GREAT MOMENTS IN COACHING SHILLING: BEAR BRYANT SAYS CALL YOUR MAMA.

I remember seeing this when I worked for BellSouth Advertising. As luck would have it, according to the AJC, AT&T is trying to stop delivering the residential White Pages in Atlanta. Good find, Orson.

Mid July, 1974. My cousin arranged an interview for me to tutor athletes at Bama while in Lonnie Strickland MBA Skool, same as I did at Starksville. I went in, spoke to the secretary and happened to glance down the hall to the right. AND THERE SAT GOD.

I walked down the hall trying to avoid looking at him. He called to me and said, “you’re Cats’s cousin, come in here.” I sat and talked with him very, very uncomfortably for a minute. I was flat out terrified and went on to my interview after he shook my hand. And understood the effect he had on people.

He would have had Brezhnev shitting in his pants after 10 minutes.

It’s not Grape Ape selling Hummaz, but it’ll do.

If I’m not mistaken, this was the second commercial Bear did for SCB. The first commercial was filmed outdoors in the brutal summer heat. The line “I sure wish I could call mine.” was ad libbed after many, many takes that had left Bear sweating and frustrated. The producer loved it, kept it in, and the rest is/was commercial history.

Dam youtube blocked at WORK!!! DOH!

I would rather eat a used diaper than talk to my mother on the phone. Nevertheless, I am now wracked with spasms of guilt and shame. DAMN YOU DEITY-COACH

If you scroll the videos on the bottom there is a video of Bud Wilkinson interviewing Coach Bryant.

He might have been able to sell bacon in Mecca but he still couldn’t beat Notre Dame.

Who is this “Coach Bryant” you speak of?

Well, of course he couldn’t beat ND. ND was protected by God, Bear was God, and could not beat himself.

On a really shitty day (post courtesy-wreck fun from the insurance company, everybody in the house has PMS [male and female, adults and children, work sucks ]), seeing this sent me back to that simple time when I was a kid and all seemed right with the world. Although, the end now makes me cry, as I too, wish I could call my mama.

seems somebody missed mother’s day

Damn, yoyo, Lonnie’s been there that long? I had him for a class in 2004. The guy is awesome.

Do yourself a favor and watch it again, with the bass turned all the way up on your subwoofer. It’s like Barry White and Colonel Sanders had a baby.

Awesome. I lived in the midwest as a kid, and I don’t remember seeing these.

There’s an old commercial I’m obsessed with finding, too. It’s for bic shavers or something like that, and it has scruffy, chain-smoking Vlade Divac capitalizing on his mush-mouthed accent. The tagline is something like “Finally! My face is no longer irritating!” Must find that.

I think he was actually sober there….

Perhaps the other SEC school presidents should have been buying their coaches whatever Bryant was drinking. Come to think of it, Dye, Majors and most of the rest tried it but still paled in comparison.

That commercial was so effective, I just called my mom despite living in her basement.

Little known fact, Bryant’s mother outlived him.

The reason he couldn’t call her was because she was a traisient hooker who moved from town to town.

The last time he spoke to her was 1982 in Memphis. He was looking for a handie the night before the Liberty Bowl and didn’t recognize her in a dimly lit alley. She asked for $5, he countered with $2. She agreed. He was done in :30 and asked for $1 back.

She told him that she’d never given anyone money back, including his dad, and she wasn’t about to start with him. He cried and then told her he’d orally pleasured John Wayne on numerous occasions.

Tater S-

My 1st MBA class was Macro with Art Thompson at 11AM T-Th, fall 1974. He’d keep you until 12:29 EVERY day, but you did not mind, he was so damn good. He could falat draw graphs with about 10 different colors of chalk, using a damn Tenuhcee 3-ring ninder with his instruction notes.

Lonnie taught me GBA fall 1975. He took the last period to tell us how to get rich the EZ way, & he was spot on. I wished I’d followed his advice more often.

I think Lonnie came to Bama in 1972 or 73, Art about the same time – he had just finished a semester sabbatical at Hahvahd. Of course, Alex Gatewood almost predates Bear.

The man could sell bacon in Mecca and bicycles to quadraplegics.

Or as my grandpa used to say, “He could sell a ketchup Popsicle to a woman in a white dress”. The old fart had a way with words.

dear dinknflicka,

you have just had a Bama fatwah issued against you. When you are found, there will be Tide boxes staked to your yard, rolls of toilet paper tossed in your trees and everyone related to you, or you have ever seen touched or talked to will “move away in the night without their belongings”

don’t joke about the ‘Bear…. i’m just sayin’

Yoyo-

I had him for GBA as well. He still gives that same lecture on how to become rich… Too funny.

tater-

Back then he said “buy an old boat & use it for collateral when you buy your first duplex”. Try that today.

Of course there were no concerns over lead paint, mold, leaking home heating oil USTs, etc. back then. I gotta get my cut out of each closing, bro.

This commercial shows why he was such a great coach.

Because he was such a great salesman. Not a recruit or his mother could resist. And as he became successful, his personality cult only grew all the more powerful and still does.

I’m not knocking him, just explaining why he was good at what he did.

It would be interesting to have a rodeo-like event where you have to watch that ad, and then see how long you can wait before you call your mama. My time was about nine seconds.

I was at UA from 1966-1971, and I had both Dr. Thompson and Dr. Strickland. I didn’t know how young they were, but they were/are both excellent teachers.

NOTER WHO ????

Dinknflicka, your message was in poor taste. What if someone wrote that about you and your Mother. I don’t think you would take it too kindly. Coach Bryant was a man among men. Just ask any player that he coached.
Also, in 1966, Alabama was untied and undefeated. Had only 38 points scored on them the whole year. He begged Notre Dame to play Alabama. In stead, they played Michigan in the bowl game and Ara Parseghan elected to end the game in a tie rather than take the chance on losing the game. I think Alabama could have beaten any team in the Nation that year.

This man will always be considered one of the best to ever coach the game of football and more importantly he taught his players how to play the game of life. It does not matter if your a Bama fan or not I cannot see anyone not highly respecting this man and how he represented himself , his team and everyone around him.
Just think of all the people he has probably had so much influence in over the years and that includes myself.

I distinctly remember the first one "Call your Mama was shot on the field in Bryant-Denny in the south end zone with pressbox in the background as he walked by the camera. The Call your Mama was part of the script but the “I sure wish I could call mine” was ad-libbed by the man himself. I think the one at the desk was a later shot.

I was just talking about this commercial a couple of weeks ago. I think my Mother would have personally thanked Bear for this one. I remember the first time I saw this ad on TV. I couldn’t call my Mama fast enough and sobbing to boot. I cried everytime I saw Bear though and still do. In the presence of greatness……

I remember this ad when I was just a kid in the 70s. It was great!

To some of the above posters…..I was in Dr. Strickland’s GBA class in Spring 1991. The best class I ever had!!!! He had the same last class lecture at that time about getting rich. He is a great professor and a great man! I didn’t realize he and and Dr. Thompson went back so far at UA.

That commercial was created for South Central Bell by Birmingham, AL based advertising agency Luckie & Company. Go to www.luckie.com. Click on about us, then history.

I agree with Warchiziken that you have had a Bama fatwah issued against you. You are far below the lowest of lows. It takes a real scumbag to say things like you said about Bear and his mother or anyone else for that matter. It is one thing to say it verbally but to put it in print for many others to see is another. Just remember that your day is coming.

One of the greatest moments of my life, was attending the “73” Sugar Bowl against ND. My family walked down to see the players. Ozzie Newsome walked by and we were able to get his autograph. There was “Bear” conducting interviews. I was 5 ft from him, and when the conference was over he lightly patted me as to say excuse me son. It is a moment that is ingrained in my memory forever. And there isn’t an idiot on the face of the earth can ever take that away…..