I have avoided writing on this topic for a long time. This commentary could easily end up sounding boastful or preach-y. That is not my intention. But, maybe I am a self-serving jerk who likes to toot my own horn...
Nonetheless... here is my first sanctimonious rambling of 2007.
In 2004, I was asked to be the offensive line and defensive line coach for an area football team. This was a NWFA expansion team. I accepted the opportunity. I executed my role to the best of my ability. I tried to be honest and fair with all of the players. I challenged every player through individual drills, team drills, and video sessions. We were successful in our contests against other expansion teams.
In 2005, I moved up the coaching ladder. I went from offensive/defensive line coach to offensive coordinator. Again, I executed this role to the best of my ability. Seven of the ten teams on our schedule had were established franchises with a winning record in 2004. Six of our ten opponents had been in the playoffs in 2004 - including the three-time defending league champion.
In our first contest, we faced a team that had been 8-0 in 2004. They were a perennial playoff team. We were challenged, but eventually won 34-18. In our second contest, we played a fellow 2004 expansion team. We were winning 28-0 at the end of the first quarter. We pulled our starters. Both of those wins came in the preseason.
In our first real game, we walked through the opponent with a 43-6 final score. Our second real game was cancelled. Our opponent forfeited. We sat at 2-0 in the preseason and 2-0 in the regular season. Everything was going well.
Our next opponent was the three-time defending league champion. We got crushed. They returned 5 punts for touchdowns. They scored at will. Offensively, we finished with maybe 20-yards of total offense for the entire game. They were bigger, stronger, faster, and more experienced than us. We lost 76-0.
The next week, we were on the road in Pittsburgh. We got shellacked 56-22 in a driving rain. Our season was beginning to derail. We now officially sat at 2-2 in league play.
The following week we were in Cleveland. We lost 64-0. The train was off of the track. We couldn't do anything right. We dropped to 2-3. Tensions were high.
The killer road trip continued as we played in Washington D.C. We lost 56-0. They could have beaten us by 100. We stood at 2-4. The train was off of the track.
The next week, we returned home to face a very physical Columbus team. We again got shellacked 62-0. We dropped to 2-5. No one was happy.
Players were getting injured left and right. We lost no fewer than 4 players to complete ACL tears. We lost several more players to MCL tears. That does not account for the separated shoulders, cracked ribs, and other injuries - the folks played with. We had been shutout in four of our previous five games.
I was physically ill for the final month of the season. I was unable to eat. I was unable to keep food down. I couldn't sleep. It was a miserable - miserable time. I kept searching for ways to keep morale up and prepare for the upcoming games.
Our season finale was against a very strong Michigan team. They thumped us into the ground. The train wreck was nearly at its end. But, we scored a touchdown. Our players willed themselves into the end zone one more time to close out the season. This was not a garbage touchdown in the fourth quarter. We scored a touchdown in the first quarter. The final score was 54-6. We finished the season 2-6.
We entered the season with dreams of a championship. We exited the season hoping to awaken from this horrible nightmare.
Adversity reveals character. Sure, there were some problems when we were winning early on. But, once we started to lose - and lose badly - our character was revealed. There were name-calling, finger-pointing, temper tantrums, some players quit and walked away. We started the season with a roster of 65 players. Between the injuries and folks who walked away midstream, we finished the season with about 34 players. Through the adversity, we lost almost half of the team.
After the season ended, the team held a banquet. It was an evening to thank the players who gutted out the 2-6 season. The head coach went about recognizing all of the players. The head coach then moved on to address the coaches.
I was the final coach he addressed. He thanked me for my time, energy and effort. Then, something happened that I will never forget... players began to applaud. They got out of their seats and applauded. I received a standing ovation.
Our record was 2-6 and I received a standing ovation. Think about that. How often does something like that happen?
Now, I am by no means a saint. This purpose of this commentary is not to say, "I am cool."
During that season, we faced adversity. Some people stood tall. Some people withered. I would like to believe, in that instance, I past the test.
The bottom line is... character does matter. It doesn't matter if you are talking about football, pro-wrestling, or managing a gas station. If you take shortcuts... if you treat people poorly... eventually it will catch up with you.
It was not my intention to become 'popular'. It was not my intention to try and make players 'like' me. I didn't go into coaching to make friends.
But... If you treat people right... If you set out to lead by example... demonstrate character - passion - and integrity... people take notice.
Our final record of games played was 2-6. But, the ovation proved something completely different; if you invest in people (fight the good fight) you will never lose.
