First, let me just say, I am not a fairweather fan. I had Mizzou season tickets from 1990 thru 1994 when the Tigers managed to win just three games per year. I rejoiced when Larry Smith brought home our first winning season in fourteen years back in 1996. I have stuck by the team through a few "ups" and a lot of "downs."
Fast-forward to 2005. On this very blog I called for the firings of Mike Alden, Quin Snider, and Gary Pinkel. Snider and his staff had been implicated in multiple NCAA violations and couldn't manage to get into the Big Tournament. Pinkel had the Uber-talented Brad Smith, but couldn't manage to beat Kansas. And Mike Alden was the guy who hired both of these overrated coaches. He also raised ticket prices, ended all free-parking privileges at games, and banned kegs from tailgates. In short, I was disgusted with the whole athletic department.
Well, Alden made a wise choice to do-away with Quin in favor of the very highly respected Mike Anderson. He also stuck by Pinkel, who had an ace up his sleeve named Chase Daniel. Apparently as athletic as Brad Smith was, he was not a pure-passing quarterback. Unlike Daniel, he did not thrive in the "spread offense" formation that Pinkel is so fond of. It turns out, Pinkel had to change the way he ran his offense to accommodate the natural talents Smith had. It appeared that Pinkel's coaching strategy was to either let Smith run like crazy (which he was born to do) or else force him to be a drop-back, pocket passer (with miserable results.) I called for the coach to be removed, but really he was doing the best he could with the personnel he had.
Chase Daniel ran the identical style offense to Mizzou's while he was in high school. When he came to Columbia, he didn't have to learn a new system. He naturally fit into Pinkel's plan. And guess what- apparently Pinkel can coach. It helps to have a Heisman qualtity QB, but Brad Smith was mentioned in that category, too. The key is that with Daniel, Pinkel can be free to be himself. And he is showing the football world just how good he is at his job. He has recruited two of the best tight ends in football. His receivers are fantastic. His defense forced Colorado to go "three and out" on seven straight possessions and shut down Texas Tech's top rated offense. And now the Tigers are 8-1 with their only loss on the road to a top-ten Oklahoma. Mizzou is poised to square-off against arch-rival Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium on Thanksgiving weekend. The Jayhawks may be 11-0 and the Tigers 10-1 when they play. The winner will win the Big 12 North and go on to play Oklahoma for the conference championship. If Mizzou wins out, we will be 12-1, Big 12 Champs, and will have beaten two top 5 teams and three other ranked opponents. Depending on what Ohio State, LSU, and Oregon do the remainder of the season, The Missouri Tigers have a chance at playing for the National Championship.
So I wish to extend my heartfelt apologies to Gary Pinkel for being overly critical of him in the past. He is showing that he is an excellent coach and he is making it fun to be a Mizzou fan again. He also took a moment to help a friend of mine named Jim the other day. Jim's son had recently been kicked-off his high school football team for having a bad attitude despite being one of the best athletes on the team. As Pinkel was walking out of Jim's store, Jim's son was was walking in. Jim asked if the Coach would talk to the kid. With his trademark look of intensity and a twinkle in his eye he asked my friend, "Do you want me to yell at him?" Jim said to do whatever he wanted. Pinkel proceeded to give him the traditional coach's "rah-rah-rah, get your head out of your ass and be a team player" speech. He talked about supporting your teammates, listening to your coaches, and giving it your all. It seemed to make an impact on the kid. Here was Coach Pinkel preparing to leave town for the Colorado game during one of the most dramatic seasons in MU history and yet he still took the time to help straighten out the troubled son of a complete stranger. That says a lot about the man's character. Win or lose, Coach Pinkel has earned my respect.
Now if only we could get Mike Alden to lighten-up on tailgaters...
2 comments:
Nothing succeeds like success. And this season we have succeeded.
Now if you could get the powers that be to understand that the tailgates and such are for the student body , not just the fat cat alumni, we'd all have a better time at the games. It is positively scandalous to pay $10 for a tail gate parking speace!!!!! on the campus of a public university. For Shame, MU, for shame.
Bowl Update:
ESPN is now projecting Mizzou to win the Big 12 and play Boston College in the Orange Bowl. This sets up the possibility of finishing as high as third in the final ranking.
I believe Ohio St. and LSU will both lose a game, leaving us to play Oregon for the National Championship. Mark it down now.
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