Email to the fanatics, from Larry

[ChicosBailBonds]

No, it would mean that 1000 students are brain dead, pathetic lemmings. 

[GGGG]

Sultan

Why always on the attack? LW sending out the email means nothing to me and probably less than nothing to the students who received it. LW can email each kid individually and would not bother me.

You implied he had nothing better to do.  Funny way of showing you don't care.

[keefe]

Do we think LW came to this conclusion and wrote he email on his own?  Or, more likely, he was asked to write it as AD?  Quit thinking linear by criticizing LW over this.

"You Suck" is unimaginative.  Surely we can steal something another school does that is more interesting. It's what we do best.

It is unimaginative and insipid. But that's not the point. It is ridiculous for the Uni AD to write such a memo. What's next? You guys are using too much tp or not flushing the urinals?

Dave Sinker wanted to show Last Tango in Paris as the Friday Varsity movie and the Administration forbade it. There was an uproar not because Last Tango was such a great flick but it was absurd for Quentin Quade to get involved in such a thing. MU back then did many things under In Loco Parentis (they may still the arrogant pricks.) Since we were adults this made no sense. This student chant thing is not a matter for the AD. And saying he was asked to write the memo suggests he lacks balls, judgment or both.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

It is unimaginative and insipid. But that's not the point. It is ridiculous for the Uni AD to write such a memo. What's next? You guys are using too much tp or not flushing the urinals?

Dave Sinker wanted to show Last Tango in Paris as the Friday Varsity movie and the Administration forbade it. There was an uproar not because Last Tango was such a great flick but it was absurd for Quentin Quade to get involved in such a thing. MU back then did many things under In Loco Parentis (they may still the arrogant pricks.) Since we were adults this made no sense. This student chant thing is not a matter for the AD. And saying he was asked to write the memo suggests he lacks balls, judgment or both.

C'mon Colonel. It's called a chain of command.

If they asked him to write it, he might just have to write it. That doesn't mean he lacks balls.

I'm sure you have been ordered to do things you didn't want to do, right?

Sometimes it's not your place to judge, but rather to execute.

[keefe]

I love this...people who have no idea how to do his job telling him how he should do his job.

And if you think this is just a "Larry Williams thing," you are kidding yourselves.

Sultan

I don't know how to do LW's job and I'm not one who has bashed him in the past. But I have had command of a squadron and I was COO of GE Cap businesses in Tokyo, Jakarta and Singapore and with all the things I needed to get done something as trivial as this would never have taken a second of my time. With everything that must compete for his time I cannot believe this has any priority.

But I only take issue as this is somewhat mean spirited and deflates morale. You want to change behavior? Don't shotgun out a nasty gram. Rather, use opinion leaders to drive change from the ranks. Make the change theirs. It really works better going up than top down. Just a page from the Air Combat Command Commander's Course.

[GGGG]

Sultan

I don't know how to do LW's job and I'm not one who has bashed him in the past. But I have had command of a squadron and I was COO of GE Cap businesses in Tokyo, Jakarta and Singapore and with all the things I needed to get done something as trivial as this would never have taken a second of my time. With everything that must compete for his time I cannot believe this has any priority.

I doubt he wrote it.

[keefe]

This may be an opportunity for the students to take a trite or unoriginal cheer and turn into something funny.  On the 100th anniversary graduation of MU, the admin passed on an actual prominent speakers like Reagan or Carter (who had family in the area), and came up with Ruth Love as a speaker, completely ignoring student requests. 

Ruth, affectionately known as the "Love Bug", was the short lived and failure to be Superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools who spent thousands of taxpayer dollars trying to sweep her office of listening devices that didn't exist while her schools fell to worst in the country.  Anyway, as she got up to speak, the newly minted graduates showed their displeasure by making a loud and prolonged bee buzzing sound as she was introduced. Thus, earning a stern glare by Buck Rayner. 

Perhaps instead of "sucks", the students should just hum?

We had a Filipino Bishop (not Cardinal Jaime Sin who would have been fascinating...) This dude's English was terrible and you couldn't understand what he was saying. I have spent most of my childhood and adult years in Asia and I had no idea what he was saying. The crowd began murmuring and muttering and there was Buck shooting arrows at the crowd. I am sure Buck was a great guy to have a beer with but he was a terrible executive and did little to grow MU. One year they brought in Capt Kangaroo. I remember a roommate from Chicago saying Northwestern had the President speak and we had Capt Kangaroo.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Sultan

I don't know how to do LW's job and I'm not one who has bashed him in the past. But I have had command of a squadron and I was COO of GE Cap businesses in Tokyo, Jakarta and Singapore and with all the things I needed to get done something as trivial as this would never have taken a second of my time. With everything that must compete for his time I cannot believe this has any priority.

But I only take issue as this is somewhat mean spirited and deflates morale. You want to change behavior? Don't shotgun out a nasty gram. Rather, use opinion leaders to drive change from the ranks. Make the change theirs. It really works better going up than top down. Just a page from the Air Combat Command Commander's Course.

How an Athletic Department works is different than how a business works when it comes to things like this.  Having spent close to a decade in three major athletic departments and 15 years at two major corporations, they aren't comparable.  They are not comparable.  There is an environment that goes along with athletics, especially college athletics, that requires direct communication to fans from the head hauncho (or at least under the header of that title), and that includes in game atmosphere if other members of the constituency are not pleased.   There's a reason why at Angels stadium you can be booted if you are using a lot of profanity, because that's what the fans expect.  At Yankees stadium, a bit different culture.  The organization can set those terms for the fans and if they don't like it, they can do something else. 

As COO, you would probably have a VP or someone below you take care of something at a lower level like this.  In an athletic department, getting an email from an Asst AD or Assoc AD (VP equivalents), isn't going to resonate with students.  It's got to come from the coach or the AD.  No way the coach is ever going to do this, even if he is 100% in support...he has to keep his hands clean.

Finally, consider your role as a COO vs an Athletic Department, especially MU's.  Very few people in the MU athletic department, that's why we had to wear so many hats.  The layers are thin.  By the very nature of the size of the department and what they do, a message like this is invariably going to come from the AD (or the Dean of Students).  Personally, I don't particularly care and find the cheer, itself, fairly harmless.  But that's not our call and if alumni with kids are upset, if administration is upset, if coaches don't find it productive, etc, etc, then I am fully on board with them making the statement.  Ball is in students court...some awesome home court advantages out there where the students don't have to act in this way (just as there are awesome home court advantages where the students are 50X out of control).

[keefe]

I doubt he wrote it.

No doubt. He didn't draft that. In fact, it was likely not even on his radar. But I would have asked the question, isn't there a better way to shape behavior than me blasting out a nasty gram? This makes me look petty and silly. Who are our opinion leaders who can take charge?

[keefe]

How an Athletic Department works is different than how a business works when it comes to things like this.  Having spent close to a decade in three major athletic departments and 15 years at two major corporations, they aren't comparable.  They are not comparable.  There is an environment that goes along with athletics, especially college athletics, that requires direct communication to fans from the head hauncho (or at least under the header of that title), and that includes in game atmosphere if other members of the constituency are not pleased.   There's a reason why at Angels stadium you can be booted if you are using a lot of profanity, because that's what the fans expect.  At Yankees stadium, a bit different culture.  The organization can set those terms for the fans and if they don't like it, they can do something else. 

As COO, you would probably have a VP or someone below you take care of something at a lower level like this.  In an athletic department, getting an email from an Asst AD or Assoc AD (VP equivalents), isn't going to resonate with students.  It's got to come from the coach or the AD.  No way the coach is ever going to do this, even if he is 100% in support...he has to keep his hands clean.

Finally, consider your role as a COO vs an Athletic Department, especially MU's.  Very few people in the MU athletic department, that's why we had to wear so many hats.  The layers are thin.  By the very nature of the size of the department and what they do, a message like this is invariably going to come from the AD (or the Dean of Students).  Personally, I don't particularly care and find the cheer, itself, fairly harmless.  But that's not our call and if alumni with kids are upset, if administration is upset, if coaches don't find it productive, etc, etc, then I am fully on board with them making the statement.  Ball is in students court...some awesome home court advantages out there where the students don't have to act in this way (just as there are awesome home court advantages where the students are 50X out of control).

Fair point on different org structures. Thanks to Jack Welch and Gary Wendt my GE Cap was extremely lean but likely not nearly so as an Athletic Dept Front Office. I would hope though that the AD would have exhausted all other more positive approaches to manage this than with a lecturing, scolding email blasted out to the entire student population.

I laughed out loud at the Yankee Stadium culture comment. I grew up going to Swallows games at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Aoyama. I was 10 when I saw my first ball game in the States with cousins who lived in Greenwich. We went to Yankee Stadium and I couldn't believe the crowd behavior, especially the language. In Japan, the crowd will cheer for great plays by the opponent. The Yankee fans were screaming and swearing at Yankees.

[MerrittsMustache]

- Big money boosters complained to the athletic office.
- AD ignored the complaints.
- Big money boosters complained to the athletic office.
- AD ignored the complaints.
- Big money boosters complained to the athletic office.
- AD ignored the complaints.
- Big money boosters threatened to pull their donations.
- LW issued a canned e-mail to show that he was attempting to do something about it.
- Big money boosters feel better.
- Scoop loses its mind.

[real chili 83]

+1

[lab_warrior]

- Big money boosters complained to the athletic office.
- AD ignored the complaints.
- Big money boosters complained to the athletic office.
- AD ignored the complaints.
- Big money boosters complained to the athletic office.
- AD ignored the complaints.
- Big money boosters threatened to pull their donations.
- LW issued a canned e-mail to show that he was attempting to do something about it.
- Big money boosters feel better.
- Scoop loses its mind.

[Newsdreams]

We had a Filipino Bishop (not Cardinal Jaime Sin who would have been fascinating...) This dude's English was terrible and you couldn't understand what he was saying. I have spent most of my childhood and adult years in Asia and I had no idea what he was saying. The crowd began murmuring and muttering and there was Buck shooting arrows at the crowd. I am sure Buck was a great guy to have a beer with but he was a terrible executive and did little to grow MU. One year they brought in Capt Kangaroo. I remember a roommate from Chicago saying Northwestern had the President speak and we had Capt Kangaroo.

Capt Kangaroo "83 was there for that one!

[real chili 83]

Me too...

[Newsdreams]

Me too...

Ping pong balls...

[keefe]

Ping pong balls...

champagne corks...

[real chili 83]

Ping pong balls...

[Jackson_Downer]

Nothing about the "Automatic" chant though?

[ChicosBailBonds]

- Big money boosters complained to the athletic office.
- AD ignored the complaints.
- Big money boosters complained to the athletic office.
- AD ignored the complaints.
- Big money boosters complained to the athletic office.
- AD ignored the complaints.
- Big money boosters threatened to pull their donations.
- LW issued a canned e-mail to show that he was attempting to do something about it.
- Big money boosters feel better.
- Scoop loses its mind.

[chren21]

so did the chant happen today?

[LloydMooresLegs]

Yep.  Students pointed to lw box and chanted "Larry you suck"

[warriorchick]

Yep.  Students pointed to lw box and chanted "Larry you suck"

I'm so proud of them!

[T.V. Diener 34]

pretty sure they were pointing to the depaul fan(s) in the upper level in the corner.....

[GoldenZebra]

pretty sure they were pointing to the depaul fan(s) in the upper level in the corner.....

Yup, thats what I thought too. Dont I know you?