The Mess is going to use this week’s feature to clean out some of the e-mails we have received in the first month of the year. Like most people, The Mess doesn’t delete many of the e-mail in the inbox on a weekly basis – so we just wait until we receive the annoying “your mail box has reached its limit” e-mail before mass deleting e-mails.
The Mess started to delete e-mails to create space but came across some great questions – and comments – that were sent in by our 10’s of loyal readers. We thought we would post the answers in the column so we could kill two birds with one stone (The Mess meant nothing by that last statement and is just using the cliché. We apologize if we offended anyone or implied that anyone connected with The Mess would actually hurt animals). So let’s get right to the first e-mail.
Dear Mess;
What’s your take on the whole Handshake Scandal from Sunday’s postgame ritual between San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh and Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz? Love the Mess- keep up the great work!
Sincerely,
Terry H
Dear Terry;
Thanks for the kind words. It’s nice to hear from one of our loyal fans. As far as Handshake Gate after the 49’ers and Lions football game, The Mess just has to laugh. We have years of experience with those type of situations and most of the time they are the most insincere gesture to ever take place. You always have one coach who is upset beacuse they just lost – and is just looking for a reason to get upset. Then you have one coach that is very happy and can’t wait to shake the hand of his vanquished foe.
Unfortunately we have a feeling that this thing is going to happen more frequently now that it is getting so much media attention. People either find no fault in Harbaugh’s exuberance or applaud Schwartz for sticking up for himself. Either way, more and more coaches will start to try and send a message with their postgame handshake so they can be just like the pros. This is especially true in football where there can be so many ill feelings with such high emotions. The Mess would like everyone to take the advice of Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant who never shook the opposing coach’s hand after the game. Instead he would tell the coach before the game what he was going to do and then just look across the field and acknowledge the coach after the game. No chance for any pushing or shoving. Or even having one coach refusing to shake the other’s hand. The best thing about the Grant principle is that no one gets all bent out of shape because of a very meaningless gesture.
Sorry Terry for the long answer to a simple question. But that’s how The Mess rolls!
Dear Mess;
I am new to the Cobber sports scene. I have only been a fan since the start of this year. Can you give me some insight into what the 5 biggest story lines of the first month have been?
Great job with The Mess and you deserve a big raise!
Soli Deo Gloria
Bill C
Bill;
Once again, thanks for the nice words. You picked a great fall to become a card carrying member of Cobber Nation. The Mess will try and be concise with this answer. The five biggest stories from the sports department this fall have been:
5) The Cobber women’s golf team. They completely overhauled their roster and had five freshmen represent the team at the MIAC Meet. The five youngsters then went out and finished fourth – the highest finish by a CC team since 2004.
4) The Cobber men’s golf team. A week after finishing sixth at the MIAC Championship Meet, the Cobbers rebounded by winning the Twin Cities Classic. It was a historic win and freshman Coy Papachek won the individual title.
3) The women’s soccer team. The CC women’s soccer team lost 10 players from last year’s team, starts 5 or 6 freshmen this season and still only has one loss on the year. They are in position to claim another NCAA playoff berth.
2) The volleyball team. Normally they would be No.1 but they are a victim of their own excellence. Everyone knew they were going to be good but few could have expected this level of dominance. They have won six MIAC matches – all by sweeps and are ranked ninth in the country. #vballswag!
1) The Cobber football team. The Mess must confess, we expected much less. We know we like to digress but this team’s answered all the questions with a big fat yes! (And we once had a friend named Bess who wore a yellow dress and loved to read about Elliot Ness!) Sorry, that was a little over the top. However, The Mess actually thought the CC football team would do well if they posted a 5-5 record this year. The defense was one big question mark and the offensive had more holes than a Lady Gaga concert outfit. We are happy to report that after seven games, the Cobbers have a legit chance at making the NCAA playoffs. Not many people saw that one coming.
The Mess is now drinking the Kool-Aid and hoping that the 20-plus seniors get one great ride in the last three games of the regular season.
Ok. So we weren’t that concise. Thanks for the e-mail. Don’t worry about the raise. The Mess is in the business “For the Love of the Game” and we get our reward from the smiles of the coaches and athletes after big wins.
Dear Mess;
I just got back from Homecoming weekend. It was another amazing week of celebrations and Cobber spirit. What were your favorite memories of the week?
Let’s chat sometime!
Fred H
Fred;
You are correct. Cobber Homecoming is the single best week of the year and The Mess would be hard pressed to find any other school in the area that does it better than Concordia. As far as our own personal favorite memories – here are a few:
– Ernie Mancini once again “Releasing the Beast”. It will be a sad day when this staple of the Bonfire is no longer shared with the next generation of Cobber students. Ernie is a walking billboard for the Cobber spirit and his performance ever year is unbelievable. (Check out the video of a past performance from Ernie)
– The fireworks at the Bonfire and then the lighting of the Bonfire
– The huge crowd for the football game, the great weather on Saturday and just the atmosphere at the Jake Christiansen Athletic Complex for the football game and soccer games.
– However, my best memory will be of Clint Hill. I will remember the smile on his face as he walked off the field after delivering the game ball (see pic below) and also the answer he gave The Mess after we asked him if he enjoyed his time coming back to Concordia. His face lit up and he smiled and replied “It’s been wonderful.”
Clint Hill (Gold Lettermen's Sweater) pictured with Cobber AD Larry Papenfuss and football coach Terry Horan
He had never been back to Concordia since graduation in 1954 and you could tell he had been touched by the Cobber spirit that most of us take for granted because we are surrounded by it every day.
Dear Mess;
I love the fact that you are all over the Social Media aspect of Cobber athletics. If it was up to me, that would be the only way would communicate. Who are your favorite Cobber Facebookers or Tweeters?
Change is good!
Mark Z
Mark;
The explosion of Facebook and Twitter has made The Mess’ job easier – and harder – at the same time. And we agree, change is good – just don’t expect people to take it lying down and not get all worked up – especially not in the Red River Valley.
As far as the top Tweeters, that’s a no-brainer. The CC volleyball team is easily the tops at posting witty, smart and insightful tweets. As far as coaches go, it has to be football coach Terry Horan. CoachTerryHoran was one of the last coaches the Mess thought would get a Twitter account. But now he is a Tweeting superstar.
The best Twitter nicknames go to the football team who have baunehunter40 (Brett Baune), beastmodebrent (Brent Rysdahl – check out his hit from the Augsburg game), MattTweeterson8 (Matt Peterson), Quisticuffs55 (Thomas Quist), broadwaydunham1 (Michael Dunham) and StarkStallion5 (Mike Starke).
Finally, we had this last e-mail get sent to our junk folder by mistake:
Mess;
Who has been your top Cobber athlete of the first five weeks?
Just wondering?
Aaron W
Aaron;
We think you are trying to lead The Mess in a certain direction but it doesn’t matter. We normally don’t like to single out one player but there has been one athlete that has gone from nowhere to Rock Star. Our vote for the best surprise/top athlete of the first five weeks is Brett Baune.
The guy is a Beast and is the biggest reason the Cobbers are 5-2 and fighting for a playoff berth. He went from undersized offensive lineman to the opposing team’s nightmare. As they say, “he’s fun to watch!”
That’s all the mail for this edition. Thanks for allowing us publicly delete our inbox.
The Mess Video of the Week
This week’s Mess Video of the Week hits home for The Mess because it is about a boy who just loves playing the game of soccer. The Mess saw a similar kid playing soccer in St. Lucia when we visited the island back in the day (which was incredibly moving).
The obstacles that a person like Adam overcomes will hopefully inspire all athletes to fight through any adversity.
The Rest of the Mess
The Rest of the Mess is going to continue this week’s video trend. It is a great 1:36 summary of the Cobber Homecoming Week/Weekend. Needless to say, it was a pretty good weekend to be a Cobber!
The Mess Picture of the Weekend
This week’s Mess Picture of the Week comes from the football win against Augsburg. A couple of key factors make this shot the winner. First of all – it features one of the unsung heroes of any football game in the middle of the picture. Not too often do you see offensive linemen getting love from photographers. To have one front and center makes it a special picture right from the start. The second thing about this picture is that it has tons of action taking place. You get to see four different Cobbers (five if you count QB Michael Dunham running away from the pack) in action and you can tell right away what their different roles are on the play. The kicker that puts it “over the top” is in the eyes. All four Cobber players are looking in different directions trying to pick up different cues. All in all it packs a lot of punch in just one picture. Kudos to Sheldon Green for another great football picture. When it comes to shooting football pics – he is the best in the MIAC! It doesn’t hurt that he cut his photog chops shooting for the Green Bay Packers back in the day.
(You can click on the picture to see the larger version to get the full effect)
The Mess Photo Galleries of the Weekend
Check out the award-winning picture galleries from the weekend.
– Football vs. Augsburg
– Men’s Soccer vs. Bethel
– Women’s Soccer vs. Bethel
– Men’s & Women’s Cross Country at Jamestown Invite
* Special thanks goes out to Sheldon Green and Ryan McCaughtry who took the awesome pictures from football and soccer and Nathan Lodermeier who continues to excel with the cross country pictures (“Pay the Man”).
Click here to view all the galleries from the Cobber SID Flickr Page
“Now That’s A Big Mess” Stat Line of the Weekend
This week we are going off the board for the Big Mess Stat Line of the Weekend. The Mess is going to give the award to the Hamline football team’s offense. The Pipers are the Cobbers opponent this weekend and they only have one place to go. Last Saturday Hamline had only 28 yards of total offense against the Tommies but what earns them this week’s award is the fact that they were 0-for-15 in third down situations. The Mess has seen many, many football box scores in the day but can never remember a team putting up the bagel in third down attempts for the whole game. Now that really is on Big Mess.
Social Media Mess of the Week
Each week we will honor the best Cobber Twitter Tweet or Cobber Facebook post that we come across with our Twitter account or Facebook account
This week’s Social Media Mess of the Week winner goes to former Cobber – and now Communications staff member Gia Rassier. Gia is a superstar for the college with all the videos she produces and came up with this double post about Homecoming weekend.
– “I think I have felt more at home, or at peace with myself at Concordia… more than anywhere else I’ve been” – Estelle Spottiswoode ’46 ♥ Welcome Home Cobbers!”
– Then on Monday morning Gia posted this: “As if I don’t say it enough… Another great weekend to be a Cobber ♥”
That sums up the Homecoming weekend in less than 50 words. Bonus points for the hearts at the end of both posts!
Queen of the Mess
This week’s Queen of the Mess is Cobber sophomore women’s soccer player
Gina Weiss. Weiss had a monster game against Bethel on Saturday. She scored both goals in the team’s 2-2 2OT tie. Weiss started the season slowly but has dropped the hammer on fifth gear in the past couple of weeks. She has been the team’s hottest scoring player in the last two weeks. Weiss has now scored four goals in the last four games. Weiss currently has five goals and one assist for 11 points on the season. She is now tied for second on the team in overall points and is second in goals.
King of the Mess
Only one way to go with this award. Say what you want – but the undisputed
King of the Weekend was Cobber fullback Brett Baune. Baune has slowly turned into a Manimal as the season has progressed. Against Augsburg he rushed for 139 yards and two TD’s. He continually battered the Auggie defensive line on his way to the second tier. His biggest contribution in the win over the Auggies came in CC’s final drive of the game. After watching Augsburg cut the lead to 31-26 with 9:19 left in the game, the Cobbers went on a 13-play scoring drive that took 7:25 off the clock and sealed the victory. Of the 13 plays in the final CC drive, 12 were rushes and Baune carried the ball eight times for 36 yards and scored on a 5-yard run. And the final stat to crown the “Baune Hunter” – he was a perfect 4-for-4 in third down situations (which was made even more difficult by the fact that everyone in the stadium – even Estelle Spottiswoode from the class of ’46 – knew he was going to get the ball on those plays. And they still couldn’t stop him!
The Tom Burnett Unsung Hero of the Week
The Mess would like to call up the Cobber offensive line to hand out this award. The Cobber “Hogs” could have very well won the award but The Mess is going to go with someone who is even farther in the shadows. However, since The Hogs got some love in the Forum last week in the feature about Brett Baune they were disqualified from the award. They will have to be content to just hand out the award. Another pop quiz – can anyone, other than people involved in the football program, name Brett Baune’s back-up? If you answered Luke Gotta give yourself two claps. Gotta has quietly turned into a huge cog in the CC running game. He is the fullback that gives Baune a rest after he has posted another line-demolishing run. Lately Gotta has been doing a lot more than just filling in – he has been putting up quality numbers of his own. On Saturday he ran the ball seven times for 45 yards and caught two passes for 30 yards. That’s 75 total offensive yards for the back-up and a crisp 214 yards from the fullback position alone. All that despite the lack of coaching they have been getting!!!
The Mess Fan of the Week
This week’s Fans of the Week come from the women’s soccer game. Take a look at the picture below and check out the background. You will see several members of the Cobber men’s soccer team (both past and present) cheering loud and proud. It always makes The Mess feel warm and fuzzy inside when CC athletes go out of their way and root for the other teams on campus. This is what being a community is all about and that is what Homecoming is all about! And that is why they are this week’s Mess Fans of the Week!
Once again we ask our 10’s of readers to submit Cobber fan pics! Please send your Cobber fan pictures to: cobbersportsinformation@gmail.com. Remember – the winning entry receives a special Cobber prize!
Upcoming Mess Games of the Week
– Women’s Soccer at home vs. St. Olaf on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
– Volleyball Doubleheader Weekend at home vs. Gustavus on Friday at 7 p.m. and then Carleton on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Once again the Mess picked another winner. That’s 3-for-3 in Gmaes of the Week. This week we are going to split our ticket and go with the Daily Double of soccer and volleyball. The Cobber women’s soccer team hosts St. Olaf on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. These are two of the top four teams in the MIAC and this game will have huge ramifications when it comes to a title chase and a conference playoff berth. Come outside and cheer for the Cobbers one last time before the snow flies! The second act of this week’s Game of the Week playbill is the volleyball team’s annual MIAC home doubleheader weekend. Unfortunately it fall on Mid Semester break so The Mess understands it will be about as crowded as a Minnesota Vikings Conference Championship pep fest! However, if you stick around and need something to do – come out and cheer for the Cobbers. The Mess will personally deliver a Gameday program to each person in attendance! Enjoy the week and don’t forget to gently shake as many hands as you can this week!
Feel free to tell your friends about the Mess and don’t forget to check us out on Twitter and Facebook
Cobber Sports Information Blog 