"I just shook my head and said, 'Aw, man,' " Al Sr. said.
That boy is now the man who has brought Temple football back from the dead. In five years, Al Golden - his mother routinely calls him Alfred, everyone else just calls him Al - has turned the Temple Owls from a national joke into a contender that is 3-0 heading into a pivotal matchup Saturday with Penn State, Golden's alma mater.
Once synonymous with losing, Temple entered this season as the favorite to win the Mid-American Conference title and make a repeat appearance in a bowl game. After losing 16 of their first 17 games under Golden, the Owls have gone 18-14. The players' academics, discipline, and self esteem are up, and the program's brand image as a renegade loser has been wiped away.
"To call him a savior might not be too strong," Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw said.
Sure. Call Golden Temple's savior. Just don't ask him how long he is going to stay.
Opportunity knocks
Al Golden was not happy. It was the Tuesday before last Saturday's game against Connecticut, and the first-team offense was getting embarrassed by the scout-team defense. Wearing black shorts, a black long-sleeved T-shirt, and a cherry visor, Golden was overseeing an 11-on-11 drill, and he abruptly yelled for junior tight end Evan Rodriguez to go to the sideline.
"I want the guys who are tough," Golden yelled at Rodriguez. "No toughness, no title. I'm not talking to the sky. I'm talking to you. No toughness, no title."
