"Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant - Be Nice to People"

[RETIREDFAN1]

"Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant - Be Nice to People"

 

At a TD Club meeting many years before his death, Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant told the following story, which was typical of the way he operated.

 

 

I had just been named the new head coach at Alabama and was off in my old car down in South Alabama recruiting a prospect who was supposed to have been a pretty good player and I was 'havin' trouble finding the place. Getting hungry I spied an old cinder block building with a small sign out front that simply said "Restaurant." I pull up, go in and every head in the place turns to stare at me.

 

Seems I'm the only white 'fella' in the place. But the food smelled good so I skip a table and go up to a cement bar and sit. A big ole man in a tee shirt and cap comes over and says, "What do you need?"

I told him I needed lunch and what did they have today?

 

He says, "You probably won't like it here, today we're having chitlins, collared greens and black eyed peas with cornbread. I'll bet you don't even know what chitlins are, do you?" I looked him square in the eye and said, "I'm from Arkansas , I've probably eaten a mile of them. Sounds like I'm in the right place." They all smiled as he left to serve me up a big plate.

 

When he comes back he says, "You ain't from around here then?" And I explain I'm the new football coach up in Tuscaloosa at the University and I'm here to find whatever that boy's name was and he says, yeah I've heard of him, he's supposed to be pretty good. And he gives me directions to the school so I can meet him and his coach. As I'm paying up to leave, I remember my manners and leave a tip, not too big to be flashy, but a good one and he told me lunch was on him, but I told him for a lunch that good, I felt I should pay.

 

The big man asked me if I had a photograph or something he could hang up to show I'd been there.

I was so new that I didn't have any yet. It really wasn't that big a thing back then to be asked for, but I took a napkin and wrote his name and address on it and told him I'd get him one.

 

 

I met the kid I was 'lookin' for later that afternoon and I don't remember his name, but do remember I didn't think much of him when I met him. I had wasted a day, or so I thought.

 

When I got back to Tuscaloosa late that night, I took that napkin from my shirt pocket and put it under my keys so I wouldn't forget it. Heck, back then I was excited that anybody would want a picture of me. And the next day we found a picture and I wrote on it, Thanks for the best lunch I've ever had, Paul Bear Bryant.

 

Now let's go a whole 'buncha' years down the road. Now we have black players at Alabama and I'm back down in that part of the country scouting an offensive lineman we sure needed. Y'all remember, (and I forget the name, but it's not important to the story), well anyway, he's got two friends going to Auburn and he tells me he's got his heart set on Auburn too, so I leave empty handed and go on see some others while I'm down there.

 

Two days later, I'm in my office in Tuscaloosa and the phone rings and it's this kid who just turned me down, and he says, "Coach, do you still want me at Alabama ?" And I said, "Yes I sure do." And he says, o.k. he'll come. And I say, "Well son, what changed your mind?" And he said, "When my grandpa found out that I had a chance to play for you and said no, he pitched a fit and told me I wasn't going nowhere but Alabama , and wasn't playing for nobody but you. He thinks a lot of you and has ever since y'all met."

 

Well, I didn't know his granddad from Adam's housecat so I asked him who his granddaddy was and he said, "You probly don't remember him, but you ate in his restaurant your first year at Alabama and you sent him a picture that he's had hung in that place ever since. That picture's his pride and joy and he still tells everybody about the day that Bear Bryant came in and had chitlins with him. My grandpa said that when you left there, he never expected you to remember him or to send him that picture, but you kept your word to him and to Grandpa, that's everything. He said you could teach me more than football and I had to play for a man like you, so I guess I'm going to."

 

I was floored. But I learned that the lessons my mama taught me were always right. It don't cost nuthin' to be nice. It don't cost 'nuthin' to do the right thing most of the time, and it costs a lot to lose your good name by breakin' your word to someone. When I went back to sign that boy, I looked up his Grandpa and he's still running that place, but it looks a lot better now; and he didn't have chitlins that day, but he had some ribs that 'woulda' made Dreamland proud and I made sure I posed for a lot of pictures; and don't think I didn't leave some new ones for him, too, along with a signed football. I made it clear to all my assistants to keep this story and these lessons in mind when they're out on the road. And if you remember anything else from me, remember this - It really doesn't cost anything to be nice, and the rewards can be unimaginable.

 

Coach Bryant was in the presence of these few gentlemen for only minutes, and he defined himself for life, to these gentlemen, as a nice man.

 

Regardless of our profession, we do define ourselves by how we treat others, and how we behave in the presence of others, and most of the time, we have only minutes or seconds to leave a lasting impression - we can be rude, crude, arrogant, cantankerous, or we can be nice. Nice is always a better choice.

 

I like what Stephen Grellet, French/American religious leader (1773-1855) said,

 

 

 

"I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again."

[delap]

Very cool story!!!

 

He's a legendary coach, and well known in Aggieland!! :cripple:

[easttexan]

Very nice story and thanks for sharing.

[DaveTV1]

I don't care for revisionist history. This story is a half-truth. Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant is someone that I respect, and I could care less about Bama football. I can't wait for September 12th when S.M.U. will be playing U.A.B. . Coach Bryant was never prejudice, period. That part of the story is true. Coach Bryant didn't care who played for Alabama or who his team played against. He wanted the best men that he could bring to his team. He had to prove his point to those that thought that a man of color could play the game of football. Paul Robeson had already opened the door.

 

Facts are facts.

 

There is a big reason that the S.E.C. was integrated, and Coach Bryant did play a major part in that. Alabama, unlike S.M.U. who integrated the S.W.C. in 1965 with Coach Frye's help, wasn't integrated until 1971 after a sound whipping from an integrated team from Southern California in 1970. Coach Bryant knew that it took more than just being "nice" to people. Coach Bear Bryant saw the good in all people, and didn't judge them for the color of their skin. Many of us from the South, haven't judged people based on their skin color.

 

We've judged them on what we call this game called "Life". I see it as a game, because that's exactly what it is. I assure anyone, we're not judged on how many toys we can accumulate in life. It's how we treat our fellow man. It's how we live, and help one another, not how we downgrade one another. You will see me condemn President Obama for the way he is destroying many aspects of the American Way. It's not because of his skin color, it's because of his political policies.

 

 

[RETIREDFAN1]

^^^Did you read the same story that I did???? :hmm:

[Stoney]

this is a man who set up a fund for the boy from tcu who was paralyzed in game. both his boy's went to alabama on bear bryant's dime. he was tuf ol' cuss to play for but i think you learned more and became more by playing for him.

[Guest imyahuckleberry]

Great story.......thanks for sharing.

 

 

btw Dave,,,,,,,,, where the &^*%&% did that come from???

[RETIREDFAN1]

All young coaches should take this as a valuable lesson in how to conduct themselves.....

[DaveTV1]

^^^Did you read the same story that I did???? :hmm:

 

 

Your story is inaccurate. I hear the Bama story all the time. Dreamland was founded in Jerusalem Heights, but Coach Bryant and his coaching staff loved to go there. Coach Bryant wasn't looking for a recruit, when he first stepped into the place. If your story was a part of Bama lore, it would be talked about in Alabama. It's not, because it's not a true story. I talk to folks here in Bama, that ain't the way it was. I live in Birmingham, the home to the Civil Rights Institute and Museum. Watch this video :

. I'm the one drinking "bong" water ? Okay, give me facts not fiction.

 

History of Dreamland:

 

1958 was a big year for Tuscaloosa. Not only was it the first year that Paul “Bear” Bryant starting coaching at Alabama, but it was the year that John “Big Daddy” Bishop opened his first Dreamland Café. Big Daddy was a mason for many years, which is some hard work. One night he got on his knees and prayed for another way to make a living. That night, he dreamed of opening a café and he made that dream a reality.

 

The original Dreamland Café is located about two miles from the intersection of Hwy 82 and Interstate 59 just south of Tuscaloosa in an area known as Jerusalem Heights. In the beginning, it wasn’t just ribs and white bread. Big Daddy cooked a lot of different things, but what made the customers keep coming back was not only the warmth they felt every time they passed through the door, but Big Daddy’s ribs and secret recipe bar-b-que sauce.

 

Dreamland is still eminently known for bar-b-que ribs. The décor inside the original café is warm and inviting with a big bar, a few tables and booths and a pot bellied stove. It feels like you are attending a family picnic indoors and the ribs are delicious, cooked the same way for the last 50 years. Inside you will meet customers whose family has been coming to Dreamland for generations. Big Daddy always said, “You should be good to the grandparents” and his own children would help customers to their cars and open the door for them. The point is that John Bishop didn’t just open a café- he made a place that was home to his children and his family and extended that feeling of love to everyone that came by.

 

The atmosphere at all of our locations is still a feeling of casual-down home. You can sit at the bar reading car tags or slab boxes signed by our guests and rub elbows with somebody famous or have a great conversation about sports with one of your favorite players. Or like the Bishop family did, you and yours might just go for a great dinner and a chance to be together and talk about how your week was and what you might be looking forward to as a family. The point is, no matter why you are in Dreamland, you will be treated as kin.

 

You don’t have to go to Tuscaloosa to be a part of gang. The legendary ribs, service and atmosphere are also available in our other locations. The other stores have expanded the mouth-watering simplicity of ribs and white bread to include items as pulled pork, bar-b-qued chicken, hickory smoked sausage, baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad, house salads served with our own BBQ house dressing and a true Southern favorite for dessert, banana pudding. That renowned sauce of ours is available at all of the Dreamland BBQ locations and online in quart size jars. It is the same sauce that Jeanette and John Jr. used to make with their father and have such fond memories about. Now you can take some home and start some great bar-b-que memories of your own.

 

To find out more about us, please feel free to make yourself at home on our site. You can find your closest Dreamland BBQ location, learn about our catering departments, find out about our fundraising options and corporate gift packages and get a little Southern goodness shipped right to your door. Whichever route you choose, when you eat Dreamland BBQ, you’ll get to discover for yourself why there Ain’t Nothing Like ‘Em, Nowhere!

 

 

 

 

[DaveTV1]

Many of you don't know who Bert Bank was. Many of you, know who Ed McMahon is. Bert was a close friend to Coach Bryant. He was also a great war hero. Bert helped with the segregation of radio in 1952, here in Alabama. Well, he passed away last night. I thought that I'd share this with you folks : http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa41...10/ai_n9255673/

 

I apologize for the language in this article, but this is how it was.

[98crush]

Many of you don't know who Bert Bank was. Many of you, know who Ed McMahon is. Bert was a close friend to Coach Bryant. He was also a great war hero. Bert helped with the segregation of radio in 1952, here in Alabama. Well, he passed away last night. I thought that I'd share this with you folks : http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa41...10/ai_n9255673/

 

I apologize for the language in this article, but this is how it was.

 

 

Very good read. Thanks for sharing, what an ordeal those men lived through. True Hero's!

[Wild74]

Good story, even if it isn't all true, it should be:)