[Husker] don't fall for it

[Mike Nolan]

I've told this story before, but not for a while.

Someone I know fairly well is one of TO's occasional fishing buddies.  
One time back in the 80's they invited along a third person who knew both 
of them fairly well but hadn't gone on one of these trips.

After spending hours fishing silently, the third party asked Tom how his
day was going.  Tom answered 'OK'.  The rest of the day was spent in
silence again.  

After dropping off the third party, TO turned to my friend and said, "Let's
not bring him along next time, he talks too much."

So what did TO _do_ on those trips?  Well, when he was coaching, I'm
pretty sure he used to take his team, recruiting and coaching strategies 
apart, piece by piece.  

I'm also told that after several years of being urged by his defensive
coordinator (McBride) to change the Blackshirts defensive alignment in 
the 1980's, TO finally relented.  I think that decision came after one 
of those fishing trips.  

It took another couple of years to recruit all the right players to make 
the change, but that was the beginning of that fantastic five year run 
in the 90's.  

BTW, the great film director George Stevens used to take extended breaks 
on the set, he'd sit alone playing piano, sometimes for hours, then call 
everyone back for the next shot.  I think he was doing the same sort of
thing, reviewing the movie he was making, the shots he'd taken and the 
shots left to be made, before deciding what to do next.
--
Mike Nolan