Big Man on Campus... | by Jay
...and a bunch of other stuff I meant to post in the last week, while I was off basking in the glow of this.
The full 60 Minutes piece on Charlie can be downloaded here, and here's the CBS article. Also be sure to check out all the extra video clips, which are really great. The miked-up sideline clips are especially fun.
I thought the profile was pretty good, and definitely fair and honest. Like a lot of you I thought CBS' focus on the profanity was a little salacious. Every football coach cusses a blue streak (except maybe Bill McCartney), and it's really no big fuckin' deal. Yet 60 Minutes not only led off with Charlie's salty language, but promo'd the piece all through the Navy game on Saturday as something scandalous: Hear what the Priests at ND don't want you to hear, or something like that. (The funniest juxtaposition was showing Parcells chewing out assistant Romeo Crennel on the sidelines of a Giants game, and then a moment later Charlie doing the same thing to poor Brian Polian. Ahh, the tribulations of being the low man on the totem pole).
Anyway, it occurred to me that a good portion of regular 60 Minutes viewers probably had never seen Charlie interviewed before, so this was their first introduction to Coach Weis. I'd be curious to hear an outsider's impression of Charlie based on the piece. My guess is that if you can get past the language, you'd come away impressed by the man's football acumen, dedication to his players, and attention to his family.
Thrill-seeker. John-El won't be slapping himself, protecting his turf from nefarious flag planters or melting down at halftime anymore...well, not at Michigan State, anyway. Yesterday he was fired, and it's probably no exagerration to say that the ND game (and the the subsequent "slapping" incident) was the beginning of the end for JLS. In addition to under-performance on the field, Spartan prez Lou Simon also mentioned "lack of discipline" as a big factor in the decision, and I wasn't sure if he was talking about lack of discipline for JLS himself or the players under him. Probably both. (Did you know six Spartan players were dismissed this year for disciplinary reasons, and four of them are facing assualt charges?) JLS, clearly unhinged, needs a hot bath, some cool lemon water, and a rest. Instead, knowing Joh-El, he'll probably go climb Kilimanjaro again or something. In the meantime, let's hope Michigan State gets a respectable coach at the helm.
More posts on the way.
