"Billy Varner Remembers Bear Bryant"
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7960862
This will bless your heart.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7960862
This will bless your heart.
Coach Bryant's driver, Billy Varner, remembers [VIDEO]
- Thread starter banjeaux
- Start date
Thanks for posting this. I think Bart Starr does this same kind of thing. Coach Bryant was truly a "Great One".
Con, your post means a lot to me. I wish that more who watch the video would comment. Being retired, I have more time to surf the web. I stumble across sports and non-sports articles, which are unique and hidden from most. To avoid a duplicate thread, I search the board. I was surprised, when I didn't find a thread for this gem. Your post assures me that it is worth the effort to share. :BigA:
I love hearing the stories that people like Billy Varner tell about Coach Bryant. He was with Coach Bryant so much that I bet he had a lot of stories to tell which shows us as Alabama fans what made Coach Bryant so great. I appreciate you doing this research to post these kind of videos. I am in my early forties and I didn't truly get to appreciate the Bryant glory years, but through books, videos like you just posted, and other people from this board that share stories about him, it makes you appreciate what he was and will always be as long as we have these types of media available.
I don't know if you guys read the article that goes with this, but it is one of the best pieces of writing that I have ever seen on a sports site.
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_...er-struggles-remember-legendary-alabama-coach
Incredible guys, no bigger honor than cheering for a team that had, and still has, people of this caliber leading it.
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_...er-struggles-remember-legendary-alabama-coach
Incredible guys, no bigger honor than cheering for a team that had, and still has, people of this caliber leading it.
I enjoyed the article. It was very well written, and paints a picture of the loyalty those around Coach Bryant had. People don't typically have that kind of loyalty without reason.
The only thing disturbing about the article (IMHO) is that it seems to plead for those that knew Coach Bryant personally to open-up with the private/personal side of Coach Bryant. I'm personally not someone that has a need to know every detail of anyone's life, and am certainly in no position to judge how someone lives their life (within reason). So I'm fine with just knowing about the greatness of Paul Bryant (and when you have the positive impact he did on so many lives, there is no doubting that it is greatness) and leaving the private moments private.
The current environment of needing to know and basically stalking our public figures, will make it much more difficult for this type of greatness to be achieved and then to hold-up to scrutiny. It says a lot about the path Saban is on (because I think he is making tremendous strides to not be in the shadow of Bryant, but to cast his own shadow). Alabama has been very lucky/blessed to have its coaching legacy.
The only thing disturbing about the article (IMHO) is that it seems to plead for those that knew Coach Bryant personally to open-up with the private/personal side of Coach Bryant. I'm personally not someone that has a need to know every detail of anyone's life, and am certainly in no position to judge how someone lives their life (within reason). So I'm fine with just knowing about the greatness of Paul Bryant (and when you have the positive impact he did on so many lives, there is no doubting that it is greatness) and leaving the private moments private.
The current environment of needing to know and basically stalking our public figures, will make it much more difficult for this type of greatness to be achieved and then to hold-up to scrutiny. It says a lot about the path Saban is on (because I think he is making tremendous strides to not be in the shadow of Bryant, but to cast his own shadow). Alabama has been very lucky/blessed to have its coaching legacy.
I for one enjoy learning some details about Coach Bryant. As an employee of a law firm in Tuscaloosa while I was in school I learned a lot when we shredded some non-essential notes and stuff from old files. One of the attorneys had been close to Coach and represented him in numerous things over the years. I glanced through some of the pages as we shredded them and learned that he was a man with struggles in his everyday life just like me. You can learn a lot more and take lessons from the man's life if you know more and I think any man would want others to be better for him having lived.
Now let me also say I'm not talking about trying to learn dirt. I think Coach Bryant's vices are pretty well known as far as the smoking and drinking goes, but that's all that needs be said about it. Others can gain inspiration from knowing one of the hardest nosed, most successful and competitive men to ever live had those same struggles. You aren't any less of a person because you struggle with certain things. I think its also good to understand there may have been some regret there in how much time he spent with his wife, children and grand children. If that regret isn't seen and shared men might not make the choice to make family a priority like CNS has. I can guarantee you somewhere along the way someone told a young CNS, "remember that if I could do it again I would spend more time with my family", and CNS heeded that advice. So I think those glimpses into reality are good. We don't however need details on a bender Coach may or may not have gone one. Those things help no one.
Now let me also say I'm not talking about trying to learn dirt. I think Coach Bryant's vices are pretty well known as far as the smoking and drinking goes, but that's all that needs be said about it. Others can gain inspiration from knowing one of the hardest nosed, most successful and competitive men to ever live had those same struggles. You aren't any less of a person because you struggle with certain things. I think its also good to understand there may have been some regret there in how much time he spent with his wife, children and grand children. If that regret isn't seen and shared men might not make the choice to make family a priority like CNS has. I can guarantee you somewhere along the way someone told a young CNS, "remember that if I could do it again I would spend more time with my family", and CNS heeded that advice. So I think those glimpses into reality are good. We don't however need details on a bender Coach may or may not have gone one. Those things help no one.
If you have access to the ESPNU Football Podcast, I'd recommend you checking out the latest edition. It features this story spoken by the author. Very moving to hear.
I remember several times late at night seeing Coach Bryant come into the Waffle House on hwy 82 at Hwy 69. Coach Bryant had a black man chaffeuring him, would that be Billy Varner?
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