Tennessee Coach Derek Dooley Compares Vols to Germans in WWII

When are coaches and athletes going to learn?  Comparing one's team, sport or on-the-field struggles to military battles and other life-and-death issues of war is always a really bad idea.  The latest in this long list of sporting chowderheads is Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley who compared his young, inexperienced team's struggles to that of the German forces during the Allies' invasion of Normandy during World War II.

"Right now we're like the Germans in World War II," Dooley said. "Here comes the boats, they're coming. You have the binoculars, and it's like, 'Oh, my God, the invasion is coming.' "

"Figuring out how to stop the
'Cocks this weekend, I feel like
Jonas Salk trying to stop polio."

Actually, it's more like, "Oh, my God -- he's not really making this comparison, is he?  Yes, he did.  And he didn't stop there:

"I don't want the German people to get upset at me.  I'm not attacking them, but that's what happened. You had one group, they weren't worried about what the plan was and orders and all that. When the war hits, things change. You've got to go," said Dooley.

"You had the other group, and they go, 'Wait a minute, they told us the invasion was way further north,' where we had the empty tanks and we were hiding Patton out. 'We weren't ready for this, now what do we do?' 'We better wait until Rommel tells us what to do.' "

Oh, man.  Gotta love the inflated sense of self-importance.

Well, I don't think Dooley has to worry about the German people getting upset with him.  But he might want to consider the parents of the 19-year-old kid who isn't on a college campus this fall watching college football because he's fighting for his country on a mountainside in Kandahar.  And the stakes, as much as this might come as a surprise to some coaches and athletes, are just a tad bit higher. 

Look, college football ain't war.  It's a game.  A great game.  An exciting game.  My favorite game.  But still just a game.

Thus, while Derek Dooley's biggest worry is South Carolina on Saturday, a bunch of 18-22 year olds - the same ages as his players - are simply hoping that the abandoned tire they're approaching on the side of the dirt road isn't hiding an IED. 

So keep it in perspective, coach.  To do otherwise dishonors the service of our uniformed men and women who would give anything for their biggest worry this weekend to be whether or not their favorite team won or lost.