And I lived that rivalry in 1986-87 when I was a coach here and I lived this rivalry away coaching in other places. Came back here and, and I’ve been at USC vs. Notre Dame, Florida vs. Georgia, Florida vs. Florida State, and all due respect to all of them out there - that ain’t anything like this.
So it really bothered me when I heard a player for the other team come out and guarantee wins, and
Revenge Tours, and shyt like that, and I remember those days and my head almost popped off my shoulders. That’s disrespecting the rivalry. And I think - everyone listen real close, this is in our DNA, this will never change: How do you really show respect for a rivalry?
Think about it. Very simple question, complicated answer.
How do you show respect for a rivalry?
Is it a tee shirt, is it uh - some guy, that Kamara (Ed. Meyer likely meant Michigan running back Karan Higdon, not Saints running back Alvin Kamara) that a$$hole that said they were going to win the game and said “I guarantee it” or that defensive end, really good player, Revenge Tour Almost Done so he’s going to group us with Wisconsin or Penn State or something like that?
How do you really show respect for a rivalry? And all due respect, maybe some up there don’t understand that. You work that [expletive] every day. Every day. You walk in that staff room - this is for the new coaches, you know who they recruit. You know what they’re doing every day. What I ask Mark Pantoni - who are they recruiting? Who are they going after? What is their practice schedule? What are they doing? Are we outworking them?
When I see people giggle about how we don’t wear blue in here - I don’t laugh about that. We don’t have blue pens in here. That’s not funny. This is Nike vs. Adidas, this is Coke vs. Pepsi, this is Ohio State vs the Team Up North. This is our livelihood.
So if you're new to the program - welcome to the program. Understand where you’re at. This is not a game. This is not silly. This is a way of life. There’s a bunch of former players in the back [of the room] that lived it. As you move up, you live it. This is who you are.
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