Coach Dooley: Tennessee like Germans at Normandy
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/ncaa/10/25/dooley.vols.a…
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.
October 25th, 2010 at 11:49 PM ^
His impression of history is... fairly accurate, really. The analogy is muddled, but it's not terribly wrong, facts wise.
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.
October 26th, 2010 at 12:17 AM ^
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.
October 26th, 2010 at 2:07 AM ^
Don't worry, I'd still hire you on at my PR firm.
October 26th, 2010 at 12:39 AM ^
Because war comparisons to sports is not a good idea, unless said war occurred a long time ago.
October 26th, 2010 at 8:46 AM ^
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.
October 26th, 2010 at 8:13 AM ^
Unless you are Bob Ufer referring to General George Patton Bo Schembechler.
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.
October 26th, 2010 at 10:14 AM ^
...somehow Nike is allowed to outfit college athletes and market them in "Combat Pro" uniforms. Go figure.
October 26th, 2010 at 9:04 AM ^
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.)
October 27th, 2010 at 12:09 PM ^
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.
October 25th, 2010 at 11:50 PM ^
ZOMG THIS IS RELLY OFFENSIVE!!!
... What?
October 25th, 2010 at 11:54 PM ^
Maybe factually accurate from the surprised standpoint, but I can think of a few connotations that perhaps are not the wisest to bring up.
October 25th, 2010 at 11:57 PM ^
He didn't say Tennessee is like the Germans at Auschwitz.
October 26th, 2010 at 10:01 AM ^
i suspect you and your avatar would tear him to shreds
October 25th, 2010 at 11:58 PM ^
like Hitler on inflatable sex dolls
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.
October 26th, 2010 at 12:11 AM ^
But are they like the Germans at Pearl Harbor? That's the real question.
October 26th, 2010 at 12:30 AM ^
Germans? Pearl Harbor? Let him go, he's on a roll.
October 26th, 2010 at 3:08 AM ^
Dooley gave his love a cherry that had no stone.
October 26th, 2010 at 8:10 AM ^
{Smashes GeoTacker's guitar and shrugs.} Sorry.
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.
October 26th, 2010 at 12:24 AM ^
Sometimes?
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
October 26th, 2010 at 9:13 AM ^
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
October 27th, 2010 at 7:26 AM ^
HAIL!
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.
October 26th, 2010 at 12:25 AM ^
They obviously had the better tactical position, but the Allies had overwhelming manpower and air superiority.
October 26th, 2010 at 12:30 AM ^
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.
October 26th, 2010 at 5:34 PM ^
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.
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?
October 27th, 2010 at 12:55 AM ^
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.
October 26th, 2010 at 1:23 AM ^
I bet they really miss Phil Fulmer right now.
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.
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."
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?
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?
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?
October 26th, 2010 at 7:34 AM ^
In my opinion he is taking this German thing too far.
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.
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.
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)
October 27th, 2010 at 2:00 AM ^
How about when the Lions are playing the Saints? And on the off chance the Lions beat the Saints, can they bring up Romans?
October 26th, 2010 at 8:34 AM ^
This is probably a good opportunity to link to my album of photos from my tour of Normandy in 2006. Enjoy:
October 26th, 2010 at 10:11 AM ^
You, then, are the Allied Forces in this analogy
October 27th, 2010 at 2:02 AM ^
Cool pics
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.
October 26th, 2010 at 11:31 AM ^
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.
October 26th, 2010 at 2:55 PM ^
I want a coach to reference Hannibal's use of war elephants. Maybe a metaphor for the offensive line?