Jimbo Fisher’s simple joke about TCU has been unsurprisingly shape shifted by the media
Journalistic ethics, such as including every bit of information when reporting a story, especially when quoting an individual during an interview is vital to upholding the values all of us hold sacred in the sports writing community. However, in order to grab the immediate attention of any audience thirsting for “hot takes” whether based on truth or littered with false narratives, views are views, and as they say, numbers don’t lie.
For Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher, any time he finds himself in front of a camera, news, whether applicable to the football program or not, is made. Instead of rehashing every instance in the past two years that has made waves in the media, Fisher’s most recent appearance at “Coaches Night” at the Forth Worth A&M club on Wednesday evening was filled with informative updates from the head man on A&M’s 2023 roster and player progression that had every member of the audience hungry for Aggie Football this Fall.
During a short Q&A portion towards the end of the night, Fisher happened to mention the hometown TCU Horned Frogs, who as we all remember made a Cinderella-like run in the 2022 College Football Playoff, making it all the way to the Title game to face the eventual Champion Georgia Bulldogs. Like any low-hanging fruit opportunity, Fisher playfully chided the program due to their 65-7 blowout loss in the Championship:
“They stayed healthy. They had a lot of experience. They got to where they’ve got to get to. And then when they got to the SEC, it changed, didn’t it? When they got to the SEC, it changed.”
On the surface, this was a joke that nearly everyone watching the game that night was probably thinking to themselves, as Georgia’s dominant roster was just too much for TCU to handle. Fisher continued to express his thoughts on the Horned Frogs 2022 season in a much more positive and inspirational manner, hoping to replicate the same success head coach Sonny Dykes’ squad created after their own 5-7 campaign in the previous season.
“They found those inches. We let them slip,” Fisher stated. “In 2020, we made all of those plays. In 2022, we didn’t make those plays. They made them last year. They found the inches. They found the chemistry.
“The secret to it is no secret. … There is no coaching you put on it. It is about doing what you have to do each and every day to create the habits, so when the pressure time comes, they did.
“It is like when they ran on the field and kicked the field goal (against Baylor as time expired). There were like four or five games that went down to the wire. But give them credit. That is a credit to their culture, the team and the camaraderie. They found the inches when they had to find the inches. That is what happened. That is why they ended up where they ended up.”
As clear and concise as those quotes in their complete form remain, headline-seeking media outlets such as Barstool Sports provided us with this attention-seeking headline, “Jimbo Fisher Took A Shot At TCU Getting Destroyed By The SEC, Despite The Fact He Can’t Really Compete In The SEC Either” as the article itself failed to mention Fisher’s praise of TCU’s toughness, resiliency and culture, instead focusing on a simple joke that will continue to take a ride in the spin cycle during the long summer “Talkin’ Season” that we’re all tied to until the 2023 college football season arrives.
Remember folks, trust but verify when it comes to Jimbo Fisher quotes. Gig ‘Em, and BTHO the offseason.
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