Last month, Boise State football coach Chris Peterson, whose team is ranked in the top five by coaches and media, announced that he had banned his players from using Twitter during the season, calling the social media tool a distraction. No word yet on whether Peterson is also banning girlfriends, postgame keg parties and midterm exams.
Fortunately, Badgers head coach Bret Bielema, an occasional tweeter himself, has issued no such edict. Keeping track of the Badgers is so much more fun when you can read the thoughts of senior offensive lineman John Moffitt (@Moffitt74), who posted this on Aug. 5: "Camp 1. n - a dark/depressing timeless tradition of football that takes place in the summer month of August. Characterized by contemplative thoughts of quitting, inflicting personal injury or suicide as an escape as well as outright denial such as countdowns and outbursts of fake enthusiasm."
Try finding that level of candor from any kind of athlete in a reported story. Similar insight into the secret lives of Badgers, with a decidedly more rah-rah tone, comes from junior defensive lineman J.J. Watt (@JJWatt99) who, on Aug. 17, tweeted "Coach B brought in a magician tonight. The guy was blowing minds left & right, it was literally UNBELIEVABLE and I don't even believe in magic!"
Bielema's own Twitter account (@BretBielema) is nothing special, mainly a bunch of motivational coachspeak. That's why I vastly prefer to follow the parody account of Not Bielema (@BeingBielema). "I need a new pet. Snake or a lion?" and "How much gravy is too much? I'll never know" are the thoughts of my dream coach.
