Personal Attacks on Coach Weis

by uscdude on Oct 20, 2009 1:53 PM PDT Comment 27 comments

Bumped...P

Football coaches will always take crap from both their opponents and their own fans. Smack talk and heated conversation is part of the game. But sometimes when it goes beyond the football-related issues, it goes too far. And many fans have gone over the line with Charlie Weis, taking the low road with cheap personal attacks about his weight or his looks. Some have even gone to the disturbingly sick level of insulting Weis' disabled daughter.

I'm a proud and devoted Trojan. But I'm embarrassed by and angry as hell at the USC fan who sent Weis a USC hat back in 2005 accompanied by remarks that disparaged Weis' daughter Hannah. Hannah Weis is mentally and physically disabled. I am the father of an autistic child. To this day, the a** whole that sent that note and hat to Weis has never apologized. I wish I could meet him and simply pound the s*** out of him. This anonymous coward does not deserve to be a part of the Trojan Nation. I hope he reads my FanPost and looks in the mirror.

Coach Weis is an amazingly good person and devoted parent. Weis and his wife have established this foundation: Hannah & Friends, a charity that provides desperately needed help to disabled children and their families. The immense effort, the massive financial commitments, the painful emotional stress involved in raising a disabled child cannot be understood unless you have been there. Not only does Coach Weis show his true colors as a great person by the devotion he gives to Hannah, he is making a huge contribution to the welfare of mentally and physically disabled children everywhere.

Mentally and physically disabled children are amazing. The happy, accepting, generally positive attitude they have towards life in the face of these huge obstacles is unbelieveable. The innocent and loving feelings they give towards the people in their world are a gift to everyone who meets them. Do yourself a favor and meet one of these children some day. Then go home and think about yourself, your friends, your life. Imagine what it might be like to be mentally and physically disabled yourself. Imagine what it might be like to be the parent of a mentally and physically disabled child. Then look in the mirror and make sure you like what you see.

We generally can't stand Notre Dame, they generally can't stand USC. Charlie Weis hasn't done a great job of coaching ND for all the reasons we've discussed. Go ahead and slam his coaching or slam the Notre Dame football team all you want. As long as you're slamming the football-related issues. Taking the low road and hitting Weis because of his weight is cheap and does not represent Troy in a good light. Insulting comments about Weis' daughter Hannah are simply inexcusable.

Anyone - anyone - who makes detrimental remarks about disabled children is the scum of the earth and not deserving of the honor of being a Trojan. Anyone - anyone - who goes about disparaging Charlie Weis on a personal level has no idea what the hell he is talking about and should just shut the hell up. We parents of mentally and physically disabled children know what our world is like and we know the gifts from God that our children really are. Charlie Weis is a great person. His daughter Hannah is an angel and a gift.

As a proud USC Trojan, I ask all Trojans to please keep your insults and comments related to football. When you start getting personal, you just don't get what it means to be a Trojan. When you insult mentally and physically disabled children, you are a sick and evil freak.

Learn about disabled children. Think about donating to one of the charities like Coach Weis'. And Represent Troy proudly and with dignity.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Conquest Chronicles' writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Conquest Chronicles' writers or editors.

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I disagree

It is nice that you feel a bond with Charlie over the experience of having a special needs child. But he has been in the public eye for a considerable time and I’ve seen plenty to come to the conclusion that he is a low-class obnoxious ass. Yes he has done good charity work, but that does not excuse all else that he does. Sorry.

And while the fat jokes are taking the low road, the fact that he has let himself go so far does say something about him, given the profession he is in. As a person in the public eye, that’s what he has to deal with. When we are in a culture where Fox Sports makes fat jokes about Jessica Simpson how can people be expected to ignore such a large target as Charlie? ooops.

And while you say that you can’t stand Notre Dame, I have tons of respect for the university and the tradition of the football program. So I guess we pretty much disagree on everything. Except that the remarks about his daughter are way over the line.

oc phil

by oc phil on Oct 20, 2009 3:30 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Just take solace in knowing that there is a good chance it wasn't sent by an SC grad

But rather, one of the many fans from the surrounding area

I support Takimoto in his effort to support Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.

by The VD Special on Oct 20, 2009 4:14 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Our “townie” fans tend to be members of the Raider Nation… ’nuff said.

by Locoweed 1.1 on Oct 20, 2009 5:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

so there’s a bias from SC grads towards non-grad fans? o.O

by impaulv on Oct 20, 2009 6:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Of course!

That’s what impresses me the most at how moronic Trojan-haters can be. Are we “elitist” or are we “thugs”. Never ever heard of an “elitist thug”, though it confuses the heck out fUcla supporters in their erroneous generalizations of us. (tongue firmly in cheek)

"As for being a Raiders fan, I wouldn't wish that fucking shit on anybody." [the venerable OTS at Roll Bama Roll}

by BixBeiderbecke on Oct 20, 2009 6:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Logic...

simple and pure. Take a deep breath of some Pablo.

by Locoweed 1.1 on Oct 20, 2009 10:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You know I don't know the man personally, so his life is his and mine is mine.

But I do know that he does dirty things to get ahead in life, like not cutting grass and filming other teams signals.

Paul D. Kelley

It's not about doing your job, But can you do it with a TENNIS BALL in your throat!

by so.cal.native1952 on Oct 20, 2009 4:20 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

The tall grass backfired on him

when their receiver fell making his cut in the endzone.

by Locoweed 1.1 on Oct 20, 2009 5:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Umm...

Not sure I like the direction these comments are going.

I completely agree with and support uscdude’s sentiments. Enough said. No qualifiers or yeah buts.

by socaljml on Oct 20, 2009 4:26 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Weis insults

First of all, it goes without saying that insulting a man’s disabled daughter is crossing the line. That is a given. No one needs to be reminded of that on this blog. I certainly know that Charlie Weis is a good man off the field, but when he is on the field representing Notre Dame I will assume my god-given Trojan rights to throw fat jokes at him.

As far as the heat that Weis gets, well I have to agree with ocphil.

If you don’t want to take trash talk, then you shouldn’t dish it out. I remember Weis saying to ND alums that he owned Pete Carroll in the NFL, and he will do the same in college ball. That opens the door wide for just about any USC fan to chuckle a little bit on how that little prediction backfired.

The fat jokes:

Well, he is fat, and so is John Robinson.

Fat can be good: John Robinson, Santa Claus, Chris Farley, John Belushi
Fat can also be evil: Charlie Weis

Heres a good quote from Charlie Weis:

When asked by a reporter "How is it going to feel when you run out onto the field for the first time as the head coach of Notre Dame.

Weis: I don’t run anywhere

He is fat, he knows he’s fat, and he’s ok with it. If he walked anywhere on campus, then he wouldn’t have almost ran me over in 2005 in his stupid golfcart. I don’t have any sympathy for his fatness, or whatever happens to that maniac golfcart driver.

by frak on Oct 20, 2009 5:38 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I think we can all agree

that discussing someones family is beyond the pale. Everyone has many facets to their character. As a football coach I dislike Weis greatly. He is arrogant, and unafraid to let others know it. In many ways he is the distilled essence of Notre Dame (much like I believe CRN is the ultimate Bruin). Like ND he does have some laudable qualities, but I still cannot root for either.

As for the fat thing. He’s a public figure, and its all in good fun. People mock PC’s enthusiasm, Jo Pa’s age, and Tressel’s sweatervest. That’s what you get for being a public figure. People could make fun of my weight all day long for the kind of money Weis makes.

by ilium55 on Oct 20, 2009 7:35 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Did Charlie provide any evidence that this was SC fan?

And not a disgruntled ND fan?

With all due respect to his daughter, I am very sceptical about everything that arrogant turd says…

by anh_sc79 on Oct 21, 2009 7:43 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Part of that “decided schematic advantage”? Nah, I don’t think so, but he’s made so many provocative comments that you can’t blame people for wondering.

by Locoweed 1.1 on Oct 21, 2009 8:33 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

There is no proof that there was even a letter...

much less, that it came for an SC grad. It may have been a cunning embellishment used to fire up his troops. Yes, making fun of the disabled is deplorable. I just don’t believe Charlie’s claim until he shares the evidence.

Validate the claim, then I will agree with everything you said, USD.

by DFWTrojan on Oct 21, 2009 11:31 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think a big portion of the Charlie Weis ire ...

… is that he was a relatively unknown quantity to most CFB fans coming into the ND job. I don’t know the numbers, but I’d venture to say that the vast majority of CFB coaches came up through the college ranks. Outside of a short stint at South Carolina very early on, Weis doesn’t have that pedigree. We knew about his experience in the NFL, but especially because most of his recent work was under Belichick, who takes reticent to an art form, I and others didn’t know much about him.

So, when one of the first things you hear from him is the “decided schematic advantage bit”, that’s one of the only pieces of information that you have to shape your perception of him, and that doesn’t come off so well. Subsequent to that, people filter information to see more of what they expect to see. Those who decided that he was an arrogant jerk keyed on things like the grass length, Spygate, and his malpractice lawsuit. Those who decided that he was bold and confident and exactly what the NFL would be looking for saw more of that (e.g., contract extension).

Personally, I don’t think Weis has adapted well to the role of a CFB coach. I think he’s a decent person who does a lot of good things, and some other things that I dislike, like pretty much everyone. I do think that the grass is still a bush league move, especially after it (at least may have) contributed to Reed’s injury. I don’t care about the arrogance; in the event he someday backs it up he earned it, and if not it’s just going to continue to make him look silly.

I think both he and ND would be better off if Weis was back in the NFL, where he can focus more on strategy and less on player development, although I understand the pull of coaching your alma mater. While he’s still there though, I think pretty much every CFB fan in America with the exception of the guy who sent the hat would agree that that remark (or any remark) about Weis’ daughter was way beyond the pale. Everything related to Weis himself is kind of par for the course for any public figure, especially one in such a passionate and contentious arena as CFB. I don’t like it, myself, and I’m surprised by the underlying animosity sometimes, but I don’t think it’s an order of magnitude different from what many other high-profile coaches face.

by Boy Howdy on Oct 21, 2009 8:44 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

This is a really good analysis of CW.

by uscdude on Oct 21, 2009 9:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Different mirrors

You all make some sense. Fat jokes, long grass, whatever. Yeah he is fair game. I tend to be more old school dignified and I worry about keeping the Trojan image a classy one. Fat jokes are cheap and stupid, but if it floats your boat go for it. However . . .

I’m sensitive about Weis’ daughter because I’m a parent of a mentally disabled child myself. I know what we parents of special needs kids go through. And Charlie Weis is a devoted parent of a special needs child.

From my experience with the well over a hundred special needs parents I’ve met and worked with – Charlie Weis has to be one great person. Listen closely here: even if you were a complete ass when your special needs kid was born, if you become a devoted parent of a mentally and physically disabled child you evolve into a great person deep down. Parenting these kids and working with these kids will make you a great person, you can’t help it. Re-read these words. Believe them.

So whatever you think of Weis, to go through what he goes through raising his special needs daughter and to show the devotion he shows to her, down where it counts Weis has to be one heck of a good guy. No exception to this statement is possible.

You all own mirrors and know how to use them. Do what you will. I said my piece. Thanks for listening.

by uscdude on Oct 21, 2009 9:05 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Great person - clarification

I just realized that by implication I called myself a great person. I’m not arrogant and this is something I wouldn’t ever say about myself, nor think about myself. I say this about the special needs parents I’ve worked with.

Also, being a special needs parent doesn’t automatically qualify you as a really good guy. I know special needs parents who choose to ignore the issues and focus on their own individual lives to the detriment of their child. These folks are often jerks, in my experience.

Devoting yourself to your special needs child, and working with him or her all the time, and working with other special needs kids and their families – this is what evolves you into a good guy deep down where it counts. The kids have that strong of effect on you.

Hope this clarifies.

by uscdude on Oct 21, 2009 9:21 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude!

Your heart is in the right place. That’s what counts the most here in your post.

Admittedly, I take the side of frak, ocphil, et.al- and I resisted posting my thoughts. But, if I can tell your kindness and closeness to a guy like Charlie Weis, I’m sure others can as well. I work with the terminal, in a research capacity- and I’m usually their last resort.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, it’s not so much the doctors, medical protocol/therapy, – be it through trials or effective and proven means, it’s through the loving support of family and friends that help to bring patients to a managed care of living a life of quality. Despite all the talk and opinion of medical efficacy, it is precisely through the constant love, support, and faith and hope of family that makes a child or adult make it through the most difficult times of diagnosis, remission, or recovery. Coming from some direclty involved medically, this is where I’m at in my short 6 professional years of care-giving.

I think I speak on behalf of all of us here at CC, may the most difficult times be in your past for you and yours, and may your child live a wonderful, quality filled life with the hopes that he or she finds there place in life. Peace and love to you and yours, Charlie and his, and all those countless others dealing with unfathomable quality-of-life difficulties. Your post was necessary for all of us to read. Thank you.

"As for being a Raiders fan, I wouldn't wish that fucking shit on anybody." [the venerable OTS at Roll Bama Roll}

by BixBeiderbecke on Oct 21, 2009 9:46 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

for the kind words and thoughts I really appreciate it.

by uscdude on Oct 21, 2009 10:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You're welcome my man!

Like one of our Bruin-good-guy’s (insomniacslounge)- you people who are parents, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, friends or relations who step up to the plate and deal head on with what afflicts your loved one(s) are the true heroes and miracle workers of this world. It takes so much effort, energy, faith, and hope to see a simple day through. Yet, you all do it without complaint and without “quit” in your vocabulary or disposition.

Fight On uscdude!
Trojans Forever!

"As for being a Raiders fan, I wouldn't wish that fucking shit on anybody." [the venerable OTS at Roll Bama Roll}

by BixBeiderbecke on Oct 22, 2009 2:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ditto

Player: coach Wooden how do ya bounce the ball

Wooden: ups and downs

Player: thanks you are a wizzs

by so.cal.native1952 on Oct 22, 2009 5:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

OKKKKKKKKKKKK

You know my best friends 2nd child was born without a femur and a hand. This kid is now in HS, but she has always fought her own battles. When kids asked here why she was the way she is, her come back is god made me that way. The last thing she wants is someone to feel sorry for her, and she will succeed all of her doubters. I am sure that my friend has had problems with other peoples comments, but he would never talk about this let alone make it national.

Whatever CW wants to do with his life is his deal, hating a university for a fans stupid actions is not healthily. He needs to let it go, but then this is him not me.

Paul D. Kelley

It's not about doing your job, But can you do it with a TENNIS BALL in your throat!

by so.cal.native1952 on Oct 21, 2009 10:08 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Differences

There is a major difference between someone who has the mental capacity to defend themselves and ones who don’t. My younger brother was born with down syndrome, and it makes me absolutely sick to see someone actually make fun of people with his condition. None of them asked for it, nor did they make any decisions to bring it onto themselves.

by DannyJay01 on Oct 21, 2009 11:25 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

But do you single out these people or just move on?

Paul D. Kelley

It's not about doing your job, But can you do it with a TENNIS BALL in your throat!

by so.cal.native1952 on Oct 21, 2009 11:28 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Personally

If that’s what they need to do in order to feel better about themselves then I feel sorry for them.

by DannyJay01 on Oct 21, 2009 11:47 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks to all who commented

CW can be an ass at times but is a good guy deep down, I’ve come to that conclusion. The discussion here was great. Not a convo often seen on CFB blogs, but it was cool. It shows how awesome CC posters truly are.

OK now let’s kick the Beavers’ asses back to Corvallis.

by uscdude on Oct 21, 2009 10:31 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs