Thursday, July 22, 2010

Vandy replaced Steve Martin (Bobby Johnson) with Jerry Clower (Robbie Caldwell)


Surely you’ve heard by now that Robbie Caldwell killed today at the SEC Media Days. I think that’s what you say when a comedian delivers a successful standup routine.

Yep, he was hilarious. Talked mostly about turkeys – inseminating them, turning them into lipstick, admiring the sheer intelligence of the wild species.

So we've traded Steve Martin for Jerry Clower.

All those reporters and bloggers loved it, and found it refreshing, and immediately wrote about how funny and wonderful Vanderbilt’s new coach is. Which is great in July when the coaches are talking in a ballroom. Bobby Johnson did well in Hoover too, drawing comparisons to Steve Martin.

But we’ll see what happens in September when Robbie Caldwell’s standing on the sideline.

Yes, he was funny, but not particularly informative if you’re a Vanderbilt fan. We’ve got a bunch of young players, including freshmen, but Caldwell only mentioned the four quarterbacks, the four running backs and John Stokes because he’s going to be a doctor.

But not once did the longtime offensive line coach mention the name of an offensive lineman.

He said Larry Smith was “unfairly judged” last season and that everybody thought he was experienced after he’d only played one and a half games in 2008. Then he mentioned Jordan Rodgers’ bloodlines, Jared Funk’s seniority and Charlie Goro’s youth. He said all four guys “had a tremendous spring.” Um, really?

He said he didn’t recognize Kennard Reeves, who’s gotten much “bigger and stronger.” That’s good.

He said Warren Norman had to Google Herschel Walker when he broke his freshman record for total yardage. Norman, a Georgia native, said that wasn't true. Clearly, Caldwell was there to get a laugh, and so he did, talking about how somebody tipped him yesterday in a restaurant, about how he grew up in a po-dunk South Carolina town, etc.

He’s going to be really popular…if he wins. But then, if he wins at Vanderbilt, he’ll be really popular regardless of whether he’s got a sense of humor.

In the meantime, the media was laughing with him and not at him.

2 comments:

Anything but Gatorade said...

Take it easy on the Haterade, there, Dimon. It's not every year Vandy's the talk of Media Days. Enjoy the sun while it's shining, as Big Boi might say.

DIMON KENDRICK-HOLMES said...

Thanks for the advice, man. I'm glad our coach is funny and I really like him and all that, but it kind of feels like all the cool jock kids are suddenly taking an interest in Radio.