What Were You Thinking, Lou?
Lou Holtz has never been one to hold back from saying what he's thinking, but a recent comment might have been a little too much for some folks.
Appearing on a show on the Fox Network, Holtz was talking about his favorite subject, college football, when he commented, "Let's go play... When they stormed Normandy, they knew there were going to be casualties - there were going to be risks."
While the term "battle" has long been used to describe football and other sports as well, they are nothing like what happened at Normandy.
They are so different that this reference would be disturbing coming from someone other than Holtz.
Lou has been a beloved figure around the game dating back to his time as the head coach at Arkansas. He rose to his greatest fame when he led Notre Dame to a national championship before moving on to South Carolina and then an unbeaten run on television.
He's said some wild and wacky things before, but this one might take the cake.
No, I'm not looking to join the "offended" crowd, who can find something to be upset about at every turn; in fact, I'm just the opposite.
I'm not offended by his comment, though I do believe it was wrong in the sense of comparing the casualties at Normandy to those of a virus here in our nation that isn't part of an effort to stop the Nazi's from taking over the world.
Holtz is passionate, and that passion got the best of him here with this comment. I understand his point, and I disagree with his comparison. There's no correlation between the two.
While Holtz is no longer a regular fixture on television on game days, he will remain a beloved figure for us old guys who have watched him for a few decades. He will continue to be himself, but perhaps he should rethink war references when talking about college football.
Somehow this one seemed to miss the mark by a little, but thanks for the effort, Lou!
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