Everyone knows the past few years have spelled turbulent times for our beloved alma-mater. I won't get into the details regarding the faculty and administrative changes, and I'm not even going to attempt to "take sides" because I can't even pretend to know anything about the real reasons behind those controversial changes. But there's one thing I do know: we here at BMBS salute Coach Bill Curley, freshman English teacher and freshman football/basketball/varsity baseball/cross-country/everything coach, for being a strong anchor that pins down and holds together everything that is right about the school in the choppy waters it currently finds itself charting through.
Middle-aged and hailing from Connecticut, Coach may not look like your typical nominee on the surface. But this man's unyielding commitment to BC athletics and Catholic education clearly makes him MOTY material. Strangely enough, what we love most about Coach is that he is not only a die-hard defender of all things BC, but that he's not even from Savannah. I have never seen this man miss a home football or basketball game. Hell, I've never seen him miss any away games come to think of it. And it takes a LOT being one of those liberal, pinko, commie yankees Coach Yeckley warned us about to come to the Deep South and come to love and respect it, and to be able to earn its respect in return.
What has Coach done this year specifically? To be honest, I have no clue. I left that campus 8 years ago so I couldn't tell you. But if his past attitudes toward coaching, teaching, and life in general that I have come to know are any indication, I'm sure he's done some great things. How about we focus less on a 12-month period and broaden things to a 12-year span instead: the man has coached virtually every sport outside of the chess club. In the classroom, he actually makes his students do this daunting stuff called homework, begins every class by leading his students in saying a Hail Mary, and consistently preaches and practices the tried and true virtues of integrity and discipline.
True, Coach is not some legendary Savannah/BC-native institution, but if you took away his Yankee accent you wouldn't be able to tell. His teaching and coaching styles are just as old school as Cannon's or Owens'. And at the same time, he goes out of his way to keep up with and mingle with all of the young alumni that have had the pleasure of knowing and learning from him. In this way he is both an authority figure but also one of us. You'll run into him on St. Patrick's Day morning at Pinkie's or at Spanky's after a basketball game and he'll want to have a beer with you.
This man's nomination is long overdue: vote for Coach Curley for man of the year.
