THE TEN EIGHT MOST LIKEABLE PEOPLE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

by Orson on Feb 27, 2006 10:44 AM EST

We wrote down our ten least likeable people in college football, so in order to balance our karma, we had come up with at least ten that we really, really liked. But such is the order of being a fan that you inevitably dislike more than you like, since an allegiance to one team and passing fondness for a handful of others makes the set of likeable things much smaller than the overall set of "BAD PEOPLE WHO COULD RUIN MY SATURDAY."

With that proviso, we did come up with eight that we really liked. We're sure some are hated, and that we've missed a few good ones on the way as well. Feel free to leave your own counterpoint, screed, and huzzahs in the comments section below.

1. Joe Paterno. An easy choice, but an inevitable one provided you admire longevity, spunk, dedication, charity, and drinking scotch, all things Joe Paterno stands for in over fifty years of coaching. Rather than running over the usual tired bunch of Joe Pa bromidesgobs of money donated to the uni, his remarkable record on the field, and the total team concept Paternos thrashed into the heads of Penn State players for decadeswed rather tick off a few less heralded things about Paterno that make him the slightly abusive and lovable great-uncle of college football:

Shoes: struts the same old pair of trainers hes been rocking for years: black Adidas with white stripes, his only concession to nouveau coaching fashion trends. Also the only guy besides 1983-era Michael Jackson to make wearing white socks look marginally cool.

Honest Grump. Theres got to be some media handling textbook circulating the rounds of ADs offices everywhere: the one turning coaches into bland boilerplate machines, taking few chances and refusing to heed Barney Franks political maxim: Never underestimate the value of speaking badly about someone in public. (Speaking of the openly gay Frank, our new blogad looks like something he'd approve of. We move further toward our goal of cornering the gay football fan market!) Paternos rundown of a ref following the _____ game, the gruff remarks about officiating and the NCAA, the understanding that when he speaks hes saying something straight up eighty proof curmudgeonwell, it will get you on this list every time, since we have our own ambitions of being a cat-kicking, gin-swilling eighty year old bastard someday.

Resemblance to mafia capo. Paterno totally looks like one of the guys guarding Don Ciccio in Godfather 2. This alone earns serious cool points.

Likeable? Suck my ass, fanboy! JoePa, keepin' it real...old.

2. The Voice of ________ Football. College football without regional flavor wouldnt be college football, and the passions and agonies of most fans emotional histories is etched not by image, but by sound, most often through the inimitable vehicle of their teams radio announcers voice. Gene Deckerhoff for Florida State; the now retired John Ward for Tennessee("It's Football Time in Tennessee!" even gets us excited, and we haaaaaaaaate the Vols); Mick Hubert for Florida; their calls become part of team lore, the couplets and hysterical haiku of their speech summarizing a moment for history in the ears and minds of fans.

No oneand this is scientific fact, so dont even attempt to dispute itserves this role to the same extent as Larry Munson, the eighty-plus Minnesotan whose voice never escapes the label of gravelly in description. We would prefer to say that if youd never heard the oldest Norwegian bachelor farmer on earth broadcasting a football game from the bottom of a well after three or eight drinks, Munson would be the best simulation of this you could find.

And like many local, single-team devoted announcers, Munson happily breaks every rule of journalistic broadcasting: referring to Georgia as we, getting so nervous he resorts to drastic oaths and at times even desperate prayer, and wandering all over the broadcast like a woozy Bedouin in search of water. The sum total is a kind of grumbly grandeur whose best moments are summed up in single touchstone phrases known to every Georgia fan: Look at the Sugar falling from the sky, This place is worse than bonkers, and our favorite, We just crushed their faces. Hes unhinged, old, cranky, idiosyncraticand everything you must love about local broadcast. Were Florida fans and we listen to his broadcast every year for the Cocktail Party; we cant think of a larger compliment than that.

Larry Munson: Unhinged. Unprofessional. Awesome.

3.Pete Carroll. What the hell is this guy doing at the party? Everyone else is running around like chickens with their heads cut off, and hes chatting up the kids and playing solitaire on his cell phone. When others punt in national championship games, he screams damn the torpedoes and goes for it. He could have left after this season, but after a little contract finagling, just decided that the college game is too much damn fun. Participates in pranks involving dummies being thrown from parking garages, which betrays both a robust and sick sense of humor and a keen comprehension of young, potentially primadonna-ish athletes in college. Refuses to be boring; hopelessly aggressive at all times; oddly chipper no matter what the time. Hated by Bill Simmons, too, which gives him points.

4.Mark Richt. With a baseline heart rate of 23 beats a minute and a primo post commanding a rival team, why the hell is the thoroughly unexcitable Richt on this list? For a slew of reasons: he's genuinely likeable, wouldn't get agitated if a nuke went off in his pants, and took control over a program sliding into disorder under Jim Donnan and turned it into a lock for nine wins yearly almost overnight.

Coaching-wise, Richt also does as efficient a job grooming qbs as any guru in the nation, taking a diverse haul of signal-callers over the years--everyone from waterbug Charlie Ward to the lumbering Chris Weinke--and turning them into cool, efficient automatons channeling the iceblooded calm from the sidelines.

He's also humble enough on the offensive side to lean on his defense when he needs to, as he's done during his entire tenure at UGA, a wise move considering the school's become a prep academy for the NFL and a farm for world-ending safeties like Greg Blue and Thomas Davis.

But most likeable of all is Richt's unassuming commitment to his players and beliefs. While we think his mentor Bobby Bowden puts on a bit of a hallelujah circuit act for the recruits, Richt's personal faith and commitment to his players go hand in hand. He genuinely believes they'll go get licenses and keep their tags current, which is why Georgia has the most bizarre streak of traffic violations in the NCAA. Yet the same current is what's kept the team from ending up in really dramatic fashion over the term of Richt's stay, excepting Turdgate, of course, which is really more funny than indicative of a loss of institutional control.

The beliefs also drove Richt and his wife to adopt two baby girls from an orphanage in the Ukraine, an act of grace so beautiful and noble it...well, it almost doesn't belong on this blog, does it? We'll go have a cup of coffee and try to congratulate ourselves for opening the door for a co-worker the other day now...

He adopts orphans. We...just had a really good latte.

5.Kirk Herbstreit Sometimes, in expensive porn films, there's a revealing moment where the "ooh yeah" veil falls from the guy's face and there's a look of "Wow, I'm actually getting paid to get the best head of my life." That's the look Kirk Herbstreit has on his face 24/7, or at least that's what we think that is, since if it's not he's hooked on some powerful antipsychotic medication. Herbstreit, more than any other announcer/pundit/ex-jock on the payroll, seems to exist in a constant state of astonishment that he ended up talking about college football for a living, whether it's over a late Mountain West game with Tirico on Saturday Night or on his call-in show in Columbus during the week.

It helps that Herbstreit's continually humble and informative, too. When totally wrong, which he is about as often as Corso, he's glad to goofily admit how wrong he was and hand out kudos all around. When he's right, he's just smug enough in jabbing a disagreeing party (again, usually Corso) before moving on to the next story. A funny and insightful color man, and engaging analyst, and on top of all that, good-looking enough to keep a female/gay significant other interested in all that boring crap you insist on watching 14 hours a day on fall Saturdays. Add the fact that he's one of the most approachable and genial personalities when dealing with fans and we're talking a solid top-tenner here.

It's good to be Kirk.

6.Steve Spurrier The only person capable of making both the top ten most and least likeable lists, Spurrier's appeal can best be summarized by a piece the AJC did on him following the 1996 SEC championship game: a full page spread on the back of the special SEC section (it's good to be in the 404) that read "EVIL BRAT GENIUS" over pics of Spurrier throwing visor, contorting face, picking at his ear nervously, and celebrating as passes landed in astonishingly open receiver's hands again and again and again. Even opponents begrudgingly liked the man with the Tennessee twang who called other coaches "Ray Goof" and suggested that Auburn did, in fact, use coloring books in class. (Hey, there is at least one coloring book we've seen required for college classes.)

He got away with it because he backed it up, gave no quarter and accepted none, and told the truth about anything and everything even when it hurt to do so in the genteel SEC. He screamed at Tom Osbourne for taking knees in the Fiesta Bowl because he felt his team didn't deserve the favor of mercy; he scored an extra touchdown to make the revenge blowout against Miss. State a 52-0 game for a trainer who was knocked out on the field in Starkville the year before. He failed in the pros because he liked golf a little too much and couldn't be bothered to put the loosey-goosey, drawn-in-the-dirt playbook in his head to paper, quitting rather than continuing to steal piles of money from Daniel Snyder. His alleged response to Jeremy Foley when asked to submit a resume for the Florida job following Zook's firing? "Go look in the trophy case."

The list of witticisms and revenges, both small and large, is likeable enough. Spurrier earns this spot on the list for more, though, than having the lingering affection of a grateful fan. He's completely accessible, as several of our readers have written in to tell us, often times shooting the shit over a few beers with fans and happily discussing football all the while. He ran a clean program at Florida, and didn't hesitate to throw players off the team or suspend them before big games, as he did before the 1994 Sugar Bowl and 2002 Orange Bowl. He passed in a league that lived and died by conservatism, a conservatism that reared its ugly head the instant he left for the pros. Even sitting on the opposite sidelines now, attempting to clean up the wreckage of the South Carolina program and improbably getting them to a bowl game in his first season, we still bear an all-out man-crush that surpasses mere fanboydom. We'd rather have him back playin' pitch and catch against us than not playing at all.

Spurrier: The agony and the ecstasy. Agony seen pictured here.

7.Ralph Friedgen Sings the Maryland fight song with his players after every home game and means it, since the Fridge waited damn near thirty years for a head coaching job and got the one he wanted at his alma mater. Don't think he's all cuddly, of course: the Fridge is gruff to the extreme, putting his qbs through a film study program that could reasonably qualify as a Master's degree in its complexity and depth, and demands extraordinary precision and commitment from his offenses. But the work ethic, the commitment to his profession, the play book that allegedly contains three hundred different variations of the option...Fridge is the stereotypical coach with the whistle, the playbook, the clipboard, and the ill-fitting Bike brand gym teacher shorts, straight from central casting and more than happy to play the role. It took him thirty years to get there, which is what may be the most likeable thing of all about Friedgen, who spun gold from burlap at Georgia Tech with players like George Godsey before finally getting his dream job at College Park. Happy to make jokes about his girth and get all mushy with his players while running a tight ship at Maryland, even through bafflingly difficult seasons like his '05 campaign.

Now I'd like to do one of my favorites, "Nights of Broadway," by the Bee Gees.

8.Mike Leach If Friedgen is straight from central casting, Mike Leach teleports in from the dork dorm in Real Genius. Mike Leach's life sounds like fiction: a slackerish law student who blew off the prospects a career in the courts to take his mountain of student debt and a new wife to coach men's club football in Finland. Just try making up something more cracked--we'd be damn impressed if you could. That his pass-wacky, playbook-free offense worked is funny; that it won Oklahoma a national championship and got him a head coaching gig at Texas Tech is practically side-splitting. Words fail us when trying to describe the hilarity of the Red Raiders' success in the Big 12,especially last year as they finally beat Oklahoma when the passaholic Leach called a goal line draw to win the game.

Leach's success isn't the only thing that's improbable about him. He'll answer his phone and talk to anyone at anytime, often while waiting at drive throughs at fast food restaurants. He calls in players on Saturdays for three hour lectures on pirates that turn out to be...well, just lectures about pirates. He once said that opposing fans' wives should become "Red Raider slaves" after defeats, and described his favorite part of football as "the violence. Oh yeah, the violence is awesome." Leach is grand cru oddball. We're hoping he stays that way.

Mike Leach, seen here toooootally weirding out Jeff Tedford.

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Kudos for having Spurrier on both lists.

I respect him, hate facing him, and would take him a my head coach in a heartbeat.

That probably sums up every college fanbase in America.

by NewAZTiger on Feb 27, 2006 11:03 AM EST reply actions

No Charlie Weis? por que?

by PLACT Irish on Feb 27, 2006 11:19 AM EST reply actions

NEW CFB/PATTON CONNECTION!

Didn’t George C. Scott, as Patton, talk about how much he loved war while he stepped over bodies? And does that mean Leach is Patton reincarnated? Like, “Look, son. I know pirates. I was Edward Teach. We boarded that ship and brought their women to the deck, with the gold and playbooks….”

by Newspaper Hack on Feb 27, 2006 11:21 AM EST reply actions

Good lord, that’s a tough one. I don’t really like any of those guys but S.O.S. and maybe Herbstreit. Outside of Gator Nation, the only guys I can stomach are Mike Shula and Mack Brown.

by work 'em silly gators on Feb 27, 2006 11:25 AM EST reply actions

Great list – I think it’s worth mentioning about JoePa that his trademark cuffed khakis are a result of his wife’s anger at his trouser hems being soiled after games – making Sue Paterno the one person (still) on earth that Joe is afraid of – she is the one who tacked the “effigy” of the big ten official to their front door few seasons past.

PSU’s radio announcers are Jerry Fisher (son of THE, albeit slurring, voice of PSU football, Fran Fisher) and Jack Ham (Hammie’s color isn’t that vivid, yet, but he’s Jack Ham, so it’s okay).

I’ve developed an unnatural (he is a buckeye, after all) crush on Herbie – little Love Bug.

by PSUgirl on Feb 27, 2006 11:25 AM EST reply actions

That was a great picture of Herbstreit you found — in one image it pretty much sums up everything about Herb you (correctly) stated, to wit: “Man, this is a fuckin’ awesome job — I can’t believe they’re giving me a paycheck to boot.”

And you could not be more correct about his dramatic appeal to demographic groups not usually associated with a great love of football. I had many straight female and gay male friends in college, and not one of them would have passed up the chance to shag him comatose.

by Doug on Feb 27, 2006 11:26 AM EST reply actions

Oh, and it was the Iowa game during which Joe ran after the official (well, the most recent example of Joe doing that).

And, Joe’s more of an amber liquor drinker – bourbon or scotch. Women drink gin.

by PSUgirl on Feb 27, 2006 11:31 AM EST reply actions

No Weis because he’s a bit new to the game, though he almost made it for the Pass Right episode. Another year or two of track record and we’d be happy to put him on there.

by Orson Swindle on Feb 27, 2006 11:37 AM EST reply actions

This is clearly a list of people YOU love in college football, however, your choice of Pete Carroll amongst all of those suitable choices puzzles me. It doesn’t seem to fit your mold.

Personally, I don’t see Pete Carroll bringing anything to the college game. The prank was stupid and mystifing. I’d question his instutional control and wonder what’s going to happen now, now that Reggie Bush is gone.

Quite honestly, how come you don’t have Pat Hill (sass, and a moustache) is beyond me. Seems to be what you’re looking for.

Also, I feel you could have easily swapped in “Charlie Weis” for Ralph Friedgen, however, that is someone I love in college football.

by E-Man on Feb 27, 2006 11:38 AM EST reply actions

I know I’m biased, but I remember Bobby Johnson being on a rough draft list. He is a good guy that you would want your son to play for and he has a great sense of humor, a must for Steve Martin’s twin.
Also I think everyone else in the SEC likes seeing Johnson and the Commodores coming to town.

by VandyFan on Feb 27, 2006 11:40 AM EST reply actions

E-Man—

Certainly right on the “people YOU love” thing. Likeability is purely subjective, and Carroll is many of the things a coach is NOT supposed to be. Plus we have newfound admiration for him following his balls-out scheduling and dice-rolling in the Rose Bowl this year. There’s never been significant smoke around the Carroll team’s recruiting practices, either, unless you count Snoop Dogg defogging the interior of his car in the parking lot.

Pat Hill is a serious oversight, though. As is Bobby Johnson, VandyFan.

by Orson Swindle on Feb 27, 2006 11:44 AM EST reply actions

Did anyone else just hear Colin Cowherd talk about EDSBS on his ESPN radio show? He went down the top 10 most hated list.

by Gob Bluth on Feb 27, 2006 11:58 AM EST reply actions

The announcers are key — must … not … debate over … Munson … unhhh.

Suffice it to say, that when the Dogs go into the lockerroom, the pitch to commercial break is “We’ll come back with Larry’s highlights.”

Not the Dawgs highlights. Not UGA’s highlights. Not whipping up on Tennessee highlights. Larry’s highlights.

by Kenny on Feb 27, 2006 12:09 PM EST reply actions

Yeah, I just did. Here come the delusional Buckeye fans.

by rob on Feb 27, 2006 12:11 PM EST reply actions

Surprised to see Pom Pom Pete Carroll on this list. Pom Pom is just about as honest and decent as Fulmer of Tennessee. The guy had no problem starting thugs like Ray Malauga the week after RM punched another student out on campus. SC football players are constantly getting in trouble for assualting fellow students, implicated in gang rapes … yet Pom Pom is still on this list. You guys give Fulmer such a hard time on this blog (and he deserves it), its surprising to see you are overlooking all the run-ins with the law that have taken place under Pom Pom’s watch at USC:

http://www.bruinsnation.com/story/2005/11/3/115834/444

by Nestor16 on Feb 27, 2006 12:21 PM EST reply actions

Stranko caught Cowherd reading our list, too. Batten down the hatches.

by Orson Swindle on Feb 27, 2006 12:21 PM EST reply actions

Damnit! Now its only a matter of time before some evil corporation pesents orson and stranko a fat check. Within a year EDSBS will be on the most hated list.

by tzubear on Feb 27, 2006 12:26 PM EST reply actions

Duly noted, Nestor. Sometimes we’ll fully admit to being data-poor on the Left Coast. In response, we’re starting a project that will take a few days…patience, this could be good…

by Orson Swindle on Feb 27, 2006 12:26 PM EST reply actions

No worries Orson. It’s all good. We love the blurb on Mike Leach – who we of course think is one of the possible saviors of Westwood.

by Nestor16 on Feb 27, 2006 12:55 PM EST reply actions

Three Cheers for the underwear ad! it’s like reading boi from troy, but without all the annoying republican banter!

by adam on Feb 27, 2006 1:11 PM EST reply actions

Damnit! Now its only a matter of time before some evil corporation pesents orson and stranko a fat check.

Whoa! I mis-read that last word the first time and thought to myself, “Yeah, if the Mouse can hook Orson up with Holly Rowe, these guys will be ‘ESPN Insiders’ faster than you can say Kyle Whelliston.”

by DevilGrad on Feb 27, 2006 1:12 PM EST reply actions

LOL. The Conscience of a Nation would object strongly, we think. But what if it was for charity? Think of the children, honey—the children.

by Orson Swindle on Feb 27, 2006 1:19 PM EST reply actions

Ron Zook seemed to be a pretty likeable coach among non-UF fans and UF players. All i heard about was how much he loved the players and would sacrifice his own son for a players’ happiness, if needed. Granted, he sucked ass, he was a likeable man.

by bonghit gator on Feb 27, 2006 1:54 PM EST reply actions

Nestor may well be wishing for Mike Leach. It appears that in the meantime, while he’s waiting for Dorrell’s charisma to light up Westwood, he’s taken to making things up about USC.

While I had to read the post myself, and it takes a long time to sound out all those big words, it certainly looks like even some of Nestor’s fellow Bruins thought that his post as cited above was suspect at best… (i.e., it wouldn’t withstand review in a ju-co essay class)

And for what it’s worth, I think that Dorrell seems like a genuinely nice man and decent coach. I certainly hope he keeps working his charismatic magic long enough for SC to deal with beating that streak that UCLA laid on us in the recent times of darkness.

In the meantime, I’ll take Ray “Rock em sock em” Maualuga over that guy who rolled his car and abandoned his unconscious co-ed passenger… how many family members did Drunko lose to brain tumours this year again? Just checking.

Last but not least, what’s with the pretence that players with poor impulse control, anger management issues,and ludicrous strength are a bad thing? Why else would you need all those scholarships? How else can we keep the Fulmer Cup going? What kind of game are we dealing with here? Basketball? Away with you to Pauley Pavilion for the children’s games then.

by Trojan in DC on Feb 27, 2006 1:58 PM EST reply actions

Understandable Orson. Great list all the same.

by PLACT Irish on Feb 27, 2006 2:16 PM EST reply actions

How could you not have ___________ on your list? The fact that coach/player ____________ is not on this list is beyond me! Unbelievable!

by Generic Response Guy on Feb 27, 2006 2:33 PM EST reply actions

There goes another Trojan moron failing to differentiate between a college kicker who has a few drinks at a party and makes a bad mistake, vs. a 250 pound thug who goes up to a guy and punches him in the face with no provocation. And by the way the UCLA coaches suspended Medlock for his DUI and made sure he did not appear in the next game, while Pom Pom awarded his student punching freshman thug with a start in the next game.

by Nestor16 on Feb 27, 2006 2:40 PM EST reply actions

Damnit, boys. This was supposed to be a Holly Rowe threadjack, not some West Coast throwdown. Get with the program.

by DevilGrad on Feb 27, 2006 2:44 PM EST reply actions

Holly Rowe could take both Pete Carroll and Karl Dorrell. In a fight, that is…wait, that didn’t come out right…

by Orson Swindle on Feb 27, 2006 2:51 PM EST reply actions

“a 250 pound thug who goes up to a guy and punches him in the face with no provocation….(who was)awarded….with a start in the next game.”

Yea, but, but he had a good game.

by tzubear on Feb 27, 2006 3:00 PM EST reply actions

Can someone explain why Holly Rowe is a focal point. I thought there were cute girls swarming SEC country. You guys ruin my fantasy every time you talk about Ms. Rowe.

by tzubear on Feb 27, 2006 3:06 PM EST reply actions

I’m with you on this one. I don’t understand Orson’s thing with Rowe.

by Stranko Montana on Feb 27, 2006 3:28 PM EST reply actions

Two words: Lusty. Sturdy.

by Orson Swindle on Feb 27, 2006 3:30 PM EST reply actions

I’m confused. I thought the two words were “”http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/?p=1530">spunky, chunky."

by DevilGrad on Feb 27, 2006 3:37 PM EST reply actions

Bonghit,

Despite prefacing your post with the “non-UF fans” reference in regard to Ron Zook’s likability, I must insist you turn in your jean shorts in exchange for a pair of overalls and an orange and white checked painter’s cap.

Like Saul’s trumpet blast at the Walls of Jericho, it seemed it took mere seconds for Zook to tumble the UF empire through his 4th quarter meltdowns and midnight UFC matchups on fraternity row.

by Philly Gator on Feb 27, 2006 3:46 PM EST reply actions

Im a little baffled by the whole Fridge thing, Maryland has had two consecutive losing seasons, and their success arguably came against the “soft acc.”

Yall just like his belly, and lets face it, whats not to like? But I really dont see the difference in the whole “prototypical coach” thing, I mean, Charlie Weis fits that exact same discription.

by Adam on Feb 27, 2006 3:48 PM EST reply actions

Yeah, he was just a little ol’ punter….driving a 3,000-pound vehicle. And naturally, like all punters would, he made like Ted Kennedy by fleeing the scene after seriously injuring someone. It’s a good thing the accident didn’t happen over water or that poor girl would be dead.

Maualuga, of course, did not start the next game, but was suspended for a half.

You see, the fact that his father was dying and was dead by the New Year had nothing to do with why he wasn’t suspended from the team by Carroll, who decided that suspending a guy wasn’t a cool since he wasn’t charged with a crime and his father’s dream was to see him play for USC.

Medlock? He’s still dealing with his felony. And he’s thinking of transferring to Tennessee.

by Heismanpundit on Feb 27, 2006 3:56 PM EST reply actions

I am in fact another Trojan moron, but I am not alone in thinking that there’s a advanced level of punk-tasticness that involves leaving your date unconscious in a crashed car, a car that was crashed as a result of drunk driving at that. At least Maualuga restricted himself to punching an adult male in the face.

I’m not generally a fan of people putting the beat-down on fellow students, but somehow I doubt that there was no provocation. Not provoking enormous Samoan football players is a good life skill to learn, and some people only learn the hard way.

In any case, why would Nestor be upset about fights within the Trojan family? Surely he’d want to see more of that? Yea verily, the Bruins are a mysterious bunch, nestled in their hillside retreats.

by Trojan in DC on Feb 27, 2006 4:11 PM EST reply actions

Of course, those of you in the 404 would listen to Munson during the Cocktail Party. Heck, in Orlando, I listen to Deckerhoff during the Florida/FSU game becaue I can only stand 5, maybe 10 minutes of Hubert (and plus, I like Deckerhoff when he does the Bucs). Too many times is he trying to throw his catch phrases in rather than tell me where exactly the ball is.

by Don V on Feb 27, 2006 4:49 PM EST reply actions

I love the fact that you put Spurrier into both the top and bottom categories. While I never really liked the guy since I grew up in Nebraska loving Dr. Tom Osborne, Spurrier just wasn’t my type of guy. This is not to say that he wasn’t a good coach, I never liked Barry Switzer either but he was a pretty darn good coach.

I respect the fact that Spurrier was true to his beliefs. I loved the fact the the 1995 Huskers took a knee at the end of the game and it shows true that Spurrier was mad about it.

I heard a quote after that game by Spurrier that went to the effect of “it was obvious that we just weren’t as prepared/good as Nebraska”. While it was obvious on the field, that had to have been a difficult and painful statement to make. But I really respect that fact that he called it like it was and not a “well we missed a few tackles and made some mistakes, but if you change the outcome of a play here and there we were basically in it until the end and could have pulled it off” type of excuse that is far too common. And they proved their mettle the following year.

by NavyGrad on Feb 27, 2006 5:00 PM EST reply actions

“Two words: Lusty. Sturdy. "

My laughter always gets me disapoving stares from the chinese office mates that sorround me. After I was done laughing I shudder, shudder….
“spunky, chunky” reminds me of a chipmonk. I guess Holly “the chipmonk” Rowe would cut a dashing figue as chip or dale on halloween. It would def fulfill some guys very specific fetish, just not mine.

by tzubear on Feb 27, 2006 5:12 PM EST reply actions

“the Bruins are a mysterious bunch, nestled in their hillside retreats. "

I thought Bruins students were nestled in the same hills that USC students grew up in.

by tzubear on Feb 27, 2006 5:14 PM EST reply actions

any details on what cowherd said? its a shame i missed it

by tim on Feb 27, 2006 5:22 PM EST reply actions

He said he liked the piece, and sent us an email that said “VERY CLEVER.” If you’re an Insider, you can go to his archive and listen to just the section where they’re talking about us. It’s in “most hated,” and it’s around six minutes into the broadcast.

by Orson Swindle on Feb 27, 2006 5:24 PM EST reply actions

I’m biased, but I see Mike Shula as being one of those “I can’t believe I am doing this for a living” guys (for the obvious reasons), and he is really very nice. I know nobody else wants to see him succeed because of what asses we are as fans, but I think in 3 years he could crack the top 5 of this list.

by Beau on Feb 27, 2006 6:36 PM EST reply actions

I thought Bruins students were nestled in the same hills that USC students grew up in.

Not me, Tzubear. I’m a lowlander / flatlander. Scottish lowlands, Herftordshire, Welsh marches, south Holland, the Oxnard plain: I could see the hills (okay, in Holland it was a reclaimed garbage dump), but only imagine the life of privilege therein.

by Trojan in DC on Feb 28, 2006 9:00 AM EST reply actions

Trojan in DC,

I jest. I do realize that not all USC students are rich kids that coudnt get in to Stanfrd… I have to wonder why you chose to pay the fees not being wealthy (or at least brentwood, bel air, beverly hills wealthy). There are plenty of good, cheaper, schools in Cali. I cant imagine it is degree related. Each dgree is represented many fold by California public universities. A friend of mine got his masters at USC, but the company paid for it. Would not have been his choice if HE had to pay.
As far as UCLA students my impression is they enjoy little of the Xanadu that surrounds them. Have heard stoies about 6 students sharing a 3 bedroon paying 850-900/month each!

by tzubear on Feb 28, 2006 10:58 AM EST reply actions

Long live Larry Munson! Hopefully, he’s got a few years left. I saw him at the West Athens Kroger in 2002 on a Sunday morning after a home game, and he looked ROUGH.

Spurrier on both lists is perfect! I for one am glad he’s back in the SEC.

by PennQuarterDawg on Feb 28, 2006 11:30 AM EST reply actions

Holly Rowe is not “Lusty. Sturdy.” More like “Slutty. Turdy.” Almost the same in my book.

by Johnny Dollar on Feb 28, 2006 12:23 PM EST reply actions

Tzubear, at the risk of overdoing the bio: Don’t laugh but I actually was planning to go to Cal, because I was still in FOB immigrant mode and not elegible for financial aid. Then SC offered a monster scholarship, and I’ll spare you the rest of my rationalizations. No regrets though. I do find that I have to conceal my alum status from people I meet who are Californians, at least long enough to ascertain that they don’t like me on my own merits.

by Trojan in DC on Feb 28, 2006 3:30 PM EST reply actions

There is nothing wrong with Cal, as long as you can deal with the hippy trippy population around there. It is the one public school in California that can realistically lay claim to being “better” than USC in academics (maybe UCSD too, but they are so boring they don’t count).

If you look at the SAT scores of incoming students, UCLA has been behind USC for years now. Some of the poor Bruins try to pretend past glories are still relevant, but than that’s all they have, isn’t it?

I love the guys like Nestor over at Bruinsnation. I know all the potential recruits that read all the crying and whining on that site can’t end up with a good feeling about UCLA. Nobody will ever know how many they steer to other schools. It amuses me to think that a deep-cover USC mole couldn’t do a better job of making UCLA look bad.

by phil on Feb 28, 2006 5:25 PM EST reply actions

Mike Leach looks like his face is permanently stuck in a position where he really needs to take a crap but he just….can’t…..quite…..get it…..out…..

by Will on Feb 28, 2006 11:29 PM EST reply actions

Shoes: struts the same old pair of trainers he’s been rocking for years: black Adidas with white stripes, his only concession to nouveau coaching fashion trends.

Joe doesn’t wear Adidas, as Penn State is a Nike school.

by Trader Kevin on Mar 1, 2006 12:27 AM EST reply actions

It works, good list. Except #8. Except for Ralph “shit-talk” Friedgen. I went to a competing ACC school and this guy shows no class whatsoever in his postgames or really any media incident when he’s pressed to evaluate his opponents. Likeable? Maybe to you guys. I guarantee the sentiment wears off if you have to listen to some lardass belittle your team every season.

by Jake on Mar 4, 2006 12:47 AM EST reply actions