As I was reviewing the MU basketball season thinking on whether there was any substance to Buzz "tanking" the season a different thought came up. Buzz's Bunch (an incredible program by any and all accounts) had always flown under the radar and then it just blew up nationally with some rather in depth cover stories...
Is it possible that Buzz was working to improve his "brand" out in the public marketplace through having his sports writing buddies do the stories planning his exit all along and working to make him look as good as possible in the process?
Buzz is not stupid; I thought that same thing.
To me, it is no coincidence that the Buzz's Bunch stories came about right before his abrupt and unusual departure. Buzz's Bunch is a great program that has great touched the lives of many people. That said, Buzz surely did not hesitate to capitalize on that goodwill so as to market himself.
There is zero doubt about the timing of that CBS piece. None
We are lucky Buzz left before he pulled something that resulted in sanctions. We are more than lucky to have that program touch the lives of so many.
Call us doubly blessed.
Sad, but definitely calculated...
I hadn't thought about it in those terms, but sadly, probably true. I remember thinking at the time that Greg Doyel piece came out on CBS Sports that it was odd that all this stuff about his charitable side was coming out at once, but this line of cynical thinking actually makes sense now. And like Buzz's Bunch, it always made me feel good when Marquette gets positive publicity for things like that, so didn't think about it much beyond that.
No question the timing was calculated.
Even when the PR came out - before Buzz left - I thought it was odd timing. I kept thinking he's been doing this for six years, and we're coming off a horrendous season, so why now?
I knew why the moment he was gone.
100% calculated. That was the first sign.