Post by rainman on Feb 11, 2008 6:00:19 GMT -5
Do clothes really make the coach?
By Bob Hertzel
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— Toward the end of last year, in mid-December, to be precise, this little corner of the world presented an essay on the subculture within athletics revolving around the way coaches dress.
It was done more in an attempt at humor than any real social commentary, for there really can be no more societal importance placed upon Jay Wright’s Armani suits than there can be on Louis Carnesecca’s psychedelic sweaters.
The article was inspired by Bob Huggins’ attire in his first season as West Virginia coach, up until that point in the still infant season wearing snazzy suits rather than the pullovers he had seemed to prefer in his glory days at Cincinnati.
In truth, it was no big deal one way or the other, sort of a grab at an easy column just days before the Rich Rodriguez soap opera debuted and has occupied every inch of available news space ever since.
Who could have foreseen, however, that this simple, light-hearted look at coaching attire was ahead of its times?
But it was, for in the eight weeks since it appeared in the Times-West Virginian, what coaches wear has been in and out of the news repeatedly.
Perhaps most memorable was Huggins’ statement of style by wearing a gold suit for the Georgetown game, a game the Mountaineers would lose to Cincinnati while shooting only 20 percent from the field and scoring just 39 points.
Huggins announced shortly after the game the suit would be retired from further use, just as those obnoxious all-gold football uniforms Rich Rodriguez broke out should be retired.
A couple of days later, a coach’s clothes were back in the news. This time it was from some little game played off in Arizona. They called it the Super Bowl, or something like that.
Anyway, as game day approached, the 693,000 or so media people in attendance had written all of the meaningless stories that come with two weeks between games until CNBC struck at the true heart of the Super Bowl when it ran a story under this headline:
“The Real Super Bowl Question: Will Belichick Wear His Hoodie?”
Why did this matter? Here’s why, according to the article:
“The No. 1 seller on Patriots.com? The hoodie sweatshirt. And NFL spokesperson Joanna Hunter told me that the Patriots lead the league in hoodie sweatshirt sales, thanks to Belichick, making up 24 percent of all sales of that style.”
Selling products, after all, is the true essence of the Super Bowl, isn’t it? Why else on the next day could you get a replay of every commercial in the game, but you couldn’t get a replay of the game itself on the Internet?
The NFL is all about money. That’s why they do what they can to create parity in the league, and it’s why they even control the way the coaches dress, forcing them not to wear suits but to wear team apparel, which is readily available at — where else? — NFL.com.
So it was on Super Bowl day there was a buzz over what Bill Belichick would wear.
Remember, this is a buzz about Bill Belichick, not Heidi Klum.
It was so important that minutes before kickoff this blog was written by no less a journalist than Bill Bradley. No, not that one, the Bill Bradley who is sports editor of the Sacramento Bee.
“News flash: Bill Belichick has changed apparel.
“He has debuted a new hoodie as the game is about to kick off. It’s a red Patriots hoody, not the old gray one that probably could stand on its own by now.
“One fashion issue: He already had the sleeves cut on this one. C’mon, Bill.”
That was a news flash?
The truth is that coaches’ clothes seem to be making news every week. Saturday night it came about in one of the Big East’s most important games of the year. Georgetown was playing at Louisville, and the school had called for a “White Out,” the fans all wearing white.
Keeping step with the theme, Rick Pitino broke out a white linen suit.
No question, it was sharp, although protocol says you don’t wear a white suit after Labor Day.
It seemed like a nice change from the dark suits Pitino always wears right up until he reached halftime down eight points to Georgetown.
Like Superman stepping out of a phone booth, Pitino came out for the second half wearing a dark suit and, quite naturally, his Cardinals rallied from behind and upset the nation’s No. 6 team.
Superstition?
No, said Pitino, in a post-game TV interview. He’d spilled Diet Pepsi on the suit. Looked terrible. Had to change.
Yeah, right. If you believe that, you believe Rich Rodriguez had a gun at his head when he signed his WVU contract.
Even Pitino would later admit to a little … eh, white lie.
“The real reason was because it was very hot in there and I was sweating like crazy,” he told The Louisville Courier-Journal. “Not having worn a white linen suit since my first communion, no one told me when you're sweating you can’t wear blue ‘filters’ (underwear). I was about to look ridiculous.”
And so we’re done seeing Rick Pitino in a white suit, at least on the basketball court, are we?
“I’ll wear one for the Kentucky Derby,” he said.
Totally acceptable on the first weekend in May.
By Bob Hertzel
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— Toward the end of last year, in mid-December, to be precise, this little corner of the world presented an essay on the subculture within athletics revolving around the way coaches dress.
It was done more in an attempt at humor than any real social commentary, for there really can be no more societal importance placed upon Jay Wright’s Armani suits than there can be on Louis Carnesecca’s psychedelic sweaters.
The article was inspired by Bob Huggins’ attire in his first season as West Virginia coach, up until that point in the still infant season wearing snazzy suits rather than the pullovers he had seemed to prefer in his glory days at Cincinnati.
In truth, it was no big deal one way or the other, sort of a grab at an easy column just days before the Rich Rodriguez soap opera debuted and has occupied every inch of available news space ever since.
Who could have foreseen, however, that this simple, light-hearted look at coaching attire was ahead of its times?
But it was, for in the eight weeks since it appeared in the Times-West Virginian, what coaches wear has been in and out of the news repeatedly.
Perhaps most memorable was Huggins’ statement of style by wearing a gold suit for the Georgetown game, a game the Mountaineers would lose to Cincinnati while shooting only 20 percent from the field and scoring just 39 points.
Huggins announced shortly after the game the suit would be retired from further use, just as those obnoxious all-gold football uniforms Rich Rodriguez broke out should be retired.
A couple of days later, a coach’s clothes were back in the news. This time it was from some little game played off in Arizona. They called it the Super Bowl, or something like that.
Anyway, as game day approached, the 693,000 or so media people in attendance had written all of the meaningless stories that come with two weeks between games until CNBC struck at the true heart of the Super Bowl when it ran a story under this headline:
“The Real Super Bowl Question: Will Belichick Wear His Hoodie?”
Why did this matter? Here’s why, according to the article:
“The No. 1 seller on Patriots.com? The hoodie sweatshirt. And NFL spokesperson Joanna Hunter told me that the Patriots lead the league in hoodie sweatshirt sales, thanks to Belichick, making up 24 percent of all sales of that style.”
Selling products, after all, is the true essence of the Super Bowl, isn’t it? Why else on the next day could you get a replay of every commercial in the game, but you couldn’t get a replay of the game itself on the Internet?
The NFL is all about money. That’s why they do what they can to create parity in the league, and it’s why they even control the way the coaches dress, forcing them not to wear suits but to wear team apparel, which is readily available at — where else? — NFL.com.
So it was on Super Bowl day there was a buzz over what Bill Belichick would wear.
Remember, this is a buzz about Bill Belichick, not Heidi Klum.
It was so important that minutes before kickoff this blog was written by no less a journalist than Bill Bradley. No, not that one, the Bill Bradley who is sports editor of the Sacramento Bee.
“News flash: Bill Belichick has changed apparel.
“He has debuted a new hoodie as the game is about to kick off. It’s a red Patriots hoody, not the old gray one that probably could stand on its own by now.
“One fashion issue: He already had the sleeves cut on this one. C’mon, Bill.”
That was a news flash?
The truth is that coaches’ clothes seem to be making news every week. Saturday night it came about in one of the Big East’s most important games of the year. Georgetown was playing at Louisville, and the school had called for a “White Out,” the fans all wearing white.
Keeping step with the theme, Rick Pitino broke out a white linen suit.
No question, it was sharp, although protocol says you don’t wear a white suit after Labor Day.
It seemed like a nice change from the dark suits Pitino always wears right up until he reached halftime down eight points to Georgetown.
Like Superman stepping out of a phone booth, Pitino came out for the second half wearing a dark suit and, quite naturally, his Cardinals rallied from behind and upset the nation’s No. 6 team.
Superstition?
No, said Pitino, in a post-game TV interview. He’d spilled Diet Pepsi on the suit. Looked terrible. Had to change.
Yeah, right. If you believe that, you believe Rich Rodriguez had a gun at his head when he signed his WVU contract.
Even Pitino would later admit to a little … eh, white lie.
“The real reason was because it was very hot in there and I was sweating like crazy,” he told The Louisville Courier-Journal. “Not having worn a white linen suit since my first communion, no one told me when you're sweating you can’t wear blue ‘filters’ (underwear). I was about to look ridiculous.”
And so we’re done seeing Rick Pitino in a white suit, at least on the basketball court, are we?
“I’ll wear one for the Kentucky Derby,” he said.
Totally acceptable on the first weekend in May.
