I was completely out of my domain and loving it. After 33 years at the University of Virginia, this ivory-tower, clumsy-footed academic was learning more than he could have ever imagined from an unlikely source. By invitation of coach Al Groh, I got to be the proverbial fly on the wall for two days of planning, practicing and executing as "guest faculty coach" before the Wake Forest football game.
Fortunately for the University and her prize football team, I achieved my sole goal: To stay out of the way and let this superb team and coaching staff do what they do best -- win in style.
Nevertheless, I had a wonderful experience and learned a great deal. The game could not have been more exciting for the fans in attendance at Scott Stadium and watching on ABC. Both teams struggled through a roller coaster of a game, yet in the end, Mr. Jefferson's men prevailed thanks to the golden foot of sophomore kicker Connor Hughes.
Hughes, no slouch of a student-scholar (his player profile reveals a 4.0+ GPA at Lafayette High School), booted a 53-yard field goal to tie the game at 24 with roughly two minutes left and then connected on a 37-yard field goal to put Virginia ahead for good near the end of regulation. What a thrill it was to be on the sideline during one of the most mesmerizing games in our school's recent history -- a pivotal win for a team with aspirations to net an ACC crown.
As I reflect back on what I observed, a few things come to mind that I would like to share with students, alumni and my faculty colleagues in the University community:
(1) These fellows, players and coaches and staff, work incredibly hard for a few moments of glory -- if there is any glory on a particular day, and if they are among the chosen few to share the media spotlight even on a victorious team.
(2) Contrary to what media coverage had led me to believe, there was mainly quiet concentration and last-minute instruction before the game and during half-time. Real jubilation came at game's end -- though it was well contained in a speech by Groh, with game footballs awarded to the critical players. Such pep talks by coaches and players have a lot in common with politics: A focus on pride and the possible loss of it, determination, anger, fear, the potential of joy and all the rest -- with, of course, a sizeable number of four- and occasionally twelve-letter words that Momma wouldn't want to hear. All in all, though, these men are dead serious about what they do. They are tough on themselves at every stage, and the results show it.
(3) I did not understand the degree to which college football has become almost a science, with many dozens of precision plays carefully marked and color-coded on laminated sheets the coaches and players must study constantly.
(4) Every organization on Grounds could benefit from the example of teamwork I saw. It really is all for one, one for all. After all, in such an injury-ridden sport, their health depends on it. Every team member also takes great pride in the success of every other member. They stick together and encourage (and occasionally yell) at one another. This is a well-oiled machine that could rival anything that Tammany Hall ever produced.
(5) Throw out the window all the stereotypes you may have heard about football players. One of my best students in the last few years and a terrific intern at my Center for Politics is the long snapper, Ryan Childress. Others, despite their busy schedules, are involved in a wide range of extracurricular activities and volunteer ventures. Players like Hughes and Childress are representative of their team, not the exceptions to a mythical rule.
In two days as Coach Sabato, I acquired no new insights on some of the larger questions about college athletics, such as whether the professionalization of college football is a good thing. But I certainly have a much greater appreciation for the regimen and the pressures these young people experience. Moreover, they are as bright and diverse as any other group of students -- only bigger!And just as politicians are only as good as their last poll, so too are the coaches and players only as good as their last game, at least in the eyes of an unforgiving public. Older people can deal with this, but it must be a very difficult challenge for students who are 18-22 years old. All glory is fleeting, so for football players, and the rest of us, it is the fundamentals of life that must carry us to some degree of happiness, day by day. For now, congratulations and good luck to the football program, and Wahoo-wah to its tens of thousands of fans.
Read More
No. 1 women’s swimming and diving destroys No. 2 Texas
By Xander Tilock | 21 minutes agoOnce again, Virginia has proven to be head and shoulders above other top programs.
Women’s basketball goes scoreless in the final three minutes of a 68-65 loss to Louisville
By Xander Tilock | 4 hours agoThe Cavaliers have now lost three straight ACC games.
The Cavaliers run, jump, and throw their way through the Penn 10 Elite
By Caroline Wulff | 5 hours agoVirginia runners turned in quality performances against competition from the Ivy League, Big Ten and other prominent conferences.
