BleedGopher
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per Chip:
The team inside getting dressed for the game likes to keep things loose, though nerves creep in.
"Oh heck yeah," Brian Cosgriff said. "You want to do a good job. We're all easily replaceable."
Yes, but membership in the chain gang rarely changes. The men who operate the sideline chains and down markers at Gophers home football games have been together as a team for many years.
A handful of them are former coaches in various sports, including:
Cosgriff, who was inducted into the Minnesota High School Basketball Hall of Fame after winning seven state championships as girls' basketball coach at Hopkins.
Hall of Famer Ken Baumann won six football state titles as head coach at Mahnomen.
Mark Lundgren coached football at Golden Valley High. Mat Mahoney is the current football coach at Fairmont High.
To a man, they love being part of the chain gang team.
"I better be in hospice in order for me to quit that job," Cosgriff said. "It's so much fun. You look forward to this all week."
https://chorus.stimg.co/24058861/merlin_68643845.jpg?format=auto&compress&cs=tinysrgb&auto=compress
Lundgren took over as crew leader in the mid-1990s. The group has 14 members, but only 12 work game days, giving flexibility to the hunters in the group during deer season.
Lundgren has had to replace only one crew member in the past 15 years because nobody gives up their spot. He has a favorite saying that he applies to the chain gang: "Friends are the family we choose for ourselves."
Lundgren assigns various jobs each game that include handling yard markers, the down marker, chain clip, and charting penalties.
Ever notice the chain gang member who often sprints down the sideline right before the ball gets snapped? That is by design because of procedural rules.
"The skinny guys get that job," Lundgren said.
There are some hazards with the job. Being that close to the action occasionally leads to collisions with players along the sideline. Cosgriff has a strategy to avoid getting steamrolled.
"If they're coming at you," he said, "you can't go backwards because you're running into 280-pound guys. You have to go sideways. You drop and go sideways."
Being called onto the field for first-down measurements can be a little intimidating too.
"They don't do those very often," Cosgriff said, "but you kind of get nervous because you do not want to go out there and trip in front of 50,000 people."
They don't get paid, but each crew member gets comp tickets, a pregame meal and parking near the stadium. The fellowship is the biggest draw that keeps them coming back every season.
The entire crew gathers for a tailgate after games. They stayed for three-plus hours after the Colorado game.
Baumann, who turns 76 in December, has a four-hour drive to Huntington Bank Stadium from his home. He does the roundtrip all in one day. The season opener against New Mexico State started at 8 p.m., which means he didn't get home until 4:30 a.m.
"I don't have a problem with it," Baumann said. "If I get tired, I'll just pull over for a little bit and walk around the car a couple of times and then I'm ready to go."
The chain gang made a toast — and a promise — at their most recent postgame tailgate.
"We raised a beer and said, Listen, we are all going to the Rose Bowl this year," Cosgriff said. "If you've got to take out a loan to go, take out a loan. But we are going."
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
Ball and chains
A locker room in the bowels of Huntington Bank Stadium was filled with laughter two hours before the Gophers game against Colorado two weeks ago.The team inside getting dressed for the game likes to keep things loose, though nerves creep in.
"Oh heck yeah," Brian Cosgriff said. "You want to do a good job. We're all easily replaceable."
Yes, but membership in the chain gang rarely changes. The men who operate the sideline chains and down markers at Gophers home football games have been together as a team for many years.
A handful of them are former coaches in various sports, including:
Cosgriff, who was inducted into the Minnesota High School Basketball Hall of Fame after winning seven state championships as girls' basketball coach at Hopkins.
Hall of Famer Ken Baumann won six football state titles as head coach at Mahnomen.
Mark Lundgren coached football at Golden Valley High. Mat Mahoney is the current football coach at Fairmont High.
To a man, they love being part of the chain gang team.
"I better be in hospice in order for me to quit that job," Cosgriff said. "It's so much fun. You look forward to this all week."
https://chorus.stimg.co/24058861/merlin_68643845.jpg?format=auto&compress&cs=tinysrgb&auto=compress
Lundgren took over as crew leader in the mid-1990s. The group has 14 members, but only 12 work game days, giving flexibility to the hunters in the group during deer season.
Lundgren has had to replace only one crew member in the past 15 years because nobody gives up their spot. He has a favorite saying that he applies to the chain gang: "Friends are the family we choose for ourselves."
Lundgren assigns various jobs each game that include handling yard markers, the down marker, chain clip, and charting penalties.
Ever notice the chain gang member who often sprints down the sideline right before the ball gets snapped? That is by design because of procedural rules.
"The skinny guys get that job," Lundgren said.
There are some hazards with the job. Being that close to the action occasionally leads to collisions with players along the sideline. Cosgriff has a strategy to avoid getting steamrolled.
"If they're coming at you," he said, "you can't go backwards because you're running into 280-pound guys. You have to go sideways. You drop and go sideways."
Being called onto the field for first-down measurements can be a little intimidating too.
"They don't do those very often," Cosgriff said, "but you kind of get nervous because you do not want to go out there and trip in front of 50,000 people."
They don't get paid, but each crew member gets comp tickets, a pregame meal and parking near the stadium. The fellowship is the biggest draw that keeps them coming back every season.
The entire crew gathers for a tailgate after games. They stayed for three-plus hours after the Colorado game.
Baumann, who turns 76 in December, has a four-hour drive to Huntington Bank Stadium from his home. He does the roundtrip all in one day. The season opener against New Mexico State started at 8 p.m., which means he didn't get home until 4:30 a.m.
"I don't have a problem with it," Baumann said. "If I get tired, I'll just pull over for a little bit and walk around the car a couple of times and then I'm ready to go."
The chain gang made a toast — and a promise — at their most recent postgame tailgate.
"We raised a beer and said, Listen, we are all going to the Rose Bowl this year," Cosgriff said. "If you've got to take out a loan to go, take out a loan. But we are going."
Two football families you need to meet: the traveling Erdmanns and the Gophers chain gang
One way to celebrate a big upset of the No. 1 team is to fly to Europe to watch more football. Get to know the guys manning the sticks on Gophers sidelines. And let's put the spotlight on the Gophers defense and its coordinator Joe Rossi.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
