Snyder facing grueling Big 12, own legacy with comeback
I was there covering Bill Snyder’s first game as a head coach 19 years ago. It was pretty much like the previous 800-plus in Kansas State history.
The Wildcats lost 31-0 at Arizona State that night. They were barely competitive. But there was something different. They lined up right. That was a big deal for Kansas State back then. They were precise for the first time in a long time. They still got their butts kicked but I remembered way back where the cobwebs play that something had changed.
Kansas State entered and left the field in this weird, amoeba-like formation called the “Cat Trot”. Snyder brought it from Iowa, where Hayden Fry used it as a sign of unity. Nice touch, but what did it have to do with winning?
Turned out everything Bill Snyder did had something to do with winning. He worked in his still-renovating, open-air office with flies buzzing around his head. Eating and sleeping were considered nuisances that took away from game preparation.
sportsline.com
11/24/08
