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Football: A&M's Sherman returns with life lessons from trip to Iraq
Published 05/22/2010THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M's Mike Sherman, a self-described reflective sort of man, decided in January he should put his round-the-clock football coaching duties on hold for at least a week to visit the troops in Iraq.
In doing so, Sherman figured he could bring something familiar — whether it was a maroon jersey or even a video of A&M's spring game — from home to those serving their country.
And most of all, he could learn.
Sherman, who recently returned from his weeklong trip, said that the excursion had a “profound” impact on his life.
“You don't make a trip like this and meet the people I met and not have some profound learning experience come out of it,” Sherman said.
He's the third Big 12 Conference football coach to visit troops in the Middle East, joining Texas' Mack Brown and Texas Tech's Tommy Tuberville.
And he's the first Aggies coach of any sport to make such a goodwill journey.
The trip to Baghdad seemed to be a natural and obvious step for Sherman, who is entering his third season as the Aggies football coach; his father, grandfather, uncle and cousins fought in World Wars I and II and in Vietnam.
And Sherman coaches at a university that grooms more commissioned officers for the U.S. military than any other school outside of the service academies.
His original intent was to be in Baghdad for Aggie Muster, an emotional school tradition dating back 88 years where Aggies gather each April 21 to honor fellow Aggies who have died within the past year.
There are 320 cities around the world that hold Muster and its “Roll Call of the Absent,” including Baghdad in Iraq and Kabul in Afghanistan.
Sherman purchased a ticket from Houston to Frankfurt, Germany, then to Kuwait, using his own money.
But the volcanic eruption in Iceland, which grounded flights all over Europe, forced him to push back his trip nearly two weeks. Then his return flight was delayed by the ash.
He left May 2. Once he arrived in Kuwait, Sherman was met by military personnel who drove him to a nearby base, where he boarded a cargo plane to Camp Adder in Tallil, Iraq, then rode a military prop plane to Camp Victory in Baghdad.
His days started at 7:30 a.m. and continued until after 10 p.m. Sherman stayed at what once was Saddam Hussein's hunting lodge.
“I wasn't roughing it,” Sherman said.
At night, he'd meet with Aggies and any other interested fans to talk football. He chatted with generals — all football fans, including Raymond Odierno, the commanding general of the U.S. Forces in Iraq. They picked his brain about football. He listened to them talk about leadership.
“I got more out of it than they did,” Sherman said.
One day, Sherman rode a Blackhawk helicopter, where the wind, which was kicked up by the swirling blades, swept away his sunglasses.
Another time Sherman heard nearby gunshots, only to later learn the sounds were from harmless practice rounds.
He even visited a Fusion Cell, which combines intelligence and operational resources. He didn't have security clearance to view anything sensitive.
But Sherman did witness a moment of Lone Star solidarity — someone had nailed an Aggies banner next to a Longhorns flag.
Sherman returned to College Station on a Sunday morning.
He immediately went back to his coaching duties, driving to Beaumont, Texas, for a meeting of Aggies fans.
He later flew on a tiny plane to Midland for another Aggies fan gathering. He brought back with him this lesson to put into context any time someone likens a football game to a battle.
“What they do is life-threatening,” Sherman said. “What we do is a game.”
