I think I knew it was over for Herb at ASU last June. I was surprised by the suggested three-year extension in December, and intrigued when it was adjusted by the board of Regents to effectively be an incentive-based one year deal with second and third years triggered by eclipsing 20 and 25 wins. ASU was 6-4 at the time of the extension, and followed the announcement with a triple-overtime loss to Lehigh that seemed to piss everyone off who wasn't already there a week prior. I think some can say December is when they knew this would be Herb's last season, and the rest can blame late season losses to Utah or USC, but I'm convinced this all played out the way that it was supposed to, based on a conversation that Sendek had with reporters last June.
Jerry Maguire is one of my favorite movies. I always liked the scene early on when Maguire has an attack of conscience and writes a manifesto-style mission statement to the entire company about not being on board with the changes in the sports agency climate, and what should be done to push back against the inevitable societal degradation of loyalty and personal relationships within the business. You can actually read the entire fictional memo here: (http://www.theuncool.com/films/jerry-maguire/jerrys-mission-statement/) My favorite part of the memo reads:
"My father worked for the United Way for 38 years. We lived in San Diego for many years, before I left to move up the coast to Los Angeles. One of the things my father said was: "Every time you allow a problem in your life, you are actually at a point of transformation. Crisis is a powerful point of transformation." (Never mind that he sat at the same chair for 38 years, and when he retired said only that he'd wished he'd asked for a more comfortable place to sit.)
We are now at a point of transformation with this company. But this is not something to fear, it is something to celebrate. Because I come to you tonight, looking out at the dark Miami skyline, not only with a challenge. I come to you with answers too.
But first let us define our position.
Right now we are a breaking point with our client list. We are not so huge that we must hire more agents, and not so small that we have not experienced huge success. We are at a point of nuetrality. We are all, right now, nuetral. Nuetral, as in not black or white. Not bad or good. Even. Nuetral."
The mission statement in Jerry Maguire is actually based off of a 1991 memo Jeffrey Katzenburg wrote while he was head of Disney, before he left to co-found Dreamworks. It was 28 pages long, but the highlights include this passage:
"Back in 1984, our initial success at Disney was based on the ability to tell good stories well. Big stars, special effects and name directors were of little importance. Of course, we started this way out of necessity. We had small budgets and not much respect. So we substituted dollars with creativity and big stars with talent we believed in. Success ensued.
With success came bigger budgets and bigger names. We found ourselves attracting the calibre of talent with which "event" movies could be made. And, more and more, we began making them. The result: costs have escalated, profitability has slipped and our level of risk has compounded. The time has come to get back to our roots."
Both of these notable revelations, though one is a work of fiction, recognize the change in an industry's climate while also longing for the heart of what that industry once represented. This brings me to Herb Sendek and last June's media luncheon, when the topic of conversation shifted to the current climate of transfers and early exits, of which Arizona State has had more than its fair share:
"So many times what happens in athletics is a reflection of our society at large. "What we see in basketball transfers in the last two years, in excess of 1,000, simply reflects our society at large. Our guys are the same ones watching Sports Center listening to Dwight Howard want out of Orlando. Carmelo Anthony saying 'I want out of Denver and want to go to New York,' Chris Paul saying 'I want out of New Orleans and want to be in LA.'"
"When Doug Tammaro and I grew up in Pittsburgh, our dads went to work at places like U.S. Steel and 30 years later, they got their gold watch and retired. Roberto Clemente was the right fielder for the Pirates. He wasn't going to be a free agent and be playing for the Cubs the next year or the Red Sox. He was going to be a Pirate. That's not how it is now. The kids now who are graduating will have as many as five jobs in three years. They may change careers more than their grandfathers changed jobs. This is a generation that from the time they were small, they were being socialized to make choices and make changes. This is the natural outcome of that."
Much like in Jerry Maguire, the solution Herb Sendek presented was one that recognized inevitable changes in the climate, but sought to circumvent or bypass the byproduct of a generational shift. With Jerry Maguire, it was "fewer clients. Less money. More attention. Caring for them, caring for ourselves and the games, too..." With Herb, he sought to recapture the loyalty and hunger of old by suggesting the future of ASU basketball lay in the hands of the JuCo transfer:
"I think it is just a good time to look at junior college players when you look at the landscape of college basketball. The guys we have from junior college have just been special people. They have been humble, hungry guys who are a lot of fun to coach."
To me, when he pined for the days of old while recognizing they were long gone, but suggested the way forward was JuCo transfers, he all but guaranteed his proverbial lunch meeting with Jay Mohr (Not to say that Ray Anderson is Jay Mohr- he seems like much less of a tool). ASU fans don't want to hear about the good 'ol days. They want to win. And while an appreciation for the past is admirable, and plays into the standard "I really like the guy, but..." disclaimer when anyone brings up Herb Sendek's name, people would rather have guys like Jahii and Harden on the front end of their short time in Maroon and Gold than guys like McKissic, who are playing out the last half of their eligibility. I also think that when ASU faithful would ultimatley finish the above disclaimer with "...it's time for a change." what they likely meant was it's time for the Sun Devils to stop resisting change. So the question then becomes this- who, of the candidates out there, has the ability to shepherd in that change- and will it matter to ASU fans if being a party to this new landscape means that it's someone who could leave for the next best opportunity as soon as it opens up?
Now, please let the ASU-themed Jerry Maguire quote-a-thon commence. I'll start. SHOW ME THE HURLEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!
This post was edited on 3/27 4:35 PM by Ralph Amsden
Jerry Maguire is one of my favorite movies. I always liked the scene early on when Maguire has an attack of conscience and writes a manifesto-style mission statement to the entire company about not being on board with the changes in the sports agency climate, and what should be done to push back against the inevitable societal degradation of loyalty and personal relationships within the business. You can actually read the entire fictional memo here: (http://www.theuncool.com/films/jerry-maguire/jerrys-mission-statement/) My favorite part of the memo reads:
"My father worked for the United Way for 38 years. We lived in San Diego for many years, before I left to move up the coast to Los Angeles. One of the things my father said was: "Every time you allow a problem in your life, you are actually at a point of transformation. Crisis is a powerful point of transformation." (Never mind that he sat at the same chair for 38 years, and when he retired said only that he'd wished he'd asked for a more comfortable place to sit.)
We are now at a point of transformation with this company. But this is not something to fear, it is something to celebrate. Because I come to you tonight, looking out at the dark Miami skyline, not only with a challenge. I come to you with answers too.
But first let us define our position.
Right now we are a breaking point with our client list. We are not so huge that we must hire more agents, and not so small that we have not experienced huge success. We are at a point of nuetrality. We are all, right now, nuetral. Nuetral, as in not black or white. Not bad or good. Even. Nuetral."
The mission statement in Jerry Maguire is actually based off of a 1991 memo Jeffrey Katzenburg wrote while he was head of Disney, before he left to co-found Dreamworks. It was 28 pages long, but the highlights include this passage:
"Back in 1984, our initial success at Disney was based on the ability to tell good stories well. Big stars, special effects and name directors were of little importance. Of course, we started this way out of necessity. We had small budgets and not much respect. So we substituted dollars with creativity and big stars with talent we believed in. Success ensued.
With success came bigger budgets and bigger names. We found ourselves attracting the calibre of talent with which "event" movies could be made. And, more and more, we began making them. The result: costs have escalated, profitability has slipped and our level of risk has compounded. The time has come to get back to our roots."
Both of these notable revelations, though one is a work of fiction, recognize the change in an industry's climate while also longing for the heart of what that industry once represented. This brings me to Herb Sendek and last June's media luncheon, when the topic of conversation shifted to the current climate of transfers and early exits, of which Arizona State has had more than its fair share:
"So many times what happens in athletics is a reflection of our society at large. "What we see in basketball transfers in the last two years, in excess of 1,000, simply reflects our society at large. Our guys are the same ones watching Sports Center listening to Dwight Howard want out of Orlando. Carmelo Anthony saying 'I want out of Denver and want to go to New York,' Chris Paul saying 'I want out of New Orleans and want to be in LA.'"
"When Doug Tammaro and I grew up in Pittsburgh, our dads went to work at places like U.S. Steel and 30 years later, they got their gold watch and retired. Roberto Clemente was the right fielder for the Pirates. He wasn't going to be a free agent and be playing for the Cubs the next year or the Red Sox. He was going to be a Pirate. That's not how it is now. The kids now who are graduating will have as many as five jobs in three years. They may change careers more than their grandfathers changed jobs. This is a generation that from the time they were small, they were being socialized to make choices and make changes. This is the natural outcome of that."
Much like in Jerry Maguire, the solution Herb Sendek presented was one that recognized inevitable changes in the climate, but sought to circumvent or bypass the byproduct of a generational shift. With Jerry Maguire, it was "fewer clients. Less money. More attention. Caring for them, caring for ourselves and the games, too..." With Herb, he sought to recapture the loyalty and hunger of old by suggesting the future of ASU basketball lay in the hands of the JuCo transfer:
"I think it is just a good time to look at junior college players when you look at the landscape of college basketball. The guys we have from junior college have just been special people. They have been humble, hungry guys who are a lot of fun to coach."
To me, when he pined for the days of old while recognizing they were long gone, but suggested the way forward was JuCo transfers, he all but guaranteed his proverbial lunch meeting with Jay Mohr (Not to say that Ray Anderson is Jay Mohr- he seems like much less of a tool). ASU fans don't want to hear about the good 'ol days. They want to win. And while an appreciation for the past is admirable, and plays into the standard "I really like the guy, but..." disclaimer when anyone brings up Herb Sendek's name, people would rather have guys like Jahii and Harden on the front end of their short time in Maroon and Gold than guys like McKissic, who are playing out the last half of their eligibility. I also think that when ASU faithful would ultimatley finish the above disclaimer with "...it's time for a change." what they likely meant was it's time for the Sun Devils to stop resisting change. So the question then becomes this- who, of the candidates out there, has the ability to shepherd in that change- and will it matter to ASU fans if being a party to this new landscape means that it's someone who could leave for the next best opportunity as soon as it opens up?
Now, please let the ASU-themed Jerry Maguire quote-a-thon commence. I'll start. SHOW ME THE HURLEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!
This post was edited on 3/27 4:35 PM by Ralph Amsden
