CougarCorner

Interesting read on Bronco today at ESPN.com on their NCAAF page.

There's a quote from Albert Einstein that hangs behind Mendenhall's desk. It reads: "Great spirits are always opposed by mediocre minds."

"I'm an introverted deep thinker who is in an extroverted entertainer's job,"

Thanks for the link. Interesting to see Bronco still being Bronco.
Gotta hand it to a man who knows who he is, even if others don't get him.
He's forging a unique model for a football coach. It worked relatively well at BYU because BYU is a unique context suited to that identity. I hope his experiment pans out for him outside of the Provo bubble. I continue to wish him luck. I'd like to see more coaches take an interest in their players' long term welfare.

scott715 wrote:There's a quote from Albert Einstein that hangs behind Mendenhall's desk. It reads: "Great spirits are always opposed by mediocre minds."

"I'm an introverted deep thinker who is in an extroverted entertainer's job,"

I like how even when quoting Einstein, Bronco can come across as himself-against-the-world. I do like how Kalani is best friends with just about any stranger he meets in the world.

This was an interesting read. I think Bronco has an approach that really can work with a lot of fans and players. But, he just comes across as so distant and unrelatable to so many others. I liked him as a coach and I wish him success. It would be amazing if his model did indeed have more wins. In fact, it would be ideal and good for college football.

Mars wrote:

scott715 wrote:There's a quote from Albert Einstein that hangs behind Mendenhall's desk. It reads: "Great spirits are always opposed by mediocre minds."

"I'm an introverted deep thinker who is in an extroverted entertainer's job,"

I like how even when quoting Einstein, Bronco can come across as himself-against-the-world. I do like how Kalani is best friends with just about any stranger he meets in the world.

I hope he does well, but that's more than just himself-against-the-world. Maybe he's going for something else and I know he's a great guy but he could use a little common sense with his PR.

It is a pretty arrogant (or at the least, tone-deaf) thing to plaster on one's wall. Regardless of who said it.

Worse, that's not what Einstein said. Close as I can find with a citation is this:

"Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices, but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence and fulfills the duty to express the results of his thought in clear form."
http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/29604.html
The link puts the quote as coming from Einstein from the New York Times on March 19, 1940 (I couldn't find that article in the NYT archives, but it may be behind their pay firewall).
I read the quote as Einstein talking about cultural prejudices in Europe and the duty to overcome them by argument. I don't find the Einstein quote as particularly condescending, but rather saying that history (hereditary prejudices) is a hard habit to kick.

Now, I don't think Mendenhall originated the mis-quotation, but it is interesting that 1) he was drawn to the sketchier version, and 2) put it up on his wall apparently without doing his own due diligence on attribution or accuracy.

Nice.

In Provo he was "Bishop Bronco" to those who were dissatisfied.

Now in Charlottesville he's "Bronco the Librarian" for the next fanbase.



You'd think some of his reading would cover perception framing accomplishments or learning from past failures.

Doesn't Einstein have a great quote about stupidity and doing the same thing over but expecting different results?

Good luck to Bronco. If he produces a wining team no one will care. If the team fails to meet expectations his refusal to be somewhat personable, at least in the public will blow up in his face.