3:43 p.m.: What I learned in school yesterday:
1. Readers and fans don't care about my job. They don't care about what kind of access I get to the team, and even though I think they should, I totally get that. Of course, I've known this for over three decades. But it's nice to hear from all of you good folks reminding me what an arrogant windbag I can be. Honestly, I'm not being arrogant. Not intentionally, anyway. But I love my job and I believe in what we're doing here and I won't back down from defending that or ever apologize for it. If that makes me arrogant, so be it. I just think Bo Pelini and I have different ways of looking at our jobs, and those jobs collide at times. That doesn't make him arrogant.
2. I honestly don't care whether practices are open or not. But if you close them, close them to everyone. I'm more than okay with that.
3. An open relationship with the head coach makes my job easier and is better for you, the reader. When Bo Pelini told me he was waiting to tell the family about the injury first, I totally understood that. It changed my perspective. However, I still thought Bo or NU could have confirmed it to us later, but that's neither here nor there now. It's over. What I take from this is a better relationship with Pelini. We had a good 30-minute phone conversation, we went back and forth on some things, agreed on some, agreed to disagree on others, and came away with a better respect for each other's jobs.
That reminded me of what I love the most about this business: the relationships you make along the way. It was easier, of course, in 1978 or 1988, when there were one or two beat writers at practice and you could get to know the coaches. There was a level of trust you could earn. The world has changed, for better or worse. That doesn't mean you still can't earn that trust. It's just harder to get at with 25 media guys running around after practice peppering questions to any player or coach that moves. A lot of NU coaches and players just want to get the heck away. So it's harder to get to know these guys, but it's still possible and still very much worth it. The talk with Bo yesterday reminded me of that.
4. I'm ready for some football. I think we all are.
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