Bo and why he was/is important

Submitted by Amaizing Blue on
I turned 50 last Tuesday, and am realizing many on the board are too young to remember and "get" the impact Bo had on this program. You can watch him on film, but it isn't the same as having seen the man live on the sidelines. Multiply that by whatever factor you want to feel the impact of having played for or coached with him. When it comes to Michigan football, he was the Godfather. Loyalty was valued above all, and dissent was not tolerated, but Michigan always came first. Rich Rod is absolutely right when he says if Bo had been alive, he would have had it easier. Rich is the Michigan coach? Get in line and do everything you can to help him succeed. Shut up, Lloyd, Michigan won the NC, not you. Bo had many faults, clock management the most glaring. But...He was a Michigan Man. Meaning, Michigan came before anything else. That's all, full stop. We need another Michigan Man. A great coach who puts Michigan first. THAT is a Michigan Man.
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Tater

October 12th, 2014 at 7:38 PM ^

Bo would not have allowed the sabotage of the Rich Rod regime to happen.  With no sabotage, Michigan would have won a National Championship with Rich Rod by now and Mark Dantoino would be just another failed Sparty coach who couldn't quite recruit enough players to beat Michigan on a regular basis. 

 

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UMxWolverines

October 12th, 2014 at 8:30 PM ^

This is such bullcrap. Dantonio is a great coach and while he may have benefited somewhat from Michigan being down for the most part he has built MSU into what it is because of how good he is. 

Comments like this are just idiotic and make the fanbase look stupid. 

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goblue16

October 12th, 2014 at 7:39 PM ^

Was mark dantonio a MSU man? Was Jim tressel a OSU man? Or urban? Nick saban a bama man? Les miles a lsu man? Jumbo a FSU man?

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Amaizing Blue

October 12th, 2014 at 7:45 PM ^

My only point was that Bo would have made sure he had every chance to succeed and eliminated the static. My guess is whoever went to the Freep would have been killed with a Trident.

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BlockM

October 12th, 2014 at 7:49 PM ^

Thought this post was going to be about Dr. Bo Wallace, but I might just be spending too much time reading @edsbs and @jasonkirksbn on twitter...  

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PA_Blue

October 12th, 2014 at 7:50 PM ^

We all know what a huge shadow Bo cast over the entire program but it is even more evident now that he's gone.  Agree with RichRod's statement; the factions that exist now would never have been tolerated by Bo and everyone would have fallen in line whether they liked it or not.

Those days are gone and there is a huge leadership vacuum.  We desperately need a new direction with a new AD/coach and get back to being a national program.

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gustave ferbert

October 12th, 2014 at 8:00 PM ^

the football team was governed by the cult of personality.  The term "michigan man" is laughable to begin with.  People who call themselves "Michigan Men" should more appropriately be called "Bo disciples".  Which is fine.  Because it worked.  But Canham got rid of Bump Elliott (A real Michigan man) for the head coach from Miami of Ohio. 

 

You are spot on about the leadership vacuum.  No one has any idea how to fill the character void of Bo which dominated for 37 years. 

 

It's happened in history, in business, and in football.  Who could forget that Alabama languished all those years after the passing of Bear Bryant.  Even OSU suffered when Woody left. 

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feanor

October 12th, 2014 at 7:59 PM ^

Imagine the hero worship we would have if Bo actually won a NC. 

Great coach, but he benefitted from being in the weak B1G as demonstrated by his terrible record in bowl games.  

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feanor

October 12th, 2014 at 8:25 PM ^

You couldn't peak another time 40 days later? Its wasn't a week turnaround.

The Big 10 was know as the Big 2 little 8 for a reason.  The competition week in week out was weak. Reading people's posts here you would think Bo had Nick Saban or Bear Bryant levels success while curing cancer.

Great coach, great guy, but let it go.

 

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gord

October 12th, 2014 at 11:12 PM ^

No ESPN, no internet.  I doubt there was as much attention day in and day out.  Look how much coverage Shane's concussion got on ESPN that week.  It's always a disadvantage for a Big 10 team to play a California team in the Rose Bowl since USC isn't excited to just see the sun and go to the beach.

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SalvatoreQuattro

October 12th, 2014 at 8:49 PM ^

or Alabama. The scholarship argument is a bit overstated as the teams that have been dminate in the past still are among the dominate teams now. Certainly, there is more diversity because of the limitations, but look at the national champions of the past decade or so:

FSU, Bama(3), LSU(2), Texas, USC, Auburn, Oklahoma, Miami, Florida...not one is a small school. All have been powers for decades stretching back into the pre-limitation days.

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feanor

October 12th, 2014 at 9:06 PM ^

Yes, all historically good teams.

None of those schools have had the consistancy over the last 20 years that Bo had. That's were the parity comes into play more. All of those schools have missed a bowl game in the last 20 years excluding FSU. 

Its much harder to win consistantly now than it was in the 70's. 

OSU and MICH outscored the B1G 297-27 and 225-45 respectively in 1973. Thats probably the most extreme year, but your going to have hard time arguing that Bo faced good competition weekly until the early 80's.

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Amaizing Blue

October 12th, 2014 at 8:04 PM ^

I would argue he had every bit as much influence over our program during his time as did Paterno at PSU. Difference is JoePa had 50+ years at PSU, Bo had almost 40 at UM and only 20 as coach.

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Leonhall

October 12th, 2014 at 8:04 PM ^

When Bo died, so did Michigan football. He is a legend, but this university needs to find another leader because right now the football program is bad and it's a deeper problem than just starting with the coaching staff. This shit wouldn't have happened with him around. I don't know the answer, I do know we have to move on from Bo, never forget, but we have to identify ourselves again and it starts with a new leader, someone with a powerful, no nonsense attitude, who knows how to coach football and gets results, that's what Bo did. I love Bo, but we have to move on.


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You Only Live Twice

October 12th, 2014 at 8:29 PM ^

Only a couple of months left to be 53, and I know where you're coming from OP.  A lot of people here will not.  A Michigan undergrad then, I remember being at Crisler for the memorial service for Bob Ufer, and Bo spoke about why Bob loved football.  My HS age sister attended with me and we both stood there and cried.  Fast forward some years later and on a chillingly cold fall day, my daughter, just a toddler seeing the Big House for the first time, and I were at the memorial service for Bo.  It was one of the most stirring and haunting events of my life.  When a legend passes, there really isn't anyone who can take their place. I don't get worked up over what phrases people use to describe things, for example how "Michigan Man" gets people on this board practially bipolar.  People who look for the negative side of things will always find it, and I prefer to focus on the possibilities.   The best course of action is to realize the legacy of what it means to be Michigan men and women, build on that legacy, and to consider that as the enduring foundation for the future.  The structure can and will change, but the foundation is solid. 

edit: to double check the years

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