Those of you who haven't seen the press conference following Oklahoma State's shootout win over Texas Tech this past weekend are really missing out:
http://www.youtube.com/v/aoMmbUmKN0EIs it as funny as this press conference?:
http://www.youtube.com/v/Ja9ADVtteiANo, but it's probably almost as ridiculous. But neither Gundy's actual press conference or the Coors Light commercial parody brings me as much satisfaction as this tirade by Dan Hawkins, head coach at CU.
http://www.youtube.com/v/9S3RbRifTSkAnyhow, back to main topic at hand: Mike Gundy's rant was either...
A) Well-intentioned or
B) Contrived
...and I'll let the folks playing along at home be the judge of that, but one way or another, he clearly didn't go about this the best way possible. I, as much as anyone, am happy to see a coach sticking up for his players and not hanging them out to dry. But what was Gundy hoping to accomplish here by flying off the handle? He's drawn more attention to Bobby Reid than he possibly could have deflected. Last week at this time, my Grandmother had no clue who Bobby Reid was, and now she's telling me not to get any ideas about being fed chicken. This didn't do anything to help Gundy's credibility, and it gave a ton of publicity to Jenni Carlson, the author of the article in the Oklahoman. And in Gundy's defense, the article did kind've suck, although I'm not sure it was 75% inaccurate as he claimed.
Regardless, he could've handled things in a way that didn't make him and his team look like a jackass.
If this was all contrived to deflect attention from the fact that OSU hasn't exactly lived up to expectations coming into this season, why blow up like that after a win?
If I was Gundy or the OSU Athletic Director, I would've yanked Carlson's press pass and let her write her columns from the comfort of her home without the benefit of the press box on game days.
Some people are saying that it was important Gundy called her out publicly the way she called out Reid, but that still doesn't excuse hysterics or spittle flying onto the poor columnists in the front row. One calm, snide remark would've done wonders to counter her gossip column and not made the coach the punchline instead of the reporter.
Comments (1)
Sorry to hear about your Cornhuskers' beatdown by the Jayhawks. I think we were originally supposed to get that game here, but they switched us to a different game before they went on the air. I have some friends who are diehard Fighting Irish fans who are crying in their beer, especialy those who are also NY Jets fans. (But the Notre Dame game was exciting to watch.) My Baylor Bears didn't end up doing much of anything this year, but I've grown accustomed to that. (It seems like a lifetime ago that Baylor reached #6 on the national football poll--well, it was 1986. . . .)
I hope Nebraska has a good recruiting year to begin to turn around this current trend. Unfortunately, the college system doesn't have the same kind of "draft" that the pros have, which can lead to more parity between the teams. . . .
Peace. Charles