Bierman’s Six Pack: Issue #39

Welcome to this week’s Six Pack! Each week, I’ll share a mix of thoughts (some sports-related, some not) and I’d love for you to jump in with your reactions, ideas, or recommendations in the comments. Here’s what’s on my mind this week. 

1. From Twelve to Ninety: A Weekend Full of Life

We celebrated two birthdays this past weekend. My son Cooper turned twelve and had a sleepover at our house with four of his closest friends. What struck my wife and me most was how well-behaved all of these boys were. “Please” and “thank you” and “Mr. and Mrs. Bierman” were said often. They were polite, kind to one another, and they all had a lot of fun. 

Yes, they were boys, so they were loud at times and seemed to run around nonstop, but that just made us laugh regarding their boundless energy. Watching them play hide and seek, tag, Ghosts in the Graveyard, and even take part in a homemade scavenger hunt was just awesome to see. They did not sleep much, and wow do these boys love to eat. A lot of pizza, cookies, and candy were devoured, so to the parents of those kids, I apologize for the extra energy and potential cavities.

That was Friday night. On Saturday we traveled to Columbus to celebrate Jamie’s Grandma’s 90th birthday. She lives in an assisted living facility now and has Alzheimer’s, so she did not know many of the twenty or so family members and friends who were there to celebrate with her. But she opened presents, ate cake, talked with everyone, and seemed to truly enjoy the afternoon being about her. She felt special and loved, and that is what any birthday, regardless of age, should bring out.

So whether you are twelve or ninety, here’s to hoping your next birthday brings innocence, joy, hope, friends, family, smiles, laughter, and of course, great-tasting cake.

2. Cignetti & Indiana are for Real

If you have listened to our podcast before, you know how much I absolutely love Curt Cignetti and the job he is doing at Indiana. He is hands down one of the best coaches in college football, and after what transpired on Saturday I have to give him a little more love here.

His seventh-ranked Indiana Hoosiers went into big bad Oregon and their intimidating Autzen Stadium for a top ten showdown that will help determine both the Big Ten and national championship races. A few years ago, the idea that Indiana could even compete in a game like this would have been laughable.

But Cignetti came to Bloomington last year from James Madison and instantly made the Hoosiers respectable, leading them to a 11-2 record and a trip to the CFP. This year looks like they might be headed back after a 30-20 win in Eugene. This team could seriously compete to win the whole thing. That sounds crazy to write, but watching them on Saturday convinced me. They are tough, disciplined, and talented.

Quarterback Francisco Mendoza is poised, has great leadership, and simply knows how to win games. If he is not in New York for the Heisman ceremony in early December, I will be shocked. For context, Indiana entered Saturday with the most losses in college football history with 715. They were also 0-46 all-time on the road against AP top-five teams and 1-72 all-time against top-five teams overall. And yet they won.

I absolutely love it. I hope they can keep Cignetti there for a long time and that he builds this program into something truly special in the Big Ten, similar to what Barry Alvarez did at Wisconsin decades ago. If I am a Hoosier fan, I might be a little concerned that Penn State could try to swipe him after moving on from James Franklin. For now, though, I am just enjoying the ride and pulling for the Hoosiers to keep proving that anything is possible.

3. Save the Last Dance for Me

The other day my wife wanted Chinese takeout for dinner, so we stopped at our local spot and she ran in to grab it. I have been there plenty of times, but as I sat in the car and looked around, I noticed something I had never seen before. In the same strip mall was an Arthur Murray Dance Studio. I had no idea these even still existed.

My first thought was, do people really still do this? Apparently so, and honestly, that is pretty cool. Learning how to do formal dance just does not seem like something many people in today’s world have much interest in, so it made me smile to realize places like that are still around. My mom actually put me in formal dance lessons when I was a teenager, and while I hated it at the time, there was a small part of me that secretly enjoyed learning such a timeless, classic skill. I didn’t retain much of what I learned that summer, but I am still glad I did it.

It turns out Arthur Murray Studios have been around for more than a century. At one point in the 1970’s there were over 3,500 of them, and even now about 275 are still in operation. That is impressive. Stuff like that makes me happy, knowing that some old school things still manage to hold people’s attention in a world obsessed with smart phones and streaming. 

Who knows how long old Arthur Murray will keep dancing in today’s world, but for now, every time I drive past, I’ll give a quiet nod of appreciation. And maybe even a little toe tap.

4. The Aces’ Reign and the Greatness of A’Ja Wilson

I don’t write much about the WNBA and frankly I don’t follow it all that closely. But I am a huge sports fan in general and try to keep up on all sports, even if at a peripheral level. So it was not lost on me that last week the Las Vegas Aces won their third WNBA championship in four years. Only three WNBA franchises have more titles (Minnesota, Houston, and Seattle) and only Houston ever had the same type of dynasty dominance, winning four straight from 1997 to 2000.

I also want to give some love to A’ja Wilson, who is about as dominant as any athlete in sports today. She has already won four MVP awards, three titles in four years, and is the first player in WNBA or NBA history to win MVP, Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and a championship all in the same season. She’s also a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the all-time leading scorer for the Aces. Simply put, she’s one of the best basketball players on the planet right now.

Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers and others get a lot of the headlines and attention for helping make the WNBA more popular and mainstream, and I hope that continues because I love seeing women’s sports thrive. But I also want to make sure A’ja Wilson gets her proper due. She’s one of the best to ever play in the WNBA and has done so much for the sport. I hope she continues to be recognized not just as a great player, but as one of the most important contributors to the growth of this league.

5. What’s in a Name?

At Cooper’s birthday party, the boys were Lincoln, Graeme, Jensen, and Bentley. All five names that I think we can agree are more modern, 21st century type names. I was mentioning them to a family member later in the weekend and she said she was surprised that all the names were so “new”, because so many names these days are supposedly old names coming back. And that got me thinking, how true is that? How much are we really recycling old, classic names to be used today?

Now granted, this is a very unscientific look at things, but I went back 100 years exactly and compared the top 20 most popular names from 1924 with the top 20 from 2024, the last full year of data. And honestly, I was actually surprised at how few made both lists. For girls, only one did: Evelyn, which was 12th in 1924 and 13th last year. For boys, two made the list a century apart: James, which was 4th in 1924 and 11th in 2024, and Henry, which was 18th in 1924 and 13th last year. That’s it.

I know more of the old names are creeping back, but when I look at these lists, there is such a huge difference in our tastes now versus then. My favorite and most unexpected girl’s name on the new list is Nova at 19th. I’ve never met anyone named that or anyone who has named their child that. For boys, I was surprised to see Maverick at 17th. It’s not that I doubt the power of Tom Cruise, but I’ve also yet to meet anyone actually named that.

Not sure what all this tells us other than that a lot changes in 100 years, including what we name our children. And while some of the old might trickle back in, it feels like our tastes have shifted toward much more modern names in most cases. I guess that’s just part of how time moves. New generations, new names, same love behind them.

6. College Football’s Best Live Mascots

I watched my Michigan Wolverines play on Saturday night and it ended in a disappointing loss to the USC Trojans. While watching the game and getting frustrated with Michigan’s offense, my mind actually went in a completely different direction. Of course, at some point USC’s famous white horse mascot, Traveler, got some love, and it reminded me that Michigan is one of the few major programs with no mascot, live or otherwise. I’m not necessarily complaining about that, but it did make me think about how many great live mascots there are in college football. So here is my top 5:

5) Uga (Georgia)

The famous white English bulldog that represents the Georgia Bulldogs is about as classic as it gets. He travels in an air-conditioned car, has his own jersey, and even has a marble tomb when his run ends. It’s a mix of loyalty, toughness, and southern pride that just works.

4) Smokey (Tennessee)

Smokey is a bluetick coonhound who has been leading the Vols out since 1953. He’s loud, loyal, and always howling when the crowd gets going. There’s just something really fun about seeing a happy dog roaming the sidelines at a big SEC game.

3) Mike the Tiger (LSU)

A real Bengal tiger lives right on campus next to Tiger Stadium, and the team walks past him before every home game. That is fricking awesome. 

2) Bevo (Texas)

Bevo is the massive longhorn steer that has been standing tall for the Texas Longhorns since 1916. I lived in Texas for several years, so I’ve seen plenty of longhorns up close, and the mystique fades a little, but there’s still something cool about seeing those huge horns and that burnt orange presence on the field.

1) Ralphie (Colorado)

Ralphie the buffalo is the best of them all. She weighs over 1,200 pounds and can run more than 25 miles per hour as she charges across the field before each home game. It’s part beauty, part chaos, and 100% awesome. 

Run, Ralphie, run.

Thanks for checking out this week’s Six Pack, Sandman Nation! I’d love to hear your thoughts: what resonated with you, what you disagree with, or your own takes on these topics. Drop your comments and let’s keep the conversation going.

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