Things are already changing. For the better.There has only been one day of official football practice, and things are already getting back to normal for the Michigan football program. Before Rich Rodriguez arrived and as far back as 1879, Michigan had season long football captains. Legendary leaders such as LaMarr Woodley (2006), Stefan Humphries (1983), and Harrison "Boss" Weeks (1902) have shared the peer leadership responsibility for the Wolverines. All this changed when the new staff arrived. Instead, beginning in 2008 rotating captains were selected for each game and permanent captains were named at the end of the season.
As a former Marine, I believe strongly in the concept of formal & structured leadership. I have lived and witnessed the value of peer leadership. Organizations need to be led at multiple levels to achieve greatness. Of all the changes we have endured with this transition, this one just never felt right with me. What kind of unit names their leadership after the battle is fought?
Yesterday, this tweet arrived from Coach Rodriguez:
Regardless of the their versus there grammar mistake (which I am sure will lead to another firestorm of ridiculous drama.... OMG!!!!! our coach can't pass a fourth grade english test!!!!) it was like a breath of fresh air for me and thousands of other Michigan football fans.
I can’t say if naming Captains before the season will make any difference in terms of wins and losses, but it sure feels right. I am sure the players feel the same way.
Congrats to Mark Moundros and Steve Schilling, you have joined an impressive and elite group.
Now go lead this team back to respectability.
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12 comments:
Mark Moundros as the defensive captain makes me cringe inside a little.
Andy... Maybe RR is finally figuring out not to f$#@%$k with tradition. I like it alot.
Hammm.... His teammates must think he deserves it. (What a concept, see above) Michigan has had many players change positions in the past and do very well. The D can use the help.
Captains are important, they are the vocal leaders on the field that will get into their teammates face when they're slacking off. They can say something to their teammate that the coach would or is not able to say. Players at times are more effective at lighting fires under each other than almost anyone else.
You don't have to be a captain to do this but by virtue of the fact that captains are elected by their peers it says that "these are the guys that we look up to and they perform on and off the field. They get our respect and have the right to rip another ass whole in us if we screw up." Yes, teams needs leaders on the field, and this was a big correction over the last two year. At least RR is man enough to make the correction.
I guess I’m a little out of step w/ a lot of people on this topic.
In the first half of the last century (the part of the century when we won 10 or so national championships), Michigan football was NOT synonymous w/ “tradition”. Crisler, Yost, & others were widely known for their innovation, imagination, & change. New ideas; new successes.
Sometime in the second half of the century (the part of the century when we won 1 or so national championships), Michigan football became synonymous w/ “tradition”, and the on the field results paled in comparison. Final score- Innovation 10, Tradition 1.
Personally, I think “tradition” is vastly over rated. Especially when it’s used as a crutch or an excuse to avoid making changes that are necessary but painful.
No offense to anyone, but going back to tradition is only a positive if the old way of doing something turns out to be better. In most cases it doesn’t. In this case it may. But here’s the really important part (IMHE) in either event, the only way you find out is IF you try something different, at least once in a while.
Which is why I do like R2’s decision here- not because he is returning to tradition, but because it’s another example of R2 again breaking “tradition”. For the previous 13 years, nobody in A2 ever did much of anything different. At any level. And if there was one thing you could count on w/ Lloyd, it was him almost never changing his mind or doing something different just because what they had been doing wasn’t working. Seriously, when did you hear the words “innovative” or “imaginative” used in regards to Michigan football over the last two decades?
Sticking w/ something unproductive is not what R2 does. He tries new things. When they don’t work, he changes his mind & tries to correct mistakes. In this case, R2 tried a new approach to captains. We don’t know if it didn’t work. We do know the players wanted to do something different. He responded w/ this change.
Maybe he’ll tank this season & get fired. If that happens, it’ll be because what he did on the field didn’t work. Not because he didn’t follow tradition.
And if he succeeds, it’ll be because he did try new things. Things different than the way we’ve done things in a long while.
It might be nice if Michigan football became synonymous w/ “innovation” and “imagination” again some day. That would be a tradition I could get behind.
>Slow clap<
I could not agree with you more, SIC. Excellent post. This needs to be plastered on the wall of every stuffy "traditionalist" in the UM fan base.
"...the their versus there grammar mistake (which I am sure will lead to another firestorm of ridiculous drama.... OMG!!!!! our coach can't pass a fourth grade english test!!!!)"
This basic error in grammar is due to the fact that your present coach did not earn a Masters degree from tOSU. Maybe you all should go back to stealing your coaches from the Promised Land. It has worked well in the past.
Well done Whet. Well done.
Thanks, Andy.
All in fun, my friends.
It's almost here. Is there anything better than College Football in the Fall? The smells, the colors, the atmosphere...and then there's Autumn.
SIC... I do not disagree with you that we need innovation & imagination on the field. Although some of us old farts might like the "3 yards and a cloud of dust" type offense, a college team today cannot succeed with that kind of approach. I will disagree with you, however, that some traditions are worth keeping. Selecting new captains every week until everyone gets a chance is too much like when my sons played recreational soccer. Having the players select captains who have earned that honor based on leadership, work ethic, etc. creates the proper atmoshere for success.
"Sticking w/ something unproductive is not what R2 does. He tries new things. When they don’t work, he changes his mind & tries to correct mistakes.".... I hope Dave Brandon feels the same way.
Blue,
So RR will be getting rid of Barwis?
Bob,
I'd prefer "4 yards and a cloud of dust" myself - that way we keep the chains moving...
and now Brandon has changed the "M":
http://mvictors.com/?p=7768
basically, no way we can win more than 5 games w/ a new logo...
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