Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
he’s not pretty or fancy or flashy but damn he’s a real good football coach. U don’t give that guy a month to prep for a game and come out with a w against him very often.
I’m a straight guy but gosh I love Bret Bielema
- Status
Big Bert fan
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
Big Bert Energy. It’s borderline erotic
GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
Josh should just go ahead and start soliciting bids for the statue at this point.
bronze or marble? I vote marble
I keep waiting for the road graders to show up, and the stud running backs (a la Wisc)but he's done it differently than ever before. Amazing transformation! Amazing coach!
Just don't get the person that did Dwayne Wade statue or Ronaldo's bust.
Whut? You gotta tell folks you're straight?
What's that river in Egypt??
/s
yeah, I'm all in w/ Bret, too!
Thanks, Coach! Keep up the GREAT work.
What's that river in Egypt??
/s
yeah, I'm all in w/ Bret, too!
Thanks, Coach! Keep up the GREAT work.
BAM - Bert All Mighty
Makes this all more impressive IMO. I had no idea how intelligent he is (you can forgive me, he's an Iowa grad after all) -- so impressed from Day 1 at press conferences and every thing he's done since. Can't give him enough props for what he's done and is doing and building. Got season tix his second year and will keep renewing and renewing -- so glad we have him as our coach.
BZuppke
- Plainfield
I advocated for him during the coaching search when it wasn’t that popular a position to take. He’s what we’ve always needed: A Big Ten guy who knows how to win. We rolled the dice with NFL guys, MAC HCs and a failed SEC coach (Zook). None of them worked out. Bring in a midwestern guy who knows the Big Ten and voila.
Well done, sir. You nailed it.
- Illinois is now 13-4 in one-score games over the last three seasons, with 9 of the 13 wins coming in the final minute of regulation or overtime.
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
I was in the same boat tbh. I thought he’d do a solid job. He has far exceeded. And he seems genuinely happy with where he is at. I get a sense in his interviews that he has a vision of what Illinois can be that mat well exceed all of our wildest dreams.
Will he win a title in Champaign. Likely not but I think he thinks he can. And I think he’s good enough that if it happens it will be with him at the helm. Even if that doesn’t happen he is objectively the best Illinois coach in the modern era. He will leave this program in a much much better spot than he found it. And then have a statue in his honor and maybe rename it Zuppke Bielema Field someday. It may be the best hire in any Illinois sport ever given the timing and the level of money modern football generates.
Has an easy going midwestern attitude and vocal style.
Butter.....
)Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
Marble w/ a butter glaze!!
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
Some of that is "luck" if you will, but a whole lot of that is attention to detail thru the game. For the most part, we avoid the dumb plays that get you beat (turnovers, stupid penalties, blown assignments) that defined Illinois football for the better part of the 90's, 00's & 10's.
A lot of what we do isn't fancy, it's just smart, disciplined football. We execute our pretty basic stuff very well as a general rule. Of course it's a game played with an odd shaped ball by 18-23 year olds so sometimes stuff happens.
Bret made a comment after one of our games this year that we "win games in the margins". That defines what he has installed very well. He has upgraded the talent & is doing more so going forward but he has instilled an intelligence & toughness in his teams. We do the little stuff very well & don't make fatal mistakes. That wins games. To take the next leap takes more 5 stars on the field but still keeping that attention to detail that defines this program now.
5 plus years ago if you ask an outsider about Illinois football, it'd be mostly a laughingstock with an occasional fluke good season. Now, its a program defined by tough, disciplined, smart football. The kind of team opponents don't want to play against.
The guy is such an old Roman....lol!!! Love him as a person and a coach!!!
Here's a fun fact: Bret Bielema has coached in 63 games for Illinois. The Illini have been within one score (or outright won) in the 4th quarter in 53 of those 63 games. That's how close and exciting nearly every game has been (even the losses) since his arrival.
It’s just been a different feel to the game atmosphere, the player mentality, just about everything since his arrival. I feel we are in every single game.
I'm very glad we have Bret.
It’s just been a different feel to the game atmosphere, the player mentality, just about everything since his arrival. I feel we are in every single game.
I'm very glad we have Bret.
I was excited when he was hired, I had hopes he could accomplish what he has so far. If we can keep up this level of success, recruiting will only get better and start to show up on the field. If he keeps up the 8 to 10 wins per season, he will be remembered as the best head coach ever for Illinois. I volunteer to contribute to the statue and apply the butter. He is an inspiration to all of us "plus size" old guys lol. ILL!!
- Status