We're Not Cheering For You Tonight

Harry · January 15, 2007

http://www.ricefootball.net/06distaff.htm

We were not cheering for you tonight

There should have been some "we's" in there somewhere

HOUSTON (Jan. 12) -- This has not been a good day.

I have been in shock. My Rice doctor son even called from the hospital, knowing I'd just have to be in critical condition, to see if he needed to meet me in the emergency room. Another son came to the house, knowing I needed to vent my hurt and my anger and my disappointment on someone, and he listened to me even though he was hurting, too. I should have written this column earlier in the day, but believe me, my thoughts would have melted my modem.

I thought I had written my last column for 2006 and had not intended to write another one any time soon. But I am mad -- mad at a system and a society that accept as the norm the practice of our coaches, our role models of integrity, our teachers of rules and responsibility, that it is all right to breach their promise so easily, to break their word so casually, to sign a contract they honor only until a better one comes along, to be dishonest about their intentions. The sports I know and love are becoming opportunistic spring-boards, and I don't like it.

Since when doesn't a signature on a contract mean anything? Since when can a man preach "trust me, believe in me, follow me, I am here for you" and walk away within a year with a clear conscience? Oh, I am sure he prayed about it, but I don't think God gave him the answer he wanted to hear. I'm sure God didn't say, "Sure, me boy, follow the money with My blessing. Everybody else does." Or maybe his God did, who am I to judge?

Once more because of Todd Graham I was close to tears this morning, not because of heartfelt pride and gratitude as I had been so often during these last five months; no, I took Todd Graham's desertion of our program personally.

How many times did he look us in the eye and say "I love Rice University, I love what Rice stands for--the real student-athlete, I am here for the long haul, whatever it takes to win a National Championship like Coach Wayne Graham did in baseball, I will do it. Trust me. Trust me."

And we did.

Honor

Ex-coach Graham, you preached to the players that they must honor the men who played for Rice before them, that tradition is the heart and soul of a great team, that if we wanted to be a championship team, we had to look like a championship team.

You designed that beautiful equipment truck with a montage of Rice's great football players, great athletes and great coaches, and you put your face, bigger than life, right in the middle of it. I never thought that we would have to air-brush you out so soon.

Yes, Todd, we bought into your dream.

You were empowered. You came into our athletic program and fired everybody, some of them were good, dependable, hard-working, loyal people. You wiped the slate clean, you brought in your own passionate, devoted, competent, loyal staff. And we said OK.

You raised millions of dollars and changed the face of our facilities. And we said, great.

You wooed old football players, alums, faculty, administration, trustees, students, long lost fans and infused them all with your enthusiasm, your passion. And we said, amazing.

You gave us the courage to hope again. And we said, thanks.

You transformed our players into a team of winners and took us to a bowl game. And we cheered.

But we are not cheering for you tonight.

PS: (Saturday)

Dear Readers,

I wish yesterday I had voiced all the pain and disbelief and disappointment our young players are having to cope with because of the sudden back-stabbing exit of a two-faced lying coach who had just preached his "Trust me. I'm not going anywhere" sermon, just before he slinked out the door in the middle of the night.

I wish I had said how I truly felt about the embarrassment of being "used" by a self-serving coach who took us all for fools and sucked us in with his me-me-me rhetoric. In retrospect, I should have been forewarned because of all the "I's" in his promises, I can, I will, I am. There should have been some "we's" in there somewhere.

I did discover this morning that the sports writers knew something about Rice Athletics other than crises and criticism, that they had followed our year of transformation even though they seldom wrote about it, that there were others on the Chronicle staff besides MK who cared what happened on South Main.

Lopez surprised me, Justice proved again with his words that he admired how Rice played the game. The sports casters were philosophical, even kind, in their comments on the sandbagging tactics of our ex-coach. Even they were shaking their heads over the power of money.

Irony

I found it ironic that Thursday night, simultaneously with the sleazy departure of Todd Graham, the Association of Rice Alumni was bestowing upon Wayne Graham an Honorary Alumnus Award, only one of two in existence, and he received a standing ovation from 500 mostly gray-headed Alums.

What a contrast. I know that the University of Texas offered Wayne (a UT ex) the moon to leave Rice and become their head coach and he said no.

There are still men of their word in the coaching ranks, although they seem to be few and far between.

I was proud of Chris Del Conte, who had developed a symbiotic relationship with Todd Graham, for putting a brave, heart-rending, even optimistic face on the news, for saying that Rice will not play the money game. Just as I was proud of President Leebron for saying that Rice will move forward and do it the "Rice Way," which has become synonymous with the right way.

Our last forward movement was a giant step for Rice Athletics, and I have no doubt that our next move will be an affirmation of our commitment, so hard won a year ago, to continued excellence and support of our whole athletic program. The pride we feel in our program has been won by the Student-Athletes themselves, by their hard work, their dedication, their dreams.

And believe me, those dreams are still alive and well at Rice.

Then again maybe I can let it go. Maybe less is better. Maybe tonight I can sleep.

Maybe tonight I can turn off my heart.