Mike Leach at Big 12 Media Day
Bask in his magnificence.
The money quotes:
Q. A lot of us were wondering why Harrell and Crabtree aren’t here?
And anybody that wants to talk to Graham or Michael Crabtree or Darcel McBath or those guys, you can do it in their natural habitat in Lubbock, Texas. I recommend Love Field because DFW can be a confusing mess. Love Field, about every hour go to Lubbock, Texas, where we have some great steak places. And we’d love to see you, and we all know you by your first names, so it’d be good to renew our friendship.
Q: Mike, a lot of excitement about your defense. Can you talk about how much better you got on defense after September
I think we steadily improved and some of them — you know, maturity, which is really kind of a word I don’t like, besides the fact that I’m immature. I mean, where is this benchmark?
July 24, 2008 at 4:36 am
I tell ya the guy is gold, Jerry, gold.
July 24, 2008 at 6:27 am
A good friend of mine if the VP of Public Relations for the DFW Airport — a smart guy, and knew an opportunity when he saw it.
He fired off an invitation to Leach to come bring his family for a VIP tour of the airport
Dear Coach Leach,
All of us at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport were disappointed to see your comment about our great Airport in the Dallas Morning News today:
“Anybody who wants to talk to Graham or Michael Crabtree … you can do it in their natural habitat in Lubbock, Texas,” Leach said. “I recommend Love Field because D/FW [Airport] can be a confusing mess. Love Field, about every hour, goes to Lubbock, Texas, where we have some great steak places. And we’d love to see you.”
Our Airport wins global awards for outstanding customer service, and most importantly, we have Airport Ambassadors and other friendly staffers who will be glad to assist you if you need help or get lost. Almost 60 million passengers travel through our Airport every year and the vast majority have no problems getting to the 135 domestic destinations and 38 international cities from DFW!
Your comments hit home because we’re very proud of DFW — and most of us are big time college football fans!
So, on behalf of Jeff Fegan, our CEO, we’d like to personally invite you and your family for a guided Airport tour and great Texas steak at DFW.
American Airlines has agreed to provide complimentary flights from Lubbock to DFW for you and your family. Mr. Fegan and our executive team will greet you at your gate, along with DFW employees who are proud Red Raiders - and season ticket holders! We’ll give you a quick tour of the terminals, take you for a ride on our Skylink train, and have a great steak at our International Terminal D (margaritas too).
While I know the season is upon us, we would enjoy making this a fun event for you and your family. In fact, it might turn into an Airport tailgate!
You should also know DFW is a strong supporter of the Cotton Bowl and the Armed Forces Bowl, and look forward to working with the Dallas Cowboys and the Super Bowl in 2011. And of course, the Dr. Pepper Big 12 football championship is scheduled to be played in the new Cowboys Stadium in 2009 and 2010, and many Big 12 fans and football aficionados will be flying into DFW since our Airport is just up the road from this fantastic new venue.
Look forward to hearing from you soon. And here’s to a great Big 12 season!
Best Regards,
Ken Capps, APR
Vice President, Public Affairs
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
972 973 5555
He got this response
Ken – I visited by phone briefly with Coach Leach this afternoon and he expressed his gratitude in the invitation. The following is a statement from him:
“I am sincerely appreciative of your thoughtful gesture and may take you up on it. We are coming up fast on the season, and I may not have time to accept your invitation until December. I am looking forward to meeting the good folks at DFW International Airport and American Airlines.”
Coach Leach is out of town for the remainder of the week. He and the coaching staff will hit the ground running this weekend in preparation for preseason practice, which begins August 4. There is very little downtime from now through November. In speaking with him, he was truly sincere in his thanks to you.
In the meantime, if there is anything we can do for you on our end, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Chris Cook
Assistant AD/Media Relations
Texas Tech University
July 24, 2008 at 6:30 am
I agree with Leach on DFW, but it’s not the airport’s fault. That place just gets so much damn traffic, they have to spread it out or it be too congestive. Picking someone at Love is no picnic these days during peak hours.
July 24, 2008 at 6:55 am
My guess is that Chris Cook, Assistant AD/Media Relations, spends a good amount of his time cleaning up after the mad pirate.
July 24, 2008 at 7:12 am
Man, that whole thing is awesome.