Are you ready for the new Boise St. or TCU? Behold the new football Gonzaga, the Broncos from Kalamazoo. Your Western Michigan football program is hosting ESPN College Gameday the day after tomorrow, like none of us could have predicted. Get ready for some red hot MACtion.
WMU are one of just two undefeateds left in college football with Alabama being the other. As we predicted, they should likely still have a perfect record when they host 9-2 Toledo on Black Friday night.
That will be their “circle the date” game on the calendar. This week’s contest against the Buffalo Bulls is just a warmup scrimmage, but you got to love Gameday coming to Waldo Stadium for their annual novelty/gimmick game anyway. Hey it’s one that doesn’t actually involve Tennessee on one side for once!
As we get ready for Gameday, here are somethings you need to know about the new America’s sweethearts, Western Michigan football and Western Michigan football coach P.J. Fleck.
Fleck is the master showman of college football. And football, like war or life, is a zero sum game. Someone’s gain is another’s loss.
For Fleck, as his alma mater, Northern Illinois declines, the program he leads is rising. After graduating from NIU, Fleck went on to have a cup of coffee in the NFL. His San Francisco 49ers jersey adorns the wall of Fatty’s in DeKalb; the main NIU Huskies fan bar and the place to be on game days.
It’s where the Northern Illinois coaches shows are held; and it’s an establishment where Fleck is and always will be a campus hero.
The Huskies have won the MAC West division six years in a row. Only one other school in history has reached their conference title game six consecutive times, Marshall during their MAC days; before they bolted for greener pastures. The Broncos will now unseat NIU in that regard.
At this link you’ll find video of Fleck doing the game’s weather report/forecast for a local television station as the Homecoming Western Michigan football game approached. ROW THE BOAT!! #RTB!
Finally,
Fleck has a public persona similar to that of Northwestern head man Pat Fitzgerald.
It’s not by coincidence.
Fleck modeled himself after Fitzgerald, as Fitz graciously mentored him at a time when the WMU leader was still cutting his teeth in the coaching world.
Both are well known for being high intensity, having a strong work ethic and occasionally YELLING when the situation requires it.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.