Candy A. Westbrook

Candy A. Westbrook - Author, Columnist, Speaker, Football Mom

"Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus … who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJ).
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Where’s the Loyalty?

March 11, 2020 by Candy A. Westbrook

Dear Football Mom,

Most of our families, including extended family, are LSU fans. Not all of them are in our newspaper’s reading area, but I gave them your website so they could read the recent column you wrote about the feud between next-door neighbors LSU and Clemson fans. You can’t control what some fans do, or their nasty antics. The rant about the eggs thrown was justifiable. I am, however, so proud of our LSU Tigers!

LSU was the clear winner and reigning National Champions. But we are upset with all the coaches leaving LSU right after the win. Who are really the winners? Yes, we hold the title, but when most coaches leave instantly after a winning season, come on. Begs the question, wouldn’t those coaches likely had to have been making those deals before the game? To us, that is disgusting. What say you?

Dear Reader,

Oh, my sweet Purple Tiger Fan. Where have you been all my life? I agree it is disgusting!

That dirty little back room has cleaned the clocks of many football programs, their fans, boosters, and alum. LSU is, sadly, no different from many other universities that get peppered for a spell. Where is that Louisiana Hot Sauce when you need it …

These dudes, the coaches, scream loyalty with gobs of powdered sugar piled high on their beignets when it comes to making those deals. They most certainly want those sweet loyalty clauses in their contracts, which really don’t exist. What does exist is the green and purple King Cake called paperbacks. Most contracts protect the universities from going into bankruptcy. The baby’s in the buyout portion. These are safety nets included in the contracts. In other words, if an athletic director from another program steals say, a head coach from a winning program, the AD agrees to buy out the contract of the coach he wishes to hire. Forget Mardi Gras and take the mask off. It’s musical chairs, plain and simple. Programs have paid millions in fees just to hire the new eye candy they think is the answer to their woes. Too often, that sugar high melts like butter and turns into gooey jambalaya. The program paid millions for nothing.

But LSU didn’t just lose some coaches, they lost key players too. Tremendous players. Now that’s what I call a mushy mess! The poor ole fellers who are left will have to start from scratch to make their red beans and rice. But, your Coach O is like a roux to the gumbo and he’s recruited some awesome players. He is one of the best in the business and he’ll flavor that pot with just the right ingredients. He’s born and bred Louisianan and he’s not going anywhere except back to business in Tiger Stadium.    

I dare say some of those players who did leave for the NFL will never make it in the NFL for various reasons. Not trying to be Negative Nelly here, just can’t help but call the cups of sugar as I’ve seen them for a few years. What you think might be a good deal turns out not such a great deal after all. Just like a double hot-fudge Sunday, it looks good … taste good … but come Monday morning stepping on the scales, and they tilt forward. Ouch.

This kind of stuff happens every year to programs across the country. It’s not very nice. And back to the loyalty thing … it hurts. But remember when y’all LSU folks thought you’d never recover from the loss of a guy named Nick Sabin who threw off he’s beads for the NFL?

Filed Under: championship teams, Clemson Tigars, college coaches, college football recruiting, football, Football Mom Column, football players, football season, leadership, LSU, NFL, pro football, quitting, resignation, scandal

Ol’ Saint Nick ~ Not so Quick!!!

December 1, 2013 by Candy A. Westbrook

Nick Sabin is the best college coach in all of college football. Just mark it down y’all, he really is. Whether you’re an Alabama fan or you cringe at the word “Tide” and can’t even bring yourself to use the laundry detergent, one cannot deny his record! Anyone in his or her right mind would be hard pressed to dispute a record like Sabin’s. Period. Take LSU for example, he resurrected their program from the dead, “who” by the way, is still going strong.

This Football Mama is never without a theory. I believe the success of Coach Sabin is mostly because Sabin himself just won’t tolerate monkey business. If a player gets caught with his pants down-meaning in trouble for under-age drinking, drunkenness, rowdiness, scrapes with law-dogs or shady behavior, or maybe literally with his pants down in the wrong place, he’s outta his program. Coach Sabin simply will not give his players any room for screw-ups.

Then again, his players are disciplined to the crux. They eat, sleep, live by the Sabin rules. Even snafus on the field are not stomached by Sabin & Company. Ouch. That’s purdy hard-core for college boys.

Still the record stands and this year was no different, the Tide lost 2 key players and then more to the NFL and yet he pulls off a winning record? Not too shabby!

So, let’s take Georgia for insistence. Why don’t the Dawgs win more? Bring home more championships? Win a national title? Heck, anybody seen one national title in the last ten years under the Richt tutelage? Georgia can compete with Alabama on any given day as far as recruiting, facilities, education, player amenities you name it there is no reason why Georgia cannot compete! You want the real truth? Can you handle the truth?? Answer: Mark Richt coddles his players. Yep, I know, y’all gonna hate me, but the simple truth is, he does. He loves his players and is a stand-up guy for doing so, setting a Christian atmosphere is not a bad thing at all, y’all. It’s quite a great thing if you ask me. But, Georgia has had its chance, and if you really see it from an unbiased perspective, you’ll find that Richt’s players are really not all that well disciplined. Just sayin’. Let’s give ’em the hurrah however, for winning over Tech in double overtime last night. Yet again, they should’ve eaten Tech alive. Poor Tech.

My real complaint however, stops at Sabin’s throne. Admit it y’all, there was a tinge in those of us who are not die-hard Bama fans who wanted the King’s crown rolled off his head, even if, ever so slightly. Then it happened. Not that Auburn won over Alabama in such a freakish way but in the after game interview with Sabin. To me, it spoke volumes. I do so wish he had had the moral fortitude to give the Tigers the recognition they so deserved instead of recapping what went wrong with Alabama. As if Alabama were the Untouchables!? Helloooo!

Sorry Mister Sabin, that was not your most shining moment. It really comes down to how you conduct yourself after a loss. After adversity. With class? Without class? He should have given Auburn credit, he’d have come off looking like the champion king he really is.

And, Georgia? I’m not advocating that it’s either a Christian atmosphere or not. Remember a guy by the name of Tony Dungy?? You can have both. A winning program and Christian influence. Here’s to all the hard working, saintly coaches who do both!

Filed Under: college coaches, Dawgs, disciplined, Georgia, LSU, Mark Richt, NFL, Ol' Saint Nick

About Candy

Candy A. Westbrook is a writer, newspaper columnist, and speaker whose passion lingers on the football field. She inspires families of all sports, but at her heart is her love for those boys of fall.

Helmet Kisses – The Heart Behind The Gridiron

Candy is working hard on her football memoir, Helmet Kisses. Make sure to watch for news and sign up for Candy’s newsletter so you never miss an update!

Helmet Kisses - The Heart Behind The Gridiron

About Candy

Candy A. Westbrook is a writer, newspaper columnist, and speaker whose passion lingers on the football field. She inspires families of all sports, but at her heart is her love for those boys of fall. College football recruiting can leave parents dangling on a zipline indefinitely and need someone on the other side who gets it. She inspires parents to go the distance because, “the topic may be football, but the real subject is life.”

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