you might be saving me from some sort of harm, you're making it hard for me because I don't want to see you hurt either. I don't know how to help you if you won't be open with me. And I hate to see you hurt just as much as you don't want to see me hurt. Just because you want me to be sheltered from something doesn't mean you have to take the full brunt of a situation yourself. Two is stronger than one, and you can still protect me while letting me help you. Balance. It's the only way to make things work.
On another note, the other thing the lyrics got me thinking about is time. Yes, we have plenty of time in our lives. I'm a slow mover, I like to let things take their course and if they are meant to be, I trust that they will happen. But at some point you have to make a decision. Either you want something or you don't. You either want to be with me or you don't. And yeah, maybe it will hurt you or maybe it will hurt me, but drawing it out longer isn't going to help anyone. Trust me, I've been there. It just hurts more to drag things on. We all hurt, we all inflict pain. It's something everyone has to deal with. So if you have something to say, just say it. Be honest. Sure, I've had my heart broken. But so have millions of billions of other people. We grieve, we get angry, we sulk, and then we suck it up, mend ourselves, and we move on. It's a part of life.
This was sort of random, but I guess that's just how my mind works. Bedtime now.
T
Don't want to see my tears
So why are you still standing here
Just watching me drown?
And it's alright, yeah I'll be fine
Don't worry about this heart of mine
Just take your love and hit the road
There's nothing you can do or say
You're gonna break my heart anyway
So just leave the pieces when you go
-Leave the Pieces by The Wreckers
After recent discussions with friends and different events occurring in my own life these lyrics really jumped out at me today and got me thinking. As a girl, I love to be protected, to have a guy in my life who looks out for me, to have that special bond with someone so that when you are standing with them or sitting with them you know they are with you and you have the comfort of their presence. But I'm also very independent. I don't like to be mothered or patronized or overprotected. I can take care of myself and I don't have to depend on anyone because I know who I am and I am capable of getting what I need and where I need to go. That being said, just because I am capable of something doesn't necessarily mean I want to go it alone. There needs to be a balance.
While I appreciate being protected from situations and I understand that you care for me and don't want to see me hurt, you also need to understand that you can't protect me from the world, and you don't need to. Some of the best things in life come from mistakes and without mistakes we have nothing to learn from. It's a necessary part of life.
So yes, I get that you don't want to get me mixed up in your personal issues. I love that you care enough about me to try to keep me out of situations that are tough enough for you to be involved in, let alone me as well. But at some point you have to let me in. While you might be saving me from some sort of harm, you're making it hard for me because I don't want to see you hurt either. I don't know how to help you if you won't be open with me. And I hate to see you hurt just as much as you don't want to see me hurt. Just because you want me to be sheltered from something doesn't mean you have to take the full brunt of a situation yourself. Two is stronger than one, and you can still protect me while letting me help you. Balance. It's the only way to make things work.
On another note, the other thing the lyrics got me thinking about is time. Yes, we have plenty of time in our lives. I'm a slow mover, I like to let things take their course and if they are meant to be, I trust that they will happen. But at some point you have to make a decision. Either you want something or you don't. You either want to be with me or you don't. And yeah, maybe it will hurt you or maybe it will hurt me, but drawing it out longer isn't going to help anyone. Trust me, I've been there. It just hurts more to drag things on. We all hurt, we all inflict pain. It's something everyone has to deal with. So if you have something to say, just say it. Be honest. Sure, I've had my heart broken. But so have millions of billions of other people. We grieve, we get angry, we sulk, and then we suck it up, mend ourselves, and we move on. It's a part of life.
This was sort of random, but I guess that's just how my mind works. Bedtime now.
T
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