Timeline 25: In 2007, Dan Hawkins went off on a rant for the ages
Jun 17, 2020, 6:37 AM | Updated: 6:41 am
On March 6, 1995, The Fan was born. In the 25 years since, a lot has transpired on the fields, courts and ice in Colorado, giving the hosts and listeners who’ve been part of the station during that time plenty to talk about and debate.
During the course of the next few weeks, we’ll take a look back at that history, remembering the good times and the bad, the winners and the losers, the successes and the failures. It’s a series we’re calling “Timeline 25” and it continues today with a look at a one of the best soundbites in Colorado sports history – a rant from Dan Hawkins.
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There have been a lot of memorable soundbites in the history of Colorado sports.
Tom Jackson famously told John Madden “It’s all over, fat man” at the end of the 1977 AFC Championship Game. Pat Bowlen told Broncos Country that “This one’s for John” when his team won Super Bowl XXXII.
John Elway suggested that “There is no plan B” at the press conference to introduce Peyton Manning as Denver’s new quarterback. And Michael Malone told fans of the visiting team to “Take the L on their way out” of Pepsi Center.
But few have every gotten as much attention as the mini-rant uttered by Dan Hawkins. On February 7, 2007, the former CU head coach was speaking to the media on National Signing Day when he took the opportunity to vent.
Apparently, Hawkins had received an anonymous complaint from one of his player’s parents, upset that the Buffs offseason conditioning program had been extended. The coach didn’t feel sorry for players losing some of their time off.
“It’s Division I football! It’s the Big 12! It ain’t intramurals! You’ve got two weeks after finals. You’ve got a week at July 4th. You’ve got a week before camp starts. That’s a month! That’s probably more vacation than you guys (reporters) get. And we’re a little bummed out that we don’t get three weeks? Go play intramurals, brother. Go play intramurals.”
Hawkins screeching voice, especially on the “It’s the Big 12!” portion of his impassioned speech, took off like wildfire. It was played on national TV and became a staple on local radio.
Here’s the clip being featured on “The Best Damn Sports Show Period.”
