Commenter Stu checks in with a post he calls, "Everything's Connected, College Football Edition." That wasn't quite snappy enough for the headline, but it does involve Tim Brewster, Necessary Roughness and Jim Wacker. Stu? ----------------
Item: one of the finalists for the vacant Texas State University head coaching position is former Gopher coach Tim Brewster (h/t: RandBall commenter Clarence Swamptown).
You may not find this to be the most compelling news, but dig a little deeper, and you end up falling down a rabbit hole of weird connections, easy jokes and minutiae that is tailor-made for the RandBall aesthetic.
- First, as noted in Phil Miller's Gridiron Gold blog item above, other finalists for the job include current Gopher coach Jerry Kill's former coach, a coach who preceded Kill at Southern Illinois, and an assistant to Brady Hoke, who interviewed for the Gopher job.
- The Minnesota connections don't end there. Texas State plays their home games at (Geezo Beezo!) Jim Wacker Field at Bobcat Stadium.
- OBVIOUS BREWSTER JOKE #1: Texas State is currently a Division 1-AA program. Brewster has demonstrated an ability to play these teams close and eke out a win or two, fashioning a 2-2 mark against 1-AA schools with the Gophers.
- OBVIOUS BREWSTER JOKE #2: Texas State's motto is, "The noblest search is the search for excellence." I am going to repeat the fact that their coaching search has led to Tim Brewster being a finalist, and allow you to have a dark chuckle while burning your Brew's Crew t-shirt.
- A fictional Texas State University was the setting for the 1991 movie Necessary Roughness, starring Scott Bakula, Kathy Ireland, Rob Schneider and Sen. Fred Thompson [Ed note: FIGHTING ARMADILLO NATION]. This thoughtful rumination on class, paths not taken, loyalty and accepting one's lot in life was—excuse me, I seem to be describing The Remains of the Day, the 1993 movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson that was based on the book by Kasuo Ishiguro. Necessary Roughness, on the other hand, was a comedy about college football that had Sinbad in it. I regret the error.
- The actual Texas State University is in San Marcos. Notable alums include LBJ, Bill Paxton, George Strait, current Viking Fred Evans and Powers Boothe. Both Paxton and Boothe appeared in the film Tombstone, which was awesome.
