As a fan who enjoyed watching, if not necessarily always rooting for, the Georgetown Hoyas and Miami Hurricanes in college basketball and football respectively, I was intrigued by the description of this book on not only their success on the field but also for their impact on college sports and society. An excellent read on both of those areas. Here is my review of "Common Enemies"
Title/Author: "Common
Enemies: Georgetown Basketball, Miami
Football and the Racial Transformation of College Sports" by Thomas F.
Schaller
Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)
Review: Two of the most successful college sports teams in the 1980's were the men's basketball team at Georgetown University and the football team at the University of Miami (Florida). These teams not only dominated their respective sports and contended for national championships for several years, they did so with unique styles that were early versions of the "Black style" of play and became the perceived antagonists in the previously mostly staid world of college sports. Their success on the field and importance in college sports' revolution is the subject of this excellent book by historian Thomas F. Schaller.
The book's main "characters" are the two coaches
who won the most games and brought their coaching styles to the schools – John Thompson
for Georgetown and Jimmy Johnson for Miami.
It should be noted that Schaller gives credit to Howard Schnellenberger,
Johnson's predecessor, for first bringing Miami football into prominence with
the 1983-84 national championship. Schnellenberger
left soon after that victory, opening the way for Johnson and his recruiting of
local Black talent. Thompson did pretty
much the same thing for Georgetown, but that's where the similarities in their
styles end.
Thompson was not only a coach and recruiter of Black
players, he was their mentor, disciplinarian and protector. He would not let players speak freely to the
media, he would often challenge the standard beliefs of what his players should
do and he also stressed education. He
let his record on the court and the graduation rates of his players speak for themselves. The player spotlighted for Thompson's
coaching was the biggest star for Georgetown during this time, Patrick Ewing.
Johnson, on the other hand, let his players have much more
freedom, especially in expressing themselves on the field. This often led to criticism from others in
the college sports business, whether they were coaches, administrators or
media. Celebrations that were deemed
excessive or examples of poor sportsmanship were often cited as a program that
was out of control, as well as when Miami would be called out for running up
the score, such as was the case during a 58-7 thrashing of Notre Dame. The player spotlighted for Johnson's program
was wide receiver Michael Irvin.
It should be noted that both players not only were stars in
these systems but they both went on to professional careers that resulted in
their inductions into their respective Halls of Fame. Neither one, however, ever forgot what their
college coaches did for them, nor was the importance of their teams lost
either.
That "importance" was that a major shift was now
occurring in college sports thanks to Miami and Georgetown. The "bad guys" were teams who were
almost all Black, very successful and talented and had no problem showing that
off to fans and opponents. From Miami
players taunting defeated opponents to Georgetown Starter jackets now becoming
fashionable among Black and white fans alike, these two teams brought about a huge
shift in nearly all aspects of the business.
More importantly, they brought attention to some of the institutional
racial issues in college sports. The
progress that has been made can be directly traced back to these two
teams. While Schaller correctly points
out that there are still some of these issues existing today, these two teams
should be noted for their place in college sports history and the changes they introduced. A great read for anyone who is a college
sports fan or college sports history buff.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing
a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Links: Common Enemies
: Nebraska Press (unl.edu)
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