I met Kevin Wilson this weekend.

by 87 Rides A Surfboard on Feb 28, 2011 9:37 AM EST

He was at the Kilroy's in downtown Indy with a couple assistant coaches. Overall a nice guy. Fairly personable and was eager to engage with fans. He asked me how many football games I went to last year and how many I plan on going to this year. I told him that I tailgated for every single home game last year and went into three of them. Then, since I was drunk, I was honest and told him that this year likely wouldn't be much different. He wasn't pleased. He went on a bit of rant about how he doesn't understand how Hoosier fans expect a winning team when no one shows up to root them on.

I said, "Hoosiers don't expect a winning football team. It's just the way things are. The product on the field is decent because recently we've had very good offensive teams that can put up points. The show is entertaining because of those points that they put up, but when the other team almost always put up more it gets discouraging. Offense brings in the casual fans who know nothing about football. Defense brings in the hardcore fans who want to live and die by the Hoosiers. Those are the fans you want in the stands. I know you're an offensive-minded guy and that's fine. But defense is what wins games and defense is what the Hoosiers need."

He then said something about appreciating my cander and that there's a lot of talent on the team and that they're going to surprise people this year and blah blah blah *insert more standard coach speak here*. One of his assistant coaches also said something that I found a little bizarre. He said that it's disappointing that the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers can walk through a crowded bar and not have a single person recognize him. I responded with, "He's been head coach for about 10 minutes. Give people a little time. We're not bad fans in the least. We just haven't seen him pacing the sidelines yet. Things will change by October." He still seemed a little peeved which was off-putting, but I guess I see where he's coming from.

Anyway, I don't really have a point to my story. Just thought it was cool to meet Wilson and thought some people might want to know what he's like.

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Interesting. Was it an official event, or was it just a couple of guys hanging out at Kilroy’s? It will be tough to change the culture.

When I was a freshman at IU, in 1992-93, I was sitting in floor seats at the north end, down in about the second row. At that time, all of the south end was student seating, and about 2/3rds of the north end was, and the other 1/3 of the north bleachers was for various athletic department personnel. At one point during a time out, Bill Mallory walked in front of the student section. I don’t doubt that most students would have recognized Mallory, but I couldn’t help but think what the reaction would have been if Bob Knight walked in front of the student section at a football game. And, of course, this was after Mallory had been at IU for nearly a decade, had led IU to multiple bowls, beat Michigan and OSU, etc. It’s tough to change the culture.

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by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Feb 28, 2011 11:05 AM EST reply actions

Nothing official.

Just a bunch of coaches and assistants hanging out and having a drink. Had I not been so intoxicated I probably wouldn’t have talked to them at all. I generally have a rule about not bothering coaches, athletes, or famous people when I see them. But he didn’t seem to mind at all so I don’t regret it. He appeared to be genuinely interested in my opinions and we talked about the defense quite a bit because I don’t think he appreciates how most people assume that he only knows how to coach offense.

He was a very down to earth guy. You could tell that he just loves football. Loved playing it. Loves coaching it. I think he’ll have a no nonsense / no excuses type of style. I also think the players will respond well to him. He has the type of gruff demeanor that demands respect. It’ll be interesting to see how he does.

"It's an easy game, man. Easy game."
~Edgerrin James

by 87 Rides A Surfboard on Feb 28, 2011 11:26 AM EST up reply actions

I think you are in the clear. Going to Kilroy’s, of all the bars in Indianapolis, seems to express a willingness to interact with IU people (although a nice, smoke free watering hole is appealing in any event).

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by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Feb 28, 2011 11:42 AM EST up reply actions

True.

By the time I was leaving there were maybe a dozen other IU grads around talking to him. So, I think he did go to Kilroy’s specifically to interact with some fans.

"It's an easy game, man. Easy game."
~Edgerrin James

by 87 Rides A Surfboard on Feb 28, 2011 11:59 AM EST up reply actions