Jim Brandstatter- Bo's Warriors

In Bo’s Warriors, you’ll find this Foreword written by Jim Brandstatter.

When I first heard about this book, I learned that the focus was going to be about mental toughness. One of my University of Michigan football teammates suggested that I would be a good source for Frank to talk about the subject. I have no idea what medication, my teammate was taking at the time that made him so delirious as to suggest to me, but the cat was out of the bag, and Dr. Frank and I began our journey.

We talked about my life. We talked about football. We talked about things totally unrelated to mental toughness. We talked about my college coach, Bo Schembechler. We talked about my friends on the team.

As time passed, and I spoke to some of the other guys who Frank had been interviewing, I realized that their experiences had been similar to mine. Not only that, but Frank was working these guys as hard as he was working me. Based on the conversations I had with my friends to help Frank with the book, I knew this had to be more than a how-to manual on developing mental toughness. It was morphing into something else. It was becoming a story of young men developing into young adults

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I have often been asked to speak about my time as a University Michigan football player and the lessons I learned from the game, and my coach, Bo Schembechler. Yet I have never felt that I have done a great job of it. It was such a powerful time in my life, but is difficult to impart to an audience the incredible impact it has on me to this day.

I believe “Bo’s Warriors” can accomplish what I have failed to do in my speeches. What I think you have in your hands is a snapshot of history. It is a look back at this country in the late 60s and early 70s, is viewed through the eyes of us 18-to 21-year-old jocks. We were in the middle of a very unpopular war, racial tension was boiling, the drug culture was taking over college campuses, student unions were being occupied by militants… there was Woodstock, free love, free Angela Davis, burning draft cards, and burning bras. Meanwhile, with all this tumult bombarding us, we had to play football for a tyrant named Schembechler. How in the world did we survive? How in the world did we win a game? And how in the world did we learn lasting life lessons amidst the confusion?

That’s the story you are about to read. When we saw the world crumbling around us, we had a pillar of strength to grab on to. When our life began to spin out of control, we had a safe haven. We had football. In football we knew where we stood. We had Schembechler. Sure, he was a conservative taskmaster. He did not like the counterculture, and the counterculture despised him. He did not suffer fools; it was his way or the highway.

But he demanded more from us. We delivered-sometimes grudgingly, but we delivered-and amidst the chaos came order, success, and growth. In that moment, the group, through fate or providence, came together and something really positive happened. The blueprints were college football, but the architect was Bo.

PS

Last Thursday’s guest on It Has Nothing to Do with Age or Gender was 100 K US champion, three-time Western States 100 winner, NCAA polo champion, etc. Tom Johnson. I think you’ll enjoy his interview.

In the meantime, keep moving, smiling, laughing, bonding, loving and appreciating. It’s good for you.