A sudsy interview with Bo Pelini
Tennessee football coach Phil Fulmer called me earlier this summer, after I requested an interview about Millwood’s Gerald Jones. Fulmer called me back, but it was while I was doing some radio, and I never reached Fulmer back.
That taught me a good lesson. Anytime I get a chance at a college football coach on the phone, I better take it.
Which is why Wednesday morning, I placed my cell phone just outside my glass shower, where I could see who was calling while I was getting ready for work.
I had requested an interview with Pelini last week, and the extremely-efficient Nebraska media relations department called back and said that Pelini said just call him. We got to know each other during Pelini’s year at Oklahoma in 2004, though not well, but I appreciated his openness. Not too many college coaches give out their cell numbers.
Anyway, I called Pelini on Monday evening and left a message. He didn’t call back then or all day Tuesday. So I called NU publicist Keith Mann again and left a message on Wednesday morning.
Then I put my phone in place and hopped in the shower. And sure enough, the phone rang. I was covered in soap but thought, what if that is Keith, with instructions on when I can talk to Pelini? So I grabbed a towel, reached for the phone and said hello.
It was Pelini. Which is how I came to interview the coach of the Cornhuskers while sitting buck naked in the middle of my bathroom floor. I asked Pelini to wait a second while I grabbed my notebook — I didn’t tell him I also was going to wipe the soap out of my eyes.
Easily one of the strangest interviews I’ve ever conducted, and it was all on me. Not on Pelini.
We had a good conversation. I hope you enjoyed my column this morning about Pelini. It might never have come off if I had first rinsed off.
Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel.
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What a clean post! Wish your columns were still linked to the side. Haven’t been able to get to them since the new Web site, which means I have to maneuver several layers of the site to find your columns.