Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Dog days, not coach, were problem in ‘Let’s roll’ controversy

Friday, Sept. 6, 2002 | 2:11 a.m.

August is almost always hot and sometimes humid and this year was no different. The dog days of summer are exactly what Nevadans have come to expect. Heat affects some people and animals differently than others and this year it must have resulted in strange behavior on the part of several sports writers. Reams of copy and thousands of words of comment were used to berate Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden. The coach had the audacity to use the rallying cry of "Let's roll" to pep his players up for the 2002 fall season.

So what? Well, several writers with little imagination, or nothing more to do, wrote that Bowden should have first received the approval of the Todd M. Beamer Foundation. "Let's roll" were the last words Beamer was heard saying as several passengers of United Flight 93 took on the terrorists who were attempting to fly the plane toward Washington, D.C. They all died in a Pennsylvania field. The actions of Beamer and his fellow passengers might have saved the lives of many other Americans and/or the White House or other important national monument.

Bowden is a great coach who has motivated some of our finest college teams. His use of the words coming from Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, was a natural. Within a matter of three days after critics came after the coach, the Beamer Foundation and Todd's widow, Lisa, gave their OK. "We are honored that Florida State's football program has chosen to use Todd Beamer's quote of 'Let's roll' as a way to motivate and inspire their athletes," was the message from the foundation.

Despite this message, several writers, still short of anything worthwhile to do, continued to complain about Bowden's actions. Peter Kersotis writing in Florida Today continued the harangue when writing, "The sad part is that Bobby Bowden didn't contact Lisa Beamer or the nonprofit foundation she set up in her late husband's name to help children who are victims of family trauma. He never once got their blessing to use Todd Beamer's last words -- 'Let's roll' -- as a motto for the Florida State football team."

Do Bowden's critics believe that Todd Beamer is the first person to urge action saying, "Let's roll"? I have good reason to believe these words have been used more than once by other Americans in times of peril. It's certainly a familiar saying that men have heard and used in combat situations. So are sayings like "Saddle up," "Let's move on out," "Lock and load," "Let's hit the ground running," "Spread out or one round will get all of you," "Suck it up" or "Take no prisoners."

This all reminds me of the fight announcer who has made legal claim to "Let's get ready to rumble." Nonsense, that saying has been used in the streets for years. Personally, I like fight referee Mills Lane's words to fighters when he tells boxers, "Let's get it on." Lane, a former Marine, has probably used these words when meeting a challenger in several phases of his life. He has never claimed legal ownership of these words because of their common usage by people willing to face adversity.

There are some sayings that not too many people would want to claim as their own. I recall one of them on a shirt worn by a guerrilla in a Central American jungle. It was worn by a gun toting youngster and proclaimed "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out." Not really a motto that we want to inspire good competitive thoughts in the minds of our athletes.

Laying claim to expressions that have been used for years by other Americans in similar circumstances doesn't really impress me. Certainly the only good coming from the flap over Bowden's use of "Let's roll" was the positive response given by Beamer's widow and foundation. Whining and critical sports writers should spend more time writing about games and the athletes who play them.