mo' bo on da go!

[hack]

link, y'all.

 

Published Sunday May 11, 2008

Football: The early word: Bo's straight talk working

BY RICH KAIPUST

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

 

Bo Pelini arrived in khaki slacks, tennis shoes and a white polo, just a few minutes late, telling of how he got all confused by the new West Dodge Expressway.

 

They laughed, as they would at anything remotely funny the rest of the night.

 

The Nebraska football coach talked about player accountability, recruiting, Tom Osborne, the Blackshirts and Catholic education.

 

They applauded, as they would throughout his 70-minute appearance at the St. Pius X/St. Leo Sports Night on Thursday.

 

Pelini had taken the podium with zero notes in hand. Absolutely nothing was rehearsed, standard procedure for him.

 

"I speak from my heart and from my beliefs and my philosophies," Pelini said Friday. "That's the way I go about it. And when you go about it that way, there's not a lot of preparation."

 

In the past, Rick Pitino did this function in suit and tie with an organized message. Bill Self with good-ol'-boy charm. Mitch Holthus with story time.

 

As for Pelini . . .

 

"I've talked to a number of people and the consensus was that he is a real guy," said Jim Mancuso, co-organizer of the St. Pius/St. Leo banquet. "He's a normal Joe like the rest of the people that were in there. It's pretty obvious he's not a polished speaker, and that's probably what makes it better. Ninety percent of the people in that gymnasium aren't polished speakers, either.

 

"I think that really touches home with these people: He's one of us. Not arrogant or cocky or anything he could be or should be. That goes a long way, especially in the Midwest."

 

His public speaking might seem a minor detail, but it falls into that realm of duties Pelini hasn't always had to do before. It's an element of the job that, fair or not, wouldn't seem particularly suitable to his personality.

 

Pelini recently has been in Grand Island and Columbus. He's going to South Sioux City on Monday night and Gothenburg in a few weeks. He's spoken to law students at NU, third-graders in Lincoln and doctors and high school coaches in Omaha.

 

Sometimes he repeats himself. Every once in a while he might lose his train of thought. But all the while he's just being Bo.

 

"We've talked about that, how it's interesting sometimes that the best ones are the ones who just go straight from the heart," said Jeff Jamrog, NU's associate athletic director for football. "Some people go with the 3-by-5 index cards, knowing that the next sentence is this and the next word is this. That's not Bo.

 

"He just seems very at ease with different audiences. People come away every time thinking he hits a home run in the message."

 

Right now, of course, Pelini can do no wrong.

 

Everybody loves you when you haven't lost a game, he acknowledged several times through spring practice. And Husker fans just want hope again after two losing records in NU's four seasons under Bill Callahan after Pelini was part of the former staff that was dismantled.

 

Pelini hasn't been making any promises on the speaking circuit. Just an effort to re-unite a fan base and program.

 

"A big part of my job, other than being able to coach football, is to be an ambassador for the program," Pelini told the St. Pius/St. Leo crowd. "To reach out and touch all the fans who are so passionate. To make an impression on the fan base and make them feel a part of the program.

 

"It's not Bo Pelini's program, it's not Tom Osborne's program . . . it's the state's football program."

 

Not only did Pelini speak and answer questions for more than an hour Thursday night, he stuck around for another 45 minutes to autograph items, pose for pictures or just chat. Mancuso walked out with Pelini and they talked another 10 minutes or so, with Pelini offering to help with a speaker for next year.

 

Somebody had asked him about speaking at such events as a crowd surrounded him. He's listened and been influenced by many others, he said, but much like coaching, he believes you have to have your own style and shouldn't try to be somebody you're not.

 

"He just said it's right here from the heart and that's how I operate," Mancuso said. "He said, 'I don't rehearse anything. This is what you get.'

 

"The funny thing is he waited until the entire gym emptied. Finally, I had to kick him out."

 

Obviously there are boundaries.

 

Pelini is married with three young children. Football demands a lot of time for a good portion of the year. The speaking circuit only works out well after spring practice since the NCAA mandated that head coaches can't be out recruiting during this late-spring period.

 

"He's got to balance a lot of things and you hope people realize that," Jamrog said. "If he wanted to, he could do breakfast, lunch and dinner speaking engagements year round."

 

Pelini said public speaking is nothing new to him, going back to things he did as a player and business major at Ohio State. There was always at least a little exposure to it as a longtime assistant coach in both the NFL and college.

 

But it was never to the extent, or numbers, as now.

 

"It kind of comes with the territory, comes with the job," Pelini said. "I think it's an important part of it. Like it or dislike it? I don't know. Just something you have to do.

 

"I think it's important that people see I'm making that effort to get out there. If I say that's what I'm going to be, I have to be committed to it. I can't just pay it lip service and then not go out and do it."

 

But about the other night . . . at St. Pius/St. Leo, Pelini asks his inquisitor later in the week.

 

"How'd ya think I did?"

[HUSKER 37]

Why are these speaking engagements nece$$ary?

(Aren't we paying him enough?)

It sounds like pretty much stuff we already know..at least the ones reading this site.

 

I'd rather see him spend quality time with his family.

[hack]

he's working the crowds and meeting the fans.

 

did bill callahan do this many meetings and speaking events during spring?

[DJR313]

he's working the crowds and meeting the fans.

 

did bill callahan do this many meetings and speaking events during spring?

 

His first year, they had the "Husker Nation" Tour where he did plenty of speaking engagements across the state.

[hack]

 

His first year, they had the "Husker Nation" Tour where he did plenty of speaking engagements across the state.

 

oh yah.

 

i guess he's just been getting a lot of invites from churches and civic organizations.

 

one long and ongoing statewide bogasm.

 

... i should have copyrighted that word...