Why Lou Holtz will be at Signing of the Stars
Odds are we all have been annoyed by Lou Holtz throughout the years, but it's clear he's a good guy even if he does pick notre dame to win 18 football games a year.
Ben Fidelman article on why he will be there:
http://michigan.247sports.com/Bolt/Holtz-explains-Signing-of-the-Stars-…
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:16 PM ^
Sort of a nice reminder that, regardless of football allegiances, when it comes down to it, there are good people that play and coach for every team, and the caricature that you've come to view somebody as is never the case.
Except for when it comes to Ohio State, of course.
February 2nd, 2016 at 3:01 PM ^
The mgoblog poster canzior begs to differ. Canzior was part of the entourage with former recruit (current Alabama player) Da'Shawn Hand, and covered Hand's recruitment extensively. At the end of December, Canzior wrote a very informative front-paged post entitled: LINK: How Recruiting Visits Work
Here's the relevant quote from his post:
I truly dislike Mike Vrabel, but he’s a very good guy as well. Very intense..and you see it every time he is on tv. I mentioned this before but I thought Urban was very likeable, and I very nearly committed my unborn son to play for him at that moment. Some of the women that I worked with were very interested to hear about Urban Meyer and see pictures, which should tell you how easy it is for him to convince a mom to send their kids to him.
As much as we hate Ohio State, I don't think that either Tressel or Meyer are flat out jerks. In fact, I vaguely recall MGrowOld commenting on Tressel from a chicken dinner where they rubbed shoulders. And it makes sense. If Meyer was just an evil jerk, he wouldn't have the success he has had in recruiting.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:16 PM ^
Still think about his awesome speech at the Woody Hayes roast that Bo was at. Epic speaker back in the day...
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:31 PM ^
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February 2nd, 2016 at 2:33 PM ^
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February 2nd, 2016 at 2:51 PM ^
Thanks for the link! Lou Holtz speaks at 22:20 and Bo at 35:10 for those interested in specific speakers.
February 2nd, 2016 at 4:54 PM ^
I had an ex-girlfriend who atteneded ND during that era. She was friends with Skip Holtz and whenever she went to the Holtz' house, Lou would do a magic trick for her. Not sure if that is endearing or just a bit creepy.
February 2nd, 2016 at 3:45 PM ^
Lots of people have little ticks they do when they speak in front of large audiences. Apparently Bo liked to mess with his right jacket pocket. It's funny how little things like that can make someone seem more human. Almost like a glimpse behind his larger than life persona.
February 2nd, 2016 at 5:35 PM ^
I had not seen this, thanks for passing it along.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:18 PM ^
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February 2nd, 2016 at 2:44 PM ^
This is all a smokescreen. The real reason is that the air is very dry in Ann Arbor this time of year, and Holtz is like a natural humidifier when he speaks...
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:18 PM ^
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:19 PM ^
Holtz uttered one of my favorite quotes. "Pressure isn't being ranked number 1. Pressure is being unprepared." I think of that whenever I get ready for trial.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:27 PM ^
+ 1 to the sentiment expressed there.
It applies not just to football, but to pretty much every aspect of life.
It's a current pet peeve of mine that in my line of work I run across so many people who seem to take preparation for a sales call or meeting to be wasted time. They seem to think it is somehow better to "wing it." They are almost always proven wrong. Often the result is wasted time by everyone else in attendance at the poorly prepared meeting.
Lou Holtz is a good man, no doubt. I don't care for his Notre Dame homerism, but that's because I despise Notre Dame. If Lou Holtz was a homer for, say, Minnesota, I would merely smile at his homerism.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:20 PM ^
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:20 PM ^
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:21 PM ^
Thanks for the background. We look forward to a few memorable Holtz lines at this event.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:21 PM ^
A feel good story....
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:21 PM ^
When he wanted to become a head coach at San Diego, he asked me to call the president who was a big Lou Holtz at Notre Dame fan. I helped him get the job.
So we have Lou Holtz to thank for Harbaugh getting his start in coaching.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:22 PM ^
the signing of the stars is for charity? by the way our rivals and the news media report it, harbaugh is just a fool lookiing for attention. ive seen it called a "circus" and just another example of what a lunatic harbaugh is. it sure is refreshing when you start hearing both sides of a story and hear from sane people not all the crazies that post on message boards.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:24 PM ^
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:29 PM ^
“At the same time when Jim called me to tell me how everything went, he asked me if I would come up and do this event. He said it’s going to be about 3,500 people or so and will raise money for cancer. My wife is a stage four cancer survivor; they gave her a ten-percent chance to live. She has squamous cell carcinoma in her throat, had a 13-hour surgery, and 83 radiation treatments. Her weight went from 129 to 89. So we do everything we can to help fight cancer.
I will say, when I first heard Lou Holtz was going to be at this, I did a double take as many here probably did simply because when you see that name, all you really think of is Notre Dame and his time there. That made this article pretty eye-opening for me - I did not know that this was a deeply personal thing for Holtz because of his wife's battle with cancer and it does remind you that at the end of the day, there are things that dwarf the game and rivalries both past and present.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:30 PM ^
Can't help but see Holtz as a complete fraud who left every program he ever touched in worse shape (and, often, under sanctions) than when he found them. Read Under the Tarnished Dome--the guy was/is sleaze.
But I can't help but think this article is quite cool.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:30 PM ^
just can't stomach him when he goes on rants about OSU and/or Meyer and how great they are.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:31 PM ^
Good story.
Maybe it's the charity angle. Maybe it's becuase Harbaugh is truly the s***.
Regardless, as much as we dislike ND and Lou's homerism, it is remarkable for a guy that bleeds Irish blood to show up at a UM event which is primarily about UM football, and secondarily about charity.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:35 PM ^
Now you made me like Lou Holtz. You're on my list now.
It sucks that his house burned down, but the thought of him having nothing to wear except Michigan gear amuses me.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:38 PM ^
Probably should be nice to him at the event tomorrow. That is a great story!
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:40 PM ^
... now I have to not dislike the guy.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:40 PM ^
like I do MSU fans or OSU fans. Their fans are relatively classy, sophisticated and intellegent. I do feel a bit miffed though by their administration for punking us at the last second before the 2012 game and opting out of the series
February 2nd, 2016 at 3:30 PM ^
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:45 PM ^
...okay, won't be an MGoDick, but serious, someone better cover the crab cakesth.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:51 PM ^
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February 2nd, 2016 at 2:50 PM ^
to cancer...all of it.
Keep fighting Mrs. Holtz.
#chadtough
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:50 PM ^
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February 2nd, 2016 at 2:51 PM ^
I heard he was Rashan Gary's godfather.
February 2nd, 2016 at 2:52 PM ^
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February 2nd, 2016 at 3:03 PM ^
I do not believe this to be true.
February 2nd, 2016 at 3:14 PM ^
Lou got paid $100k to attend a charity event? No way
February 2nd, 2016 at 3:23 PM ^
Wouldn't it been way easier to use the 100k spent on Lou and just donate that to the charity instead.
Plus I bet there's no way Holtz would take 100k for something like this either.
February 2nd, 2016 at 3:32 PM ^
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February 2nd, 2016 at 2:52 PM ^
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February 2nd, 2016 at 3:05 PM ^
Cool, I was wondering why he was coming. Thanks for sharing OP.
February 2nd, 2016 at 3:05 PM ^
Honestly I keep forgetting this is also a benefit. It would be awesome if they did this every year and it was always a benefit. Could raise some serious change and have a lot of fun doing it
February 2nd, 2016 at 3:08 PM ^
As much as I love seeing Lou getting made fun of on twitter, he was one of the best speakers I saw. Anyone who is going, enjoy him. He's a great speaker.
February 2nd, 2016 at 3:15 PM ^
I once read a Lou Holtz book way back in the day and it was one of the best self-improvement type books I've ever read.
He always made it a point to say just how little talent he had in life but that he was someone who still managed to make his dreams come true despite his limiting physical gifts thru hard work, discipline, etc.....
Here's a quote made by Holtz that I always felt best describes how far he came to be be head football coach at ND:
On a sportswriter who asked him how he felt about being named Notre Dame's head coach:
"What do you mean, what does it feel like? Look at me. I'm 5-10, I weigh 150 pounds, I talk with a lisp, I look like I have scurvy, I'm not very smart, I was a terrible football player and I graduated 234th in a high school class of 278. What do you think it feels like to be named head coach at Notre Dame?"
February 2nd, 2016 at 3:16 PM ^
Now it makes more sense to me why Lou Holtz would be there. Sounds like he's a good guy. (I realize I'm setting up a joke here)
February 2nd, 2016 at 3:26 PM ^