jtmc33

October 25th, 2010 at 11:59 PM ^

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.

Tater

October 26th, 2010 at 9:58 AM ^

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.

NateVolk

October 26th, 2010 at 12:06 AM ^

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.

briangoblue

October 26th, 2010 at 12:18 AM ^

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.

Black Socks

October 26th, 2010 at 12:19 AM ^

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

imablue

October 26th, 2010 at 12:21 AM ^

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.

KinesiologyNerd

October 26th, 2010 at 1:08 AM ^

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?

Griff88

October 26th, 2010 at 3:56 AM ^

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.

BlueGoM

October 26th, 2010 at 3:33 AM ^

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."

Don

October 26th, 2010 at 5:36 AM ^

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?

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

October 26th, 2010 at 11:15 AM ^

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?
 
OK, honestly, how much farther do you really think they have to go?

wildbackdunesman

October 26th, 2010 at 6:14 AM ^

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?

willywill9

October 26th, 2010 at 8:02 AM ^

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.

Yostal

October 26th, 2010 at 8:25 AM ^

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.

Wolverine In Exile

October 26th, 2010 at 10:43 AM ^

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) 

Nickel

October 26th, 2010 at 11:17 AM ^

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.