Chicago bar hosts Hoosier football

Joe’s Bar may be located in Chicago, but its spacious back room Thursday night was all Bloomington for the Windy City’s IU Football Kickoff.

IU football coach Bill Lynch made a stop at Joe’s to speak to a crowd comprised largely of IU alumni as well as athletic staff and varsity club employees, notably Athletic Director Rick Greenspan and former Hoosier star running back and current Varsity Club Assistant Director of Development Anthony Thompson. Lynch, along with the other Big Ten coaches, was in Chicago last week for the Big Ten Media Days.

The IU Football Kickoff sponsored by the Chicago chapter of the IU Alumni Association is held for IU alumni to excite them for the upcoming season and answer their questions, IUAA Director of Alumni Chapters Patricia Riveire said. The Chicago IU alumni chapter is IUAA’s 2nd largest, Riveire said.

“Outreach is so important to us,” said Varsity Club Director Scott Dolson, also in attendance. Dolson said it’s great to get together with alumni and to “make certain they know how much we appreciate their support.”

This year is the seventh time the event has taken place at Joe’s Bar, co-owned by IU alum Ed Warm. Warm, who describes himself as one of the biggest IU fans in the city, mentions that he was an IU football manager under Coach Bill Mallory and that he has had football season tickets since he was out of college. Standing in the backroom of his bar that has been converted into a gathering place for Hoosier pride for the night, Warm showed his love for IU Football’s leader.

“I’m very proud to have Bill Lynch as our football coach,” Warm said.
Greenspan also expressed deep admiration for Lynch while introducing him on a stage bathed in bright red light. Greenspan praised Lynch’s ability to keep the Indiana team together last season in the wake of late coach Terry Hoeppner’s death.

After the introduction, Lynch took his spot underneath the crimson lights and addressed a range of issues confronting IU football as it enters the 2008 season.
“From a football standpoint we’re a whole lot better defensively,” he said, specifically mentioning the talent of junior linebacker Matt Mayberry. He also said IU will use a variety of wide receivers in response to the absence of James Hardy, including Ray Fisher and Andrew Means, whose name brought applause from the crowd due to the recent news of his return to the team from playing minor league baseball in Montana. Lynch briefly spoke about Kellen Lewis, the suspended then recently reinstated quarterback.

“He’s a great kid and I’m glad he’s back with us,” Lynch said.

Lynch’s humor was on display on several occasions. He remarked that while in Tempe, Ariz., for the Insight Bowl the team had fun until the game started, drawing laughter from the audience. He also showed a sense of humor when talking about Means.

“I don’t know if he wanted to play football or get the hell out of Montana,” he quipped, leading to more laughter from the audience.

As for season predictions, Lynch refused to make any. He admitted he thought the audience will be proud of this upcoming season’s team.

Lynch also made it clear his attention was on the season’s opener. A woman in the audience asked him who IU’s opponent will be for the homecoming game. Lynch did not know the answer, but he readily told the crowd the game-day information of the season opener –  at noon on Aug. 30 against Western Kentucky.

However, Lynch did touch on the fact that eight of IU’s 12 regular season games will be played at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, known to the Hoosier faithful as “The Rock.” Lynch more than once uttered the phrase “Defend the Rock” in his speeches, and he encouraged the audience to attend the season’s home games.

Considering the die-hard fans in attendance at the backroom of Joe’s Bar Thrusday night, it wasn’t bad advice.