knapplc
International Man of Mystery
Nebraska's Bo Pelini: 'I'm real ... I am who I am'
Sipple wrote something about this article and pointed out this couple of paragraphs. I think I find them as interesting as Sipple:
The youngest of eight kids learned how to "do things the right way," which is camouflaged by his sometimes surly approach on the field and in interviews. Come talk to the people in Lincoln about how he treats them, he says. He promises positive results.
"The way the media wants to portray you, the way they want to exaggerate things -- let me tell you, I‘ve been coaching a long time and I've been around sports for a long time, anybody who walks onto the field when competition begins is different than they are off the field," Pelini said. "You're not like that all the time. I think people in this community and mainly around the state recognize that. They understand who I am and what I stand for and I live it every day. I'm not somebody who's going to go out there and put out a false front. That's who I am. I am who I am. I think people who really know me respect me for that. That's the way I believe it should be."
Something Bo's never going to be accused of is being fake. The man redefines, not always in a good way, "wearing your heart on your sleeve." Calling him fiery can be an understatement - at times. Mostly on the sideline, or in front of a podium.
But by the people in Lincoln, I wonder how Bo would be portrayed.
Personable? I don't think so.
Rude? Probably not.
Uncomfortable? That may be the best way of putting it.
I don't know of anyone who's ever spoken to Bo out in the mean streets of Lincoln who would call him rude. I've never had a conversation with him that I'd consider unfriendly. But it's pretty clear he's not a chit-chatty kinda guy, especially with folks he doesn't know. He's all business.
Maybe that comes from being the youngest brother. Kinda sounds like Youngstown boys were tough, had to be tough, and that may be where Bo gets it, the youngest brother thing.
EDIT - The reason Bo gets the Bo Camera treatment on the sidelines while other, equally sideline-intense coaches don't is the Bo Face. Kirk Ferentz may blow up at players and referees, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer might, too. But none of them have the Bo Face. That face is gold to TV execs. That's why it'll be on camera every time - it's a truly evocative picture, and that's what they love.
Sipple wrote something about this article and pointed out this couple of paragraphs. I think I find them as interesting as Sipple:
The youngest of eight kids learned how to "do things the right way," which is camouflaged by his sometimes surly approach on the field and in interviews. Come talk to the people in Lincoln about how he treats them, he says. He promises positive results.
"The way the media wants to portray you, the way they want to exaggerate things -- let me tell you, I‘ve been coaching a long time and I've been around sports for a long time, anybody who walks onto the field when competition begins is different than they are off the field," Pelini said. "You're not like that all the time. I think people in this community and mainly around the state recognize that. They understand who I am and what I stand for and I live it every day. I'm not somebody who's going to go out there and put out a false front. That's who I am. I am who I am. I think people who really know me respect me for that. That's the way I believe it should be."
Something Bo's never going to be accused of is being fake. The man redefines, not always in a good way, "wearing your heart on your sleeve." Calling him fiery can be an understatement - at times. Mostly on the sideline, or in front of a podium.
But by the people in Lincoln, I wonder how Bo would be portrayed.
Personable? I don't think so.
Rude? Probably not.
Uncomfortable? That may be the best way of putting it.
I don't know of anyone who's ever spoken to Bo out in the mean streets of Lincoln who would call him rude. I've never had a conversation with him that I'd consider unfriendly. But it's pretty clear he's not a chit-chatty kinda guy, especially with folks he doesn't know. He's all business.
Maybe that comes from being the youngest brother. Kinda sounds like Youngstown boys were tough, had to be tough, and that may be where Bo gets it, the youngest brother thing.
EDIT - The reason Bo gets the Bo Camera treatment on the sidelines while other, equally sideline-intense coaches don't is the Bo Face. Kirk Ferentz may blow up at players and referees, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer might, too. But none of them have the Bo Face. That face is gold to TV execs. That's why it'll be on camera every time - it's a truly evocative picture, and that's what they love.
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