For work, one of the salespeople who covered us had two extra tix to the Big 10 Luncheon and invited my son and I to the event. We had a great time. Running around the McCormick complex with a Sharpie. I'd shamelessly push him in the middle of Danny Hope, Brett Bielema and Kevin Wilson and have him ask them to sign his ball. I got everyone except Joe Pa, Bo Pelini, Kirk Ferentz and Brady Hoke. I tend to root for coaches, so I was really pleased to have an opportunity to meet some of these guys. I can honestly say I think with the exception of a select few, the coaches in the Big Ten are truly stand-up guys.
- Kevin Wilson is a scary man. I heard rumors when he was the OC under Randy Walker, but he's much more intimidating in person.
- Danny Hope is a really nice dude. Took time to talk to my son. And he enjoyed talking about Chicago area recruiting with me.
- Dantonio is a pretty nice guy too.
- Jerry Kill was an absolute gentleman. He went out of his way to praise the Purple, specifically our AD Jim Phillips. He stated he wouldn't be where he is today without the opportunity Jim gave him
- Kirk Cousins made a great speech on privilege and responsibility. (I thought it struck exactly the right tone at exactly the right time. It reflected on recent events without scolding.)
- Zook is still Zook... Can't put my finger on what rubs me the wrong way with that guy. My son got his autograph by he barely looked at the kid the whole time... like he was looking for a recruit he wanted to hotbox.
- JoePa has not deteriorated much from last year. It's kinda still a little weird with him. His jokes were fine, but it was almost as if people felt like they needed to laugh extra hard so he could hear it.
- FitzG has blown up. Line for autographs was much longer than most lines.
- Ferentz is such a high class guy. Still remains my favorite Big Ten Coach ( yes, I know that's sacrilege)
- Willie the Wildcat was naked. No beefy t shirt. He's gone Nittany Lion Scrawny. Speaking of that, Nittany Lion was the only mascot missing. The Nebraska mascot outfit looked like it was 30 years old.
- Luke Fickell was nice. But he looked like a kid up there.
- NU athletes - Jordan Mabin, Al Netter, and Danny Persa couldn't have been nicer to my kid.
- Bo Pelini looked like he was staring off into another world. Seriously looked like he was on drugs. While I like the addition of Nebby to the Big 10, I don't like him.
- I was surprised how many folks I saw with Purple on.
- The dude from the Rosebowl who spoke was one of the most god awful boring speeches ever.
- The meal sucked. Desert was fine. Coffee was excellent.
- Michigan fans have a new sense of swagger and are starting to become officially annoying again.
- Did I mention Kevin Wilson is one scary mutha@&$er?