Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Brady Hoke has been known for turning the Michigan Wolverines back into a winning program after the debacle that was Rich Rodriguez. In just two seasons in Ann Arbor, the 54-year-old coach is 19-7 with a 1-1 bowl record, including a Sugar Bowl victory in 2011.
However, the Wolverines’ head coach may have just earned some respect from his colleagues, fans and even rivals. It has been reported that Hoke has provided 12-year-old cancer patient Grant Reed with tickets to a special rivalry game this fall.
The best thing about this story is that Reed is an Ohio State Buckeyes fan who was in the news for naming his brain tumor ‘Michigan’ and then ended up beating it.
While this story is a heartwarming one, it’s even more heartwarming that the coach can put all football and rivalries aside to offer a young kid with enough passion to use the motivation of his hatred for Michigan to beat cancer. Hoke can be okay with the fact he helped out an Ohio State fan at the end of the day and I’m sure he will have Reed on the field and in the locker room of both teams before, during and after the big game this fall.
I’m sure Hoke hopes his Wolverines have better luck than Reed’s cancer had and beat strong conference foe and one of their biggest rivals, Ohio State.
It shows a lot of class on Hoke’s part by showing that his hatred for the team he calls ‘Ohio’ wasn’t enough to keep this young cancer patient away from the biggest game he may ever see.
Well done, Hoke.
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
