Repentant Solich?

Those T-shirts always made me laugh at my alma mater of Ohio University in Athens: "We're a drinking town with a football problem."

Who knew those two paths would ever cross so meagerly? Ohio football coach Frank Solich pleaded no contest to drunken driving on Monday after being found slumped over the wheel of the complimentary Nissan he drives, with the vehicle in drive, pointing the wrong way down a one-way street. See the Associated Press story.

The 61-year-old coach admitted on Tuesday he made a mistake. Perhaps it's just my word-aholism, but something about the sentence structure bothers me from this quote reported by Jason Arkley of the Athens Messenger:

“I would like to extend that apology, certainly because of the trouble and embarrassment that I’ve put many people in, including myself,” said a solemn-looking Solich, reading from a hand-written note. “I would like to apologize to all those associated with Ohio University. I would also like to apologize to the people of the Athens community. I would like to apologize to my coaches, their families, the players and their families.”

"I would like" is the part that bothers me. There is a not-so-subtle difference between telling your loved one "I'd like to apologize" and "I'm sorry." One is saying you will do it. The other is asking for forgiveness.

Athens has a unique culture that's admittedly very alcohol-driven. Yeah, it's ranked as the No. 2 party school in the country by the Princeton Review. Back in my days there, it constantly made top five on a number of lists. For a decent slice-of-life about this, check of this article by Joe Arnold of the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette.

The administration there seems to want to connect Solich to their efforts to correct this trend. They want him to become active in some intelligent drinking campaigns. (Advice for the coach... Tell them not to leave the car in drive while facing the wrong way down a one-way street.)

Truth be told, the kids are smarter than the coach on this count. Anyone who ever lived in Athens will tell you that you don't drive to the bars uptown. You walk. He certainly could've made the trip from uptown to his office at Peden Stadium with a minimum amount of hassle. It's not like he doesn't have a parking space in town.

I'm not going to come down from Mount Olympus on Frank Solich. I see a lot of sportswriters are cracking the whip at the university for not being harder on him, possibly firing him. I've been out drinking with enough sportswriters to know they've done the same thing. I've gotten behind the wheel after having a beer or two too many myself.

Besides, I like what Solich did for the program. He got me excited enough to buy season tickets. I had a great time watching competitive games for three of the five home games, including a shockingly thrilling win against a then-top 25 Pittsburgh squad.

Honestly, I don't think drinking is such a horrible thing, when kept under control. I haven't seen people coming out of the woodwork to say Solich had a real drinking problem. It sounds like he had one bad night where he did something stupid. I imagine the Nebraska administration has had a couple of those nights since essentially dumping Solich to get Bill Callahan. (Tom Osborne he's not.)

The real key is to learn and forgive. The man made a mistake. No one should hold anything over his head. We should merely take this as a reminder to be careful and smarter when we consume ourselves.

That's the only way the city of Athens, Ohio, can strip itself of the title of a "drinking town with a football problem."