I’ve come to the conclusion that rarely anything good can come from an online forum/message board/bbs whatever you want to call them (Says the guy spewing forth yet another blog onto the internet). Before I had come to this conclusion I saw a post several years ago that started to lead me there. The point was to rank something from best to worst, I won’t say what, but this person gave his list and then was immediately ripped apart. One person in particular was especially harsh questioning everything from his sexuality to his mental state. To the original poster’s credit his only response was sarcastic, immediate and to the point. “You sir, are not a nice person.” Of course after that the responder was chastised and attempted to defend himself, but the original poster’s response has always stuck in my mind, even three or more years later.
That retort comes to mind when thinking about Coach Pelini’s recent dealings with the media. As I write this, everyone seems to have moved on due to Jared Crick’s recent season ending injury. I’m still bothered by Pelini though and I am guessing after Minnesota, in a few weeks things will get really ugly really quickly afterwards.
I’ve made it a point, since early on in Pelini’s tenure, not to watch or listen to his press conferences. He never says anything, ever. I don’t think that’s an accident either. Except “Execute” he’ll use that word a million times. Is someone or some group struggling? Well they need to execute better. And if things are good,...well Pelini will say “We still weren’t as crisp as I’d like us to be.” So I try to ignore the conferences. The problem comes when Pelini is asked a question that can’t be answered with one of his two answers and he has a good ole’ fashioned grown up temper tantrum. When that happens I have to hear about it from some other source because not hearing about it would require me to live like Jodie Foster in Nell. Such is life in Nebraska.
The only reason I listen in before halftime is in the hopes he finally snaps and (literally) bites the head off whatever useless, high heel wearing, easy on the eyes sideline reporter chick snagged him to ask him stupid questions. That’s mostly because I despise sideline reporters. Instead he just falls back onto one of his two favorite answers as best as he can. I know that might come across as being hypocritical, but I don’t really count sideline reporters as “media” despite their press passes. They are just there to tell us about the most recent guy to turn an ankle and give frat boys and jocks someone to fantasize over.
That being said, is it Bo’s job to be all nicey nice with the media? Absolutely not! In fact, I would find bizzaro “Nice” Pelini to be pretty scary and perhaps even give me nightmares. Pelini is who he is. He doesn’t like talking to the media and he really can’t hide it. In that respect I can empathize. If I don’t want to be doing something, especially a social something, I suck at hiding my unhappiness. I just can’t do it.
On the other hand there is a difference in appearing unhappy and just plain being rude to people.
Around this part of the blog I had written out the entire Pelini/”T-Magic” saga, dating all the way back to the beginning of the 2010 season. However, I started to feel like I was being too hard on Taylor and saying what has been said a thousand times before around these parts, so I scrapped it. If you know me at all then you know how I feel about Taylor and there is no reason to repeat it here.
The thing I find amusing is that during the peak of the public outcry against Taylor I really didn’t have a problem with his play. What happened in Madison is exactly what I expected to happen, not only from Taylor but the entire team. Sure he threw three interceptions, but everyone knows by now that Taylor has trouble throwing the ball at times. What he did in Madison was exactly what you can expect from Taylor when we’re throwing the ball something like 14 out of the first 15 plays in the second half. That isn’t what he does well. What our team got from that is exactly what we deserved.
My main concern was with our defense. Up to that point we had given up 29 to Fresno State, and 38 to Washington. We had given up fewer points to 1-AA Chattanooga and Wyoming, but both seemed to move the ball at will at times even with a freshman quarterback. In fact, Wyoming’s freshman QB looked right at home against our defense. So after giving up 48 to Wisconsin,…yeah, Taylor wasn’t really a big deal to me.
What did bother me was how he behaved in the press conference the following Tuesday. He was combative and rude, much like his head coach….perhaps learning by example? The highlight of which was when answering a question about the media scrutiny he was receiving, he responded with something like, “It doesn’t matter what I say you guys are gonna rip me anyway.”
Don’t get me wrong, they were ripping him, but such is the life of a quarterback especially in a high profile place like Nebraska. Too much credit when things are good (See the media’s reaction to him after the first five games of last season, the media was talking Heisman!...idiots…) and too much blame when things aren’t so hot (like after the Wisconsin game).
In response to a similar question Pelini dug into an Omaha World Herald guy. This outburst was almost comical to me, I wish I could find the audio or video to these press conferences because this outburst was one of the better ones. After ripping the reporter, questioning his motives, pretty much asking him if he was bullying his quarterback in order to get a rise out of the kid Pelini says “thanks guys” and then ends the press conference. To me it was like a cursing a blue streak in church and then saying “Amen” solemnly at the end.
Since I first started writing this, the author of the anti-“T-Magic” piece that sparked all of this apologized in a pretty comical manner. I really wish he wouldn’t have. I really liked that the Omaha World came out with a “We’re not afraid of Pelini” article after their reporter was attacked, even if it was in the same tone as the anti-“T-Magic” article only instead of saying “Martinez better play better or else” it was “Coach Pelini better be nicer to us or else” at least that’s the impression that I got from reading it.
The point I’ve been working towards during my various attempts to finish this blog is that Pelini treats the media like a plague, like they are so beneath him. It’s hard to root for a guy like that. I get the impression he really doesn’t care for our fans either. His angry gesture towards the stands when we finished the first half against Ohio State with an interception that led to a field goal and the crowd booed. I think I would have too, not at Martinez but at the play call. I think everyone in the State of Nebraska thought “45 seconds left? Just sit on the damn ball and get into halftime” instead we call a play throwing deep over the middle into triple coverage and it’s intercepted and turned into a field goal for OSU. The situation couldn’t have been more aggravating because everyone in the state saw it coming a mile away.
Discussing the incident in yet another article I’m to lazy to link, he prefaced his statement that booing had no place in college football by saying that he respected the fans. I kind of doubt it, that’s just a feeling I get. I can’t really explain it. So it seems rather co-dependent of me to root for a guy that despises me. Sort of like that guy you knew in high school who kept asking the same girl out to every dance and she kept publicly humiliating him after every attempt. Sooner or later that guy is going to get the not so subtle hint and move on.
Same goes for Martinez, he just seems like “Not a nice person” as well. Zac Taylor, Joe Ganz, even Zac Lee (while the offense was collapsing around him), those were guys I could pull for. They played their guts out, hid injuries all season while being unfairly criticized, played every down (unless they got knocked unconscious) and above all else never added a goofy signature like “T-Magic” to the end of their text messages.
But this isn’t one girl we’re talking about here. This is an entire team and I will continue to root for my team and there isn’t anything Pelini can do to stop me. I know this goes against his often voiced black and white philosophy towards every aspect of life. “You’re either with us or you’re against us.” I couldn’t disagree more, you can’t just split life down the middle and call one half good and the other bad. Life is complicated and messy and….perhaps the topic for another blog….
So I’m not going anywhere, and neither is Coach Pelini. We do want the same things and to that end I guess we’re stuck with each other until well,…who knows…
I will say this, years ago when that giant blueberry of a coach was fired at Kansas, Jason Peter said on his radio show, “You can win as a coach while being a jerk, but the second things turn south you’re gone, and you’re gone fast, people will always be looking for a reason to get rid of you.”
I’m not saying Pelini will get fired soon (or ever for that matter, especially as long as T.O. remains the AD), but if it happens, it will be an all of a sudden, out of the blue, here one week gone the next kind of thing.
Maybe I’m being too harsh, maybe I’m being too mean, maybe I too am being “Not a nice person” but it seems to be going around here lately.
Go Big Red.
That retort comes to mind when thinking about Coach Pelini’s recent dealings with the media. As I write this, everyone seems to have moved on due to Jared Crick’s recent season ending injury. I’m still bothered by Pelini though and I am guessing after Minnesota, in a few weeks things will get really ugly really quickly afterwards.
I’ve made it a point, since early on in Pelini’s tenure, not to watch or listen to his press conferences. He never says anything, ever. I don’t think that’s an accident either. Except “Execute” he’ll use that word a million times. Is someone or some group struggling? Well they need to execute better. And if things are good,...well Pelini will say “We still weren’t as crisp as I’d like us to be.” So I try to ignore the conferences. The problem comes when Pelini is asked a question that can’t be answered with one of his two answers and he has a good ole’ fashioned grown up temper tantrum. When that happens I have to hear about it from some other source because not hearing about it would require me to live like Jodie Foster in Nell. Such is life in Nebraska.
The only reason I listen in before halftime is in the hopes he finally snaps and (literally) bites the head off whatever useless, high heel wearing, easy on the eyes sideline reporter chick snagged him to ask him stupid questions. That’s mostly because I despise sideline reporters. Instead he just falls back onto one of his two favorite answers as best as he can. I know that might come across as being hypocritical, but I don’t really count sideline reporters as “media” despite their press passes. They are just there to tell us about the most recent guy to turn an ankle and give frat boys and jocks someone to fantasize over.
That being said, is it Bo’s job to be all nicey nice with the media? Absolutely not! In fact, I would find bizzaro “Nice” Pelini to be pretty scary and perhaps even give me nightmares. Pelini is who he is. He doesn’t like talking to the media and he really can’t hide it. In that respect I can empathize. If I don’t want to be doing something, especially a social something, I suck at hiding my unhappiness. I just can’t do it.
On the other hand there is a difference in appearing unhappy and just plain being rude to people.
Around this part of the blog I had written out the entire Pelini/”T-Magic” saga, dating all the way back to the beginning of the 2010 season. However, I started to feel like I was being too hard on Taylor and saying what has been said a thousand times before around these parts, so I scrapped it. If you know me at all then you know how I feel about Taylor and there is no reason to repeat it here.
The thing I find amusing is that during the peak of the public outcry against Taylor I really didn’t have a problem with his play. What happened in Madison is exactly what I expected to happen, not only from Taylor but the entire team. Sure he threw three interceptions, but everyone knows by now that Taylor has trouble throwing the ball at times. What he did in Madison was exactly what you can expect from Taylor when we’re throwing the ball something like 14 out of the first 15 plays in the second half. That isn’t what he does well. What our team got from that is exactly what we deserved.
My main concern was with our defense. Up to that point we had given up 29 to Fresno State, and 38 to Washington. We had given up fewer points to 1-AA Chattanooga and Wyoming, but both seemed to move the ball at will at times even with a freshman quarterback. In fact, Wyoming’s freshman QB looked right at home against our defense. So after giving up 48 to Wisconsin,…yeah, Taylor wasn’t really a big deal to me.
What did bother me was how he behaved in the press conference the following Tuesday. He was combative and rude, much like his head coach….perhaps learning by example? The highlight of which was when answering a question about the media scrutiny he was receiving, he responded with something like, “It doesn’t matter what I say you guys are gonna rip me anyway.”
Don’t get me wrong, they were ripping him, but such is the life of a quarterback especially in a high profile place like Nebraska. Too much credit when things are good (See the media’s reaction to him after the first five games of last season, the media was talking Heisman!...idiots…) and too much blame when things aren’t so hot (like after the Wisconsin game).
In response to a similar question Pelini dug into an Omaha World Herald guy. This outburst was almost comical to me, I wish I could find the audio or video to these press conferences because this outburst was one of the better ones. After ripping the reporter, questioning his motives, pretty much asking him if he was bullying his quarterback in order to get a rise out of the kid Pelini says “thanks guys” and then ends the press conference. To me it was like a cursing a blue streak in church and then saying “Amen” solemnly at the end.
Since I first started writing this, the author of the anti-“T-Magic” piece that sparked all of this apologized in a pretty comical manner. I really wish he wouldn’t have. I really liked that the Omaha World came out with a “We’re not afraid of Pelini” article after their reporter was attacked, even if it was in the same tone as the anti-“T-Magic” article only instead of saying “Martinez better play better or else” it was “Coach Pelini better be nicer to us or else” at least that’s the impression that I got from reading it.
The point I’ve been working towards during my various attempts to finish this blog is that Pelini treats the media like a plague, like they are so beneath him. It’s hard to root for a guy like that. I get the impression he really doesn’t care for our fans either. His angry gesture towards the stands when we finished the first half against Ohio State with an interception that led to a field goal and the crowd booed. I think I would have too, not at Martinez but at the play call. I think everyone in the State of Nebraska thought “45 seconds left? Just sit on the damn ball and get into halftime” instead we call a play throwing deep over the middle into triple coverage and it’s intercepted and turned into a field goal for OSU. The situation couldn’t have been more aggravating because everyone in the state saw it coming a mile away.
Discussing the incident in yet another article I’m to lazy to link, he prefaced his statement that booing had no place in college football by saying that he respected the fans. I kind of doubt it, that’s just a feeling I get. I can’t really explain it. So it seems rather co-dependent of me to root for a guy that despises me. Sort of like that guy you knew in high school who kept asking the same girl out to every dance and she kept publicly humiliating him after every attempt. Sooner or later that guy is going to get the not so subtle hint and move on.
Same goes for Martinez, he just seems like “Not a nice person” as well. Zac Taylor, Joe Ganz, even Zac Lee (while the offense was collapsing around him), those were guys I could pull for. They played their guts out, hid injuries all season while being unfairly criticized, played every down (unless they got knocked unconscious) and above all else never added a goofy signature like “T-Magic” to the end of their text messages.
But this isn’t one girl we’re talking about here. This is an entire team and I will continue to root for my team and there isn’t anything Pelini can do to stop me. I know this goes against his often voiced black and white philosophy towards every aspect of life. “You’re either with us or you’re against us.” I couldn’t disagree more, you can’t just split life down the middle and call one half good and the other bad. Life is complicated and messy and….perhaps the topic for another blog….
So I’m not going anywhere, and neither is Coach Pelini. We do want the same things and to that end I guess we’re stuck with each other until well,…who knows…
I will say this, years ago when that giant blueberry of a coach was fired at Kansas, Jason Peter said on his radio show, “You can win as a coach while being a jerk, but the second things turn south you’re gone, and you’re gone fast, people will always be looking for a reason to get rid of you.”
I’m not saying Pelini will get fired soon (or ever for that matter, especially as long as T.O. remains the AD), but if it happens, it will be an all of a sudden, out of the blue, here one week gone the next kind of thing.
Maybe I’m being too harsh, maybe I’m being too mean, maybe I too am being “Not a nice person” but it seems to be going around here lately.
Go Big Red.
