We see so many examples in the media of "great coaches" being portrayed as gods that we hardly ever stop to question said portrayals. Don't get me wrong; when I was growing up I thought Joe Torre had power and intuition that would even make my third-grade homeroom teacher quiver (and trust me, she could have shaped up Eric Cartman in eight seconds flat). But of course, that was back when I was like seven, and (despite what my friends will say) I've learned a little since then. For instance, one trend that I've noticed over the last few years is that highly-regarded college coaches seem to have no control over their team's fortunes.
Exhibit A, football style:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=283200130
aaaaaand Exhibit B, basketball style:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=283190096
Michigan hires a high-profile head coach from a more successful and less well-known team to turn the program around after an, um, "up-and-down" 2007 season...and he proceeds to preside over the worst Wolverine team in 129 years. Kentucky fires its consisent-yet-unspectacular head coach after his ninth straight year without a Final Four appearance (like going to three Elite Eights in that span was just nothing), hires a high-profile coach from a more successful and less well-known team...and they lose back-to-back season openers to like freshmen intramural teams. Maybe you guys should have focused more on the actual players, hmm?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment