Way OT: Lou Holtz compares college football players to the troops at Normandy.
First, a little trigger warning: This Twitter user (Justin Baragona) is a Daily Beast founder.
In this video, Lou Holtz makes a comparison between college football players and the troops at Normandy (just shy of the 1:00 mark):
https://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1293267651591012352
August 13th, 2020 at 2:45 PM ^
Serious post: Thank you to you and those who have served.
__________________________________________________________
Not serious post:
I feel like you might've seen more action than you're letting on...
August 13th, 2020 at 3:19 PM ^
Likewise serious post:
Thanks, but I really can't hold a candle to those who saw action. My nephew served in the British army and saw a fellow soldier blown up while on patrol in Afghanistan. There's about zero support in the UK for those with PTSD acquired in combat. 19 y/o and seeing a fellow soldier's legs blown off (he later died). I just can't imagine it.
I think I'll know what volunteer work I'll be doing when I retire.
And the not serious post:
You know how we all think up stupid stuff to do when drunk? It all started with some beers and some guys in Rwanda thinking it would be funny to arm chimps...
August 13th, 2020 at 8:46 AM ^
What a massive insult to the Greatest Generation.
August 13th, 2020 at 8:51 AM ^
Lou Holtz is 83 years old and a former Army officer. This is exactly what I would expect home to say. I’ll keep my outrage reserves on ice for now.
August 13th, 2020 at 9:11 AM ^
Did he actually ever serve? From what I gather, he just got commissioned after going through ROTC and then jumped straight into coaching.
August 13th, 2020 at 9:16 AM ^
Yes he did. But even if he didn’t, my point is that someone sticks a mic in front of an 83 year old retired football coach and then folks act surprised that he isn’t woke enough to run his comments by a sensitivity committee first.
August 13th, 2020 at 9:38 AM ^
Got it, thanks. Wasn't sure and frankly didn't feel like digging too deep.
This isn't about wokeness or sensitivity. Which is it with you conservatives? Kneeling during a song is disrespectful to the troops and flag but comparing a bunch of kids playing sports to soldiers being mowed down by Nazis is cool and not disrespecting the memory of those who perished? It seems like it's just common fucking sense but what do I know?
August 13th, 2020 at 11:29 AM ^
People over 80 make WWII references to everything. Either way, I’m on vacation. I don’t really care. Have a nice day. ?
August 13th, 2020 at 11:38 AM ^
People over 80 make WWII references to everything. Either way, I’m on vacation. I don’t really care. Have a nice day. ?
August 13th, 2020 at 9:45 AM ^
WTF? People are making fun of Holtz's idiotic comparison. Wokeness and sensitivity don't even apply here. You have your bullet points mixed up. (Or, more likely, someone mixed them up for you and you just reposted them.)
August 13th, 2020 at 11:53 AM ^
I see no evidence he ever served. Looks like he went from ROTC/school to coaching. Can you provide a link to where you see he served?
Edit: looks like he went directly into the reserves at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Holtz
August 13th, 2020 at 12:49 PM ^
In the reserves you are still liable to be called up to serve on active duty if they want you.
August 13th, 2020 at 3:25 PM ^
I'm not diminishing vets regardless of branch or status. It was just hard to find anything about his service in and amongst his coaching gigs.
August 13th, 2020 at 3:36 PM ^
I didn't think you were. There's nothing there about his service as he probably just did his 4 months in Ft. Sill and then one weekend a month (maybe a couple of 2 week drills, one each summer) and that was it. I think he probably only had a 3 year commitment if he was not on scholarship while in ROTC.
August 13th, 2020 at 3:08 PM ^
This isn't about being "woke"--it is about being right and safe.
August 13th, 2020 at 2:47 PM ^
From his wikipedia bio:
"Holtz also trained under Kent State's Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps and earned a commission as a Field Artillery Officer in the United States Army Reserve at the time of his graduation from college."
Holtz graduated from Kent State in 1959, and began his coaching career at Iowa in 1960. There's no evidence I can find that Holtz ever spent time in the regular US Army.
August 13th, 2020 at 3:26 PM ^
He would have spent 4 months at Ft. Sill (Ft. Swill for those of us who endured that place) in Oklahoma for the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course (FAOBC).
I tell you, beautiful downtown Lawton, Ok is a charming place. "Show Bar" and the others.
August 13th, 2020 at 4:32 PM ^
try Ft Bliss in July-August
August 13th, 2020 at 7:24 PM ^
You know it. I remember coming back from a day of calling fire and being able to stand up my BDU jacket that was saturated with sweat and salt.
August 13th, 2020 at 8:52 AM ^
Lou Holtz needs to read some Shakespeare.
"...And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."
August 13th, 2020 at 9:33 AM ^
First few rows are the "splash zone".
August 13th, 2020 at 12:18 PM ^
The Shakespeare suggestion is apt, because Lou's comment is much like the famous line from "Macbeth:"
A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
August 13th, 2020 at 8:55 AM ^
To hell with Lou Holtz!
August 13th, 2020 at 2:59 PM ^
go drink another bottle of vodka comrade and report back tomorrow
August 13th, 2020 at 9:12 AM ^
Lou was a good football mind, who was then laughable—he got his TV job b/c he was entertaining, not because he was solid—but he's now scary.
Serving our country, my grandfathers, my father, my father-in-law, and me, we put ourselves in harm's way to do our duty for our country, not for football.
August 13th, 2020 at 9:15 AM ^
Just when I thought Lou Holtz's opinion couldn't mean less to me.
August 13th, 2020 at 10:01 AM ^
I listen to a lot of college football podcasts and I can’t remember which host mentioned that Lou Holtz will do anything now. He’s an old coach that runs to the phone when it rings and will say anything to get on TV. When he framed it that way it just seems kinda sad to me.
August 13th, 2020 at 10:09 AM ^
My grandfather was in the 5th Ranger Battalion Company D and stormed the beaches.
Shut the fuck up, Lou. Stick to what you actually know about.
August 13th, 2020 at 10:15 AM ^
Leaving programs he ran on sanctions?
August 13th, 2020 at 2:58 PM ^
yeah but you didn't serve did you
August 13th, 2020 at 10:05 PM ^
I know it happened when you were in your 30s but D-Day happened 49 years before I was born. Hence why I said MY GRANDFATHER.
August 13th, 2020 at 10:18 AM ^
Lou Holtz has lost his marbles. I feel like across the board we should stop giving old men who are very clearly not all there a platform
August 13th, 2020 at 11:10 AM ^
You're going to love the Presidential debates then.
August 13th, 2020 at 12:09 PM ^
+1 for post/avatar combo
August 13th, 2020 at 12:10 PM ^
There will not be any debates. ND already canceled where the first debate was to be held and there is not even discussions now on where to hold the first debate.
August 13th, 2020 at 10:25 AM ^
How would a player know where he caught the virus from? Another player on his team? A player on another team? Roommates? Girlfriend? Classmates? Family? Friends? Neighbors? Just walking down the street or going into a store? I didn't know that college football players were 75 years old and in frail health, basically on death's doorstep. Could players wear masks? A face shield? I think that some politicians feel that fear is a terrible thing to waste
August 13th, 2020 at 10:44 AM ^
Contact tracing.
August 13th, 2020 at 11:13 AM ^
No, football players aren’t 75 years old and frail. But many of them aren’t exactly in the greatest health while playing at 300+lbs. Others suffer from things like asthma where a virus that attacks the lungs could be very problematic. And others still have undiagnosed issues that could be negatively impacted by CoVid (Mo Hurst and his heart issue for example?) What’s the number you’re comfortable getting really sick or dying? How many would it take before you say “yeah maybe this was a bad idea”?
I really don’t understand why people insist on associating the virus strictly to age. There’s a whole lot of issues other than age that are impacted by CoVid
August 13th, 2020 at 12:18 PM ^
Actually new research shows if you have asthma or seasonal allergies you may have a built in protection from COVID hijacking a protein molecule that is used to infect your cells. https://www.med.wisc.edu/news-and-events/2020/april/allergies-asthma-may-reduce-covid-19-risk-/
August 13th, 2020 at 7:46 PM ^
So from the link, it just says the virus doesn’t seem to affect people with asthma or allergies as severely as they expected it would. It’s not really a built in protection. It doesn’t prevent them from getting it or experiencing severe symptoms, it’s just not as prevalent as they expected it would be. Assuming I’m understanding it correctly.
At any rate, asthma was just one of the many pre-existing conditions that would potentially make contracting CoVid extremely dangerous. Obesity for example can CoVid extremely life threatening. While typically in better shape than your typical obese person, how many 280+lb football players are there at schools all around the country?
Again, the point is being “young and healthy,” doesn’t remove the dangers of CoVid. And that’s before we get into the potential for those young and healthy players to transfer the virus to other people.
August 13th, 2020 at 11:40 AM ^
I don't know why people can't get that just because the elderly are the *most likely* to die from Covid, they aren't the *only ones* to die from it. (That's true with everything from flu to cancer to car accidents to broken hips.) Also death isn't the only terrible outcome.
I don't think we have the right to expect amateurs to risk their lives...
I predict if any league actually plays it will be a short season.
August 13th, 2020 at 3:31 PM ^
Also death isn't the only terrible outcome.
The mortality rate for covod has been estimated as about 1% of cases, with 5% beinh sick enough to require hospitalization. I don't know about you all, but being sick enough to be hospitalized does not sound like fun to me. Besides feeling bad from the effects of being sick, you are likely to incur deep financial costs, even with healty insurance.
August 13th, 2020 at 11:00 AM ^
God football coaches can be morons.
August 13th, 2020 at 11:03 AM ^
You can learn respect while still being stupid. Don't know what it was like at Normandy? You weren't there? Then STFU and don't dare compare anything to it. Know your damn place.
The problem here isn't Holtz's idiocy, but the fact that he's an insensitive, disrespectful, self-serving asshole.
August 13th, 2020 at 11:19 AM ^
it was my understanding that nobody paid much attention to whatever spilled out of the yap of mush-mouth Lou for a couple decades or so... and believe that policy should continue moving forward
August 13th, 2020 at 12:32 PM ^
Actually, he has been working as a motivational speaker and often holds large conferences for the private sector and federal workers. I had to work at my office but back in 2010 he held a large event in KC where some of my co-workers got to see him speak. I think it was on a circuit with some other motivational speakers. But my co-workers said Holtz was the best speaker. https://www.wsb.com/speakers/lou-holtz/
August 13th, 2020 at 11:25 AM ^
reading twitter threads is a lot like being a tunnel rat in Vietnam
/s
August 13th, 2020 at 11:55 AM ^
the whole "football is war" thing is offensively stupid.
August 13th, 2020 at 12:06 PM ^
Lou Holtz is still alive?!
August 13th, 2020 at 12:22 PM ^
I think he's depressed. His wife died a month ago (not from COVID) and he knows his time is running out. Probably why he would like to see football continue this season.