aclu is coming wrote:
in today's 'gotcha' P.C. environment, old Harry wouldn't last the season. Somebody would threaten a law suit and the University would be scared and let him go.
In todays environment Bill Bowerman would be a registered sex offender for peeing on his athletes in the shower.
yeah, he would get canned for sure.
October 25th, 1999, right before practice: "Coach Sullivan was talking about having a team party after the Big Ten. I take the military approach on not mixing with the troops. I know enough about you guys already just from being here, I don't need to crawl up your a$sholes. The last thing we need right now is an a$s-kissing, tit-grabbing party."
Well....I agree, but since I am female he attempted to clean things up a bit......I am enjoying this thread immensely....
These quotes probably paint a one sided picture, but he sure sounds like an ass. How you guys can think his sexist toilet humor is hilarious is beyond me.
Because we have a sense of humor, that's why.
Don't take life so seriously, you only get to live once.
really wrote:
These quotes probably paint a one sided picture, but he sure sounds like an ass. How you guys can think his sexist toilet humor is hilarious is beyond me.
If you knew him it would be funnier - I think you have to be able to picture him saying it. He was kind of a loose cannon and the unpredictability of what he might say next provided a lot of entertainment. Imagine a 70-year old man who is surrounded by 20somethings all day. Crude humor works well with that audience and he was a crowd pleaser. But he knew how to charm, too. I would completely trust him in an introduction to my grandma. Well, maybe not completely.
Another story--In high school, Mike Sands, muscular, good looking black guy, great accent, had his way with countless young women, which made a lot of us very jealous. In college, this continued, so much so that Groves said "we should bronze your balls, Mike, and put them in the hall of fame."
malmo wrote:
Jamie Cook wrote:I heard about this thread going around so I had to check it out. With everything being said, people should also know that he is one of the most compassionate people I have ever met. A man who truly cared more about the individual over the athlete. For those who have ever met him or get the chance to meet him - consider yourselves lucky. .
Does anyone know the story about when Groves and Mike Sands went to the Bahamas and almost got stuck at customs because Sands forgot his passport? Classic!
Does anyone remember his rant about the old Bucknell coach Gulden? It was after we beat them in XC and broke their unbeaten string, and Gulden reported the scores as an invitational instead of multiple dual scores as it ws contracted to be. Coach had one or two great lines in that one.
If you think Harry is an ass....then you never met him...which is too bad because he is an original. And if you never met him.....or any of the other great coaches...then you have really missed out. I am glad that he is a friend. And as a female....nothing Harry ever said hurt my feelings....or offended me...ever.
this Christmas season...let's remember to be thankful for commas...because if it weren't for them...we'd have to g0 "..." all the freaking time.
let's be thankful for the letter "o" as well so we can type the word "go" without having to use a zero instead
After setting a Collegiate Record in a meet in Jamaica, Mike was not going to be allowed back in the US because Coach had all of his papers with him and had gone right through customs in the US Citizen line. Mike was stuck in the non-US citizen line with no papers. He told the agent that his dad had his papers and had already gone through. The agent looked at Coach and said "Is that true?" Coach said "Yes, lets go son we'll miss our plane." Mike was let through and joined his slightly paler, half-size "father". Mike Sands still considers Coach Groves his American father.
It should be noted that at Harry's retirement party, Mike Sands, on behalf the the Bahamian Prime Minister, delivered an invitation for Harry to become the Bahamian National Coach.
lap and a half skwill?
I say he should take him up on it too. A trip to China sounds good to me. (Not sure who lap and a half Skwilli is, I'm the 25-lap Skwilli.)
malmo wrote:
It should be noted that at Harry's retirement party, Mike Sands, on behalf the the Bahamian Prime Minister, delivered an invitation for Harry to become the Bahamian National Coach.
Which he followed up with that song, "you're daddy ain't your daddy, but your daddy don't know..." It was great.
I also have to agree with anyone else that said that Coach Groves is a stand up Guy. He cared more about me as a person than anything else and that helped me progress as an athlete.
here's 2 more.
chatting with Harry as a guy runs by in a road race, way back from where he could be...
"yeah, he's got a lot of talent, but he's about as competitive as a jacked off dick"
then what amounts to a big compliment from Harry to a post-collegiate friend of mine who worked hard, didn't have a ton of speed or beautiful form...
"you ain't no oil painting, but you're a hard running monster"
Harry cared about his runners individually and his teams as a whole - many of us continue to seek his counsel 30 years after we left Happy Valley. That kind of contact doesn't happen by accident, we appreciated his support and his direction.
Was he Mr. Rogers - hell no!! He had no patience for guys he thought were coasting or lazy and it showed. He also had no patience for the bureaucrats who were in administration or the people who got in the way of anyone doing real work. He called a spade a spade and never backed down from his principles. If most people showed half the balls he did, more real work would get accomplished.
Here is the real Harry quote - my former roommate, a 2:00 half miler in high school, ran a 9:15 2 mile (a 30 second PR) in an insignificant indoor meet at Michigan, and Harry came up to him afterward and said - "it's guys like you, running balls to the wall because you traveled with the team and are happy to be here, that keep me in this sport." Back in the day, there were a ton of walk ons and Harry treated all of those guys like they were part of the team - which they certainly were.
He always cared about his athletes...and there was one PSU runner that he held in the same esteem that he held Fredericks, Malley, Maguire and Shine - it was Kathy Mills, a celebrated Lady Lion. Ya know why - she had more balls than anyone than Maguire!