OT - SweaterVest Speech at Halftime Last Saturday

Submitted by True Blue in CO on

 

JT/SweaterVest Halftime speech vs. PSU on 11/13/2010

Sharing this with the MGoBlog community to give insight on what changed last Saturday's game between PSU and tOSU last weekend.
 



Having spoken to a number of people who were present during the halftime speech of the PSU game, I have a really good feel for how things went down.  JT used language that is NOT JT LIKE and he called some people out in front of the team....definately NOT something he does.  I am going to do my very best to outline what happened at halftime, but posting about it does not do it any justice....you'd really have to hear it from those that were there:
 
Once the team got into the locker, he politely asked all recruits to step outside for a few minutes.  He asked a student assistant to get a cup of water.  The assistant comes back 30 seconds later with Gatorade.  JT flipped and screamed:  "I've got a room full of football players that are not doing much right, dont tell me I have student assistants not doing things right...GET ME A GLASS OF WATER NOW."  Student assistant comes back 10 seconds later with a cup of water and a face more red than a stop sign.  More on that later.  
 
JT asked the captains to walk to the center of the room and face a mirror (the locker room is full of mirrors).  Once the captains were standing and facing a mirror, he asked them if the coaching staff did a good enough job preparing the team last week for the game. "Captains, if we failed as a coaching staff, I want to know right here, right now.  C'mon...tell me.  We have 20 minutes to get things fixed, but I need to know."  Silence.  "OK, silence is consent.  So now I ask you this:  look in the mirror and tell me what you see."  Silence.  "OK, maybe I did not make myself clear...that was a QUESTION that requires an ANSWER."  Still silence....finally, Cam said, "coach, I see a guy that is not playing his best football."  JT shot back, "Its November, Cam....its God d*** November!  This isnt the God d*** spring game...ITS NOVEMBER and we are playing at home with the Big Ten Championship in our hands!  Hey B-Rolle, what do you see?"  Rolle:  Coach, we are not doing a good enough job of leading this fooball team right now and I accept full responsibility, sir."  JT:  "B-Rolle, how many Big Ten Championships have you won and how many of those were handed to you?"  I've won 3 and none of them were handed to me, sir."  JT:  "NONE....NOT A GOD D*** ONE OF THEM.  Captains, please sit down with the rest of your teammates."  
 
Next, JT went on about a 7-8 minute tirade...here are some of the highlights:
 
"This is NOT Ohio State football right now...this looks like a rag tag operation that's looking to skate by because of what they've done in season's past.  2008 and 2009 are not going to help you in 2010."
"ESPN is not here because of you, they are here because of HIM (Paterno)."  
"That team is not on the same level as you, but they are good enough to take the game unless something is done about it."
"We spent all week with brave men & women that have served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice...they are here today as guests and we honor their service with a horse (bleep) performace like that?"
"We are not losing this game.  Absolutely not.  Every single time we lose tothat team, t-shirts are made.  Not here, not today."
"If you play for 30 minutes, we will coach for 30 minutes and we will not let up until the clock reads zero."
 
At the conlusion of his speech, he looks at the captains sitting in the front and says, "thanks, guys...now I have to go to church twice tomorrow."  
 
After the game in the locker room, JT called the student assistant to the middle of the room in front of the team and apologized to her and presented her with the game ball
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evenyoubrutus

November 19th, 2010 at 1:37 PM ^

You know, in a way I hate him, but sometimes I respect him so much it's hard.  I don't care if this is heresy or not, but if that story is true, it is awesome.  It would be nice to think that OSU fans at the very least hated-but-still-respected Lloyd Carr for similar reasons, but I doubt that is the case.

Joined: 11/04/2008

MGoPoints: 178093

mgokev

November 19th, 2010 at 12:35 PM ^

If I were in the student assistant's shoes, I would have liked to pull this picture out of my pocket and hand it to Coach Tressel.  In fact I'm going to print it out now and carry it in my wallet in case one day I need to use it.

Joined: 06/17/2009

MGoPoints: 18955

mGrowOld

November 19th, 2010 at 12:39 PM ^

I met Tressel after he got the gig in Columbus but before his first game at OSU.  Lloyd was speaking here in Cleveland at a high school football awards banquet and Tressel and his now late mother attended.  My then 15 year old son went with me and we sat a table filled with Northern Ohio Wolverines for the speech.  After Lloyd finished they started showing a highlight video of the high school kids so my son and I snuck out as it was getting late.  We did so at the same time Tressel and his mom were leaving and my son and Mrs. Tressel both had to use the bathroom at the same time so Jim and I were standing there, me wearing my Michigan polo and the soon to be new coach of OSU.  I said "congrats coach,  I hope you go 12-1 every year."  He said "me too, but I don't want to lose the one you want me to lose."  Then we proceeded to talk football for about 15 minutes and he was one of  the nicest and friendliest persons I've ever met.  He invited my too skinny son to come to Columbus and gave me his cell phone number and said I should call him if i'm ever down his way and want a tour of the stadium.  In short he was VERY nice to someone he didn't need to be nice to and I thought immediately "ut oh.....we're in trouble if this guy can coach at all."

Unfortunately for us he can coach and well as recruit.   Extremely well.

Joined: 10/04/2010

MGoPoints: 211740

mgokev

November 19th, 2010 at 12:42 PM ^

I don't know.  You don't have to care if you don't want to.  I thought it was interesting to read about something I otherwise would have never known. I guess to throw a question back at you, after reading the title, what made you care enough to click the link?

Joined: 06/17/2009

MGoPoints: 18955

profitgoblue

November 19th, 2010 at 12:41 PM ^

I would have a hard time as a player in that room paying attention to Tressel, what with him wearing that silly sweater vest.  My mind would definitely wander . . . I'd ask myself:  "Why would someone take a perfectly fine sweater and cut the sleeves off?"

Joined: 09/01/2009

MGoPoints: 19559

Aequitas

November 19th, 2010 at 12:46 PM ^

"We spent all week with brave men & women that have served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice...they are here today as guests and we honor their service with a horse (bleep) performace like that?"


"We are not losing this game.  Absolutely not.  Every single time we lose to that team, t-shirts are made.  Not here, not today."


Great stuff.  When we get good again, these games are going to be epic.

Joined: 09/22/2008

MGoPoints: 718

CAHLChamp

November 19th, 2010 at 12:50 PM ^

that will make a W in Cbus that much more rewarding.  You can't deny that that team has been the class of the B10 on the field, and beating them will signal everybody that we are on our way back.  All titles will run through Ann Arbor from then on

Joined: 10/14/2010

MGoPoints: 167

Six Zero

November 19th, 2010 at 1:06 PM ^

He took me hostage and proceeded to rob a bank.  He held me at gunpoint with an Uzi and a shiv and barked orders in language so profane it'd make Mike Barwis blush.  He shot three women, I think they were nuns.  When the teller gave him the bag full of money, he proceeded to demand that the guy go through all of the bags and remove any two-dollar bills.  While he waited, he built a makeshift altar out of a nearby toys-for-tots display and set it on fire while worshipping the devil and carving pentagrams on the foreheads of senior citizens.  He made fun of a mentally-challenged child that had been in line, and even removed some mattress tags from a bed that inexplicably sat nearby.  At some point he also admitted to killing JFK, John Lennon, Woody Hayes, Michael Jackson and Pat Tillman.  He then dumped all of the money into a wicker basket that was actually an old Andy Katzenmoyer college project, and deposited a huge amount of the money into Kirk Herbstreit's Swiss bank account to finally pay off the Les Miles Incident.  And when it was finally time for him to leave, he threw me on the sidewalk and laughed about discussing this during his next lecture on Tuesday before making his getaway in a Japanese-made car driven by Mike Rosenberg.

And for some strange reason, it never made the papers.... not even the local Youngstown Vindicator, whose editor, photographer and top three writers were in the line just behind me.  Explain that.

Joined: 09/05/2008

MGoPoints: 10549

htownwolverine

November 19th, 2010 at 1:31 PM ^

Does the guy have any faults, except coaching the enemy? I mean at least Woody was easy to despise, being a dick and all. SweaterVest? FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUU! I'm sorry....

 

EDIT: sorry this was a reply to an above anecdote.

Joined: 09/02/2009

MGoPoints: 7149

mrlmichael

November 19th, 2010 at 1:47 PM ^

As I have told people before, I have great respect for JT and the Ohio State program. I am probably going to get negged to death for this but I do. Granted, I want to beat them every year and I hate that he is 8-1 against us, but the respect is still there. People question me when I don't cheer for Ohio State to lose, and when I say I want them to be a good team. The reason the Michigan vs Ohio State rivalry is this big is because both teams have a great tradition, and field winners. If one teams is awful, it diminishes the importance of a great rivalry. I hate Ohio State as much as any Michigan fan but within that hate is a feeling of mutual respect that I think makes this rivalry so special. Great halftime speech by JT, they sure played like they had something to prove in the second half too. 

Joined: 09/22/2009

MGoPoints: 2522

mrlmichael

November 19th, 2010 at 2:03 PM ^

The fan base can be a bit much, however a lot of fan bases could say that. I know some Michigan "fans" who I am embarrassed to call Michigan fans. However, when it comes to the football team, the coach, and the institution they are a class act imho. 

Joined: 09/22/2009

MGoPoints: 2522

Crime Reporter

November 19th, 2010 at 1:56 PM ^

But I can not hate Tressel. I've said it before, but I think the guy is class and I have a great deal of respect for him. That being said, I hate that we have not beat them in forever.

Joined: 12/19/2008

MGoPoints: 21695

GunnersApe

November 19th, 2010 at 1:57 PM ^

JT asked the captains to walk to the center of the room and face a mirror

Then JT proceeded to reenact the dance Buffalo Bill did in Silence of the Lambs.

Seriously I'm one of the people who want them to go 11-1 every year and it hard to hate the Vest but damn did he sell his soul or something with his record.

 PS at least he didn't throat punch the young lady ala Woody style.

Joined: 11/19/2009

MGoPoints: 6930