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killme

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JoeDirt gave a synopsis of Tim rando's interview with Coach Kill today and it made me think about the Gopher community and how I perceive it has changed over the last three years, but especially over the course of this season. It feels like the team & the program have superceded Xs & Os and captured the hearts of Gopher fans. Maybe it's the aftermath of Gary Tinsely. Maybe it's JK's battles with epilepsy. I don't doubt the Brick by Brick series has played a part.

So, my question is this: raise your hand if you've had an emotional moment or been a little choked up at some point this year because of something related to Gopher football. Share an experience if you wish. I'm going to work on my list over the next few days...

Back in the day, football was a rough, tough sport. Grrrrr. But, JK has made it an emotional fireworks show. Things matter. People matter. Causes, unity, caring about one another...

Anyway, feel free to shoot me, also. lol
 

The Zach Sobiech tribute at the Nebraska game was that moment for me this year. Number one because I lost my brother to cancer three years ago, number two because my wife's nephew was diagnosed with a rare juvenile cancer and treated at U of MN Amplatz (actually had the same doctor as Zach who they presented the check to at TCF), number three because Coach Kill is a cancer survivor, and number four and most importantly because Zach seemed like a great young man who didn't let cancer get in the way of pursuing his dreams of recording a great song.

This years Gopher team will always be linked in my mind that way as they have followed the course of going Up Up Up...
 

The locker room scene after beating NW and then upsetting Nebraska were great. The way the team responds to Kill is unparalleled. I've had a lot of coaches in my day and have never seen a team play for a coach quite like this. Hope this continues year after year.
 

On a personal level, my wife is a radiation therapist (radiates cancer patients). Her job is difficult to say the least, but what the patients and families experience is both heart-breaking and insipirational. Jerry is all of that, especially when you factor in his very public battle with Epilepsy. For me it's hard not to be inspired by my wife and her strength and the stories about her patients. If my coach was that example I would fight like hell for him, and each of my teammates. It's a character challenging situation where in the end you just want to do right by never cheating the opportunities your lucky enough to have. To a football team, it's one extra advantage. It has been in my life and career.
 

The first time this season I got choked up was sitting at my kitchen table with my sons when we beat Nebraska (that hadn't happened since before my first birthday). The second time was watching the clip of Coach Kill and Rashede hugging in the locker room, touching as hell. The third time was the first time they played the rouser when we made our annual trip last Saturday; that happens to me every year. I also have to say that the atmosphere last Saturday was the best Gopher game day atmosphere I can remember since my Dad and I were at the dome for the game against Oklahoma when Holtz was coach.
 


Watching my 13 year old son go bananas watching the Nebraska game. It was the first time he cheered wildly because of his own conviction and emotional investment. A life long Gopher fan is born.
 

I have been a Gopher fan for over 30 years but 3 years ago, right before the Iowa victory (which I attended) my daughter was born. What does this have to due with my emotional attachment to the Gopher's? It gives me a new generation to pass my passion onto. This is kinda important as in my family, its just my father and I who are fans (with my mother to a much lesser extent). My wife, brother, and sister-in-law could care less; the same with my friends. However, when I took my daughter to a Volleyball game earlier this year, to see her stand, applaud, and cheer warmed my heart...plus the fact she has been asking to go to football games, I'll take her to the Spring game and see how that goes.

Beyond that, in the Kill era, things just seem genuine, even in the first season. The kids play with heart and I feel that we can trust the staff.
 

For me its been sharing the season with my 6 year old and taking him to games that matter. Plus, seeing how a true team can come together. We get so caught up in recruiting stars, etc ... (not without reason) that we lose track of what true coaching an do.
 

This season has become about so much more than kids playing football. It's become about playing for the love of the game AND for the love of their team and their coach. This is real life stuff. I have cried reading nearly every article about the magical things happening this season. I have cried watching the unabandoned joy in the locker room as Coach Kill danced with his boys. I have cried listening to the coaching staff tell these kids time and again to live in the moment and soak up every second of every day. Coach Kill and his staff are building young men with character and conviction while they are building a better team with improved skills.

I have always loved Gopher football but now it is embedded in my heart. This is precisely why I love college football. Because it can be as much about humanity as it is simply about playing a game. I may sound over dramatic, but if you asked my friends and family, who know how much I have always loved Gopher football, I think they would tell you that this season has affected me on an emotional level. It's been an amazing emotional ride and I honestly feel lucky to be connected to it in some small way.
 



gopherfaith said:
This season has become about so much more than kids playing football. It's become about playing for the love of the game AND for the love of their team and their coach. This is real life stuff. I have cried reading nearly every article about the magical things happening this season. I have cried watching the unabandoned joy in the locker room as Coach Kill danced with his boys. I have cried listening to the coaching staff tell these kids time and again to live in the moment and soak up every second of every day. Coach Kill and his staff are building young men with character and conviction while they are building a better team with improved skills.

I have always loved Gopher football but now it is embedded in my heart. This is precisely why I love college football. Because it can be as much about humanity as it is simply about playing a game. I may sound over dramatic, but if you asked my friends and family, who know how much I have always loved Gooher football, I think they would tell you that this season has affected me on an emotional level. It's been an amazing emotional ride and I honestly feel lucky to be connected to it in some small way.
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+1

My wife was not a Minnesota fan until we met, Jerry has made her a die-hard. She's not sure what our exact record is!
 

Four upsets in a row makes for a feel good story regardless and the locker room scenes are pretty typical of a long term loser now winning some big games. Let's not get too carried away with the whole issues with coach being a rallying point because we should all hope he gets it under control and the issue moves to the back burner. Until it does we have a lot of uncertainty. Things are looking great and for the past two months our staff overall has performed admirably.
 

The Nebraska win was a big one for the Billd's. Our first Gopher game was the 1989 shellacking against Big Red...40+ something to nothing...after moving to the Twin Cities to for me to attend The U. As a lifelong Georgia Bulldawg and SEC fan, that Nebraska experience took away any interest in the Gophers for me until Coach Mason was hired in '96.

When Nebraska joined the conference Mrs. Billd's first reaction was "do we have to do 1989 all over again, now every year?"...and of course the first two meetings was not pretty a la 1989.

So, beating Nebraska this year, at TCF to boot, was very therapeutic and gave us closure on a very bad football memory.

Put on top of that the progression of Kill's season 3, plus the excellent "Brick by Brick" series, it's been an emotional roller-coaster and a football blast!

Now, let's beat Sparty! Go Gophers!
 

Indi1006 said:
Four upsets in a row makes for a feel good story regardless and the locker room scenes are pretty typical of a long term loser now winning some big games. Let's not get too carried away with the whole issues with coach being a rallying point because we should all hope he gets it under control and the issue moves to the back burner. Until it does we have a lot of uncertainty. Things are looking great and for the past two months our staff overall has performed admirably.
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Party pooper. You've clearly missed the point of this thread.
 



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