TMQ: The mystique of the football coach

At a time it’s said masculinity is toxic, the football coach is everyone’s father-figure

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“Coach! Coach! Coach!” delegates chanted as Tim Walz was introduced to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Hundreds waved blue placards reading COACH WALZ.

The day before, from the podium Senator Amy Klobuchar, Walz’s fellow resident of the Land of 10,000 Lakes, declared, 'In Minnesota, we trust a coach who turned a team that was 0-27 into state champions.”

Walz was defensive assistant for perennial underdog Mankato West High School when it won the 1999 Minnesota state title in a big-school division. Klobuchar left the impression he’d been the head coach – politicians of all stripes exaggerate their resumes. But high school is team effort: players, coaches and parent volunteers must contribute to win a championship. Obviously Walz did a good job.

Why did the delegates become so energized over the word coach, when it’s likely many had not attended a football game in years, if ever?

Tim Walz, in red pullover holding football,1999. Photo courtesy New York Times.

One reason is football holds such high position in American society.

The last major party candidate for the White House with a football credential was Gerald Ford, in 1976. Ford started at center for the University of Michigan, a storied program. Dwight Eisenhower played both offense and defense for the West Point football team; John Kennedy was on the football team at Harvard but did not letter; Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan were football backups for their small colleges (Whittier and Eureka). Donald Trump was on the football team in prep school, though baseball was his best sport.

Because football is popular and football backgrounds are rare in White House politics, Walz’s link to football was exciting. And he won a championship! Though, because of multiple levels and divisions, each season there are hundreds of high schools with the laurel “state champion.” Details are here. Currently Minnesota names six high school football champions; California names 70.