Macte Virtute: "The Building"

Macte' Virtute


Increase in excellence.

The team slogan of the 2006 Oak Harbor Rocket football team (State semi-finalists) has re-emerged; this time, it is the calling of NRTTS as I attempt to re-energize, re-emerge, and re-juvenate this once hallowed space.

If you're looking for an explanation as to why this blog disappeared for an extended period of time, you are looking in the wrong place.  In my attempt to type the explanation, it disappeared with explanations to other mystifying questions such as: Who invented the Money Shot and why? Who was the person who gave Magic Johnson the HIV? Do they brag about it? How did the characters in "Face/Off"  not only take on the facial characteristics of their counterparts, but also their bodily characteristics? How can the guys from Home Alone take so much punishment without needing medical attention? And my favorite, who raised the briefcase during the ladder match at King of the Ring 99'?

The point is, I am here now, and I am writing.  This is something that could last for a sustained period of time, or could be a one-shot deal, like the 6th day of a newly re-married 56 year old man's second honeymoon.

"The Building"

Pictured above with his Team, Bo Schembechler is something of an icon in this region, and in the world of college football.  I thought I knew what Bo was all about; after all, my fanaticism for Michigan is well-documented, and I consider myself to be well-versed in the history of Michigan football.  That history is incomplete without mentioning the legendary Schembechler.  So I knew the basics: Schembechler learned his ways under Woody Hayes, coached at Miami (OH) before coming to Michigan and turning around the program, becoming the coach with most wins in Michigan history (and the NCAA at the time of his retirement).  So what the hell about this man would cause me to dust off this old antique-of-a-blog for one more go-round?

A simple search of old belongings at the Dusseau Estate in Graytown, Ohio found me in possession of a New York Times Best-Seller simply titled "Bo".  Written by Bo himself, along with Mitch Albom, this book looked like the ideal reading material for my *ahem* office.  My shitter.  I never really liked euphemisms.  Anyways, this book has been somewhat of a revelation for me.  Not that I didn't know how legendary Bo was, but this was something else.  Reading this book was like talking to a grandparent or other family member that you never knew, but heard so much about.  See, the Bo I knew was the Bo that would show up on a random Fall Saturday to talk with Keith Jackson in the ABC booth.  The Bo I knew was not the coach, rather the "figure".  "The Building".  

I'm reminded now of a story Lloyd Carr told at Bo's memorial in Michigan Stadium.  Bo had come to Lloyd's office during his early tenure as head coach at Michigan.  Bo asked if he could come in, to which Lloyd replied as only he could, "I could hardly tell him no, after all, the BUILDING was named after him."  And that is how many people remember Bo now.  They hear his name in passing, as reporters flock to "Schembechler Hall" to hear the latest press conference, or to try and dig up the latest dirt on the "cheating" Michigan football program.  

What many of these people that criticize not only the Michigan program, but Rich Rodriguez (and I'm talking about fans, enemies, and reporters), is exactly what the legacy of Bo Schembechler was.  Many people are idealists; they have this idea in their head that Bo was this saint who came in before the 1969 season and transformed a team into world-beaters with fairy dust and magic plays.  If anything, this book taught me that Bo was lucky.  

Lucky not so much in a sense that he got some fortunate bounces, but lucky in that the character of the people he inherited was ready for the type of coaching that he brought to the team.  Lucky that during this time, there was not as much media attention on a new football coach as their is today.  Lucky that the NCAA did not have as much of an eye on the "rules" as they do today.  Lucky that it was okay to toss a reporter off a sideline, or cuss out every player in practice without fear of having "family values" questioned.  

Bo came from a small town -- Barberton, Ohio.  He had a crew cut, a short temper, and no tolerance for being undisciplined.  He said people insisted his conservative approach would never fly in Ann Arbor (where, in 1969, anti-Vietnam and the hippies were in full force).  However, he insisted he would never change, and that the PLAYERS should adapt to his system.  After all, if he was going to go down, he was going to go down doing it HIS way.  

One of the most common critiques I hear of Rich Rod is that he should have adapted his spread offense system to the players he had in his system.  "Michigan Men" all over the place called for Rich-Rod to ditch the spread in favor of an I-formation offense.  These "Michigan Men" forgot about the man that brought Michigan back to the forefront of college football: Bo.  Had Bo been around, would there have been  so much unrest in Ann Arbor? 

Admittedly, Bo ran as tough of a program as any in the nation, and the previous regime was more a "country club", with soft workouts and a softer practice schedule.  On his first team, Bo said, "The guys who did stay, however, were the greatest. Jim Mandich, the tight end. Don Moorhead, the quarterback. Garvie Craw and Glenn Doughty, the running backs. Dierdorf. Billy Taylor, Reggie McKenzie. The funny thing is, none of these guys was my recruit. They had all been  brought to Michigan by the previous coach, who had retired the year before. Of all the Wolverines I've ever had, they had the most right to resent me; after all, they didn't pick me, they got stuck with me. And I killed them. I ran them ragged.  I made them suffer every day of that first maddening season...And somehow, they believed in me. They stayed."

This is where Bo was so fortunate.  The leaders on this team were strong enough to not only handle but thrive the culture shock that came with Bo as a head coach.  They could have ran for the hills (I'm looking at you, Boren) when Bo reared his temper at them. After all, Bo tells the story of his first meeting with Dan Dierdorf.  Bo had recruited Dierdorf at Miami (OH), where he had sent Jerry Hanlon to meet with Dierdorf at his high school.  Dierdorf snuck out the back of the gym to avoid the meeting, and the Miami coaches never heard from him again.  Now here was Bo, the head coach at Michigan, with the tables turned on Dierdorf.  DD walked up to Bo, and introduced himself.  Bo reached right past his extended hand, and grabbed Dierdorf's stomach, telling him "YOU'RE FAT!" and walking away.  

Dierdorf could have run away, like many did under Bo that first year.  Instead, he stayed, and he was a champion.  Could more have stayed in Rodriguez's first year?  Absolutely.  However, they either could not handle the fire of the new coaching staff, did not like the "scheme", or simply did not want to invest the time into a rigorous offseason program.  Yet, it was Rodriguez and his staff that were lambasted in the media for not "keeping" these players.  These quitters.  

What would Bo have thought?  A few words come to mind after reading this book: anger, disgust, embarrassment (for Michigan to have housed such quitters), and earnestness.  After all, coaching was his life-blood.  He would have coached the hell out of those kids that stayed, and he would have done the best that he could have possibly done.  Would there have been  mistakes?  Absolutely, nobody was harder on himself than Bo.  However, Bo prided himself on never being outworked.  In the film-room, on the practice field, in the staff meetings, on the game field.  Bo ALWAYS expected 100% from himself, his staff, and his players.  

And here I am, having written too many words already, with still so much to say about a legend.  In summary, Bo is still an inspiration to me, and should be to all Michigan fans.  If I could have every Michigan fan read this book, I would.  For me, it was a window into a man that I only knew from stories.  For many, it could be a reminder as to what Bo meant to this program.  In these days when the Michigan house is divided, I can't help but think what a uniting force Bo could have been.  But what about the "practice scandal" you say?  Shit, some people act like Bo was a saint.  In the book, he admits to having his starting quarterback stay at his house (illegally) all summer, in order to avoid the QB getting in trouble.  They would work out, watch film together, and practice together.  If anything, Bo would have wanted to practice MORE.

This is not a reprieve on Rich Rod.  His record stinks.  But for those that say he is not a "Michigan Man," I say to you: GO FUCK YOURSELF.  Go root for another team.  Bo would not have wanted you either.  For me, I will keep Bo's memory alive through my coaching.  As minute as my coaching career is at this moment, I have made it no secret that I one day covet a head coaching job.  I only hope to be a quarter of the coach that Bo was.  However, his legacy will live on in that no one will outwork me, no one will bend me from my beliefs (on how to win football games, and on how to develop young men into good citizens), and no one will care more about my players than I do.  After all, the players are what this game is all about.  

I will close with one more Bo quote.  Bo is best known for his love of Michigan football - but he had an appreciation and love for a man that helped mold Bo into what he was at the time of the book -- Woody Hayes.  Bo writes, "I make no apologies for my affection toward Woody Hayes.   He made mistakes.  His temper was, at times, inexcusable.  But he shaped me and everything I do with a stamp of passion and strength.  He was a remarkable coach, a teacher, a winner.  I will miss him forever, and I'll never meet another man like him.  Not in this world anyway."  Even the legends had to get their start somewhere.  Luckily for Michigan, Bo learned under Woody.  Today, we reap the benefits of this relationship every 3rd or 4th Saturday in November.  Whatever life brings, do it with passion, with strength, and with commitment.  The way Bo and Woody did it. 

NRTTS

Coach Duece