My Encounter With Coach Carr Last Night
[Ed-M: We've been waiting for you Obi-Jim. The write-up is now complete: bumped]
Evening, folks. Last night I had the honor of meeting and having a pleasant conversation with Lloyd Carr, so I thought I would share the story. Nothing too exciting but some of you may find it interesting.
One of my friends, who is a prominent athlete from Windsor (prominent to Windsor people, probably not to you guys) was up for an award at the Wespys. So i went with him without even knowing that Lloyd was the keynote speaker. When I found out, excitement ran over me. After the awards, we went to his table and he told us to sit down as he congratulated my friend for being nominated, although he didn't win. I should mention at this point that when one meets Lloyd Carr, he exudes class and sincerity even before he begins to speak. He then asked me if I was up for any awards, to which I replied that I was simply a spectator and am currently in law school. His reaction to this was to ask what I studied as an undergrad. When I mentioned philosophy, he said "Wow, that's excellent, you must be a heavy reader."
As a Michigan football fan of gargantuan proportions and a boy who became a man during the Lloyd Carr era, my first reaction upon hearing that Coach Carr would be speaking at the event was to behave like a child meeting Santa Claus and ask him a million football related questions. However, as someone who intends to become a hockey agent after law school and who knows a few athletes, I understand that these people receive the same questions ad nauseum from the general public. It is understandable, but at some point they develop pre-packaged, often repeated, and extremely generic answers to these encounters after hearing them constantly. Thus, I decided to refrain from asking any football questions at all and just enjoy his company.
The conversation was about 8-10 minutes long and we mostly discussed literature and philosophy. There was a great point in the conversation when we talked about writers who make their work inaccessible to most people by unnecessarily writing in complex schemes just for complexity's sake. I said I prefered the simple, classic, and understated genius of writers like Mark Twain and Charles Dickens, whose complexities come from the depth of their characters. He agreed.
When it was time to go, I shook his hand and told him it was a pleasure to meet him, to which he responded, and I'm paraphrasing, "You're a very charismatic young man and I'm sure you will go far." This, to say the least, made me feel like a million dollars well into today, and probably beyond.
So, I have nothing new for you guys, no inside knowledge about about his opinions on Hoke, Denard, or Rodriguez. Just a very enjoyable evening with a world-class human being and someone we should all be proud to say coached our football team. Thanks for reading.
April 23rd, 2011 at 12:28 PM ^
Craig -- so you are on the boards. I always hoped you'd be so I can thank you for my signed copy (you sat next to my mother at a signing for one of her books and apparently she mentioned my Michigan fandom -- this is years and years ago).
Your book was so convincing, it's about 90% of what I had to unlearn when I started reading MGoBlog. One day I'd love to discuss it.
Short version: your argument for controlling the clock and playing conservative is good except I think it shouldn't be applied unless up by 21 points in the 4th quarter.
April 23rd, 2011 at 12:24 PM ^
Thanks for sharing.
On a side note, when you become a hockey agent and should happen to need a PR person, let me know.
April 23rd, 2011 at 12:33 PM ^
Nice story - thanks for sharing. The only time I've ever interacted with Carr was when he was walking past the CCRB and I said hi ( he probably didn't hear me) and when I was walking through the Track building's parking lot at 8 a.m. and he drove by in his car - he glowered at me, and it was awesome. I felt like a sideline reporter!
April 23rd, 2011 at 12:36 PM ^
Well, this thread was tremendous. No question about it.
I had the chance to meet Coach Carr in 2009 at Michigan Stadium in the concourse just before the ND game. I tink he thought I might have been a former player at first but in any event he was extremely warm and friendly as he shook my hand. I let him know I was as proud to shake his hand as I once did Bo Schembechler's and he seemed to smile just a little wider at that.
I have a lithorgraph signed by Bo and Llyod-tremendous era of Michigan football.
I'm a late 70's grad, now living in VT, where, needless to say, there is almost no college football. I go back to A2 every fall for a game, and recent years have been tough, as I have witnessed some pretty poor football and lopsided losses. Two yrs ago, I was tailgaiting with several friends on Elbel field when Coach Carr walked by on his way to an event at the Colliseum across the street. I hailed him and he was gracious enough stop, press the flesh, and talk with us for a few minutes before proceeding to his event. My quick impression was of a man of great intellect but also down to earth, with a strong touch of humility. I am proud that he reprented and continues to represent our university so well, and I feel lucky to have had the chance to tell him that in person.
April 24th, 2011 at 10:32 AM ^
It was my honor to produce a video celebrating the UM Men's Glee Club's 150 anniversary, which was debuted a year ago during the club's sesquicentennal. On Friday, April 9th 2010, we held a dinner and celebration program at Rackham in which Lloyd provided the keynote speech and I introduced about a 10-minute mini-version of "Tis of Michigan We Sing" (yes, you can get a copy from the club or I think the Wolverine Den).
Anyway, Lloyd attended our dinner (about 400 alums came back to town) and was typically gracious. He's clearly comfortable with events such as this around the area, even if the closest he ever came to singing was postgame "Victors" moments. (Aside: there's a famous ESPN feature on the club being taught how to sing The Victors by former Glee Club director Willis Patterson) His keynote speech that Friday night was full of the pride in striving to be the best, regardless of the setting. It ran probably 20 mins and he left the Rackham stage to a ringing roar of approval from the guys (some of whom were students as far back as the 30s and 40s).
When the applause died down, I was introduced for the final segment of the evening, the abbreviated movie clip. I had written down a few thoughts to set up the video, but couldn't resist breaking away from the script.
"This is, of course, an extraordinary night," I said. "It's something I will always remember. Lloyd Carr is my warm-up act."
Lloyd laughed ... thankfully. When my segment ended (and the video played), I was honored to get a standing ovation (hey, I really was preaching to the choir) that lasted longer than what Lloyd received. He was seated right in front of me, and gave me that wry smile that most of us remember as the applause lingered -- both gracious and a bit surprised by the emotions the club alums were displaying on a very special night.
I was never on a team that beat Ohio State, but I was on the club that won a World Championship in 1978 in Wales. I think Lloyd appreciated the excellence the club represents and the passion any championship organization must have.
Go Blue.
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