OT: Random guy sneaks into A&M locker room after Alabama game
https://www.si.com/college/2021/10/14/texas-am-fake-recruit-locker-room-tiktok-video
Too good of a story not to share! ?
October 14th, 2021 at 11:39 PM ^
What a game to get lucky and find that pass too, kid probably had a once in a lifetime opportunity and capitalized on it brilliantly
October 14th, 2021 at 11:46 PM ^
Hilarious story but gotta give this guy credit for being so ballsy and then pulling it off like he did.
But Jimbo? After seeing how he was so easily fooled by someone completely out of the blue introducing himself as a recruit, I'll forever refer to him as "Dimbo" Fisher.
October 15th, 2021 at 1:36 AM ^
Jimbo understands risk/reward in recruiting. Not acknowledging a real recruit would be the worst mistake he could make in the moment.
October 15th, 2021 at 8:26 AM ^
That's a very generous take. :)
October 15th, 2021 at 9:35 AM ^
This is not at all how it works. Jimbo has no more responsibility for gatekeeping who is in the locker room than Joe Biden or Donald Trump have for who gains initial entry into the White House. There are athletic department staff who vet people and issue passes. Security personnel verify that people have the correct passes for the area of the stadium they occupy.
Recruits are a special class of visitor. If you have a pass indicating you are a recruit, you will receive much deferential treatment. Because of the fear recruiting rules will be violated, general fans are denied access to areas where recruits congregate. Once you are in that group, you are escorted around like a VIP.
Great story but not Jimbo's fault.
October 15th, 2021 at 10:41 AM ^
Why would Donald Trump have any ability to determine who enters the White House?
October 15th, 2021 at 3:35 PM ^
This was my attempt to politically inclusive. Donald Trump has no say in who currently enters the White House. Last year he was able to bar people from entering. My point is simply that he was not the primary gatekeeper as Joe Biden does not currently spend his time screening people for entry.
October 15th, 2021 at 10:56 AM ^
My point ( that loud "W O O O S H !" as it passed overhead) is this: shouldn't Dimbo recognize the guys he is recruiting from having met them by that point in the process?
And as you stated yourself, "once you are in that group, you are escorted around like a VIP".
October 15th, 2021 at 11:38 AM ^
So nobody is ever invited to campus to have a look around without the HC knowing him by name and face? I find this hard to believe - especially for a run of the mill kicker! I can see where the HC would get to know a high impact recruit, but every Tom, Dick, and Harry 3-star that comes through the facilities? No way...
But even if he does know every single recruit by face, in that moment he's not going to call out the kid on the off-chance that he doesn't remember. The HC will always welcome that kid and offer hope, then go look for an underling to verify things. As stated earlier, the worst thing a coach could do during a 'croot's visit is say 'who the hell are you? get away from me!'...
October 15th, 2021 at 3:37 PM ^
Exactly! Let me stop preparing my team to play Alabama on the off chance some harmless guy is getting a looksee seems an unlikely choice for Jimbo to make in that moment.
October 15th, 2021 at 3:43 PM ^
I have spent a fair amount of time on the field at another power 5 school. Every home games brings 30 or more recruits. If you extrapolate that over 7-8 home games that is a lot of recruits. Some kids are not being recruited strongly and may be there only as a favor to the high school head coach (to gain a future recruiting advantage).
I guarantee that head coaches at big schools do not know the names and faces of all of the recruits that show up to games. They probably can call the name of all 100 guys on their team, the dozen or so assistant coaches and their wives, the dozen or so big wigs in the athletic department, and 30 or so biggest donors but not all of the recruits.
Being recognized and treated well are probably highly correlated but in this case can be mutually exclusive.
October 15th, 2021 at 12:13 PM ^
Confidence my man, confidence.
October 15th, 2021 at 12:06 AM ^
Awesome story. Have Tom Rinaldi interview him on College Game Day instead of the usual trying to make us all cry.
October 15th, 2021 at 8:44 AM ^
Great idea - love Tom's voice overs. Also, "What if I told you..." 30 for 30 story on various recruiting mis-adventures would also be fun to watch.
October 15th, 2021 at 11:10 AM ^
Too bad Rinaldi left ESPN and is now doing his dramatic voiceovers for FOX
October 15th, 2021 at 12:16 AM ^
He should have committed to see how far he could really take it.
October 15th, 2021 at 6:44 AM ^
Not until they gave him that $5,000 in cash as an advance on his NIL deal.
October 15th, 2021 at 12:26 AM ^
In the 80s I was the alumni president at Long Beach State and a sportswriter. I scored two field passes for the UM-LBS game. What a rush to enter the field through the tunnel where hundreds of players entered before. My dad was a Upper and I was a writer who interviewed Tom Harmon and Red Grange among others. The players walked through the same tunnel But I regress. By halftime the game was a rout so I wondered around the field despite a pass saying Visitors Sideline Only. I ended up on the UM side and because I didn't see I ended up on the UM bench and then Jamie Morris says to me "sir, want some water." Hell, the president can't get field passes and I'm there. Because the coaches were intent they didn't even notice me. Lots of good stories Sorry I didn't mean to bore anyway but lots of good stories in my life including several priceless Bo stories. But Saturday's game with Texas A&M may be the best.
October 15th, 2021 at 12:37 AM ^
I believe the spelling is “Yooper” good sir
October 15th, 2021 at 8:45 AM ^
And "digress," not "regress." Plus "wandered" rather than "wondered."
We all make mistakes of spelling and grammar, but a sports writer?
October 15th, 2021 at 9:19 AM ^
I don’t really care about most spelling and grammar, but Yooperness should always be respected appropriately
October 15th, 2021 at 10:05 AM ^
Yep, Yooper.
And don't call me "sir," I work for a living.
Of course, you called Arrowhead "sir" and not me. Still, I couldn't resist using that old drill sergeant line. Did Marines use it too? I probably should know because Army MP training included Marines.
But maybe you were an officer, target of the shade being thrown by non-coms and grunts.
October 15th, 2021 at 10:23 AM ^
Ironically, I don’t use sir that often despite being in the corps. I do use it as a sign of respect to vets in particular though
October 15th, 2021 at 1:25 AM ^
You interviewed Harmon and Grange? That's extremely cool!
I mean, the rest of your story is cool too but you got to interview two of the legends of the game
October 15th, 2021 at 2:19 AM ^
Michigan defeated the 49ers 49-0 on that sunny September day in 1987, but lost senior linebacker Andree McIntyre for the season with a torn Achilles’ tendon. This along with other injuries on defense led to a disappointing season.
October 15th, 2021 at 8:42 AM ^
Throwing 7 interceptions to the Spartans didn't help either.
I actually got to play in that game vs. Long Beach State. (that's how you know it was a blowout lol)
October 15th, 2021 at 8:47 AM ^
That's great, man.
Did you give Arrowhead water too?
October 15th, 2021 at 9:03 AM ^
Chicklets and salt tablets.
October 15th, 2021 at 9:18 AM ^
Upvote for Rickey Green
October 15th, 2021 at 12:26 AM ^
In the 80s I was the alumni president at Long Beach State and a sportswriter. I scored two field passes for the UM-LBS game. What a rush to enter the field through the tunnel where hundreds of players entered before. My dad was a Upper and I was a writer who interviewed Tom Harmon and Red Grange among others. The players walked through the same tunnel But I regress. By halftime the game was a rout so I wondered around the field despite a pass saying Visitors Sideline Only. I ended up on the UM side and because I didn't see I ended up on the UM bench and then Jamie Morris says to me "sir, want some water." Hell, the president can't get field passes and I'm there. Because the coaches were intent they didn't even notice me. Lots of good stories Sorry I didn't mean to bore anyway but lots of good stories in my life including several priceless Bo stories. But Saturday's game with Texas A&M may be the best.
October 15th, 2021 at 5:41 AM ^
We get it man!
October 15th, 2021 at 8:45 AM ^
Tell me the story again, papa.
October 15th, 2021 at 6:23 AM ^
This kid has PWO as a transfer and student recruiting assistant in his future. Get on it Jimbo.
October 15th, 2021 at 6:42 AM ^
I have a less entertaining sneak into the locker room story. My younger brother was a lightly recruited guard in HS. His best friend was a more heavily recruited FB/LB. So his friend is on a visit to UM for the Northwestern game in 1987. He takes my brother with him and his family to the game.
So I'm home on leave from the Marine Corps and my older brother and I decide to go to the game. Back then it was easy to get tickets outside the stadium. We stop and pick up our dad on the way.
So we are having some beers outside when we see the recruits and their families walking as a group and heading to the stadium. My brother gives us a waive so we join the group.
Nothing was checked, we walk into the locker room with the group Bo is in the middle of a pre-game pep talk. Team goes to line up in the tunnel, and then Bo says a few things to the group and heads to the tunnel.
We just go to our seats. It was pretty darn cool
October 15th, 2021 at 7:01 AM ^
Pretty much same story (right down to the big "VIP" letters), except Go-Go's concert circa 1985. Got to see Jane Wiedlin's breasts.
October 15th, 2021 at 8:12 AM ^
#triggered
Also, #tumescent
October 15th, 2021 at 7:13 AM ^
Alabama could have used that guy. He knows how to fool A&M better. :)
October 15th, 2021 at 8:07 AM ^
This is what immediately popped into my head.
October 15th, 2021 at 9:23 AM ^
Also obligatory:
October 15th, 2021 at 8:09 AM ^
pretty salty, to call kevin sumlin a "random guy," although yeah. i guess.
October 15th, 2021 at 8:40 AM ^
Having been on both sides of "security"—sneaking into something I wasn't supposed to be at and being an MP guarding against people trying to sneak in—I know how readily bravado gets access to unauthorized places.
It's gotten tougher due to metal detectors and heightened threats.
But humans checking humans? There are always gaps in the system.
October 15th, 2021 at 8:52 AM ^
Back in the day, when Antoine Joubert was playing form Michigan, I was living in Chicago. I got tickets for a game in Madison and made a "press pass" that allowed me to get on the court and take pictures. I had a camera that looked like I could be a legit photographer. I got some cool pictures from under the basket that day!
October 15th, 2021 at 9:17 AM ^
I've got a picture of Random Guy:
October 15th, 2021 at 9:18 AM ^
That's a really cool story! Glad the kid had fun and that the aTm kickers were cool with it - but they almost had to be. I mean, what college kid doesn't like a story like that? LOL!!
What a game to crash...
October 15th, 2021 at 9:22 AM ^
I hooked up at Sig Ep when it was at the corner of Hill and State when some players in the house told everybody I was a recruit!
October 15th, 2021 at 9:44 AM ^
random guy = florida man, doesn't it?
October 15th, 2021 at 9:55 AM ^
Damn that is quite the story, stuff like this is why I love college football.
October 15th, 2021 at 10:25 AM ^
Like this won’t be attempted all the time going forward. Kids will be creating their own laminated VIP passes in basements all over the country.
October 15th, 2021 at 10:52 AM ^
First rule of crashing an area/event: Act Like You Belong There.
This applies to getting through a check point as well as after you get into the area.
October 15th, 2021 at 12:03 PM ^
Grew up on the Canadien border. This was an absolute rule for all 18-20 year olds crossing the border back from Canada.