My Losing Season; Post 4

After experiencing a winning season in his sophmore year, Conroy will never again experience a winning season. As a senior, right when he is expected to start, Sophmore, Tee Hooper, sweeps the starting spot from him. Although he never starts on this team at the beginning of the season, he begins to be named captain, starting with the biggest game of the Season at Clemson. The Clemson game is hoped to be the defining point in the season though they lost the game by a very sizeable margin. These sizeable losses seem to continue, and the backups which Conroy is a consistent member of, seem to constantly flow in at the end of games when Conroy seems to take over the game, and come out with a good amount of points.

My Losing Season; Post 3

After Conroy's freshman season, he was offered a full ride scholarship to stay at The Citadel. He endured the remainder of his freshman year by the help of seniors who seemed to not care, much like he felt. These were the people who influenced the way he lived the rest of his college life in the Barracks of R company. At The Citadel the class system takes extreme priority over the rank system. The lowest senior private can order around the highest ranked junior. This is shown when juniors constantly try to run Conroy out of school through pushups and screaming orders. Jim Plunkett, a senior in his company, pulls Conroy out and sends him into his room to be saved.

These guys are the ones who helped Conroy make his way through his freshman year which eliminates most students at the Citadel. Many more students leave by choice than are run out due to grades. It would be nice to have this type of person around at any college where you know noone, but at The Citadel it seems as if it was mandatory.

My Losing Season; Post 2

After Pat graduated from high school, he had only one option for college. It was The Citadel. The Citadel is a military school and from what Pat had seen from his father up to this point in his life, this was not the direction he wanted to take his life. Due to his parents not having anywhere close to the money to send him to college for long, he walked on as a basketball player. Conroy was promised by coach Mel Thompson that he and the other freshman basketball players that they would not endure the wrath of the plebean system. During his first week at the Citadel 1/3 of his freshman basketball team quit and left The Citadel, and by the end of the season Half of his Freshman team which won every single game, save a game against Clemson. One player even offered to let Conroy leave and go live with his family and attend another college in Georgia. Though Conroy would have loved all of these things he wasn't able to both because of his fathers rage for leaving a military school, and the fact that his parents could not pay for any other school.

My Losing Season by Pat Conroy

My losing season is a memoir by Pat Conroy specifically speaking out against the Plebean system at The Citadel where he attended college, while recapping his senior basketball season there. He also goes into some detail about his childhood life in various cities. Like his other stories he speaks out against his father and the abuse he put upon his family, but in this particular recount all the stories hold full truth and there is no editing.

The memoir begins with his move to Orlando where he first began to play basketball at age 9 and found a natural skill with the game. He proceeded to play along with the black players on the other side of town despite being much younger and much smaller. After growing close to some of these players his father was reassigned to another location and this forced the family to make the third of many moves.

Prince of Tides

Tom goes on to explain with Dr. Lowestein the final and most likely most important reason why Savannah is inthe state she is. Along with this Tom and Dr. Lowerstein have turned their relationship into a romantic one which threw but anothe twist into the story.

Tom's mother has finally divorced his father and she became remarried to Reese Newberry who assaulted Tom in his home earlier in the book. This gave Reese the last piece of land in South Carolina that he wanted and he proceeded to allow the govenment to build a plant that would make bombs for the government. Luke instantly opposed and set off into the woods and made a series of raids that lasted about two years until eventually Savannah and Tom rode out on a motor boat to locate him and convinced him to surrender and he would only serve 5 to 7 years inprison. When he surrendered he was shot by the mercenary hired to kill him though. This is really the turning point and last main event in the story. Tom goes on to get back together with his wife and the story ends.

This was an excellent book and kept me occupied with thought the entire way through. There were so many aspects up for analysis. Im now going to read another of his books because i can't seem to get enough.

Tom now connects the two stories, of the ppurchsing of the tiger and Callanwolde. It is a story that gave me creeps on the inside and i feel really brought the novel full circle. One night as Tom Savannah and his mother were sitting one their couch Callanwolde returns with two other escaped prisoners. They proceed to butally rape all three of them before Luke returns to the house with the tiger and sets him lose on Callanwolde, the other two criminals were beaten to death by Savannah and Tom. But as if this was not shocking enough, their mother refuses to tell anyone of this and demands that Luke and Tom drag the bodies down to the river. When Tom tells this story to Dr. Lowerstein it is the first time it was told since it happened in public.


I have trouble imagining any of these events occuring, much less the vast array of events that occured continuously. That could be something that couldve brought that family togther a bit but it turned into something that split the kids farther from the parents, due to poor parenting

Prince of Tides

While the Wingos lived in Atlanta with their grandmother they lived next to a forest that was owned by the Callanwolde's (Goizueta's in real life) . The kids played in this forest often and referred to it as Callanwolde. One day while Tom Luke and Savannah were playing there they saw a large man who chased them back to there house with odd intent. He was about seven feet tall and had a huge beard. When he saw their mother he told her from behind the wall he would be back to take her as his wife. When Tolitha called the poilice they conducted a search but came up with nothing. One night the man came back and broke into the house but Tolitha fired a pistol at him and he ran off. About a month later, while tom was sleeping, he heard a tapping on the window and he awoke to see Callanwolde breaking into their house. Tom found that he was in shock and couldnt scream or say anything, consequently Luke woke up at the same tim along with Savannah and they proceeded to throw the Black Widow Spiders that their Grandfather

Prince of Tides

At this point in the modern time of the story, Tom has been developing a very deep relationship with Dr. Lowerstein. He has shared stories with her that his mother wished him not to and some that his mother pretends do not exist. Tom tell of another story in which his crazy father, takes the kids to a circus. During the circus There is a tiger act and the tiger is an extremely uncooperative bengal tiger. During the seal show which is the min act in the circus the tiger reaches his head out the bars of his cage and bites the head off of the main seal. After the circus, Tom's father speaks with the manager and ends up buying the tiger from him for an excellent price due to the manager planning on kiling the tiger. He ends up using the tiger as an accessory to the new gas station that he has purchased.

Prince of Tides

Tom has continued to tell stories of harsh whippings and brutalities from his father but there are a few that stand out in particular. The family had gone up to Stone Mountain just when their father had returned from overseas. While there he burst into a furious rage and attacked everyone in the family. It went far enough as to which his younger brother luke picked up a knife and tried to kill him though he was only 8 years of age. Tom speaks of how he wishes he had the strength to do this and how that is why his brother has always had something he has not. He also explains that situations like this one are the ones that make him feel as if his brother is superior in age to him along with leadership.

"I was born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, and about twelve miles from Easton, Talbot county, Maryland."

I find it difficult to describe the strange thoughts that jumbled throughmy head when i heard this sentence and thought about the person and the backgroung it was coming from. This was a former slave giving a pinpoint geographical location of his birth. It gives off the tone of a very educated man. It gives you mixed feelings about his background, it makes you think that this is a person that has been taught properly throughout his life but everything else points to a general stereotype of what we think of as the american slave.

In the first chapter, Douglass displays how little knowledgehe pertains as to what is happening on his plantation, he also explains that he is a very innocent character. He then goes into detail about how he progresses in age he begins to see whippings unfold. He concludes te chapter by saying that much more bad is yet to come.

In the secind chapter he explains the masters life and the common happenings of the slaves and their routines. It also talks about the songs sung by the slaves and the lack of pertinence to the lives they led, and their attitude in general.

Quiet Strength Post 8

In the AFC Championship game, The colts were pitted against their rival and came out of the gate down, but gradually clawed their way back into the game and wound up winning on a game winning field goal from Adam Vineateri who is the ex-kicker for the Pats and won them both super bowls on game winning field goals. This sprung the Colts into the Super Bowl against the electric Chicago Bears coached by Lovie Smith who is not only very good friends and a former coach under Dungy in Tampa but this also set up the matchup between the first two african american coaches to coach in a Super Bowl.

This game meant more than anything throughout his coaching career to Dungy, it had all set up to perfectly following his tragedy to end with a loss, it seemed to me.

And I was right, The Colts won in a blowout of sorts. Dungy had won a super bowlafter many long years of hard work and following the path of God, wherever it was going to take him. Peyton manning was awarded the super bowl MVP award, and Dungy ends his memoir by hoisting the Lombardi Trophy

Quiet Strength Post 7

After his loss on Tuesday of that week, the funeral and visiation were held on Thursday and Wednesday, respectively, Dungy made it back for The Colts 14th game of the season that week, and had already clinched the first round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. He was asked to stay home during that week but insisted that he stay with his team during this emotional and special season. His team would continue into the playoffs at 14-2 and with the first round bye, would win the second game of the playoffs, consequently springing them into the Conference championship against the New England Patriots at home.

The win at home in the second round really propelled the teams emotions and following his loss all the fans around the NFL really felt liek it was not only the year of the Colts but the year for Tony Dungy to overcome his loss and win his first super bowl.

Quiet Strength Post 6

Tony Dungy has now been through two full seasons in Indianapolis theyy have not been unsuccesful seasons but they have both ended with losses to the New England Patriots. His team is now sitting at an unprecedented 13-0. This has not been seen since the 1985 Bears who won the Super Bowl in classic style, but this is when disaster strikes. He states"For reasons that will never be clear to me, my 17 year old son Jamie has commited suicide."

Simply going off of that statement it makes no sense how a situation like this could occur. He has done everything well as a father, nothing too well but certainly nothing terrible or even bad, ever up to this point it appears that his sons are equally happy. They go to games, stand on the field, hang out with players and love the game of football. What could be wanted more as a kid. It apears he must of had personal problems but what impresses me most above all things is the constant composure and faith that Dungy keeps throughout this entire situation. He lets his emotions out but not in a destructive way. He uses it as another way of God testing him. This is the only way a situation such as this can be handled properly, in my opinion.

Quiet Strength Post 5

At this point Dungy has been forced to make decisions he did not want to make for personal and professional reasons. He doesnt feel the same level of comfort he once had in Tampa but has the personal assurance of the owners that his job is not in jeopardy. Despite this he is fired at the end of a season in which he takes his team to the conference championship game and loses in another crushing defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles. For an extended period of time Dungy is puzzled by this and confused on where God is wanting to lead him. He considers leavinvg coaching alltogether and going on to preach as a pastor in a church, but due to a passionate voicemail left by Jim Irsay of the Indianapolis Colts he is convinced to move on to coach there.

I admire personally the time Dungy spent to think over his options and find the best fit for his life.It took the special message from Jim Irsay which according to the text genuinely moved him like no other had before or will ever again. I believe that he will thoroughly enjoy his time in Indianapolis and find a way to win a super bowl in the coming years.

Prince of Tides

At this point the main part of the story most of the plot is flashbacks spoken through the eyes of Tom to Dr. Lowerstein. Most of the tales are told about Savannah and these are stories that not only damaged her childhood but shaped her adult life in an unfortunate way. Most of the stories are tales that envolve many similair events, almost all of which end in an explosive outburst by their shrimper father.

I find that I continue thinking about how Tom turned out relevantly normal in life. Savannah often times says in the text and Tom agrees that the reaction she had was the only relevantly normal on to the chidhood they encountered in the Wingo household

During his first meeting with Dr. Lowerstein, Savannah's psychiatist, emotions run high and anger comes out of Tom in furious jumbles. He expresses that she knows nothing of his sister's condition and is not the most fit person for the job. He feels as if she doesn't treat him as an equal because she feels he is an intolerant southern football coach. She admits that this is partially true.
I feel that this will shape the upcoming parts of the story and that this relationship will develop gradually and become a vital and interesting part of the rapidly developing, and wholesome plot. The conflict is not only interesting but very in depth due to their very different cultures.

Prince of Tides

Tom has now traveled to New York to consult with Savannah's psychiatrist to help her be able to diagnose and help savannah with her problem, and stop her hallucenations by analyzing them in depthly. Toms starts off by telling her stories which in the book are flash backs to his childhood. The first envolves a heroic story at birth when Tom and Savannah were born and a hurricane hit their island that very day. Their grandfather and 90 year old midwife had to carry the three children and the mother out to the barn because their house had been flooded into the river. The kids wife and grandmother mak it alright but the midwife dies over night.

Prince of Tides; Post 1

I have started the Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. It is the story of Tom Wingo who has endured what appears to be a rough childhod to say the least, and is enduring a marriage that is falling apart, and has a sister who is trying to commit suicide due to horrible hallucenations, that come from a troubled past.

This book holds some interesting possibilities such as the developing relationship between Dr. Lowerstein and Tom, and more inportantly how the foundation was built in this troubled family which will be explained triling back from person to person throughout 3 full Wingo generations.

Quiet Strength; Post 4

I have reached a point where the Bucs have begun to achieve a constant success. Dungy has reached his goal of turning the team around and has begun to see sellout crowds at every game. The owners are happy the team is happy and his family is happy in the warm city of Tampa. The main thing i have taken personally from this chapter is the way Dungy has kept his faith strong and his attentiveness up. I think that this is a life lesson and that you need to ptofess your good values in both good times and bad no matter the circumstances. Later in this particular section, The Bucs begin to have some inter-staff difficulties because of them getting so close to greatness but not achieving it. The owners begin to force Dungy to make changes when this goes against his motto "Do what we do, No Excuses-No explanations." This creates a spiraling downtrun that eventually results in him being in a very tough position with the Glazers. I take from this that if you are going to give someone control over your toy you need to have no hand in what they do with it, because if you do problems will arise.

Quiet Strength Post 3

At this point Dungy has come to the conclusion that god has been testing him in all the hardships of his life. Early in his twenties he decided that god must come first in everything he does in life. During his first tests he found that he was falling away from his faith when confronted with hardships. He later learned that in order to defeat the challenges that lay ahead of him, he must sit back and let god do the work because god has a plan for everyone. He feels that god put him in Tampa as the Head Coach. In his first season the bucs went 2-14 but they felt change coming. Prior to that season Dungy hired 3 men who went on to become head coaches and the one who didnt is the most famous of them all. In 1997 the Bucs started 5-0 knocking off teamssuch as Detroit, San Francisco, and defending champion Green Bay Packers. This started a great season.

Quiet Strength; Post 2

Tony is attending the University of Minnesota and is playing quarterback there. He was named MVP of his team, twice and was Big Ten player of the year. Despite all this he went undrafted. Later, he was picked up by The Pittsburgh Steelers, and in his first season he played backup safety and had three interceptions. The Steelers also won a super bowl in this year. In his second year he led the team in picks with 10. After this he was traded to the 49'ers. Nothing worked out after the Steelers and he ended up retiring after three seasons in the NFL. He then becasme an assistant for teh Steelers and went on to go as far as defensive coordinator. He soon resigned as Steelers definsive coordinator and went to the Chiefs then the Vikings before finally landing his first Head caoching job with The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the Bucs Dungy received quick success when, after having a franchise with a history full of losing have a playoff home game in just two years.

Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy; Entry 1

I am reading Quiet Strength. In the book Dungy captures the toughness of being an NFL head coach, and as he says, making sure you keep God first in everything you do. The book begins in 2001, when Dungy has completely rebuilt the Buccaneers organization, from a losing franchise to a 4 tome playoff team. He had developed a brand new defense that will be the talk of the league for many years to come. Yet despite all this he was fired in January of 2002 due to his inability to lead his team to a set of playoff wins. At this time, he returns to his youth and talks about how he became the person he is today. He grew up in East Lansing, Michigan. His mother was a teacher at a local high school and his father was a teacher at Mighigan State. He was taught from a young age that above all things he needed to do what was right, and above all things he had to be doing something that would make him better in life. As a boy Dungy always wanted to learn and challenge himself to do more. He was the star Basketball player and quarterback on his high school team. He graduated tops in his class and chose to attend The University of Minnesota.,