http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/ncaa/10/25/dooley.vols.ap...
Sometimes you have to wonder at what point in a press conference should a person just stop talking and say "you know, that just wasn't a good analogy.... let me start again." 2 minutes is a very long time to listen to yourself say something stupid.
His impression of history
You are correct. And, you
You are correct.
And, you should never, ever, ever be hired at a P.R. firm.
As a head coach of a football program, part of your job is not saying controversial and/or offensive things that make their way to the media and become a reflection of your program. Whether your comments are "technically correct" or "accurate" is irrelevant.
Generally, in my life experience, comparing anything you are trying to accomplish to the plight of Nazis during WWII is typically not a good idea. Using war, "soldier", or holocaust comparisons to sports is also, generally, not a good idea. Unless, of course, you want to make the front page for all the wrong reasons that have nothing to do with football.
Class of '97: 4 Years -- 4 Four-loss seasons
Not saying it was a good
Not saying it was a good idea, just saying his conception of history is accurate. Which is better than I suspect most football coaches would do.
Don't worry, I'd still hire
Don't worry, I'd still hire you on at my PR firm.
Quemar los barcos
Because war comparisons to sports is not a good idea, unless said war occurred a long time ago.
Ha ha...shows what you know.
Ha ha...shows what you know. I think war comparisons are an excellent idea and always well received by the media and the public at large.
Sincerely,
Kellen Winslow Jr.
Unless you are Bob Ufer
Unless you are Bob Ufer referring to General George Patton Bo Schembechler.
Ufer?
Ufer did stuff like that a lot, but it was a different era. Things that were "appropriate" back then aren't now. Ufe also compared Michigan to the Nazis once when they were pummeling Navy, referring to it as a "blitzkrieg."
Nowadays, comparing football to war is like what coaches tell players about being out after midnight: nothing good ever happens.
The first rule of public
The first rule of public speaking: You do not talk about Nazis.
The second rule of public speaking: YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT NAZIS
(Unless you're a historian and the topic is Nazis.)
When Denard goes swimming, he doesn't get wet. The water gets Denard.
As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1. In other words, Godwin put forth the sarcastic observation that, given enough time, all discussions—regardless of topic or scope—inevitably end up being about Hitler and the Nazis.
Syracuse '03, Michigan G'05
Space bitches, space.
ZOMG THIS IS RELLY
ZOMG THIS IS RELLY OFFENSIVE!!!
... What?
A wise man speaks because he has something to say; a fool because he has to say something. - Plato
Maybe factually accurate from
Maybe factually accurate from the surprised standpoint, but I can think of a few connotations that perhaps are not the wisest to bring up.
At least
He didn't say Tennessee is like the Germans at Auschwitz.
if he did
i suspect you and your avatar would tear him to shreds
For my privacy, my new username is "non-Oriental non-Andrew"
or
like Hitler on inflatable sex dolls
People who feel like Coach
People who feel like Coach Rod just isn't projecting correctly for the MSM, here is a coach who gets how to talk to the media. Between this and the showering x and o session he put the team through a few weeks ago, DD is ahead of the curve.
Maybe Tennessee's plan is to lull Bama, Florida and Georgia into a very real and justified sense of security.
"because character wins in life and character wins on the football field....." 1-11-11
But are they like the Germans
But are they like the Germans at Pearl Harbor? That's the real question.
"We've beaten Michigan the last four years. So where's the threat?"
- Mark Dantonio
Blogging the Virginia Cavaliers at http://fromoldvirginia.blogspot.com/<
posted from iPhone
Germans? Pearl Harbor? Let him go, he's on a roll.
----umhannon
I heard
Dooley gave his love a cherry that had no stone.
{Smashes GeoTacker's guitar
{Smashes GeoTacker's guitar and shrugs.} Sorry.
Thank goodness he didn't mention Vince Lombardi
It's a pretty good rule of thumb to not mention Nazis (by name or not) in comparison to yourself for anything ever. That said, sometimes I really hate the 24/7/365 news cycle and its insatiable appetite.
Sometimes?
Sometimes?
Well, I can see where he's
Well, I can see where he's coming from. Right now I feel like Sparty is Poland, and we're Germany, and they've invaded us.
Tschuess
I'll go historically accurate
I'll go historically accurate and say Sparty is Russia just so I can compare Dantonio to Stalin.
DANTONIO IS STALIN
RODRIGUEZ IS HITLER
I'M THE KING OF FRANCE
When Denard goes swimming, he doesn't get wet. The water gets Denard.
HAIL!
HAIL!
not just "douchey" MGoBlog user, but now TRUSTED MGoBlog user
Strange Analogy. The Germans
Strange Analogy. The Germans had a tactical advantage a Omaha Beach and took as much advantage of it as possible. They were finally outnumbered. A lot of Americans died there. Dooley might ought to think again before he uses that one again.
I feel more like I do now than I did when I got here.
They obviously had the better
They obviously had the better tactical position, but the Allies had overwhelming manpower and air superiority.
But he seems to be playing up
But he seems to be playing up the "surprise" angle. The Allies used dummy signals to successfully convince the Germans that they would land close to Calais, in the narrowest part of the Channel, rather than in Normandy.
For those interested
A good book on this topic is "overlord" by Max Hastings. I like Hastings more than Ambrose because the latter is more of a "popular history" guy-- not as objective of an account.
(No subject)
So, he's saying that his
So, he's saying that his program will undergo a steady decline for the next year or so. In the process, he will go bat shit crazy and develop Parkinson's. Finally, the program that he tried to bring back to untold prosperity will be completely destroyed. He will remove himself from the program, and team will be set back for 50 years as the NCAA and internal struggles take over. Finally, Tennessee will get its first female head coach and return to relative prosperity. Ja vol!
He's a bit too pessimistic for a head coach isn't he?
I know from experience dude. If you know what I mean.
You forgot the part where the
You forgot the part where the team is divided in half and Alabama runs one half (with help from their SEC West allies Arkansas and Auburn) and Florida runs the other half.
I bet they really miss Phil
I bet they really miss Phil Fulmer right now.
The surprise wore off quickly.
It can be argued that there would have been no surprise, if Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, who had been preparing the defense of the French Coast... had been present on the morning of June 6. He was away celebrating his wife's birthday. If he had been at his HQ, he would have correctly deduced where the real invasion was taking place.
Prior to the invasion, Rommel had argued all the way to Hitler himself, to release the Panzer divisions that were being held in reserve. Hitler however, refused to release control of these armoured units. If he had been allowed to place only one of these divisions, the 12th SS Panzer where he had wanted... U.S. Forces at Omaha would have been immediately counter-attacked by one of the finest fighting units in the world. The other Panzer divisions would also have been released. Crack Panzer units would have moved against the entire beachhead. They would have attacked troops ill-equipped to deal with them. All this coming before Allied air power could have been effectively brought to bear.
Fortunately however, on the morning of D-Day... Rommel and key officers were away on leave. By the time Rommel had returned, and the Panzers were released, it was to late. The Allies had broken out, and the full weight of Allied air power was being unleashed.
really never liked war comparisons
Never was comfortable with military analogies in sports. I have family members who suffered through WW2 in Europe. Not really appropriate at any level, IMO.
IIRC it was Marv Levy, former coach of the Buffalo Bills who stated something like " I don't think the guys storming the beaches at Normandy were yelling "touchdown" when they hit the beach."
So does he mean that Tennessee's program will be conquered
by a coalition of football powers from the west, Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, and a coalition from the east, North Carolina and South Carolina, and that the eastern part of the state will gradually sink into poverty and political repression while the western part undergoes an economic renaissance and political awakening?
So does he mean that
So does he mean that Tennessee's program will be conquered by a coalition of football powers from the west, Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, and a coalition from the east, North Carolina and South Carolina, and that the eastern part of the state will gradually sink into poverty and political repression while the western part undergoes an economic renaissance and political awakening?
"We've beaten Michigan the last four years. So where's the threat?"
- Mark Dantonio
Blogging the Virginia Cavaliers at http://fromoldvirginia.blogspot.com/<
What gets me, is why is
What gets me, is why is Dooley comparing his team to a "leaderless" group of poorly prepared soldiers? Isn't it Dooley's job to be a leader and prepare them for the surprises?
Pic of Dooley at press conference
In my opinion he is taking this German thing too far.
May this serve as a lesson to
May this serve as a lesson to anyone who gets upset with RR's insistence on reusing Lion King rhetoric.
Seriously, I'm surprised he used Germany... I would have expected Russia or something with the #s game he tries to play with athletes on the field.
Touchdown Michigan!
As a history teacher, I can
As a history teacher, I can see the appeal of analogy, I use it all the time to illustrate a difficult point. That feeling of commonality, or even of parallel is a powerful notion. The question is, no matter how apt you feel the analogy is, whether the venue is appropriate for the analogy. Basically, if it's World War II, stay away from it, it won't end the way you want it to. If it's World War I or earlier, you're probably pretty safe, with the major notable exception of the U.S. Civil War.
Or, simply put, think before you speak.
Craig Barker || The Hoover Street Rag || Twitter
"The Michigan fanbase: a cynical, Eeyorish bunch even in the best of times."
Can we get an approved list of wars for press conferences?
I'm guessing....
YES: Boer War, Spanish American war, Revolutionary Way, War of 1812 (as long as you sing the Batttle of New Orleans), Crimea War, World War I, Cola Wars, Star Wars, Mexican-American War, War of Texas Independence, First Human Cylon war (but not the second-- whoa!), Food Wars as seen on the Travel Channel, the War for Toledo (we SO kicked Ohio's ass in that one),and the 10-yr War
NO: Civil War if you're south (unless you're in the south), World War II, Vietnam conflict, Korea War (unless referencing that funny football scene in "MASH"), any of the Indian wars of the 1800's especially if playing a team with a Native tribe mascot, the War of Assassins or Butlerian Jihad (b/c no one will know what you're talking about except for the 275 lb kid in the corner with a bag of cheetos running the AV equipment during the press conference)
"So I come out of Ohio Stadium after we beat the Buckeyes, and right there on the hood of my friend's car, some one took a dump, in the shape of an 'O'. no shit. Oh, sorry, bad pun."
How about when the Lions are
How about when the Lions are playing the Saints? And on the off chance the Lions beat the Saints, can they bring up Romans?
Pictures or it didn't happen
This is probably a good opportunity to link to my album of photos from my tour of Normandy in 2006. Enjoy:
+1 for seeing your opportunity and taking it
You, then, are the Allied Forces in this analogy
Cool pics
Cool pics
Maybe it's the "OMG I SHOULD
Maybe it's the "OMG I SHOULD BE OUTRAGED" burnout but this one doesn't really register as offensive for me. As mentioned above, any WWII analogy to sports is almost always a bad idea, but at least this one isn't entirely inaccurate.
Just once, I'd love to see a coach come up and compare their team / game / loss / situation to some completely obscure random battle. Can you imagine Les Miles after a loss comparing the feeling to "... how the Mesopotamiams must have felt after the defeat at Corinth in 1300 BC at the hands of the Gallatians..." * The sports commentators with their 'heart, guts, played harder' level of analysis would be reduced to speechless, drooling vegetables.
* - not a history major, I have no idea if any of that ever happened.
As a history minor
damn good attempt son, but yes, it never happened.
Now if he goes for the "we got them chasing our option like Hannibal tricked Flaminius at the Battle of Lake Trasimene"... mad props.
"So I come out of Ohio Stadium after we beat the Buckeyes, and right there on the hood of my friend's car, some one took a dump, in the shape of an 'O'. no shit. Oh, sorry, bad pun."
I want a coach to reference
I want a coach to reference Hannibal's use of war elephants. Maybe a metaphor for the offensive line?
Or
A cannae reference? That would be brilliant.
His impression of history is... fairly accurate, really. The analogy is muddled, but it's not terribly wrong, facts wise.