Dirk Stirring the Pot again with "Blackshirts" Article

[HUSKER FREAK]

i read that article this morning - i think some of you just see Dirk's name at the top and automatically go of the cliff. Did you read the whole thing? Like how he defends the decision at the bottom?

Bo broke with tradition, no doubt.

 

But the greatest Nebraska tradition is dominance. And last Saturday — for the first time all season — these guys played like a Pelini defense. They played like Blackshirts. They earned the jerseys.

 

Yea I think people just have a problem with Dirk.

 

Yes and I am one of them.

[JJ Husker]

I didn't take what Dirk wrote as having a problem with how or how many blackshirts Pelini hands out. The only thing in the article that hints at that is what Carlos Polk said. Like many ex-players recently, Carlos should probably learn to keep his mouth shut. The defense that Pelini runs tends to regularly use more personnel in different packages than when Polk played so Carlos's comments are ill advised. I have no problem with Pelini determining when or how many blackshirts to hand out. My preference would be that the starters (in every package-which may be as many as 19) get them prior to the first game but, last time I checked, I was not the coach and Pelini is. It is his job to administer the blackshirt tradition however he sees fit and to choose how to motivate the players. I am not sure why Dirk felt the need to include Polk's inflammatory opinion. If Dirk has ulterior motives, he sure didn't speak out loudly one way or the other.

 

Look, these guys come from a different period in Husker history. They were taught that a blackshirt, more than anything, meant you were a starter on what was likely an outstanding defense at a major program. The blackshirt tradition was started by simply picking out a color of jersey to differentiate the starters from everyone else. Pelini created this concept of 'earning' your blackshirt, which I guess is okay. Although I gotta say, when they're being given out, then taken away, then awarded again....it brinks on gimmicky.

 

It's his program right now, and he's putting his stamp on it. That doesn't mean that ex-players don't have a right to take some issue with it, and being an ex-player who still cares about the program, it certainly doesn't mean that he has to 'shut his mouth' when someone wants his opinion on something NU football related.

 

So apparently we've got people who think that everyone but them needs to keep their opinion to themselves, even writers whose job it is to share their perspective. Odd that so many people who joined a message board to share their, and presumably hear others', opinion, are the first ones to shush a dissenting one.

Thank you for calling me out on this. When I'm wrong I will admit it and I was wrong to suggest Polk keep his mouth shut. A better choice of words would have been "measure what he says" or "be more knowledgeable about what he's commenting on". I fully understand that in the past it was 11-13 blackshirts. But considering the way our current defense is, I feel that Polk is not making allowances for the 19+/- heavy contributors to our defense. If he can't see the difference between his time and this time then he is either not well informed or purposely trying to cause an issue. Heck maybe he doesn't like Pelini, I have no idea. I was wrong with what I said but I do wish ex-players would keep in mind the ripples their comments, especially to OWH writers, might have. It sure did not strike me as a comment supportive of the Husker football program.

[Hoosker]

It says right on his article that it's an OPINION. He is stating his thoughts on the Blackshirt tradition just like you're stating your thoughts on the Blackshirt tradition. The difference is that his opinions are being read by a lot more people than you, ChaddyBoxer. This isn't a right/wrong scenario, it's simply the opinion of one sports columnist who gets paid to speak his mind on what is near and dear to so many people.

 

Dirk is always up for criticism because he talks bluntly and doesn't beat around the bush, which I respect. If columnists didn't write pieces like this, than the news about Husker football would be totally one sided and be completely boring to read.

 

Lighten up, bruh.

[bshirt]

It says right on his article that it's an OPINION. He is stating his thoughts on the Blackshirt tradition just like you're stating your thoughts on the Blackshirt tradition. The difference is that his opinions are being read by a lot more people than you, ChaddyBoxer. This isn't a right/wrong scenario, it's simply the opinion of one sports columnist who gets paid to speak his mind on what is near and dear to so many people.

 

Dirk is always up for criticism because he talks bluntly and doesn't beat around the bush, which I respect. If columnists didn't write pieces like this, than the news about Husker football would be totally one sided and be completely boring to read.

 

Lighten up, bruh.

 

 

That's a good point but when his "opinion" that is read by many thousands is ripping apart our own qb he can shove it. Sure, opinions are fine but his "National Inquirer" kind of opinions are disgusting.

 

Otoh, the haters lap that stuff up like there's no tomorrow so he does know his readers. Gotta give him credit for that.

 

GBR!!

[ladyhawke]

I didn't take what Dirk wrote as having a problem with how or how many blackshirts Pelini hands out. The only thing in the article that hints at that is what Carlos Polk said. Like many ex-players recently, Carlos should probably learn to keep his mouth shut. The defense that Pelini runs tends to regularly use more personnel in different packages than when Polk played so Carlos's comments are ill advised. I have no problem with Pelini determining when or how many blackshirts to hand out. My preference would be that the starters (in every package-which may be as many as 19) get them prior to the first game but, last time I checked, I was not the coach and Pelini is. It is his job to administer the blackshirt tradition however he sees fit and to choose how to motivate the players. I am not sure why Dirk felt the need to include Polk's inflammatory opinion. If Dirk has ulterior motives, he sure didn't speak out loudly one way or the other.

Thats why I have no problem with 19. It is a large number but think about how many times we shuffle linebackers and secondary people. A starting linebacker may not even see most of the game when we play teams like Michigan. When Nebraska does its' starting line up for the game they always have 14 or 15 guys because who knows who is going to be needed right off the bat.

I posted on this subject yesterday. At that time I had always been of the opinion that the Blackshirt had to be 'earned' and thought that only the very best players (namely the starters) were awarded them. I had always heard that it was a HUGE deal to receive one. So when I started to hear about the 'controversy' it made me a little sad. I didn't want this tradition to be watered down or lose it's value. Well, my fears were unfounded and Charlie McBride is the one who gave me confidence that Bo is doing just fine where the Blackshirt tradition is concerned and I got that information from the article that was posted here. Charlie McBride said this about the giving of the Blackshirts:

 

"McBride tried to follow the traditions of coordinators like Van Zandt, Monte Kiffin and Kelly. But every coaching staff is different, McBride said. There's no right or wrong way."

 

So if a legend like Charlie says there's no right or wrong way then why should Bo be judged for giving out the Blackshirts the way HE wants to give them out?

[Guy Chamberlin]

Informative article. Not great, but informative and timely.

 

Perfectly acceptible quote from Polk. You're free to view him as one of the proud old-guard, a little stubborn about tradition.

 

Perectly reasonable take on Pelini's motivation. You're free to view him as upholding the tradition his own way.

 

 

 

Some folks here might want to look up "lambaste" and "unbiased" in the dictionary.

[Hoosker]

It says right on his article that it's an OPINION. He is stating his thoughts on the Blackshirt tradition just like you're stating your thoughts on the Blackshirt tradition. The difference is that his opinions are being read by a lot more people than you, ChaddyBoxer. This isn't a right/wrong scenario, it's simply the opinion of one sports columnist who gets paid to speak his mind on what is near and dear to so many people.

 

Dirk is always up for criticism because he talks bluntly and doesn't beat around the bush, which I respect. If columnists didn't write pieces like this, than the news about Husker football would be totally one sided and be completely boring to read.

 

Lighten up, bruh.

 

 

That's a good point but when his "opinion" that is read by many thousands is ripping apart our own qb he can shove it. Sure, opinions are fine but his "National Inquirer" kind of opinions are disgusting.

 

Otoh, the haters lap that stuff up like there's no tomorrow so he does know his readers. Gotta give him credit for that.

 

GBR!!

 

I agree that he has been extremely critical of Taylor in his articles, but what is he supposed to do? It's his job to give Husker nation what they want and we all had our concerns about Taylor after the Wisconsin game. As the QB, you are under the highest microscope and as a sports journalist, it's your job (as an opinion columnist) to state how you feel about the most talked about player on the team. He isn't out for the University, the football team, the Blackshirts, Bo, or even Taylor for that matter. I'm guessing he doesn't want to see Taylor fall flat on his face any more than you or I do, but I think his profession certainly makes him seem more "biased" than he actually is.

[jsneb83]

And we do realize... Dirk is a paid employee of the World Herald (I believe), and not an employee of UNL. I'd even venture a guess that this "work by Dirk" is considered an editorial... which is nothing more than a printed opinion.

 

Toughen up. If Dirk 'diggles' you, then just don't give him the time of day. I for one like reading alternate viewpoints to those I hold, as every now and then you learn something. It's ok for dissent to exist (in non-violent forms).

 

Sheep, they're everywhere.

 

On a related note, maybe Dirk is GOOD for the program... i.e. constant bulletin board material for the team to keep that 'us vs them' mentality...

I am not conformist. I am far from it. I enjoy reading alternative media, writers, etc. I gave Dirk my best unbiased chance and his article didn't please me one bit. Does he make you think from a different view? yeah, but he also tries to create this idea that many Husker fans are questioning Pelini about the handling of the blackshirt tradition. I didn't know it was such a big deal.

you're just well known on this board to have very animated and extreme views in regards to Dirk. claiming your were unbiased in digesting that article is very hard to believe.

really....I have posted multiple times on this board my distaste for Dirk? Where? This is one of the first times I have said something negative about him. I recall one other time I believe.

Go ahead and stick me with the other "Dirk Haters." My point is...he writes to create controversy and I believe some of his articles are outright unnecessary b/c they don't hold weight.

He has the right to publish articles such as this....I just find them to be craptacular.

There you go again racking up your post count.

[Hercules]

I'm as big a critic of Dirk as I know, but this article is fine. He doesn't "lambast" Bo for breaking from tradition, he just says, "Bo broke from tradition." Which he absolutely did. Then Dirk simply lays out that some people like it and some people don't, which is absolutely the case. The article was fine.

[bshirt]

It says right on his article that it's an OPINION. He is stating his thoughts on the Blackshirt tradition just like you're stating your thoughts on the Blackshirt tradition. The difference is that his opinions are being read by a lot more people than you, ChaddyBoxer. This isn't a right/wrong scenario, it's simply the opinion of one sports columnist who gets paid to speak his mind on what is near and dear to so many people.

 

Dirk is always up for criticism because he talks bluntly and doesn't beat around the bush, which I respect. If columnists didn't write pieces like this, than the news about Husker football would be totally one sided and be completely boring to read.

 

Lighten up, bruh.

 

 

That's a good point but when his "opinion" that is read by many thousands is ripping apart our own qb he can shove it. Sure, opinions are fine but his "National Inquirer" kind of opinions are disgusting.

 

Otoh, the haters lap that stuff up like there's no tomorrow so he does know his readers. Gotta give him credit for that.

 

GBR!!

 

I agree that he has been extremely critical of Taylor in his articles, but what is he supposed to do? It's his job to give Husker nation what they want and we all had our concerns about Taylor after the Wisconsin game. As the QB, you are under the highest microscope and as a sports journalist, it's your job (as an opinion columnist) to state how you feel about the most talked about player on the team. He isn't out for the University, the football team, the Blackshirts, Bo, or even Taylor for that matter. I'm guessing he doesn't want to see Taylor fall flat on his face any more than you or I do, but I think his profession certainly makes him seem more "biased" than he actually is.

 

Well, I suppose you could be right as there's no denying his need for readers. I can't say I like it but it does make sense. Good points my friend.

 

GBR!!

[PaulCrewe]

No problem at all with this article. This has been talked about every day on the radio since the number of Blackshirts was announced. Every guest on every show has been asked their opinion, and suprise more people had said 19 is too many. Every person has their own opinion.

 

As for Dirk, he may irk a ton of people off, but Dirk gets props from me for having the balls to ask most of the questions that we as fans want to know about. He doesn't always get an answer to said question, but ballsy enough to ask it.

[Landlord]

It seems to me that the people that do have a negative reaction and viewpoint towards these articles are the ones that thinks he's actually making any kind of point, which he's not, he's only stating the facts and letting the reader determine their own conclusions. Too many people jump to the wrong conclusion that he's trying to convince us of something, when all he's doing is trying to make us think about something.

 

Hercules is right. Dirk doesn't say "Bo is wrong from breaking tradition", he simply says "Bo broke tradition", which he factually did. Nothing wrong with stating facts, people. Good grief.

[formercactusboy]

he's just doing his job, imo.

[Conga3]

I'm not sure I care what former players think about the current team in this matter. It really doesn't matter. As long as "Blackshirts" are synonymous with scarey good defense...all will be OK.

 

If 20 players get their Blackshirts today, who is to say it doesn't mean as much to them as it did when McBride was handing out 12 to 14. It has more to do with the coach than the quantity.

 

As long as Bo keeps them motivated to play good defense, other defenders yearn to earn their own Blackshirt, new recruits dream of one day being a Blackshirt, and opposing offenses fear the Blackshirts...the tradition will survive and little old ladies will continue to throw the bones! Nothing to worry about here.

[Pedro Guerrero]

There you go again racking up your post count.

 

Thank you. Finish a thought before hitting "Post".

 

I thought the Dirk article was pretty standard for him and nothing to get all bent out of shape over.