Brett from over at Pick Six Previews stopped by to talk about his yearly Power 5 previews, how great season preview magazines used to be, mini-helmets, how Duke turned it around last year and why the ACC needs to make the annual game with Wake more important. We also get into the 2023 season and the future of the ACC. This was a fun talk with a die-hard college football fan and top-notch analyst.
One thing that I found to be of particular interest was our discussion of the differences between the Blue Devils’ 2022 and 2023 schedules. This year could see the team lose more games, but still be a better team than last year. I can’t wait to see what happens and I’m hoping that Duke builds on the success of last season.
If you haven’t yet, check out these sweet Blue Devil helmets Brett put together!
As indicated in my Whirlpool post, We Are Number Three did a cover of TMBG’s Minimum Wage. You can listen to Greg’s episode about Minimum Wage over at This Might Be A Podcast by following this link. In that episode, you can listen to the We Are Number Three cover and some other covers, too.
But, in this post, you get to hear the version that me, Co-Coordinator Tim and my family put together titled “Minimum Wage Can’t Buy You Shortnin’ Bread.”
So you know who contributed what part of the song, my daughter yells “Minimum Wage”, followed by my son yelling. Then it’s me and Tim for the instrumental followed by me with the song title and my wife banging a pan.
We took the lyrics from Minimum Wage and combined it with the song Shortnin’ Bread. This was a fun project for a lot of reasons, but especially because the two songs fit together thematically. Shortnin’ Bread has a very, very interesting backstory that I would encourage everyone to learn more about. I’m serious – you can learn a lot from that song’s history.
Those of you who watched Duke football in the mid to late 90s know just how dominant of a force Chris Combs was. There’s a reason that he got drafted by the Steelers in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL draft. Well, there’s more than one. Those reasons include, but aren’t limited to, his work ethic, his leadership and his ability to dominate the game as a defensive tackle.
Chris Combs gets ready to make a play against the Lions.
Unfortunately, because of the era during which Chris played (Coaches Goldsmith and Franks), we sometimes forget just how great of a player he was. This interview is a perfect way to refresh our recollection of an all-time Blue Devil.
During our almost 1.5 hour interview, we covered a wide range of topics. These include Chris’ work as a strength and conditioning coach during the Ted Roof era. That gave Chris the chance to work with other teams including Duke LAX. Chris was there for the Duke LAX scandal which we talked about. In addition to that, we learned about Chris’ current career and how his playing days at Duke gave him the strength to persevere through a slow start. We also talked about how great Roanoke is, how much I continue to hate Maryland and one of the worst calls in the history of Blue Devil football. And for all you young fans, we’ve got a pretty good argument that the ACC refs have always been out to get us. Fun fact, I called Dad the day after the interview, mentioned the call and then listened to him get real, real upset at the officials when I brought it up. It’s been more than twenty-five years and he’s still mad about it. Safe to say, Dad is of the opinion that the refs made a horrible, horrible call. Which they did – there was no reason for the penalty flag on that play.
If all that weren’t enough, we also talked about the historic Flu Game against Florida State in 1998. For those of you who many not remember, pretty much every Duke player got a case of food poisoning and became violently ill during the game. Naturally, the team absolutely fell apart against the Seminoles. What I didn’t know is that the Flu Game resulted in a CDC and North Carolina Department of Health investigation. The Blue Devil players transmitted the Norwalk virus to Florida State players during the game which was the first time that mass transmission of a virus occurred on a football field. The New England Journal of Medicine published an article about it.
Here is what Coach Goldsmith had to say about how he felt during the game (this is taken from his book, “Comeback Coach“):
“I was walking around the FSU field when all of a sudden I felt the sickest I have ever felt in my life. I thought something was wrong with my heart and I was going to die right there in Doak Campbell Stadium.”
Now, you may question some part of Coach Goldsmith’s recount of his symptoms because he goes on to claim in that same paragraph of his book that the Blue Devils only lost to the Noles by a touchdown or two. That’s not remotely close to being accurate. The final score was actually a much closer than it looked, according to Coach Goldsmith, 62-13. However, after listening to what Chris had to say about the game, I’ve concluded that Coach Goldsmith’s memory of the final score is colored by the severity of his symptoms.
I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Chris and to talk to him about an era of Duke football that I spent a lot of time watching. It’s great to have guys like him be part of the Blue Devil family.
Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, or on Twitter.
If you want to skip straight to the music, scroll down to the end.
As some of you may remember (or try to forget), I’m part of a trio that covers They Might Be Giants tunes. We take TMBG song lyrics and match them up with old-time tunes. I think we’ve been a hit as part of the Covers Crew over at This Might Be A Podcast (“TMBP”), but I’m a little biased. Since I made my debut on TMBP to discuss Yeh Yeh, our little group, We Are Number Three, has covered TMBG’s Prepare, 32 Footsteps, House At The Top Of The Tree, Minimum Wage (the episode is going to drop soon!) and a secret one for a charity compilation that is in the works. (All the links are to the podcast episodes where are covers, and others, are played.) Well, we just did another cover and that is what this post is all about.
Not too long ago, TMBP did an episode on a somewhat obscure TMBG tune, Whirlpool, which is a cover of a Meat Puppets song. The original version of the song is here
The TMBG version is here
Pretty different, right? We set out to cover Whirlpool because it’s always been a favorite of mine. It’s such an odd little song and the weird nature of it has always stuck with me.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the song together in time for the episode. But, after a little bit of time, we finished it up. And I am glad that we waited. As we were putting it all together, my Grandmother got sick and passed away. Her time in hospice care gave me a new interpretation of the song. As I read the lyrics over and over again, I concluded that the song is about someone passing from this life to the next. As a result, our cover of Whirlpool turned into a tribute to my Grandmother.
Here are the lyrics:
There was a swirling mass of water that lived in a quiet pond It asked permission from its master to visit the lands beyond And its master allowed it to fly So the wind swept the whirlpool across the sky
Whirlpool Whirlpool
There was a swirling mass of water that lived in a quiet pond It asked permission from its master to visit the lands beyond And its master allowed it to fly So the wind swept the whirlpool across the sky And it had the idea to fly So the wind swept the whirlpool across the sky
Whirlpool Whirlpool Whirlpool
Our version of Whirlpool is below. The old-time tune we paired it with is called “Old Grimes.” It’s a good tune. We all hope you enjoy our cover. Love you, Grandma!
Bull City Coordinators - A Duke Football Blog 