Who created the "Keep Chopping" mantra?
- Thread starter RCTrooper
- Start date
IIRC Greg brought it with him from his Miami days....from a story he had read about being in the woods lost and keep chopping your way out...goes well before 2003.
That is what this article says: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1183891-tampa-bay-buccaneers-need-to-start-chopping-wood
I still remember the meltdown against Illinois. Questionable pass interference call that would've iced the game - missed FG that would have iced the game. couldn't stop 'em on 2nd and long in OT that would have won the game.... but things did turnaround....
the accepted history is:
Schiano began using the phrase "just keep chopping wood" after Rutgers blew a big lead to Illinois on opening day last season, and the Knights went 16-4 since.
He first heard about it from Dr. Kevin Elko while serving as Miami's defensive coordinator. Dr. Elko is a sports psychologist who was working with the Hurricanes and now helps out at Rutgers.
"He said this, and it didn't catch on there but I always remembered it," Schiano said. "When he started working with us here, we were talking after Illinois, it just came to me. It was no great work of thoughtfulness. Right now we're in a bad spot, we're in the middle of the forest, it's all dark, we can't see. Get an ax and just start chopping away.
"You never know what will catch on with young people. That one, for whatever reason, maybe we kept throwing it at them, but it caught on and now it serves as something more than words."
the accepted history is:
Schiano began using the phrase "just keep chopping wood" after Rutgers blew a big lead to Illinois on opening day last season, and the Knights went 16-4 since.
He first heard about it from Dr. Kevin Elko while serving as Miami's defensive coordinator. Dr. Elko is a sports psychologist who was working with the Hurricanes and now helps out at Rutgers.
"He said this, and it didn't catch on there but I always remembered it," Schiano said. "When he started working with us here, we were talking after Illinois, it just came to me. It was no great work of thoughtfulness. Right now we're in a bad spot, we're in the middle of the forest, it's all dark, we can't see. Get an ax and just start chopping away.
"You never know what will catch on with young people. That one, for whatever reason, maybe we kept throwing it at them, but it caught on and now it serves as something more than words."
Last edited:
Dr. Kevin Elko.
If you have a chance, listen to his speeches. He's got better ones than Keep Chopping. My personal favorite is "What is your 68?"
http://www.knoxvillefootballacademy.com/#!Whats-your-68/cb1r/1FAFF482-4F80-4D6E-AC2C-6371BC744C98
If you have a chance, listen to his speeches. He's got better ones than Keep Chopping. My personal favorite is "What is your 68?"
http://www.knoxvillefootballacademy.com/#!Whats-your-68/cb1r/1FAFF482-4F80-4D6E-AC2C-6371BC744C98
So it seems that Coach Schiano may have been introduced to the concept at Miami, but he didn't start using it at RU until after the Illinois game in 2005. Jack Del Rio and the Jags were using the "Keep Chopping Wood" mantra, complete with an ax and a block of wood, in 2003, when their punter managed to chop himself in the leg and they apparently decided it was time to get a new slogan.
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/101003/jag_13748756.shtml#.VaLdz7Wyyw4
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/101003/jag_13748756.shtml#.VaLdz7Wyyw4
It has been around for awhile. I remember a local high school when I was in school in the 90's using it. These things often have multiple beginnings. There are many Penn State fans who think Penn State started we are or white outs or using zombie nation.
Brilliant.. you read the story n the Ledger about NFL mishaps in the wake of the JPP finger thing.
