Beilein's Regret - USA Today Article
I came across this today while looking through twitter. Just one more reason to love Coach B.
Navy pilot Natesh Rao met Beilein in 2010 when he took his team to Europe, and they've kept in touch with occassional emails.
"He always writes back, which is one of the ways you know he's genuinely apprecative," Rao said. "It's not just lip service."
And when Rao went to a Michigan practice last year, Beilein put him to work, asking him to teach his players how to stand at attention so that they would be ready to do it before each game.
"Before every season, we talk about how we're going to conduct ourselves during the national anthem," Beilein said. "To me, that's not a little thing. That's a big thing.
"I always remind the guys that when the national anthem is playing, just remember there's people freezing their tail off on a hill in Afghanistan while you're getting ready to play a game."
March 26th, 2014 at 10:26 AM ^
Love that man!
March 26th, 2014 at 10:34 AM ^
everyone but Nik, obviously. (Standing at attention that is...) Because he...I mean.
Nevermind.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^
this is one of the dumbest statements i've read. Does this mean that when the Canadian national anthem is played before a game in the USA that you just stand and screw around on your phone with your hat on? This is the problem I have with some people... The anthem is a damn sign of respect so fucking show respect. I guarantee you Stauskas stands at attention and treats the American national anthem the same way he would the Canadian anthem.
Not to make myself seem all pro-'merica but I'll have you know that I stand and SING the American national anthem before each Michigan game I attend (season ticket holder for Football and Hockey). I take my hat off and stand at attention as a sign of respect to those brave men and women who serve(d) and defend(ed) your country because they deserve that respect from anyone and everyone enjoying the freedom to attend a fucking sporting event.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:33 AM ^
it was a joke. I was kidding.
I'm about as American as they come...retired military, service academy graduate, sickeningly patriotic.
Lighten up, Francis.
Edit: And besides, if THIS is the dumbest thing you've read...you need to peruse the blogosphere a bit more. Either that or follow some of the OTHER things I say....
March 26th, 2014 at 12:50 PM ^
apology accepted. Not everyone "gets" my sense of humor, I admit.
thought it was great. 2nd show is different than the first and remember to tip your waitresses.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:29 AM ^
I think your sarcasm meter is off.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:30 AM ^
...Woosh!
To be fair, isn't that what "/s" is for?
the "/s" is implied.
And remember, sarcasm is simply a form of humor.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:51 AM ^
Fuck yeah, brother.
"Because he... is not just a shooter."
You are welcome. ;-)
March 26th, 2014 at 10:34 AM ^
Why wouldn't you want your son to play for this man? Beilein and Hoke exemplify class.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:44 AM ^
Maybe because a lot of parents of kids who are top-tier athletes in money-making sports like football and basketball see their kids more as meal tickets than wanting a classy coach. Hence the desire to play on glorified AAU teams like Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, UNC, etc.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
...but rapist-protecting Hoke has in now way earned the right to be spoken in the same breath as Beilin.
March 26th, 2014 at 12:05 PM ^
I'm certainly not going to ever be accused of being a Hoke or Gibbons apologist but that's WAY over the line.
On all fronts.
March 26th, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^
you know that for certain and there's no way any of us will ever know what happened when and who knew what.
Like MGrowOld said...WAY over the line.
March 26th, 2014 at 12:25 PM ^
Yep. Apparently Canadian didn't make it this far down the thread before he responded to your earlier post.
March 26th, 2014 at 12:44 PM ^
March 26th, 2014 at 10:35 AM ^
March 26th, 2014 at 10:37 AM ^
March 26th, 2014 at 10:42 AM ^
Everything about John Beilein is class. Not much more to say except I am thankful he leads Michigan basketball.
March 26th, 2014 at 10:43 AM ^
Love the respect for our troops and flag.
I'm sure Beilein did not mean to imply that freezing on a hill in Afganistan is the worst thing our troops face.
March 26th, 2014 at 10:43 AM ^
March 26th, 2014 at 10:56 AM ^
Without ripping off USA today completely I couldn't think of a good title. Sorry to mislead.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:07 AM ^
March 26th, 2014 at 11:53 AM ^
Thanks for the link. I only started following Michigan basketball after Coach Belein got here. I have enjoyed his teems and their play. Coach Belein oozes class and that class is usually personified in his players. I would love to have my kid play and learn with him.
Lets get subs!
March 26th, 2014 at 10:45 AM ^
winning with class...not much more you can ask for beyond that...
March 26th, 2014 at 10:47 AM ^
getting a sub for lunch today. I know it may not be the same thing as freezing in Afghanistan, but it's the least I can do. No seriously, it is probably the least I can do.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:40 AM ^
Technically, you could not eat anything at all. That would be less.
March 26th, 2014 at 10:50 AM ^
It's great to be a fan of a school that hires great humans.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:10 AM ^
I'm trying to think of something I don't like about Coach Beilein.
Thinking......
Thinking......
About all I can come up is that he spells his last name funny (e before I - come ON) which caused me to screw it up several times before I finally committed the correct spelling to memory.
That's all I got. SO glad he's our coach.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:10 AM ^
I see so many fans with hats on, talking and such, during the National Anthem.
It saddens me greatly to see that much disrespect for those who gave their all so that we could enjoy a Saturday Afternoon of Football.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:33 AM ^
Talking during it is a different story.
March 26th, 2014 at 12:04 PM ^
it seems that the whole tradition of removing one's hat is specifically to show respect...because its respectful. Somewhat circular logic there, but it all started in the days of Knights doing battle, raising your right hand to lift your face shield and prove you had no weapon in your hand.
Its actually a law, or at one point it was, that men must remove their hat during the National Anthem. However, there is no punishment for failing to do so. In a way it is a tradition that has stuck and any "societal norms" that change WRT this particular tradition do so because society permits it, and only in my opinion, allow it because showing respect is not high on folks' priority list these days.
during the National Anthem is absoluteley disrespectful of any American Serviceman who put their very life on the line so that you could enjoy that event in relative peace and freedom.
There is no room for discussion on this matter. It is absolutely black and white, either you respect those who watered the tree of liberty with their very own blood or you don't.
Removing your cap and placing your right hand over your heart is the very sign of respect for those who died and left pieces of themselves in far-off lands to keep you free and secure in your pursuit of happiness.
Please reconsider...
50 years ago removing your hat was seen as proper behavior, and a way of showing respect in general. Because of that view not doing so was appropriately seen as disrespectful.
Today, removing your hat to show respect is seen as old fashioned, and not something that is generally done. Not removing your hat in a situation where 50 years ago you would have does not mean it is a sign of disrespect. Etiquette has changed.
My personal view is that in addition to being a sign of respect, removing your hat was a sign of deferrance to those who were your betters. As society has become more equal this type of behavior has started disappearing.
As a side note, I do not wear hats.
No need to worry; people don't really wear hats around anymore
March 26th, 2014 at 11:15 AM ^
"He's way more than a basketball coach," Brandon said. "He sees himself as a teacher and a coach and part of his job is to prepare his players for life."
To me, this as much as anything that John Beilein does is why I would love for my kids to play for someone like this. This is one of the primary reasons that I really, really am proud that he is on staff at the University Of Michigan.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:22 AM ^
I thought the "regret" part was going to be that he's spent many of his Sub-loving days ordering from Subway, when there are clearly better options out there (Jersey Mike's, Potbelly, and AA specifics like DiBella's, Sottini's, etc.).
March 26th, 2014 at 11:29 AM ^
Correction. DiBella's is NOT "AA specific", they are very much a national chain. How do I know this? Because this bad boy's got my name written all over it for lunch and I'm working in Beachwood, Ohio.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:32 AM ^
Oh nice, good to know! I've never seen them anywhere else but that's just my problem, I guess. Certainly not yours.
Now I'm hungry. I think I'm grabbing a Cuban from Cafecito in Chicago today. One of the best sandwiches in the city.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:27 AM ^
Not to mention that being in the service in 1971 meant a high probability of going to Vietnam to fight in the most unpopular foreign war in our history, a war whose advocates even admitted had gone very poorly.
But cosign on all the comments about Beilein as a man and coach. I've got an itchy trigger finger ready for the inevitable jackhole who tries to dismiss what he's accomplished this year if we lose this weekend.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:41 AM ^
Which is one of the reasons why, when visiting Houston recently with my family, I made sure my son and daugther approached three Marines in uniform and thank them for their service. My son even asked them for a photo and they obliged.
I could do much, much worse than to have my kids earn the right to wear the Marine Corps service dress blue uniform.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:48 AM ^
Agreed. If you can't/won't/didn't join there's no shame in really appreciating and showing pride in what those who have made the ultimate sacrifice or served at all give our country. My first baseball coach (my dad) always impressed upon us that fact that we were lucky to grow up in a country where we can play sports at all.
March 26th, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^
Considering Beilein's uncles inspired Saving Private Ryan
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaab--michigan-s-john-beilein-a-descendan…;
What a family
March 26th, 2014 at 11:56 AM ^
Patriotism is great and all. And America can be a decent country at times.
Having said that, national anthems really have no place at sporting events. It just subverts the games for blatantly nationalistic propaganda that we could all really do without.