Nike chairman Phil Knight mentioned TCU coach Gary Patterson during Joe Paterno’s public memorial Thursday.
Knight, who has held a retreat for Nike-affiliated college coaches for years, recalled how a yearly tradition began with former Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel playing guitar as Paterno sang Wild Thing.
“At its conclusion, the place exploded into a standing ovation and it became a tradition every year,” Knight told the crowd of 12,000 at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa.
When Neuheisel took an NFL job, Knight said, the tradition continued with Patterson, who has played guitar since he was a teenager.
“Gary Patterson, of Texas Christian, could also play guitar so Wild Thing became a tradition the last 15 years,” Knight said. “Twenty-one days from now there will be an enormous void on talent night.”
Click here for video of the speech: http://deadspin.com/5879688/heres-video-and-a-transcript-of-nike-chairman-phil-knights-vehement-defense-of-joe-paterno
-- Stefan Stevenson
@FollowtheFrogs
We made big pots of pasta and had spaghetti dinners; we had pre-party parties; we had TV watch parties; we had birthday parties; and we had Christmas parties. The photo is from one such Christmas party. It was 1995, and we certainly dressed the part. My closest friends and I baked cookies and breads and made dips and worked tirelessly on our little holiday party menu; we even had an annual ornament exchange. And aren't we cute?
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