Celebrating Sully, a biography of Bob Sullivan

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to celebrate the launch of a biography on Sully, Bob Sullivan, my college football coach. The book was superbly written by Jeff Appelquist, a Carleton football alum and noted writer.

 

Saturday was terrific. It started in the stands of Sullivan field—yes, named after Bob Sullivan. I sat next to Sully in his place on the thirty yard line about three rows up. I’ve been going to games and sitting next or near to him for years. When Patrick Reusse interviewed Sully three years ago right before Sullivan Field was renamed, he took the picture at the bottom of this blog that made it into the Star Tribune.  This past Sunday I again brought Carle—the bronze knight that my wife, Amy, bought me as a Christmas gift a few years ago. At the first game of last season, I didn’t bring Carle to a game. The first thing Sully said to me when he saw me was not, “good to see you” or “how have you been.” It was “Where’s Carle?”

Carle will accompany me to every Carleton football game.

 The game became a laugher for the Knights—51-7. Jack Curtis, the quarterback for this year’s team, is really good. Because it was a blowout, the football alums and I started telling Sully stories. All of us were recruited by Bob Sullivan. Most likely none of us would have gone to Carleton without Sully’s persistent recruitment. I’ve shared in previous blogs the story of Sully recruiting me to Carleton—quite improbable

 After the game over two hundred of us gathered in the Northfield theater to celebrate the launch of the new book. At the gathering on Saturday Jeff Appelquist shared the story of approaching Sully at last year’s Olaf game and asking him if he could write a biography about him. Jeff said that Sully said, “why not.” When Sully told the story, he shared that his response was “why.” Whether Sully’s response was one word or two what is most important is the book was written.

The book is marvelous. In twenty-one chapters Jeff Appelquist chronicled Sully’s life. He wrote about Sully growing up in Marshall, Minnesota—not far from my hometown of Worthington—something Sully has always reminded me. He went to St. John’s and learned many lessons about coaching from John Gagliardi. He coached football at Hill High School and then Cooper. He was successful at both places. He came to Carleton as the football coach in 1979 and coached for twenty-one years. He became the winningest football coach in Carleton’s history. He coached the famous 1991 team which won the MIAC and his teams beat St. Olaf from 1985-1996. 

I certainly remember the 1985 game—the famous medallion game. Sully had given us a medallion at the end of the previous season with the number 10-19-85 inscribed on it. He asked us to carry it for the entire year. I did that and like many of my teammates taped the medallion under my uniform on 10-19-85 as we beat the ‘Oles, 35-7. 

Beating the Oles was always of paramount importance to Sully. He’ll be in the stands this Saturday at Sullivan Field as Carleton hopefully beats St. Olaf. I’ll be there too--probably sitting next to him rooting on the Knights with all of our strength.    

One of many qualities I’ve always appreciated about Sully is he is a renaissance man. He got his Master’s in English and probably could have taught courses on English at Carleton. He encouraged his players to find other interests besides football. It didn’t bother him at all that I was the concertmaster of the Orchestra when I attended Carleton. Though Sully was passionate about football he knew that players needed to find interests beyond football. 

In the book Sully shared the top players he coached at Carleton at each position—which I was fortunate to make. 

In the book Jeff Appelquist created an incredible resource of an incredible man. I encourage everyone to buy a copy on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sully-Football-Legend-Coach-Sullivan/dp/1634897994

The dedication of the book describes what it means to play football.

“To all Carleton Knight football players

Past, present & future

Whose warrior spirit & fraternal bonds are forever

As the great King Henry V proclaimed (according to the Bard) to steel his soldiers’ hearts on the eve of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415,

“We shall be remembered, we few, we happy few, we band of brothers

For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother …”

The British archers, vastly outnumbered but profoundly inspired by their heroic leader,

Went bravely forth, filled the sky with their arrows,

And cut down the flower of French chivalry and young manhood

To win a great victory.

GO KNIGHTS!”

 

Something has to change

 

Something has to change.

I wrote this same sentence about mass shootings in my last blog, and I’m going to keep sharing this same message. Something has to change. I don't know what the answers are that will eliminate mass shootings. What I do know is something has to change. 

I don’t believe change will happen until enough people say, “this is not the culture that I want to live in; this is not the culture I want my children or grandchildren to live in. I don’t want children to be killed while they are celebrating Mass; I don’t want a person killed by a sniper while giving a speech on a college campus; I don’t want a politician and her husband killed when they go to the door in the middle of the night; I don’t want the President to know if he had moved his head six inches that he would have been killed by a bullet."

I would guess that over ninety percent of the public could agree with that last sentence. But the breakdown happens over the next step—what are the steps need to reduce mass shootings. 

I have no idea what the answer(s) is/are to stopping mass shootings. I don’t know if the answer is greater gun control, or more mental health resources, or more resources that will target people who are susceptible to being a mass shooter.  I don't know if the answer is a combination of these three ideas or something completely different.

Soon Governor Walz will call a special session of the Minnesota Legislature. I commend him for trying something. But I don’t look forward to the debate. Democrats will want tougher gun control; Republicans and some Democrats will say that guns don’t kill people, but people kill people—they’ll want more resources for Mental Health. I’ve never understand why this debate has turned into such an either “gun control or mental health support” conversation. Why can’t we have both? And why can’t our political leaders work harder by agreeing that we need to create a world in the United States where no mass shootings happen. 

To search for solutions, I went to the Sandy Hook Promise web site, sandyhookpromise.org. This is a national nonprofit organization founded and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. 

The site has some interesting information about mass shooters. On the site I came across the work of Dr. Jillian Peterson, who is a Professor at Hamline. She has her own website with information that shares common traits of mass shooters. The website with her research is www.jillianpeterson.com/research/

Some of what she found is the following:

“From this research, she found that most mass shooters aren’t random strangers. Instead, they’re “insiders.” They are part of the communities they target, like schools or workplaces. For example, many school shooters are actually students at the school. Knowing this lets us spot early warning signs and act before tragedy strikes.

After studying these cases, [Jillian Peterson] found four main stages that many mass shooters go through before committing violence. 

1.       Early Trauma: First, many mass shooters have troubled childhoods. They often suffer abuse, neglect, or the loss of a loved one. This early pain often leaves them feeling alone and hopeless as they grow older.

2.       Crisis Point: Next, as young adults, they often reach a crisis point. They may become isolated or feel like they don’t belong. This can lead to depression or suicidal thoughts. For some, committing a violent act feels like a way to end their own pain.

3.       Social Influence: Many shooters are inspired by others who did similar acts. They often become fixated on famous shooters from the past. Some join dark online communities that talk about violence as if it’s acceptable. It makes them feel justified in their plans.

4.       Access and Target: Finally, mass shooters tend to target places that they believe have wronged them, like a school or workplace. They often get weapons from familiar sources, such as family members or online.”

By understanding these stages, we can better see where and how to stop mass shootings. By helping people in crisis, we give them a chance to find hope before they reach a breaking point.

The second resource that I have found helpful is information shared by Braver Angels. This organization intentionally brings together people with different views. Chain of Lakes had  speakers from Braver Angels make a presentation. It was beautiful.

On the Braver Angels web site, braverangels.org/our-mission, they shared that they “envision an America with respectful embrace of political disagreements, where civic friendship flourishes and competing perspectives strengthen our nation."

“Embracing values of respect, humility, honesty, and responsible citizenship, our goal is not to change people’s views of issues, but to change their views of each other.”

One of the hardest videos I watched in the past week was not a video of Charlie Kirk being shot. I would never watch that. It was a video of his two children running up to greet him at an event. Those kids will never know their father. Those kids are the same age as my granddaughter, Elouise.  

Charlie Kirk said some things that I would never endorse. In fact, I’ve written blogs that countered the ideas that he shared. But at the end of the day, he had two daughters who will now grow up without a dad.

Again—I don’t claim to have the answers to this issue. But until we all get out of our boxes and reach out to others who have opposing views to look for common ground, I’m not optimistic that anything will change.

Something has to change!

I don't have the answers AND something has to change. Praus!

Last week the term “Annunciation Catholic Church” joined other terms like Sandy Hook, Uvalde, Virginia Tech, the Orlando Nightclub that describe a Mass Shooting. I’m old enough to remember the first one—Columbine—that tragically garnered widespread attention. Partly because this shooting happened in Minneapolis, I’ve been spending a lot of time reading about it since it happened last Wednesday.

And I’m willing to keep reading about it until a large enough number of people say, “Enough!” I shared in my sermon this past Sunday, found at: August 31, 2025 Worship Service,  that maybe the Holy Spirit will lead people of faith—and certainly people who don’t believe or practice faith are included—to say, "Something has to change."

"Something has to change." Perhaps this could be a new term of peacemaking.

In the past eleven years there have been over seventy Mass Shootings in Minnesota. A Mass Shooting is defined by the Gun Violence Archive as having a minimum of four victims either injured or killed not including the shooter. We’re all suffering because of this sickness. We have to keep talking about this sickness—in our families, at church, at school, at our work sites, at our community organizations, with all of our political leaders—basically with all humans.

I do not believe that this sickness will change until enough people say, “Something has to change.”

And unfortunately I’m not optimistic that the horrible incident at Annunciation Catholic Church will be the instigator for change. If change didn’t happen after Sandy Hook—where twenty students and eight adults were killed, or after Uvalde—where 19 students and 2 teachers were fatally shot, or after Virginia Tech—where 33 people were killed, or after the Orlando Nightclub attack, where 49 people were killed, then why would it change now?

However, my pessimism is smaller than my desire to see these shootings stop.

I certainly don’t claim to have the answers to what will work. But I do believe that we need to think about solutions in an expansive way. We need to use the word, “AND” much more instead of the word, “BUT.”

Already I’ve read articles about those who oppose gun control who say that more mental health resources are needed. I agree that more mental health resources are needed, AND I don’t think creating a zero-sum game of pitting gun control policies versus mental health resources is the way to go.

I do think it’s fair to say that if Robin Westman had received significantly more mental health support this likely would not have happened AND if she did not have access to guns that this incident would not have happened.

Already I’ve read where people are critical of those who have transitioned and are critical of policies that help people who have transitioned. I agree that transitioning is a complicated process, AND I believe that more support is needed for people who transition.

We need policies that bring people together AND do not scapegoat any group of people.

In my sermon on Sunday, I encouraged people to live by praus. Praus is a Greek word that means meek, or gentle strength. Jesus said, “blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” I’d like to inherit an earth where no children or adult die in a Mass shooting. AND I’m willing to live by praus and encourage others until this becomes a reality.

Being meek does not mean we are pushovers; on the contrary it means we are rooted in something far greater than ourselves. Living with praus means each of us says consistently “this is not the world we want to live in. We don’t want to live in a world where children die from gunshot while attending Mass at their school.

My hope is the term “Annunciation Catholic Church” will be the last one on this horrible list of Mass Shootings. Even though I am pessimistic I’m willing to join a movement for change. I don’t claim the answers, AND I’m willing to work with others to find them.

Praus!