BleedGopher
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Per Shama:
Maybe the Gophers should seek counsel from former Minnesota head coach Joe Salem. The Hawkeye slayer saw his teams beat Iowa three consecutive seasons from 1979-1981 and as a quarterback hero in 1960 helped the Gophers to their biggest win since at least World War II.
A 12-10 victory in 1981 cost the Hawks an outright Big Ten championship. ”Man, that was a tough ball game,” Salem told Sports Headliners by phone on Sunday. “(Jim) Gallery kicked four field goals (in) that game. Nobody could score.”
Salem always let his players know how much passion he had for the Iowa rivalry. It was the biggest game to him, his son Brent, a former college coach, told Sports Headliners. “It starts top down. The energy from the coach matters more. This is why you come here. Every school has those games.”
Joe’s passion during Iowa game week paid off with his players performing with extra focus and adrenaline. “Oh, no question on that one,” Joe said. “We played with pretty good intensity in that game. We had some really good football games. …I would guess today the guys that played for me, that they want to beat Iowa probably worse than anything.”
It didn’t take any time at all to get the attention of his players during practice leading up to the Iowa game. Salem wore bib overalls on the practice field. Anyone acquainted with Salem knows his sense of humor and poking a little fun at the farm-focused state of Iowa just added to the rivalry.
The bib overalls gig didn’t originate in Minnesota, though. “I started that down in South Dakota (as head coach),” Salem recalled. “Of course, our rivalry was with South Dakota State and that’s an agriculture school. So I came to practice one day with the bib overalls—on a Monday. We were getting ready to play them and you know it was just kind of a fun deal.
“I told them (his players) …we’re playing the farmers, so I wore my bib overalls. And so then we won the game, and…I thought, hell, it worked last year, might as well try it again. We won five straight. I just kept doing it.”
Go Gophers!!
Maybe the Gophers should seek counsel from former Minnesota head coach Joe Salem. The Hawkeye slayer saw his teams beat Iowa three consecutive seasons from 1979-1981 and as a quarterback hero in 1960 helped the Gophers to their biggest win since at least World War II.
A 12-10 victory in 1981 cost the Hawks an outright Big Ten championship. ”Man, that was a tough ball game,” Salem told Sports Headliners by phone on Sunday. “(Jim) Gallery kicked four field goals (in) that game. Nobody could score.”
Salem always let his players know how much passion he had for the Iowa rivalry. It was the biggest game to him, his son Brent, a former college coach, told Sports Headliners. “It starts top down. The energy from the coach matters more. This is why you come here. Every school has those games.”
Joe’s passion during Iowa game week paid off with his players performing with extra focus and adrenaline. “Oh, no question on that one,” Joe said. “We played with pretty good intensity in that game. We had some really good football games. …I would guess today the guys that played for me, that they want to beat Iowa probably worse than anything.”
It didn’t take any time at all to get the attention of his players during practice leading up to the Iowa game. Salem wore bib overalls on the practice field. Anyone acquainted with Salem knows his sense of humor and poking a little fun at the farm-focused state of Iowa just added to the rivalry.
The bib overalls gig didn’t originate in Minnesota, though. “I started that down in South Dakota (as head coach),” Salem recalled. “Of course, our rivalry was with South Dakota State and that’s an agriculture school. So I came to practice one day with the bib overalls—on a Monday. We were getting ready to play them and you know it was just kind of a fun deal.
“I told them (his players) …we’re playing the farmers, so I wore my bib overalls. And so then we won the game, and…I thought, hell, it worked last year, might as well try it again. We won five straight. I just kept doing it.”
Go Gophers!!
