[NU Sports] Jim Phillips Greatest Hits

[neonrye at aol.com]

The Head Coach is certainly thrilled to be going to Houston.  Fitz came to NYC yesterday and appeared and spoke at a gathering organized and emceed by Sandy Sacks, the "Godfather" of NYC Alumni activities, and originator of NU Sports Nights in the Big Apple.  Fitz was clearly excited about playing a big-time opponent, and he is incredibly proud of the Seniors, who have racked up the most wins of any Senior Class in NU's long history.  

I got a chance to talk with him 1-on1 and got a further education in football logic.  We were talking about the Outback Bowl, and I mentioned that my only disappointment in that game was that we didn't really "go for it" on third down, before the Field Goal that went wide right before the end of regulation.  Fitz countered by telling me that the consideration that tipped the scales was the concern that Kafka might get sacked, and thus we would be out of FG range entirely.  I had to concede that I hadn't really thought of that prospect, and felt kinda stupid at that point for even raising the issue.:-)  It's funny how simple he made it seem, and once he said it, I realized that the angst I had always carried over that one play (and not the failed "Fumblerooski") was misplaced.

He was his usual passionate self, and near the end of the talk one of the assembled alumns shouted out "Fitz, you make us proud", which then resulted in a resounding ovation.  I came away, as I always do when I see/hear him, feeling proud and gratified that he is the face (and sometimes the voice) of NU.  Some day schools will say he's "Our Fitz", since the "Our Joe Pa" riff is now, sadly, history.   He did talk about the need to upgrade facilities (in response to a question), and referred to Nebraska's incredible new home for its varsity athletes.  It is clear that this is an important issue to him, and he is excited that NU is finally putting together a "Master Plan".  While he didn't say what would be in it (nor would I expect him to), I have little doubt that the University will make sure --within the financial constraints involved -- that the facilities project will be planned to a level that will make sure that Fitz remains our HC for as long as he wants.  

Go 'Cats!  Beat the Aggies!

Paul Levinson





-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Maycock <tkmaycock at yahoo.com>
To: Northwestern Wildcats <nwu-sports at tssi.com>
Sent: Tue, Dec 6, 2011 12:48 pm
Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Jim Phillips Greatest Hits


The Outback bowl, because it mattered the most. 
That was probably the best NU team since '96, and getting them that game and 
hat matchup was a really big deal, both as a reward for those players, and as a 
uilding block for the future. The icing on the cake was the fact that the game 
urned into an instant classic of almost surreal proportions. I suspect we'll 
till benefit from that exposure for years to come. If only we had won!
It's funny, I do almost wish we had landed in Detroit this year, where we'd have 
n excellent chance at winning, just to get that monkey off our backs. But I'm 
uessing the players and coaches are all thrilled at getting a chance to play in 
 bigger bowl, against a better opponent with a much better pedigree. Our 
hances of winning took a major hit, but the potential payoff is much greater. 
A&M is 13th/11th in the Sagarin ratings--ouch). 
And from the snippets of comments from bowl reps, it sure sounds like a lot of 
he credit goes to Phillips--not just for the how he handled the specific talks, 
ut the entire way he goes about doing things. 
I do think Murphy did an amazing job at NU. Phillips seems like the perfect guy 
o build on what Murphy accomplished.
Tom
_______________________________________________
wu-sports site list
wu-sports at tssi.com
ttp://romaine.tssi.com/mailman/listinfo/nwu-sports