Wednesday April 01, 2009

Presence

Presence
Yesterday on my radio show a caller changed the entire show with his interesting call. Mike is a former PGA Tour caddy who has won several times and has worked for several Hall of Fame golfers.

Mike told the story about the Sunday he was caddying for Mike Hulbert who was paired with Greg Norman in the final group in the Memorial tournament at Muirfield Village in Dublin, OH. He said Norman had a look in his eye that day and was intimidating enough to have Hulbert beaten on the first tee. Norman knew he was going to win and more importantly Hulbert did too. Mike said that Norman had a presence about him that few have ever had. Maybe it was his wide shoulders or his clothes or his image as the shark. Whatever it was, Norman had it. The room felt different when he walked into the room. The first tee felt different when he stepped on it.

The rest of the show was about presence. Few have it and it is hard to define. Presence differs from person to person as well. Some observers see it differently than others. It is difficult to describe presence and who has it because it is an intangible that changes with each observer.

I think the best way to tell if someone has presence can be answered with a simple question-Does the room feel different when the person walks in?

Callers gave a wide variety of people they thought had presence. Tiger Woods obviously has presence. Anyone that has been around Tiger has felt it.

Muhammed Ali certainly had it. So did Michael Jordan.

Accomplishment has a lot to do with presence but it is not the most important aspect of presence. Some have more presence than accomplishment.

Stature helps but is not a requirement. Some think a bigger man has a better chance at presence but others disagree.

Some have presence because they demand respect. Bobby Knight has presence because he is always in control of the room, no matter who occupies it. But you don’t have to be intimidating to have presence. John Wooden and Billy Graham had it with grace and humility.

I asked former Clemson quarterback Patrick Sapp about his NFL days and he said Junior Seau had presence. Tony Dungy did as well but in a different way.

Tuesday’s how turned to the local flavor next and in my opinion the best example of presence around the Clemson community is Danny Ford.

Dr. Edwards was a lot like Wooden and Graham in that I only saw him in his elderly years and he had it graciously.

Bob Bradley was another great role model in so many ways and he had presence to some but part of presence might be in the rarity. I was with Mr. B maybe 200 times a year for five years so the familiarity might have personally taken away from his presence. I don’t think Tiger’s caddy feels Tiger’s presence they way others do because he sees him so often.

Some have presence in certain eras. I was only around Coach Howard in his later years so maybe his former players in the 1950s and 1960s felt he had more presence to them.

I always knew when Banks McFadden was in the room. He had a limp that was noticeable because of those long legs that seemed to reach the ceiling. He had presence but maybe that was because my grandfather grew up with him and told stories of his greatness.

The one guy that has it more than any I have been around at Clemson is Coach Ford.

He still does today too. Dyers Diner or Mac’s Drive In feels different when he walks through the doors. Throughout your meal you always know where he is and you know if he leaves before you. You catch yourself looking over there a few times just to make sure he is still there.

I was talking to former Clemson quarterback Rodney Williams this morning about the subject and he shared a great story on Coach Ford. Rodney said that a couple of years ago he was at a wedding with his wife, Joni. Two former teammates, Matt and Jim Riggs, and their wives were there as well and the six of them were in line at the buffet when Coach Ford walked in the room.

Rodney says that Coach Ford came over and briefly chatted with his former players and their wives. After the short conversation Coach Ford left and the wives began to give their husbands a hard time. The wives said they haven’t seen their husbands act like that in years. They said Rodney, Matt and Jim were totally different when Coach Ford came over.

“He will always be my coach,” Rodney said. “No matter how many years pass, he will still have that presence.”

Coach Ford had that rare quality that his players loved him, wanted to please him and respected him but they were also scared to death of him. He was accessible and approachable when you needed him and sometimes felt like a best friend. But he was not your friend. In fact, he could be your worst enemy if you crossed him.

His players hated him at times because of his brutal practices. Matt Riggs tell the story of the day where players were dropping like flies due to the heat. He and Angelo Fox spent the night in Redfern getting IVs but Coach Ford’s remedy to Riggs who was on the ground in agony, “Eat a nanner.”

One thing his players did know about him was the fact that he would go to battle for them. He had their back and would fight for them.

His players saw the presence but a lot of coaches have presence with their teams. Coach Ford had presence anywhere he went. In fact, he still does. Maybe not in Los Angeles, CA or Portland, OR. But in Clemson, SC, no one has it like he does still to this day.

Does Dabo have presence? Maybe with his team. Maybe with some students. Maybe with some fans. My guess is that will come with more accomplishments. I wonder if Coach Ford had presence during spring practice of 1979?

I am fascinated by the subject and plan to talk to more players and coaches from the past and present. I want to know who has presence and why do they have it. I want to know when they obtained it. I hope to report some of my finding back to you on the subject over the next few months.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Mrs. Kathleen Bowers, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Sandy Wright, Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, Edward Putman, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Anna Rawl, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naemi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Vahid Tizfahm,Vincent Lee, Martha Bryant Carr.