NCAA FootballWeird But True

Northwestern Football Will Have Nap Time Before Saturday’s Game Against Nebraska

At 2:30 on ABC, Nebraska will travel to Illinois to face Northwestern in a primetime Big Ten matchup. But not before nap time. The Northwestern players, who claim their nap routine is ruined by the 2:30 start time, will have a mandatory nap organized by head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

Via the Chicago Tribune:

“This is the result of the Sept. 15 Boston College game, also a 2:30 start. NU coach Pat Fitzgerald noticed his team came out sluggish, trailing 10-9 in the second quarter. So he asked members of his Leadership Council: “What’s the deal? Why didn’t we start fast?” They told him the game clashed with nap time. NU players typically arrive at the team complex at 6:50 a.m. for meetings, practice from 8:50 to 10:30, attend class and then snooze in the early afternoon. So Saturday’s itinerary will call for an early breakfast and a nap at around 9:30. Fitzgerald almost could not believe he agreed to it.

‘Unbelievable,’ he said. ‘This is what I get paid to do. Seriously. Create nap time. It’s pathetic.’

A snooze-in at the team hotel six hours before kickoff? Quarterback Kain Colter loves the idea.

‘We’ll wake up, have our pregame meal, do our mental things and then have a mandatory nap,’ he said. ‘Those hotel beds are really comfortable and the pillows are soft. Â… (Then) we’ll come down refreshed and ready to kick some butt.’”

Pregame naps are a thing in sports, so Fitzgerald’s anger at team-organized naps is a bit misguided. Because, really, this is amazing on so many levels. Kindergarten has it right.

[Chicago Tribune, via Larry Brown Sports]

Photo via Getty

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