Gophers' PJ Fleck has players wear 75-pound backpacks in nod to September 11 firefighters
On the night before the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Minnesota Golden Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck had players wear 75-pound backpacks in a nod to the firefighters who put their lives on the line to save people trapped in the burning World Trade Center towers.
"This is not life and death. This is football. They had to give the command to actually go up in the buildings with 75-pounds apiece on their back going up 90 floors. So we kind of did an example of us, just kind of had a backpack of what 75 pounds feels like," Fleck said Monday. "Carry that 90 floors up knowing that's probably the last time you're going to see your family, the last time you're going to your kids, last time you're going to hug your wife. That was the last time that morning to a lot of people and their families."
Fleck had the team watch a segment honoring NYFD that aired on 60 Minutes Sunday evening.
"I wanted to make sure I shared that with them because you're constantly giving perspective as a leader, not to say you have it better than someone else. I don't believe that because I think everybody's own issues are their own issues and no issues are bigger than somebody else's issues. I'm a firm believer in that with mental health," Fleck said. "But we play a game and we get a little tired here and there."
Fleck asked players what floor they stay on in the Gophers' field house and asked if they take the stairs or elevator.
"OK, here's 75 pounds on your back," said Fleck, then imaging what it would be like to climb stairs 90 floors while knowing "you're never going to come back home."
"Would you do it?" asked Fleck.
"They all did it for the people that told them to go do it. They did it for those families. They didn't do it in fear of it. And that's leadership at its finest. And that's hard to swallow because there were so many people – 2,997 people – killed that day. Just a really powerful day for us to remember how grateful we should be for all the things that we do have. We're not perfect. The country's not perfect, but we do have a lot to be grateful for."
"I want our team to be a really grateful team and do it for each other," Fleck added.
Fleck and the Gophers face No. 20 North Carolina on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.