I have not posted in a long time. Hello to all those who remember me. To give you an update on what happened to me, after attending the last home game against Hiram at Wabash's old Little Giant stadium, on November 9, 2019, I suffered a stroke 5 days later. I was in the hospital for 3 days and watched the Monon Bell game from my hospital bed. Then I was spent about a month doing out-patient rehabilitation. I have been home since early December and managed to go see a few Wabash basketball games last January and February. Without the my loving wife and a few close friends I don't where I would be right now.  I am still affected by my stroke. I have weak eyesight, a limp, weak hands and a slurred voice. But I am thankful that my mind is as strong as ever and finding new hobbies to keep me busy. One thing I have started is my own blog called "Watching Wabash's North Coast and Beyond which will cover Wabash, the North Coast Conference, and any Division III sports news I hear about. Obviously right now with no sports happening I am relying on my vast knowledge of Wabash history, my 10 year career as a Wabash football manager (YES, 10 YEARS!) starting in 1970 when I was 13 years old, and following Wabash sports for 51 years. I am also full of anecdotes from my career and Wabash history.

Please visit my site anytime you wish at somelittlegiant.simplesite.com and leave comments to how much you care for it.  A close friend of mine has been urging me to write a book on my knowledge and funny stories I have to share about being around Wabash sports. What kind of reaction people have to this blog will determine if I write the book. I am just an amateur writer, so take it easy on me.

As I always say, Just as Wabash Always Fights!, I have adopted this slogan as my life motto as well. Take care everyone.

Let me just add my 2 cents worth.

I have seen all games in person or online.

Wabash operates at a "higher gear" when Rotterman and Davidson both start. Davidson missed the Kenyon game. Although the final score does not indicate it, Wabash did not start to pull away until towards the end of the 1st half.  It was 29-20 with 7:41 left in 1st half...37-26 at 3:57...and 44-30 at the half.


Wednesday night there was a bit of hesitation by the offense...caused both by OWU and 2 starters missing (out for the game...Rotterman and Stachowski).  OWU is tough to handle as indicated by their results recently but I still wonder how Rotterman would have altered the game.


I hope Wabash is at full strength against Wooster.  Both Wooster and Wabash struggled with their shooting Wednesday night, both teams play great defense and have some players than can turn the tide of a close game.


Looking forward to see what happens with a huge crowd and an early preview of "tournament atmosphere."

WAF78-

     I think I remember that too, if it was the year I am thinking of.  The co-captain quit pretty close to or the night before a game.  I was a student manager.  Checking off names as everyone got on the bus.  Coaches checking with me as to who still hadn't arrived.  I kept saying this guy (the co-captain) wasn't on board yet.  The coaches just kept shaking their heads and just saying no.  They wouldn't tell me why.  It was the next week I learned he had quit but still never heard why.

All -

     I have been reading the comments on here for the last couple of weeks.  First of all, I agree with much of what has been said.  I have concerns about the level of play, the horrible special teams execution and the ability of the coaching staff to get the most out of the football players we recruit. Special teams have actually been declining much longer than has been mentioned recently.  I have on-going conversations with a colleague who  is keeping a "spreadsheet" of special team failures for the last half decade...or maybe longer.


     But no one, and I do mean NO ONE, has mentioned a huge impact with this year's team.  The death of a 4-year starter, all-conference linebacker, Evan Hanson.  The impact of that, the impact that it was suicide, the impact that it was a guy who was so involved in helping others and seemed so happy.  What does that do to a team? This is also the 2nd suicide of a Wabash football player (although the other player was not on the team due to injury).  The 2 young men, in fact coincidentally, took their lives on the same date exactly 2 years apart.  So some members of the current team knew these men.  You can't ignore what that does to the coaching staff, who now has to double their job description to include grief counselor. You can't ignore what that does to the team in terms of enthusiam, focus and emotion on the field.


     I definitely saw the lack of emotion against Denison.  But I did see a little emotion on the defensive side against OWU...the offense not so much.  I talked to my older brother, a former coach, about the results against Wooster (homecoming) and Denison.  He said that when a team goes through a situation like this, you just have no idea how long a team can sustain their drive to perform. It could be they were still holding it together through homecoming and then everything collapsed the next week.


     Just didn't want all of you to overlook this.  I have not been directly involved in Wabash's football program for 36 years but have followed Wabash football for 50 years now and Evan Hansen's death brought my life, my emotional health and well-being to one of the lowest points I have ever felt.  I am just beginning to come out of it.  And so I say, if this did this to me...what is the Wabash football team and staff going through?

According to the box score it was Neyrig who missed the 2 extra points and the fieldgoal try. Marr made his extra points.

Thanks MUC57

I have actually been on here in another incarnation before.  But I do not post on here very much.  But I do read through the comments on a regular basis.  As my user name indicates I have a great deal of accumulated knowledge surrounding the Wabash football program.  I saw my first game when I was 12. Became a student manager when I was 13...first game on the sideline was the 1970 Monon Bell game.  So, I spent all of the 1970's as a student manager through jr high, high school and then as a Wabash student.  My junior year at Wabash was the year we played in the Stagg Bowl. Quite a thrill for me and my family. After graduation I filmed games...the old reel to reel photography that football teams used to use...in 1981. I always kidded everyone that my films were seen by lots of NFL scouts. That was because Pete Metzelaars was being scouted by the NFL that year!    The rest of my knowledge comes my accumulated research over the years from various resources and my personal "archives."

Used to go to many road games but now just home games but follow the rest of the games on the internet

Thank you, Pat Coleman and D3football.com staff for the Quick Hits Question #6 today. We lost Evan Hansen but hopefully this will help others, not just at Wabash but around the country. Continued prayers to the Hansen family and everyone involved with Wabash and Little Giants football.

This is my 50th season of Wabash football.  Never did I dream that we would have to deal with such a tragedy this year.

WABASH ALWAYS FIGHTS!

ALWAYS MEANS ALWAYS

Wabco-

August 22nd scrimmage is actually against INDIANA Wesleyan.  1st year program in NAIA.  I triple checked this with the alumni email I received earlier this week.

I guess when you have 160+ football players it takes two scrimmages to get a look at everyone!