Spring Break
The Daily OrangeRace | Wabash College special by dragging airplane
By Matt Levin
Posted: 9/12/06, 12:52 AM EST Section: Sports
Spectators come eager to see how the players will perform simply because Wabash plays, err, pulls to win. The defending North Coast Athletic Conference champions won the Plane Pull in back-to-back years before being upended at this year's competition.
Of course, losing the event is no big deal to the Wabash players.
"It's nice to do things for other people who don't have as much as you," Greisl said.
Wabash coaches originally attended the event, but an NCAA rule now prevents them from going to the fundraiser, frustrating Wabash head coach Chris Creighton. However, since his players now must set up the road trip themselves, it makes Creighton more impressed by how committed they are to participate.
Wabash College is in Crawfordsville, Indiana, about an hour away from Indianapolis, so the team has to organize a road trip in addition to finding entrants.
Creighton said he is proud of the way Greisl "took the bull by the horn" and organized the team's participation in the event.
"I do think everything you do and how you do it in the offseason affects who you are as a team in the fall," Creighton said. "Just the fact that however many guys were there a Saturday before camp, they were together and just being a team helps. The more your guys are together the better they can be."
Expect the Little Giants to keep coming. Wabash College is all about tradition. The team is involved in one of the oldest rivalries in college football. For the 113th time, Wabash will challenge embittered foe DePauw for the Monon Bell, and just like the Monon Bell Classic, Greisl wouldn't mind seeing the FedEx Plane Pull become a lasting Crawfordsville tradition.
Creighton also hopes his team's participation in the event continues and future Wabash athletes will be anxious to attend such a rewarding opportunity.
"I get an email or phone call … and (Special Olympics Indiana) are just being grateful and thankful for our guys," Creighton said. "It's not like our guys are stars. It's just a really good match."
Of course, losing the event is no big deal to the Wabash players.
"It's nice to do things for other people who don't have as much as you," Greisl said.
Wabash coaches originally attended the event, but an NCAA rule now prevents them from going to the fundraiser, frustrating Wabash head coach Chris Creighton. However, since his players now must set up the road trip themselves, it makes Creighton more impressed by how committed they are to participate.
Wabash College is in Crawfordsville, Indiana, about an hour away from Indianapolis, so the team has to organize a road trip in addition to finding entrants.
Creighton said he is proud of the way Greisl "took the bull by the horn" and organized the team's participation in the event.
"I do think everything you do and how you do it in the offseason affects who you are as a team in the fall," Creighton said. "Just the fact that however many guys were there a Saturday before camp, they were together and just being a team helps. The more your guys are together the better they can be."
Expect the Little Giants to keep coming. Wabash College is all about tradition. The team is involved in one of the oldest rivalries in college football. For the 113th time, Wabash will challenge embittered foe DePauw for the Monon Bell, and just like the Monon Bell Classic, Greisl wouldn't mind seeing the FedEx Plane Pull become a lasting Crawfordsville tradition.
Creighton also hopes his team's participation in the event continues and future Wabash athletes will be anxious to attend such a rewarding opportunity.
"I get an email or phone call … and (Special Olympics Indiana) are just being grateful and thankful for our guys," Creighton said. "It's not like our guys are stars. It's just a really good match."
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