Bronco closing the doors to the media…
As I am sure most of you know Coach Mendenhall has closed the doors to practice. Many are probably wondering if that’s necessary, and some may think that it distracts simply because players recognize the coaches stepping in and acknowledging that it’s a big game. I say good move Bronco.
The media -and fans- pump this game up until they get themselves in a frenzy. Of course, the media loves it because of the hostile nature of their readers. Every reporter is hoping to get the next white board gem slipping off of some players hot tongue.
There have been a lot of nasty remarks passed back and forth from Provo to Salt Lake. Bronco is simply making a statement to his team that nothing and no one is above the team -you know band of brothers. Bronco also has some young “star” players that are confident in their abilities, which are two ingredients for some great locker-room fodder.
Taking the media out of the practices simply gives your team one less thing to think about. Gone are the worries about holding your tongue and making sure what you are saying can’t be misunderstood. All the team has to think about are their assignments, alignments, reads and abilities. The coaching staff -more then anyone- understands that this game is important and they aren’t going to let interviews and news articles distract from the upcoming game.
If there is one thing that Coach Mendenhall hates it’s when a person draws attention to themselves through the media. When I was playing I took Coach Hill’s advice when he told the DB’s that none of the reporters are your friends. They may act nice and shoot the shiz with you after practice, but just remember there isn’t any comment that they wouldn’t post on the front page of any of their newspaper.
How ironic is it that I am now writing about my past football experiences and asking my teammates to do the same. I’ve come full circle. ☹
I applaud Coach for the way he manages his team, the media and the rivalry. Some may think he takes this game lightly, but I assure you he does not. He simply doesn’t let his emotions and feelings cloud his judgments. Honestly, I think he closes off practice so he can let his players hear it, without restraint or digression. Bronco and Co. can yell with the best of them, but their yelling is more of the challenging type of screaming, not a demeaning tirade that leaves everyone wide eyed and questioning their manhood.
You always new it was an important game when the word “suckers” started creeping into Bronco’s vocabulary.
November 20th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Just so long as the coaches don’t lower themselves to the dreaded Idaho Insult, ’spudsuckers’.
November 20th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Quinn,
So who does Bronco refer to when he uses “suckers”? The Yewts?
November 20th, 2008 at 10:37 am
I’m gonna have a smile on my face all day because of the ’suckers’ comment.
Bronco.
Is.
Awesome.
November 20th, 2008 at 10:41 am
The onside kick and Joe Glenn birdie are an example of what K. Whitt will do with any bit of locker-room fodder that he can get. It seems like he really uses it to the fullest to get his team motivated.
I’m not sure that Bronco concerns himself with that, but as a fan I’m glad that the Utes don’t have any more ammo than just the rivalry itself to get them pumped for this game.
I think blocking the media was a good idea.
November 20th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Whenever you hear the word “sucker” now matter who it is directed towards, it’s an important game.
November 20th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I love the “suckers” comment! Fun to get that insight as a fan.
*On a note of awesomeness, I have to share my experience with last year’s game - unfortunately I didn’t have tickets, nor do I subscribe to the carrier of “The Mtn,” so I was forced to watch it at Iggy’s (registered trademark) in Fort Union with about 3 or 4 hundred of my closest Ute friends! haha Besides my dad and I there was only one other BYU fan in the whole place, seated across the restaurant (whom I could just make out over my own cheering at every great BYU posession). Pounding the table leading up to big 3rd down conversions or on great defensive stops! It was somewhat intimidating getting all those nasty looks from all the red-wearing Yewts, but I cheered nonetheless! With just over 3 minutes in the game and down by 11, most of the red-wearers were throwing their insults our way since they were so sure they had it in the bag. You can’t imagine my elation when 4 and 18 came up and a long bomb landed softly in the hands of our wide open Austin Collie down the field! And then the ensuing UofU personal foul and following pass interference which ultimately led to a game winning score! You could feel the darts of those Yewt fans’ eyes landing all over our table! Some insults about how we paid the refs to make those calls, but none of them fessing up to the mistakes made by their own team…just poorly thought out insults and excuses. Needless to say, once we knew it was over, we hurried out of there (fortunately we were seated near the exit) so as not to bear the numb-nuttedness of the Yewt faithful.
GO BLUE!!!! I can’t wait for another thriller in SLC!
November 20th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
I love the “Suckers” comment. The other great Bronco term is “Slappy.” He uses that one a lot in the film room. If he points to a guy on film and calls him a slappy, you know Coach does not like that guy too much. Luckily, only know of about 2/3 times it was directed to a Cougar.
Quinn, Is there a Bryan Kehl or Curtis Brown this year that you know of that will go the extra mile to make sure the Utes have some locker room posts?
I still don’t read any media stuff (aside from this of course), so I don’t know.
November 20th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Dear Quinn:
I flew down to Albuquerque and attended the game there.(Great Int by the way) The next morning my wife and I flew back to SLC on the same flight as your wife and son. She seemed nervous, so my wife and I let her know that she was among freinds.
I build rocking horses, and would love to give you one, if you are interested, send me an e-mail.
I love this website, and your unique insights. It’s almost like insider trading. Keep up the good work.
November 20th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Zak brought up a good point. I mean, I know you see this on both sides but I tend to see it more with Ute fans than anything and I don’t know why. Maybe its because I’m a Cougar fan. But I have a friend thats a ute fan and he is constantly blaming everything that goes wrong with the utes, even in a win, towards the refs and I can’t stand it! It bugs the crap out of me. It’s like it never occured to him that maybe his team just made a mistake. The past two BYU wins in the rivalry he has attributed to the refs and said that Utah should have won. I don’t care how bad the refs are, there is ALWAYS something that you can do better to put yourself in a better postition to win the game. The refs didn’t blow 4th and 18 coverage, that was the ute secondary. I will never blame a game on a ref because there will always be something we could do better to win the game. The closest I’ve ever come to blaming a game on the ref was the 2005 TCU game and even then we could have played a ton better to win that game. Just my thoughts. GO COUGS!!! BEAT THE UTES!!!!
November 20th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Parker,
I have to agree with you. The refs can be frustrating, but it comes down to making plays. That is why the only two games I have ever seen in my life that the refs lost for a team were the 2005 TCU game (There was plenty of film evidence that Justin forced the fumble before Brown scored) and this years Chargers Broncos game where the Chargers forced a fumble and recovered to win the game and the refs ruled it an Inc Pass. The thing about both cases is that the players MADE the plays, and the refs took the game into their hands.
November 20th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Agreed. There was plenty of evidence. I remember cutting out a picture in the paper the next morning showing that the ball was clearly out before Rodgers (at least I think thats who it was) crossed the goal line. I remember showing it to all my friends, I was so mad about that loss.
November 20th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
“When I was playing I took Coach Hill’s advice when he told the DB’s that none of the reporters are your friends.”
You are very wise. I don’t think you’d be surprised to know that the military trains its soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen to treat the media and journalists the exact same way if they are ever captured and become POWs during war.
November 20th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Parker,
You are right…Rodgers…sorry
November 21st, 2008 at 11:15 am
I can honestly say I dislike the media. I probably even hate them.
In my mind, the media are mostly liars. They only befriend someone so they can “expose” a so-called weakness. The media is as a used-car salesman or a attorney, lying is part of the profession and the end-result justifies the means. They have very little integrity.
Some of Utah’s worst are David Locke, Brad Rock, Dirk Facer, Kevin Graham, Dave …….(at Ch.2. There is a guy at Ch. 5 that players can’t stand) There are others whose names I can’t recall, probably more out of discuss and selected memory loss than anything else.
Once a coach makes a game-decision based on the media and fans, he then can count on sitting with the fans and having his decision played-out for the remainder of his life….and beyond.
Coach M. decision to close practice to the media should, in my mind, should be made all year.
I apologize if this seems like a negative rant…..but the media is probably the most divisive element of any team…..along with parents. Sorry, its a real sore spot with me.
November 21st, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Coach C you seem to have some firsthand experience here. One question: Do you think the media is that way to everyone or just to BYU? In other words is there an anti BYU sentiment among some of the media?
November 21st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Gary—Among some of the media members, absolutely! Among others, nah, but they would still love to be the guy who “broke the story.” They love to think of themselves as “the 4th estate,” meaning the 4th branch of government who monitors the corruption of the King and in the case locally, BYU is the King because of its Honor Code. One example of Utah media double standard is one year before the Utah game, Bret Ratliff had a charge against him for something, I forget, and the media was aware of it but did not, and I mean none of them, broke the story until a month or two after the game. If it had been a BYU player, first he would have probably been suspended and second the media would have been all over it. They will not touch U of U dirt–which I can care less about, but they are all over a BYU player’s dirt.
I forgot to mention Patrick Kinnehan, who would wear the label as a “hypocrit and liar,” with honor. He is one guy who will double-cross any and all BYU players, but when Rick Majerus was doing his stupid antics, Kinnehan turned a blind eye.
The double-standard Utah media has very little to do with wins and losses, but players beware—trust them not!!
Media members are mostly Utes with throats and a pen. Dick Harmon is a BYU guy nd catches a lot of crap about it, most of it behind his back, but they will all deny being Utes. But on their days off they attend Ute games and functions.
Anyway, sorry but its a pet-peeve of mine.