Everyone was POed when the Buffs got their butts kicked by the Cal Bears this past Saturday. But one guy took it too far. (I regret even printing this, because in effect he is getting more attention due to it.)
As the ColoradoDaily reports (http://www.coloradodaily.com/cu-boulder/ci_16085432#axzz0zfA7p7WE) this student from the University of Colorado decided to travel to the game to catch some California sun and maybe a little football. And once CU lost, he decided in his peanut-sized brain that it was a good idea to email Athletic Director Mike Bohn to get his money back.
Okay, lets get some things straight first. He admitted to taking the idea from a season ticket holder at Oregon last year when the Ducks went into Boise State and lost. The Oregon fan was an alumni of OU, so he obviously has a good head on his shoulders. Kid probably is getting his degree in COMM. He was mad at a team that would go on to lose in the Rose Bowl to Ohio St; so this could have legitimately held them from winning a national title. CU, by no means, is supposed to be good or even expected to win this game. And didn’t even end up cashing the check, knowing the full effect of this gesture was way beyond him into what Chip Kelly and the Oregon program stands for. Will he cash it?
Ha, he already called his mom to tell her he was in the paper. She didn’t care.
David Plati ended up responding the fan and was rather short and spoke to the kid in a while I wish it would have happened in person. In the article he is quoted as saying,
“That does not even deserve a response”, also "In all sports, there are no guarantees on the back of any ticket that says the home team must win or your money back or the person's favorite team," and finally my personal favorite, "Sounds like someone wants his 15 minutes of fame.”
This story is not a feel good story and won’t be a headline on many, if any newspapers. And this is the way it should be. Plati knows the prestige of the University of Colorado, although many of the young fans don’t.
[Side note: The University of Colorado is one of the more prestigious athletic programs in the Nation. Yes, the NATION. The Buffaloes were and still are a dynasty in many minds, including mine. We are just in a lull and will return to the promiseland soon enough. All they need is support and belief.
Think about this… Coach Hawkins has had a price on his head for a few years now, and possibly rightly so. He hasn’t produced in the way a program like this one should. But him asking for an extension was the right move. If we give him support and don’t pull the chair out from under him he will find a way to win. The Buffs will be back as a football powerhouse. And Hawkins just wants an extension Bill McCartney got. We interviewed Coach McC today and talked about all the good years; 1990 and the National Title, Rasham Salaam’s Heisman Trophy, and the glory days. But we forget that McCartney went 4-7, 2-8 and 1-10 the first three years as head coach. And after that third year he got an extension and the program somehow turned around after that. You think there may be a correlation???
And another thing, Bill McCartney is a LEGEND. He is an incredible man, with high unfathomable values. He quit college football, his passion, to be more involved in Promise Keepers, where he was ‘uniting men to become "godly influences" in the world’. I’m truly lucky to meet him.]
Money-Back Fan
ReplyDeleteGive the kid his money back for making the trip IF he gives it all to CU's quarterback Hansen or running backs for ice and pain pills. Those poor guys were run over by a train. 6'8" and 6'9" linemen "might" make good defensive linemen and lumberjacks, but not offensive linemen. Just look at the "Replacements" movie - those offensive linemen were WIDE bodies (and wide heads in those helmets). Quarterbacks have to be able to see over the offensive line when they get stood up and pushed back.
Coach Hawk
Coach Hawk is a good man. And, probably a decent football coach. But, the judgement he made with quarterback selection at the expense of the other kids that came to CU has to be considered in the overall assessment. What might have been a good "athletic" opportunity for one kid (probably would have have had better "athletic" experience somewhere else anyway) can't overshadow what happened "athletically" to 50 or 60 other kids for the past few years.
I made the "athletic" distinction because the other "how to deal with adversity" lessons that Coach Hawk has taught these kids probably have more long-term value than the missed potential "athletic" achievements.
I realize that it is easy to analyze "after the fact" and from the sidelines, but this conclusion was too predictable. You are correct about CU being a top 30 program, so the "athletic" potential is great and can be combined with other life learning lessons - even in the Big 12 or Pac 12. The proof is in the Coach Mac story. Maybe Coach Hawk can do it, but it will take another 4 years to find out - do you have the patience?
Coaching
You got to meet Coach Mac? Good for you.