[NU Sports] Blue in Indy ...

[cherron604 at aol.com]

Other than seeming sanctimonious, and a bit full of himself, one thing that always bugged me about coach K was that odd 1995 season, when he took a leave of absence (for exhaustion/bad back as I recall), and handed the reins over to longtime (from the West Point days) assistant Pete Gaudet.  I believe K is credited with the 9-3 start, while Gaudet is credited with the 4-15 finish that team had.  

I always wondered whether K actually figured the team was going to stink, and ruin his great winning percentage, so he manufactured a bad back (any coach could claim 'exhaustion').  Interestingly, neither issue ever occured during his earlier or subsequent good seasons.  

Anybody else ever suspect coach K on this ?

Chuck Herron   Tech '85






-----Original Message-----
From: SjT (Stephen J. Truog) <sjtruog at yahoo.com>
To: 'Jim Leonard' <jleonard518 at yahoo.com>; nwu-sports at tssi.com; Joe Thiegs <thiegs at umn.edu>
Sent: Wed, Apr 7, 2010 7:53 pm
Subject: RE: [NU Sports] Blue in Indy ...


> What if the third car is full of USC
 alums?  :)  -Joe
:) - you made me spit up my drink with that.
In that case, I would not travel by train at any cost!:)
I do think that a similar thread to those three is that they have a lot of 
subway non-alumni" who hop aboard and make their fan base all the more 
bnoxious.
In any case, to follow up on my original post with a few thoughts ...
- I do agree that alumni should be full of pride for their school, but I think 
e know the difference between Dohmers, Spoiled Children, Dookies and other 
oastful alumni.
- And yes, I realize many Big Ten fans would say NU alums are arrogant -- I 
hink that is more from bitterness and disbelief that they lost to us, where as 
n the case of the three above, they are  jealous that they have all the luck 
nd find ways to win ... but not disbelief.
- Finally, yes, it was part bitterness/jealousy and I do admit that Duke and 
otre Dame are fine academic institutions. But as a fan (i.e. fanatic), I simply 
on't care. It was fun to cheer for Duke when they were the underdog, but once 
hey won those two titles, things changed. Coach K gets whatever recruits he 
ants so he's part of the elite programs/"haves" and not really a little 
chool/academic school underdog anymore.
Coach K made a smart move a few years ago, though, when he started being 
elective on his end of his recruits. For awhile there, he was just taking the 
ream of the crop and as a result got a lot of "one-and-dones" that disrupted 
is program a bit ... now he still takes top recruits, but kids who likely won't 
eave for the pros (Redick, etc.) early ... just think of where OSU would be if 
hey had Oden, Connelly, Turner and those two tall guys who (idiotically) left 
fter a year for a starring role on the NBA bench.
But admiration can still fuel hatred, namely for ...
- Coach K seemingly getting some awfully friendly calls from the refs
- Coach K still whining and working the refs incessantly -- he's become the Dean 
mith he used to hate (someone with all the talent and all the close calls going 
is way who still whiines in the zebra's ear ... watch those leg-whips Duke 
alls screens again during a game and tell me that 99% of other teams aren't 
alled for moving screens!)
- Coach K with a bit of a sanctimonious attitude -- not as big as St. Urban's 
go, but still sizable
- Coach K leaving his starters in loooong after a game's decided. He's done it 
or years and gotten away with not having a star injured while he pads the final 
core, but karma may come one day.
- Coach K getting a cushy road from the NCAA this year ... yeah, the Dookies 
ose up for the one game where they needed it (though I think we saw the Big 
ast exposed a bit this year), but every other step of the way they got the path 
f least resistance from the committee
And they spoiled a great story ... as Wilt said, nobody loves Goliath!
So it may be petty, a load of "haterade" or bitterness after a tough loss -- but 
hile my head respects Duke and Coach K for what they've done, my fan is run by 
he heart and that heart HATES THE DOOKKIES almost as much as the Evil Empire 
nd Spoiled Children!!!:)
GO CATS!!!
SjT
PS - While I think NU will always be the underdog (and I love that role, so 
hat's fine with me), I wouldn't necessarily mind being hated either because 
hat usually means you're on top. So the Dookies should wear this as a badge of 
onor (and hence that cockiness makes them even more annoying and the spiral 
ontinues) ... that doesn't necessarily apply to Dohmer fans now that they suck, 
ut they're still too much fun to hate.

 * * * * * * * *
TEPHEN J. TRUOG
jtruog at yahoo.com
O CATS!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!
uper Bowl XLIV Champions!
=========================

     
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