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Been a great week of high (and I mean HIGH as in altitude) adventure here in the Bernese Alps.  My pal Ruedi took me along to the beautiful Kandersteg area upon the invitation of our friend Evelyne.

The day started off with Evelyne meeting us with her friend Tessie and both of their dogs!  Oh boy.  After about a thirty or forty minute-drive we arrived at a wonderfully scenic area behind the mountains I see every day.  These mountains are just as beautiful from the backside as they are from the front.  (OK so maybe that didn’t come out right … but these are some awesome views.)

We take a short train ride to an elevated station and then travel upwards on a cable car on this beautiful clear day.  We all pile out with our two rambunctious pups … I can see Evelyne will have her hands full with her powerful young dog.

As we untangle ourselves from leashes, coats and backpacks Evelyne explains that this area is where she had grown up and also worked in the various restaurants and shops on this mountaintop.

Our plan was to hike down from Kandersteg to the bottom where her brother and his wife operate a restaurant on the beautiful mountain lake Oeschinen.  Piece of cake right.

Well, I am figuring on a nice 15-minute descent with some pleasant conversation among picture perfect scenery.  Well, I got the scenery part right …. However more like 40 minutes and Evelyne’s dog trying to eat e very blade of grass and stick (among other things) along the way.  Tessie’s little dog was perfectly behaved.

Now, the plan was to sit down and eat at Evelyne’s brother’s restaurant.  Truly, it is an amazing place – right on the lake with a number of beautiful rooms to rent in a great location right next to the restaurant.  Absolutely perfect!

Well, as you know walking down a steep incline for forty-minutes is going to be much more difficult and time consuming going up.  So, I am figuring a quick bite to eat … maybe just a beer and an ice cream – then back up to the top again.

Nah, not so fast Lone Ranger.  After a few beers and a home-made pasta dish for me … some Schnitzel for Ruedi and meals for the others.  We are now completely stuffed – this was one of those heavy meals I was going to regret.  Meanwhile, I am thinking about going back up that damn mountain.

Well, up we went after some doubts about our heavy caloric intake.  Well, it was a tough slog uphill but we made it back to the top.  I know I was pretty much shot by the time we finished.  Evelyne had to contend with her ever curious dog and I am sure Ruedi and Tessie had to feel like I did.

We regroup and then stumble onto the cable car … travel down the impressive mountainside … slip onto the train and then make it back to our cars.

After making it back home Ruedi and I both agree it was a fabulous day … but, it was going to be early to bed for both of us!

So, on Tuesday I decide I am going to take a trip to see the Eiger.

Well, for those of you as old as me you remember there was a Clint Eastwood movie called the “Eiger Sanction.”

It was made in the early 70’s with Clint as an Art professor (Huh??? yeah) who was a retired assassin (more like it!)…. and a mountaineer on top of that! (Book written by Trevanian).

Anyway it was filmed on location at the Eiger (a mountain by the way) and Zurich as well.

Heck I want to see the Eiger.

So, I get out my trusty train schedule and plot a trip from the Thun Bahnhof to the Eiger. Looks pretty straight forward.

But, as many of you have learned nothing that has to do with travel is ever really that easy with Donny the C!

Somehow, I get the journey screwed up. Everything looks fine until the train makes a final stop … yes they announced a “Final Stop” and everyone off.

Well, “hells bells” – this isn’t the Eiger!

Nope the village of Lauterbrunner.

But, wait a minute – it is an absolutely beautiful backdrop between cliffs.

Plus there are mountains up ahead. What the heck … it ain’t the Eiger. But, it is Switzerland! And everything in Switzerland is from a post card.

So off I go hiking around and checking the place out – it is pretty damn pretty here!

Then I find out they filmed part of the James Bond movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” here in Lauterbrunner (I am just a font of knowledge! Hah!)

So I trade in Clint Eastwood for “Bond…James Bond!” Not too bad!

                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

Hey, congrats to the Thun Tigers U-16 team.  After traveling to Geneva on the long bus ride to face the Seahawks we come away with an important win!

It was a great day for the entire club as our guys outplayed a powerful Seahawk team.  Our “troops” were tough.  Although things did not go our way from the
defensive perspective the persistence eventually payed off.

We remain undefeated … but have our canton rival – Bern Grizzlies –  coming up in a few weeks.   We will need to be on our top game to have a chance to win against them.  But, I can assure you this football team will be ready.

Renato does a great job leading the team as the head coach and defensive coordinator.  He is assisted on defense by Daniel who like Renato play safety on our
Senior team.  Nic directs the offense as the coordinator and he is our QB for the Seniors – he is helped by my friends Simon and Lukas who are also Senior players.

These guys do a fantastic job coaching the young players.  They really are great teachers and are
contributing so much to the
entire club.  Both as players and in developing the young talent for the future of the Thun Tigers.

I have the easy job of acting as head cheerleader, water boy and supplying the Ric Flair “Whooo” when things are going well!  (Oh yeah – I was in charge of bringing the beer for the coaches on our bus ride home!)

Check out the bus we have for traveling.  Yup … that’s a double decker!

What a great day for football in Switzerland – XXXV Swiss Bowl (If my Roman Numeral knowledge serves me correctly that is 35 … thanks to my second-grade teacher Sister Anna Maria at St. Ann’s of Newark, NJ!)

Yes, football has been alive and well in Europe and Switzerland in particular for a long time!

The weather was just beautiful for a fine double header of football at Basel’s great Sports Complex!  Sunny and warm October afternoon just perfect to watch the top teams in the U19 division and Senior A-League division square off to see who are the best!

The Basel Gladiators and the Calanda Broncos played in the Junior final and that was followed by the Big Game – which pitted the Bern Grizzlies against the Calanda Broncos.  The Broncos had both of their teams playing on this Championship Saturday.

Many of the teams in the SAFV (Swiss American Football Verband) are well managed clubs.  The Broncos, Gladiators and Grizzlies certainly fall into that grouping.  Very good players supported by solid coaches and thoughtful administrative personnel.

Personally, I feel the Thun Tigers also fall into this category as well.  Our first year president Nadia took over a sound group from Dan Frey and she continues to strengthen the board and develop our core with innovative ideas and common sense!

The future is bright for our team located in the beautiful city of Thun on the Thunersee at the mouth of the River Aare!  Great things are being achieved right now and there is much more to come!

My friend Stephan (the Tiger Senior team coach) drove Nadia (Madame President) and me from our town to the city of Basel for the game.  Driving along the highway I was looking out at the sun drenched (Hey I was an English major I need to put some of the Muhlenberg education to work … plus I always wanted to write “sun drenched” hah!) countryside.  Although I rarely reflect too much … I had to think …If you would have told me five years ago I would be living in Switzerland and coaching football – well I would never have even considered it possible!

But here I am … having an experience of a lifetime while waking up every single day in a post card! Continually making new friends and being able to coach and learn more about football than I ever thought possible.  Yup DNP (“Damn Near Perfect”).

Both games were exciting and the teams battled like you would expect top teams would.  Many people expected the Broncos from Chur to prevail in the Senior game and they did.  Their Junior team was undefeated and although Basel gave them all they could handle the Broncos one that one as well.

There was a very good crowd and it truly was a festive atmosphere throughout.  A  great grill and plenty of beer to be had — but still have to say the Thun Tiger Grill Masters are the best.

My friend Mike had his merchandising area set up (more about “swag” later).  Just an excellent arrangement!  Anything you could want from Swiss football available.  T-shirts, footballs, trinkets, souvenirs and everything else.

Another friend Claudio is the President of the SAFV and he had to be proud of this special day in Switzerland.  His ability to pull off such an impressive event is certainly a feather in his cap and will undoubtedly draw some more attention to our steadily growing niche of football.

In the four short years I have been privledged to be part of football in Switzerland it is so impressive to see the improvement in the game.  The number of players continues to grow dramatically and the level of play is markedly better.  This is due to many factors, but much credit goes to the coaching fraternity that is beginning to flourish here.

Again, you also have to credit the clubs as well.  With presidents like we have in Nadia, my friend Olaf of the Zurich Renegades, Fulgenzio with the Midland Bouncers and so many others.  There are even greater things ahead for the SAFV and the players within its ranks.

Like I said the two games were great as the teams fought it out on the sun dappled field (always wanted to say “sun dappled” as well – thanks to being that Muhlenberg English major!)  What a great afternoon!

For me – another great part of the day and evening was catching up with so many friends I have met here in Switzerland.  Toi say that football is a small community … well yeah to some degree.  I enjoyed sitting in the stands with Stephan and Nadia.  Joined by my “Paul Bunyan-like” friend Renato (St. Gallen’s Bears) and former Swiss national coach Michel.

Then running across Claudio (SAFV president), Mo Boller (Calanda assistant)  Danny (Calanda), Olaf and Alonso (Zurich), John (Bern) and so many others.  Just a great day for reminiscing and visiting.  There are so many others I saw as well.

One highlight was catching up with my good friend Walti from Calanda.  He has so many championship rings his fingers are stretched.  We had a fantastic time having a few beers and reliving our times one the Swiss national staff.

Just a wonderful day of football for a broken down old coach.

I have to mention my friends who are referees as well.  As football expands anywhere you need great people stepping up to officiate the games.  Guess what without refs – there are no games.  I visited with many of these men and women before the game … so proud of them as they also build and get better.  Special recognition to my old friend Jenns who has always been supportive of the Swiss football community – but also of my adventures here.

Then, there is my friend Sergio who is one of the best sports photographers in Europe.  He was taking photos of the game and we had several laughs about our friendship and the state of football in Switzerland.  The guy has an amazing way of capturing the game in pictures.

Last, but not least my friend Mike.  He runs an outstanding merchandizing enterprise in my second homeland.  I turned over a Michigan State hoodie and I made out even better.  A hat, Swiss national football jersey with my old college number (31) and my name emblazoned on the back.  How can you beat that.  I owe him some more stuff from the US after that.

Trust me … an exhausting – but wonderful sun splashed (hah … another English major phrase) day here in the Alps!

 

A great way to open up the Playoff season for the Thun Tigers as they defeated the visitors from Lugano by a big score.  The visitors had to come four hours by bus to take on the purple clad Tigers on their home pitch at Lachenstadion on the banks of Lake Thun.

The Tigers were just too much for the tired Rebels from the canton of Ticino.  The defense stopped the opening drive and forced a short punt giving the Tigers good field position to start.  It only took a few plays and Thun had jumped out to a lead.

This pattern continued throughout the first half as the outmanned Rebels were unable to mount any serious attack on the Thun defense.  The visitors also found out that there was little they could do to stop the versatile and well balanced Tiger offense.

Nic continued with his outstanding season under center with his accurate throwing and timely scrambles – pushing the home team to a big halftime lead.  Lugano just had no answer for the three-headed monster that is the Tiger running game.  Timeo, Noah and Luca were just unstoppable carving out huge chunks of yardage everywhere on the field.

The receivers were also very active with everyone chipping in catches and key blocks everywhere.  To say the offensive line was good would be understating the power they show on the field.  Mathieu and Marcel have coached these guys to play at a high level and they do.

Defensively the Tigers were just stifling … Albin’s crew completely closed off a pretty good offensive group that did a good job of utilizing formations to try and confuse our defense.  But that just wasn’t going to happen with our two experienced safeties – Renato and Daniel making adjustments and insuring that we were aligned correctly throughout the game.

Albin has great support with his defensive coaches – Toni and Rolph.  They help their positions throughout the game and free him up to concentrate on calling the game.

Really the Tiger defense chipped in with several big plays – interceptions, sacks, fumbles and solid tackling.  Plus, a blocked punt that resulted in a touchdown.

Honestly, just a very solid team win from beginning to end!

***

A really neat thing about coaching football is you make friends everywhere.    A few years ago I assisted coaching the Swiss Junior National Team in the European regional championships in The Netherlands.  It was a tremendous experience.

Now, on the Lugano team there were two players who played for the Swiss Junior National team and they contributed to a big win against the Dutch in Amsterdam!  After the game we had a great visit.  Also reconnected with one of the talented Rebel receivers (who by the way is a plastic surgeon in his real life)!

It was fun to see our players on the Tigers who also played on that Junior National team of Switzerland see their old friends who played for Lugano.  We may be opponents on the field – but there is no doubt about our close friendship we developed a few years ago!

***

Although I am scheduled to leave before the next playoff game a week from now – this team is destined to continue on their march forward.  They play with great passion and have a great sense of togetherness as a team.  This community can certainly be proud of the Tigers.

I have learned so much from the entire Tiger organization – the club management, coaches and players of the U16, U19 and the big guys of the “Erste Mannschaft!”  Just been a great experience!

As Ric Flair would exclaim “Whoooo!”

A few more days in my second homeland and it will be time to start some new (mis)adventures.  As the late great Jerry Jeff Walker had said … “Just keep on for keepin on!”  No doubt that that is going to happen!

Just “Keep On!”

In about my sixth or seventh year of coaching with the Detroit Lions one fall my Dad had come to Detroit from Pennsylvania for a visit.  He and his wife Judy spent a week or two with us and obviously he went to see some games, and he also came to work with me to watch how this professional football thing worked.

As I recall he came with me for a Friday practice and Wayne Fontes our head coach was his usual gracious self – inviting Dad in on any meetings and work sessions we had for the day.  One thing you can count on with Wayne – he was always available and he made most parts of our operation open to anyone his assistant coaches brought around.

Friday is a pretty relaxed (but fiercely focused) day whether it was the meetings or practice.  The pace is high, but everything is shortened down to top off the week for the players.  It is also the only day the coaches get to go home at a normal time.

Most people think I am joking when I tell them that in the NFL the short day (Friday) is only from six to eight hours unlike some of the mega-days you have during the earlier part of the week.

Many fans don’t realize that it is a seven-day a week job.  I believe they think we just show up and then try to figure out what we do on the day of the game.  I guess sometimes it may appear that way when they watch the games.

In reality, the coaches have no days off unless there is a bye week or a Thursday game.  Yup, it’s seven days a week from July until at least January.  Trust me I am not bitching here – this is a fact of life for 32 coaching staffs throughout the NFL.  No complaining it is just the grind of the season.

Although the players are required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement to have one day off – the coaches do not.  This is why many rookie players – and first year pro football coaches – start to fade when you hit Thanksgiving.  When you pass Turkey Day you still have five weeks to go!

Well, my Dad got to see a pretty compressed day of how we operated.  Obviously later we discussed what he had seen and I was curious to his observations.  Aside from the size and speed of the players he saw close up and their skills during practice (which is unpadded on Fridays) he was impressed with the organization of the day.

Now you have to understand that my father is an electrical engineer and he is very smart.  Academics are of utmost importance in his mind for children in this country.  To this day he was disappointed that only one of his four kids ever did anything worthwhile in school.  (Which one of us … I’ll leave that up to you – and it isn’t me.)

But our discussion was centered about the teaching and coaching and how we went about it in football.  Being someone who put a premium on education (especially math) he was taken aback that I thought coaches were good teachers and our system might be the best way to train (educate) people.

He disagreed with my comment.  Now, he has been around his sons playing football for most of our lives so, he knows about the game.  He is not an amateur.

For instance, he knows that unlike the Madden players and people who play fantasy football we don’t just get together on Sunday, put the pads on, roll the ball out and then smash into each other senselessly.  We don’t have random drafts to acquire players, we don’t invent plays during the game – there are things like scouting, practicing and yeah that thing called the salary cap.

I pointed out to him that when you are an educator in a school you have a basic premise on how you instruct and develop a student.

In simple terms – first you present the information to your class.

In this stage, you obviously use as many different methods as you have at hand to try and reach each pupil.  Relying on books, computers, Power Points, slides, and video.  You have to find a way to reach the kids you are teaching.

Teachers have lesson plans they and train their pupils in fundamentals and build by stacking theories and ideas on top of each other.  Coaches do exactly the same thing as they present the game plan and teach it to their players – and trust me it is in great detail and it is serious.

Just as teachers use feedback with discussion and quizzes so do their counterparts in football.  As coaches we spend the same amount of time educating individual groups like wide receivers, defensive backs, linebackers, quarterbacks etc.

Plus, we add a few extra things to the mix.  Each day we have what we call a “Walk-thru.”  A walk-thru is basically a slow motion practice of what you are going to do in a full speed practice later that day.  After our morning meetings we go out onto the practice field in sweats and jerseys and we jog thru the plays and schemes we will use in practice that day.

That walk-thru session is video-taped.

Following the walk-thru coaches grab a quick lunch from the cafeteria and bring it to the different meeting rooms and watch the video of the walk thru.

We eat taking notes and making corrections so that when we get on the practice field in full pads that afternoon we can be ready to fix anything that didn’t play out the way it should have during the walk-thru.

What you are looking for is any confusion between players and coaches during the meetings.  So, we are constantly checking our teaching techniques and trying to improve our communication with our charges so that on game day we are ready.  Coaches are not only trying to help the players to become better, but we are constantly looking to get better as an instructor.

Incidentally this is not unique to one team in the NFL.  Every single team – all 32 franchises follow similar models.  It is carried on in each city that has a professional football team.

This is a work model that is carried out every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday throughout the National Football League.  Unquestionably there is a tremendous emphasis on athletic ability and the skills needed to play football.  But what many people never see is the pressure coaches feel to continually improve their ability to communicate information to their players.

OK, let’s add one more layer to the day.  The practice itself and how it is performed.  Everything is choreographed – the amount of time you have to work with your individual group, the number of plays run by the offense and defense in each group period.  The drills you will use, coverages that will be played on each repetition, the offensive personnel groups and plays to be employed.

To an outsider it can be amazing how smooth an operation a practice is and how things flow from minute to minute.  There is very little confusion about what is happening.  Now, there is a constant exchange of information, questioning and correcting between coaches and players.

Corrections are not personal – they are useful.  The players welcome a chance to improve.  Coaches are constantly motivating and pointing out helpful suggestions.  There is tremendous communication on the practice field.

Naturally, there will be some yelling and sometimes it can be a little intense.  But whenever you have a high level of competition in pressure situations there is going to be some stress.  The key is to keep things professional with a good working environment.

Again, the entire practice is video-taped.  That tape is divided into offense, defense and the special teams.  There are camera shots from the sideline and end zone.  Those plays are spliced together by our video team so players and coaches can watch each play from both angles.

More to the teaching.

Following the practice the players quickly shower – then hustle to the meeting rooms where we watch specific parts of the practice videos.  Since things are fresh in our minds it is a great time to review what has occurred in practice.  Corrections are made, techniques refined, questions answered.

As a team, you practice this same format with different parts of your game plan throughout the week.  There is great camaraderie amongst teams and obviously the players do have fun being around each other – but everyone knows the only way you can get ready to play on a Sunday afternoon is to approach every meeting and practice with great attention to detail.  It is a very serious operation when you get into your day of work.

My Dad agrees that it is a great model – but he is still somewhat skeptical of my claim.

But, then I add that the pressure on coaches mounts as the week progresses.  In most jobs you can be fired for poor performance.  But, most of the time you depend on your ability to produce a successful result.

In coaching you depend on your ability, but you have to count on someone else to actually perform.  Trust me that is exciting, but it can be nerve wracking as well.  Factor in the injuries that can happen, the ability of players to grasp a game plan, and sometimes just plain luck and game day can be an extremely hectic and stressful day.

I think sometimes school educators fail to see the value of testing.  It isn’t just if the pupils get the subject matter.  It is also a barometer of how well you are teaching.  (I really see this in college where professors throw out their information – test the kids and say OK you got it you are smart – you didn’t so you are not so smart and you get a failing grade.)

Think about this for college professors – if most of your students do well – you keep your job.  If they don’t – well you still get keep your job.  If the college put pressure on them by saying your students better pass – they better master the material or you will be fired.  Hmm… you might find that those office hours expand and they do a better job of finding tutors – study groups etc.

But, it coaching that is the way it works.  You have a test every week – you either pass or fail.  If you fail too much well then you lose your job.

Pardon me – I digress.

It is the way we coach as professionals in both college and in the NFL.  But, coaching is done in even a more robust manner than teaching in school.

So, in review – this is how it all comes together in pro football.  Here is how the week starts on the Wednesday of each week.  It is actually a reflection of a typical day in 32 NFL cities.

The players wander into the practice facility between six and seven in the morning – perhaps spend some time with the strength coach in the weight room. Or if they are a little banged up maybe they see the trainers to get some treatment or rehab work.

They then make their way into the cafeteria and have a solid breakfast with fellow teammates and the football staff and any members of the organization who are in the building by 7:30.  This by the way is prepared by an outstanding group of cooks and assistants.

In Detroit we had a tremendous chef and staff that would be at work by five in the morning to get the food ready for the team.  These men and women are there from before daybreak until seven or eight o’clock at night.  They were very dedicated – attentive and cognizant of an athlete’s nutritional needs and also what certain players enjoyed in regards to food.

A thirty-minute Special Teams meeting would then start every day.  Sometimes if there was a critical game this meeting might even happened before the 7:30 breakfast.  This intensely specific session would be followed by a team meeting conducted by the head coach.

The head coach would lay out the week for the players and then talk about where he felt the team was and what he expected for the upcoming game.  He would highlight certain players on the opponent squad or perhaps talk about something unusual we might see in the upcoming game.

Generally, this was a very upbeat meeting with a lot of motivational talk and an attempt to get the squad in a positive frame of mind.  If you were recovering from a loss the previous Sunday you could expect a lot of positive reinforcement to get the troops excited for the next game.  Following a win sometimes it was a cautionary tone to push the players back into a rhythm or concentration and solid preparation.

From this meeting the team will split into offensive and defensive squads and enter the large rooms to gather as “O” and “D” units – generally 30 or so giant men in the two separate areas.

Once divided the respective coordinators paint a more specific picture of the overall team game plan.   In these meetings there are more focused details presented and emphasis  in respect to their part of the team’s plan (for instance the defensive backs don’t need to know what our offense is doing etc.)

After the offense and defensive team meetings conclude each position group divides and goes into what we call individual group meetings.  The linebackers separate from the defensive line, just as the running backs are apart from say the quarterbacks.  This is where the fine details of the game plan are laid out and discussed by position coaches.

In each of these sections – Team, Offensive and Defensive Squad and finally Group meetings all types of teaching techniques are employed.  Lectures, game plan books for each player, whiteboard diagrams, videos, power points etc.  It is a very detailed process.

When those meetings are finished (usually around three hours) the team assembles on the field in sweat shirts and sweat pants (offense at one end of the field and defense at the other) and we have a 30 minute “walk thru” where we actually “act out” in a jog our practice involving all the new plays and schemes.

Special Teams walk thru of 15 minutes follows the offense/defense period.

The players eat lunch.

We go to practice and now we go thru the actual game plan at as close to full speed as possible.  It is detailed and fast paced (there is nothing like a pro football practice … it is fast and there is great concentration for close to two hours.  (Naturally, the whole thing is video-taped.)

When practice ends you give the players about forty minutes to shower and have a minute to themselves. Then you break up into your groups and watch the practice video – which is critiqued by the coaches and corrected.

The players go home and the coaches go to the staff rooms and prepare for the next day.  Players are usually out of the complex by 4 or 4:30 on Wednesday and Thursday.

Coaches rarely leave before midnight Monday – Wednesday.  8 or so on a Thursday and right after practice on a Friday.  Saturday is early practice and either travel or assemble later at the team hotel for meetings.

So, the whole week is pretty much mirrored in 32 different cities by their respective pro teams.

Then guess what –  like in school you have a test.  But that test is a full-on contact, full speed, head knocking effort for three hours on a Sunday (OK maybe Monday night or Thursday night).  You either pass or fail (Maybe once every few years you might get a tie.)

So, think about the week.

You teach the game plan in broad strokes, and then it gets more and more detailed.  You then “walk thru” your game plan.  Each day practice that game plan as close to game speed as you can.  You correct the mistakes with video and diagrams on white boards.  You do that all week.

Then you have a full out test that is presented in front of millions of people – I don’t think many classroom subjects are taught that well.  Oh yeah if the teachers don’t do a good enough job – yeah you get fired.  (“Be good – or be gone!”)

Again, I truly believe football is a very well taught subject!

 

 

 

 

 

I met Darryl Rodgers at the National College Coaches convention in 1978 thru some friends.  He had been the head football coach at Michigan State and was just making a step to take on the job at Arizona State.

 

I was set up to talk to him about joining his staff  as a defensive coach and someone who would also run the conditioning program for the team.  What he was looking for was a coach who could work on the field and also handle the task of training his players during the off-season.

This is something I could do – but, as he and I talked it became pretty apparent it wasn’t going to be me.  He wanted a more seasoned coach who had more experience than I did.  He didn’t want a young (yeah I was once young) graduate assistant from New Mexico State.  He wanted a veteran.

He didn’t want some youngster because this was a big-time job in a major conference and required someone who had experience in big games with really good players.  Obviously, I did not fit that bill.

I did not get the job …. But not so fast Batman.

Many months later – actually it was early August I got a call from one of the assistant coaches at Arizona State.  CT Hewgley was the Center and Guards coach for the Sun Devils and he had made the original contact with me about the job.  He asked if I might still be interested in the job.

Well, no kidding!  Only problem was that we had just started our training camp at New Mexico State and obviously I felt some allegiance to Coach Gil Krueger and the rest of the coaches and players.  I had gotten quite close to several coaches and really was having a good time on the State staff even if I thought Gil was a bit of an overbearing ass.

I told CT that I needed to talk with Coach Krueger and would get back to him the next morning.

When I went in to see Krueger I had a plan in mind.  After getting to sit down
with him I explained the situation and that I would be glad to remain in Las Cruces (Home of the NMSU) if he could pay me as a part-time coach instead of a Graduate Assistant.

In hindsight, I look at what an idiot I was.

Here, as a Graduate Assistant I was making three hundred dollars a month – I was asking Gil for $10,000 a year.  He dropped his half-moon glasses down his nose and stared at me …. In his deep gruff voice he said (with venom I might add) “Coach Clemons – first off you are disloyal and second you are just a grad assistant.  In my eyes you are just that and always be that – a fucking grad assistant!”

I left his office – walked down the hallway and our offensive line coach Don Christensen grabbed me and pulled me into his office.  In all honesty, I was nearly in tears.  I explained what was going on.  Don was a great friend and his family had taken me in and taken care of me like I was one of them.

I’ll never forget his words.  “Listen you idiot – go home pack up your pickup and drive six hours west.  Don’t stay here another second.”  He actually might have called me a “fucking” idiot act (pardon my French)!

On the way back to my apartment I ran into a few players and a former player John Cordova (who was now working on the coaching staff as a GA).  I told them all what was going on and they were sad to see me go – but were excited for my opportunity.

I loaded up “Old Bess” my yellow pickup truck headed west to Tempe, Arizona to become an assistant coach for Darryl Rogers and the Arizona State Sun Devils.

At some point, I realized what a tremendous opportunity I was being given.  Staying as a member of the New Mexico State staff would have been really stupid on my part.  The money – well, that is one thing.  But, the chance to work with some of the finest athletes and coaches at a higher level – it should have been a no brainer.  Well, later in life I truly realized how lucky I was.

After arriving in Tempe, it was apparent how much better the Sun Devil players were.  Honestly no offense to the NMSU team.  I loved those guys.  But the Pac-10 compared to the Missouri Valley Conference (The league New Mexico State played in) it wasn’t even close.

After getting to Tempe – I sat down with Darryl Rogers to formulate a conditioning program for the team as well as get my on the field assignments.  DR (as we called him) really didn’t want to have anything to do with what I was handling.  He said “Hey Don – that weight lifting stuff is all yours – you get with the defense to see what you are going to do for football.”

Pretty much that was it.

Well, he did tell me two other things.  First don’t tell anyone else in the athletic department how much money I was making.  I didn’t understand that and why would I bring that up anyway?  DR then told me that I was earning more than everyone else in the athletic department with the exception of the basketball coach. (Yet I was the lowest paid full-time coach on the football staff.)

This was stunning because the baseball coach Jim Brock had already won the National Championship at the College World Series and obviously was pretty good at his job.

I guess football was pretty damn important to Arizona State!

The second thing he told me was this.  DR told me that I was his fourth choice for the position I now held.  He said they brought in one guy who lasted a month and then had to let him go because he couldn’t handle it.  Two other coaches were offered the job at Arizona State and turned it down (I’m thinking that those guys must be idiots)!

So, I was the fourth choice.

I didn’t care – just happy to be a Sun Devil.  Think about my last year … making ten-grand as a sixth grade teacher in Pennsylvania – quit to take a job for three hundred dollars a month as a Grad Assistant at New Mexico State – get to Arizona State where I am one of the highest paid people in the athletic department.

The funny thing was that I became pretty close to Darryl and his entire family.  I truly loved DR and his wife Marsha and their children.  I know he was glad to have me on his staff at ASU because he eventually thought enough of me to bring me into the NFL.

Whenever DR would introduce me to a new friend he would say … “Hey this is Don Clemons our defensive coach.  He was my fourth choice … but I love him!”  If I had a dollar for every time I heard that introduction I would be rich.

But you know what – who cares I still feel such gratitude to have that opportunity Coach Rogers gave me.

 

 

 

 

Over the years in football you develop some great relationships.  I consider myself lucky in this area.  Many hours spent together with a common goal causes you to become close to coaches, administrators and also players.

I consider myself to have been around several people in every category.  One

of the greatest stories I can tell is my friendship with Chris Spielman and the late Eric Andolsek.  Two fantastic players who just happened to be really special men.

We had selected both Eric and Chris during the 1988 NFL draft.  The Lions picked Chris in the second round and he had been a two time All-American at linebacker playing for Ohio State – Eric a fifth-round pick as an offensive guard after an outstanding career at LSU.

There was a backstory to having both of these guys on the team in Detroit.

Well, Ohio state went down to Baton Rouge to play the LSU Tigers in 1987.  Prior to the game apparently the Buckeyes were held inside of the locker room by their coach Earle Bruce because they did not want to run onto the field before the home team.

Consider this also.  It is traditional for the home team to enter the field after the visitors.  It was obvious that Bruce was intentionally doing this to fire his team up and develop an “us against the world mind set.”  He was also trying to distract the home team as well.

This certainly pissed off the Tigers and their fans who were just waiting to disrespect and boo the visitors from the north.  (Also, I think it should have been a delay of game penalty and I am not sure that it was called??)

By the time things got sorted out and the referees got the captains out for the coin toss ten or fifteen minutes had elapsed.  Well, lo and behold two of the opposing co-captains during the game were Spielman for Ohio State and Andolsek for LSU.

Chris had already cemented his reputation as a great player and an All-American linebacker.  Hmmm by the way … the guy who had to block him the whole day was going to be Eric.  Both of these guys very intense, confident and stubborn.  Long on ability and toughness – and neither willing to back down.  It was going to be a long hard day for both players.

From what I understand after the coin toss – the captains were instructed to move to their designated sides.  As they did Eric took the time to allegedly bump into Chris.  Commotion resulted and then a fight broke out between both teams.  (Rumor has it Chris and Eric locked up – but probably urban legend.)

The fight was epic and it changed college football.  Prior to this game all players on both teams would walk out and stand about ten yards from their captains watching the coin toss.  As you can imagine this was an intimidating tactic to stoke up solidarity plus juice the adrenalin and testosterone.

Well, with both teams standing twenty or so yards apart – it made for a quick skirmish between the two opponents.  A week later the NCAA banned any players other than the captains past their respective sidelines.

After sorting things out the game went on between two great teams from different sections of the country.  It ended in a 13-13 tie.  LSU eventually ended the year at 10-1-1 and the massive fight is apparently documented on the walls of Ruffino’s Restaurant in Baton Rouge.

It is on my list of things to see by the way.

Later, when they both played their rookie year in Detroit they became fast friends and roommates.  They were inseparable and really added a great deal to our team as players and people.  They were well-liked by their teammates and respected by their peers due to their prowess on the field.

I can truly say I love (loved) those guys.

Now, Chris can be a sly dog when he wants to.  As training camp and the preseason progressed it was obvious that he and I were bound to develop a strong bond.  He spent so much time in the weight room I had to chase him out.  It became a joke because he would tell me that he really had nothing else to do except football and weight lifting.

So, as the regular season was about to begin he sidled up to me one afternoon and asked me what I did on Friday evenings.  I told him that my wife Shawn and I would normally grill on our apartment porch, drink a few beers …well, at least I did the drinking part.

He told me that since he and his roommate Eric were bachelors they had nothing to do on Fridays.  Well … I could see where this was going.  I told him to skip the preamble and just to come on over and we would get the grill going and all eat together.

This became our weekly tradition throughout the season.  Chris and Eric would come over every Friday and we would get the barbeque going – sit around have a beer or two.  Head on over to the local high school and watch the first half of a football game and they would head home.

It was an awesome experience – it truly was.  These guys were outstanding young men and I really got a look into their lives – their hopes and dreams, the happiness and disappointments we all went through during an NFL season.

I watched them both grow up as young men – only to lose Eric in a terrible accident in his hometown after a truck ran off the road and struck him while he was trimming the grass in his yard.  It was just so sad to see a friend who was so indestructible lose his life at such a young age.

Chris continued on despite losing his closest friend.  He struggled with it as all of Eric’s friends did as well. Chris once told me that there was no reason for things like this to happen – no explanation for it.

Well, there is no figuring things like that out.  My own rationale was that I guessed God needed an offense guard for his team in.  Our loss was certainly Heaven’s gain.

 

 

In major college football coaching is basically broken down into two groups as per the NCAA.  First you have the “fulltime” coaches of which you are allowed nine plus the head coach.  You then have two “on-field” Graduate Assistant Coaches (GA’s) and two non-coaching Graduate Assistants who have various duties including developing scouting reports and analyzing opponents.

There are all kinds of other guys running around the office as well.  You have senior coaches – who do no on the field coaching but work with scouting, recruiting and so on.  There are academic counselors, strength coaches, administrative assistants and so on and so forth.  But, you get the picture.

When I first started coaching a Division 1 staff was limited to eight fulltime coaches, but the number of GA’s you had was only limited by your football budget.  So, whatever you wanted to spend was up to the head football coach and athletic director.

In essence, the graduate assistant coach is in a learning position and the fulltime assistants are there to guide them, teach them football etc.  In return the GA gets a small stipend to live on and his graduate studies are paid for by the athletic department.

When you are a graduate assistant coach and you get all the low-level football jobs.  As we used to say you are lower than “whale shit on the bottom of the ocean.”  Well, that’s the way it is – but it is a rite of passage.

You are the least relevant guys on the staff.  The fulltime coaches are doing all the important stuff like game planning, coaching the individual groups, meeting about what needs to be done.

They are more experienced coaches who are paid a salary by the school – have medical insurance (mental and dental as we like to say), have a retirement fund and often have a car sponsored by a dealership in town – and a bunch of other perks.

So basically compared to the full-time coaches you were pretty much just cheap help.  But, to move up the coaching chain you had to put in your time and pay your dues.

Now, as a GA you might get blamed for something you really had no control over.  But, don’t worry you aren’t going to get any credit for anything that goes right.

The GA’s are doing all of the runaround things that the eight or nine fulltime guys feel are below their stature – or sometimes is just too lazy to do for themselves.

If someone needs something run off on the printer or some extra film watched – you get to do it.  If they need someone to track down a player or take attendance at a study hall – well that is your job whether it was assigned to you or not.

Let me back track here to explain a few things to the non-football people who are crazy enough to read about these episodes.  Full-time coaches are just that.  It is their job to coach the football team.

Graduate assistant coaches are generally guys who have recently finished college.  They are trading off their beginning coaching experiences (to learn from the full-time guys how to coach – theoretically – anyway.) for a chance to work on a master’s degree.

As a GA at New Mexico State I received $300 a month and the school paid for my grad courses.  Well, I never went to the classes because the Head Coach discouraged it.  He said if you earned a master’s degree you were spending too much time on school and not enough time working in the football office. (The other three GA’s with me all earned their Master’s degrees while I obviously did not.)

But, being a GA is essential to your career path in football.  Almost all guys who get a fulltime job in football have been a GA at one time or another.  It was how you broke in and met people who could pull you ahead. It’s just the way it is done in athletics.

Hell, I always thought I was lucky to find a job as a grad ass (often we went by the name of grad ass) because they are hard to get.   I literally spent two years trying to break into Division I football as a GA.  Those are coveted spots and with only four per major college staff now days very had to work your way in unless you were a player at a big school.

So, when you are lucky (did I say lucky?) enough to get one – put your head down, shut your mouth and get to work.

This is the way you will learn to be a coach!  You might also say that sometimes you learn what not to do to be a coach.  Later you learn that some of the stuff you see is just a bunch of bullshit.

That’s just the way it is.  You aid the fulltime position coaches with their own workday.  Yet, you have your assignments to get done as well.  Trust me if you keep a good attitude it isn’t that terrible.  But, it can be hard on your ego!

As you can imagine sometimes you are taken advantage of – think of an intern in the office at JP Morgan.  Interns in business are like GA’s in football.  You are there to be mentored and to learn the job.

A lot of the time you end up cleaning up meeting rooms.  Making sure everyone has pens and paper.  Running down trivial jobs that are too far beneath the full timers to do.

I have seen a graduate assistant (GA) called into a coaches’ office and told to run down the street to buy donuts for a staff meeting – (by the way) using his own dwindling money, another had to drive the head coach’s car to his home so his wife could have it (without giving the GA a ride back by the way).  And, a thousand other BS jobs that the fulltime coach is sometimes just too busy (or like I said earlier too lazy) to do himself.

But, that’s the way it works.  No one said it was easy, and no one said it was going to be fair.

Some GA’s move on to become fulltime coaches … others don’t and some decide the job is not for them and they get into a more normal business.  Of the  three other guys I spent my GA year – I was the only one to stay in college football..

One went back home to PA and became a coach and athletic director, one coached a few years in college then got out and the third returned to Montana and became a principal and later a superintendent of schools.

We had a fifth guy who came in later.  I am not sure what he ended up doing, but he didn’t stay in college coaching though.

To be honest with you I never understood why any fulltime coach would take advantage – or abuse – a grad assistant.  It never made any sense to me.  When I was fortunate to land my first fulltime job (Arizona State) I went out of my way to make sure the rookie coaches were taken care of.

Well, there was one of the reasons I got the nickname “Big Daddy.”  Mostly because I bought the guys beer, or got them fed.  But quite honestly Coach Rogers at Arizona State and his staff were really great to the young coaches – they appreciated the help they gave..

But, I can guarantee you one thing – every coach has a “GA” story.  Coaches are generally great story-tellers (alright “bullshitters” might be more closer to the mark.)  I can’t tell you the several million (hyperbole – OK) times I sat around a table stacked with beer cans with a group of coaches telling and listening to football stories.

Well, here is my graduate assistant coach story from New Mexico State.

The head coach Gil Krueger who was a prickly guy with a pretty healthy ego. He would hand out jobs to the GA’s to make sure the full-time coaches could spend time with their serious work and not have to worry about minor things around the office.

For instance – one of the four of us grad assistants was responsible for making sure the practices were filmed (notice I said filmed – there was no video equipment in those days, there were 16 millimeter cameras).

Another had to make sure the student managers had all of the practice gear on the field – things like dummies, sleds, step over bags…and most importantly footballs!

To this day I think my job might have been the most unique GA “shit” job ever in the history of football.

I was in charge of the laundry.  Yes, the laundry.  On the surface it could …  no, should have been a very simple job.  But, not so fast Batman!

At NMSU we had no washing machines and dryers in the football stadium.  So, every day all of the sweaty jerseys, pants, jocks, socks and towels had to be packed up in duffel bags and brought downtown (about two miles) to a laundromat – put into washing machines to get cleaned and then into the dryers to get dried.

I was to oversee that process.

Well, Gil gave me a player who was ineligible – Dee Taylor – to be the guy to actually do the job.  I was just to supervise him and make sure everything went properly.  I wouldn’t actually have to do the work.  That was Dee’s job.

Like I said, he would pack up the laundry load it into an athletic department truck and take it downtown.  Then he would physically load the washers and then the dryers – wait around, repack the duffel bags and drive the now clean laundry back to the stadium.

Now, the reason Dee was ineligible was because basically he was a lazy dumbass who didn’t go to class and was cruising through.  But, since he was on scholarship Coach Krueger wanted him to at least earn his way.

Things went well for about a week or so in summer football camp.  The laundry was getting done.  Gear was being handed out nice and clean.  But, all good things must come to an end.

Dee went AWOL on me during week two and the gear wasn’t cleaned one morning.

Now, no one wants to go to practice in shorts and t shirts that are  damp with old sweat let alone  wet jock straps  that smelled bad.  Oh yeah remember our school is in the southwestern desert … hmmm could get a little toasty out there on the practice field.

Naturally – and rightly so – players complained about the unwashed gear.

Gil called me in and ripped me up one side and down the other.  Called me some nice words and so on.  I tried to defend myself (wrong, wrong, wrong idea … no excuses please1) by explaining the missing Dee Taylor.

As I recall the Head Coach just had this incredulous look on his face and in no uncertain terms told me that (pardon my French here) I was a stupid fucking son of a bitch with even more nice words worked in!

He said he didn’t want to hear any bullshit excuses and if I couldn’t figure out what to do about the laundry I could pack up my pickup truck and go back home to Pennsylvania.  He said he didn’t give a rat’s ass if Dee ever showed up again, it was my responsibility to get the gear cleaned.

So, I learned pretty quickly that I had a new job – the actual task of doing the laundry myself.

Dee Taylor was never seen again!

For an entire eleven-game season I did the laundry for the New Mexico State Aggies’ football team.  Every morning from late August to the weekend before Thanksgiving I was on call to do this job.

I would get up each morning around five o’clock (at times with a hangover – no, make that many times with a hangover) walk over to the stadium load the laundry into a 1956 white Chevy Apache panel truck and drive down to the laundromat.

I had to get to the laundromat before it was opened to the public because I was going to use most of the machines in the place for the team’s laundry.

The owner of the laundromat was a real nice guy and I think he realized the bad job I got put into.  He would hand me a sack of quarters and I would load the machines, set the dials put the quarters in the slots and then sit on my butt for an hour while everything got soaped and rinsed.

Then I would load everything into driers and finish up my job.  Luckily, I am an avid reader, because I spent several hours a day for an entire season sitting on some hard and uncomfortable orange plastic chairs reading and doing crossword puzzles in a downtown Las Cruces, New Mexico laundromat.

There was a benefit however.

I missed every single eight o’clock staff meeting.  It was awesome! …. Here’s why it was so great.

At the eight o’clock staff meetings all the coaches would gather in a big meeting room and discus the previous day of practice, the game plan and so on.  Then they would plan out the work and practice for that day.

But, Gil would take part of that meeting time and go around the room and basically call out each coach one by one and actually tell them they were doing shitty jobs in preparing “his” team.

Now we had a bad team – granted.  We only won two or three games that year.  But, to blame everyone around the captain of a sinking ship was ridiculous.  So, in a lot of these meetings you had to sit through stories of Gil’s great career  – winning a national championship at Northern Michigan and his other great achievements and then you had to accept what amounted to an ass chewing.

Well, I got to miss pretty much every single one of those meetings.  Perhaps laundry duty was worth the price on not getting bitched at every day.

Now, back home in PA a lot of my buddies thought I was on my way – big time coach in a major college.  Some were actually envious.  Boy, if they only knew some of the bullshit involved.  (Think about it, a lower than whale shit grad assistant coach at a losing low level major college with a jackass for a head coach!  … how great will that look on my resume?)

I still recall the last day I did my laundry job.

I call this part “The Last Ride”.

The Friday before the eleventh and final game (I think we were going to play at Southern Illinois) I did my last batch of laundry.  I loaded the many duffel bags of dirty gear into the rear of the truck.

Let me tell you a little about the 1956 Chevy Apache.  Also known as the “Laundry Wagon”.  First of all, it was 20 some years old already.  It was painted primer white.  The truck had no seats at all.  So, I took an empty five-gallon paint bucket and put a piece of carpet on top of it to make it at least somewhat comfortable for me to sit and drive.

This beauty had a three-speed manual transmission that was on the steering column.  (“Three-on-the-tree” as we called it in those days).  Luckily, I was acquainted with driving a standard shift since my own truck had one.  Of course, the clutch would slip and it was a herky-jerky effort to get the Apache moving from a stop.

The windows obviously were crank jobs and the passenger side window did not roll down at all.  But, it was only a two-mile trip from the stadium to the laundromat – so not an issue.  Someone had taped a big feather on the Chevy hood ornament (probably would piss of the PC people now days – too bad!).  Well – think … Apache.

Oh yeah – only one headlight would work and neither of the taillights had worked for years.

But, the best for last, the windshield wipers did not operate at all.  Well, living in the southwestern desert it usually only rained in the “Monsoon Season in New Mexico” (OK- look it up – there is a “Monsoon Season”) and you really didn’t need wipers.

I shit you not – that was my beautiful 1956 Apache laundry truck.  You may think I am making this up but I swear it is the truth.

So, the Friday morning – a week before Thanksgiving – Right around dawn I haul the dirty gear from the stadium locker room and load it into the back of the Apache.

The sky was just starting to brighten up and yet you could tell it was going to be overcast and rainy.  Now remember the condition of my transportation.

It’s still pretty dark, it’s raining and I was probably hung-over.

I jump into the primer white panel truck for my last ride to the laundromat.  I still remember my thoughts to this day.  I truly said this out loud that day.  “Here I am in New Mexico – big time football coach driving a panel truck full of dirty laundry with no front seat, no headlights or windshield wipers.  It’s dark and it is raining.  If my friends could see me now.”

The big time isn’t always the big time and working in Division I football isn’t always as it is portrayed.  Over the years I learned from someone else’s wisdom — never take yourself to seriously.

By the way I never saw Dee Taylor again and I would bet money he is still skating by somewhere.  But, he adds to the context and humor of this story!

Hah … what a life!

One evening I had to call my friend Bert Hill to get verification of this story.  Obviously, the stories I remember have seemed to change as I have aged.  I think they are one thing, then – I talk to someone who was also there and I realize I have forgotten some key points.

Oh well, that’s what happens – I’m sure some of my friends have experienced similar gaps in their memories.

My friend – the late great John Teerinck had a great saying – or riddle I guess you might call it.  He often would throw this teaser out there?  Where do you go during a tornado warning?

His answer – you have two choices – “The first is a strip joint, and the other is a bar!”  It was a very effective conversation starter for him.  His point being this – the places you hear about being destroyed are trailer parks, churches, schools and malls.

Do you ever hear of a strip joint or bar being wrecked?

The answer is no you don’t.

We were playing an early season game in Cincinnati.  (This is the point I had to clarify with Bert by the way – I couldn’t remember if it was pre-season or early season.  Bert also believed it was Cincinnati also not remembering the exact time of the season).  So, we win the game and we can see that there is some bad weather coming in pretty quickly.  Dark clouds surrounding the stadium.

Everyone on the team can see that this was going to be pretty bad as the skies started looking ugly and the breeze began picking up just as the game was ending.  Well, usually it takes a little time to get everyone – players, coaches out of the locker room – especially after a win.  Plus, the equipment guys have to pack up all the gear

Interestingly enough the rapidly changing weather put the guys into a fast forward mode and the team showered up relatively quickly and the equipment staff was able to load the gear and get everything organized in a pretty timely fashion.

We loaded the busses and got on the road for the relatively short trip to the airport just as the rain started up.  It really looked pretty bad, and there were some reports of tornadoes in the area.

As is normal with team travel – the busses drive directly on the tarmac to your waiting jet (rarely did we go through the terminal).  But, instead of getting off of the busses the team was told to sit tight and some of the operations people went into the terminal to find out what the status of flying out of the airport was.

Now, the weather was beginning to deteriorate pretty quickly and one end of the airport was getting darker and darker.  Well, those of us on the busses were getting a little nervous.  The busses were actually rocking with the gusts of wind.

We were getting no information from anyone (this is before cell phone days).  Finally, one of the offensive linemen got up and said “To hell with this – I’m not sitting on this tin can!”  He gets up walks to the front of the bus – well the bus driver said he couldn’t let him off.

I can tell you it isn’t smart to tell a six foot six, three-hundred-pound guy what to do…. He basically told the driver he was getting out and going into the terminal.  He opened the door himself and went into the terminal.

Right after seeing that happen we all jumped out of the busses and ran into the terminal as it  started to rain pretty hard.  There wasn’t anyone going to stop a whole professional football team from doing what they wanted at that moment.

So, anyway we get into the terminal and the place is basically shut down – no one was flying out or landing in that storm.  Well, where does everyone go?  To the nearest bar inside the place.  It was already pretty full with other waiting passengers also hoping to get out.  You can imagine how full it was when most of our guys showed up.

Of course, John Teerlinck was leading the charge at the bar.  He was two fisting his Miller Lite like the world was going to end.  He was what I considered a true professional when it came down to drinking beer.  I have seen a number of excellent beer drinkers, but “JT” is by far the best of all time.

After about twenty or thirty minutes of “stress relief” an airport public announcement was made informing everyone that a tornado had indeed touched down at the end of the runway.  Everyone was told to go to the lower level and go into the bathrooms for shelter.  Yup, sounds funny now – but there was indeed a mad rush to get downstairs into the rest rooms.

We spent probably another half an hour or so in those bathrooms – trust me there were a lot of people in those so-called shelters.  It was crowded and I think after a little while we all felt a little sheepish cowering in the basement of an airport terminal.

Funny thing I never saw JT in our area.  But, there were several bathrooms on the lower level, so he could have been in one of the other ones. But, it turns out he wasn’t.

Later when the tornado warning ended and we could board our jet I ran into John as we boarded the jet.   I asked him where he was sheltering –  he told me that he had just stayed in the bar when everyone went downstairs.

JT simply bought a few extra beers before the bartender high tailed it out of the bar himself so John just sat up there by himself drinking Miller Lite.  “Remember Donny – you never hear about a bar being destroyed by a tornado!”  The things you learn in football!