Nobody is poking fun or criticizing P.J. Fleck and his "Row the Boat" catch phrase anymore
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – P.J. Fleck and his “Row the Boat” battle cry used to be the source of many jokes and ridicule, but not anymore.
The joke is actually on those who poked fun at Fleck’s approach to promoting his rebuild of the Minnesota football program, and on those who gave the little bundle of non-stop energy little to no chance of succeeding.
That includes me.
I didn’t necessarily assume that Fleck would fail as the Minnesota head coach because I figured that sooner or later somebody would wake up the sleeping giant from up north.
But I have taken a few petty shots at Fleck’s row-the-boat catch phrase because it seemed a little silly and self-promoting at first.
Then I learned what it stood for and have since watched Fleck perform a stunning rebuild that currently has Minnesota soaring at 9-0 and ranked seventh in the Associated Press poll heading into Saturday’s game against 6-3 Iowa at Kinnick Stadium.
The Gophers are turning into arguably the biggest story in college football, which means everybody is on board and rowing the boat, no joke intended.
“Minnesota comes in here 9-0, and that's hard to do, really hard to do,” said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. “They deserve a lot of credit for that certainly, top-10 ranked team and certainly deserving of that, too.
“They've earned it, playing well in all three areas, and that's where our attention is right now. They're a big, physical football team, especially on the offensive front. They have a huge offensive line. They've got good receivers. They had good receivers a year ago.”
The 38-year old Fleck is in his third season at Minnesota and he just recently signed a new contract extension that runs through the 2026 season.
That doesn’t mean Fleck will stay in Minneapolis for an extended period, but both sides seem committed to each other.
The Gophers feel that they finally have struck gold, while Fleck apparently feels that Minnesota is more than just a stepping stone job, although, time ultimately will determine the level of his commitment.
Fleck might rub some people the wrong way with how the focus almost always seems to be on him more than on his players.
But he gets results.
Fleck went from winning one game in his first season as head coach at Western Michigan in 2013 to winning 13 games in his fourth and final season in 2016.
And now he has the Gophers in position to win the Big Ten West Division for the first time ever.
The Gophers are rock-solid on both sides of the line of scrimmage, ranking third in the Big Ten in total offense and sixth in total defense.
Minnesota has who many consider the best pair of receivers in the Big Ten in Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman. They enter Saturday’s game with 50 and 38 catches, respectively.
The Gophers are also deep and talented at running back, have a massive offensive line and a quarterback who leads the Big Ten in passing efficiency in Tanner Morgan.
A Big Ten team doesn’t reach 9-0 by accident or by some fluke.
This Minnesota team is more than just legitimate, it might be special.
“They’re very explosive with the ball,” said Iowa linebacker Djimon Colbert. “They can run the ball. They’re very physical.
“And then as soon as they lull you to sleep with the run game, they can throw a deep ball on you. So we’ve got to be able to combat both.”
Minnesota used to be one of the true giants in college football, winning seven national titles, but all but two came in the 1930s and 1940s.
The Gophers have struggled to sustain success for most of the past half century and haven’t won a Big Ten title since 1967. There have been some eight and nine win seasons sprinkled in, and even a 10-win season in 2003 under Glen Mason.
Some also believe that Lou Holtz was poised for greatness as the Minnesota head coach in the mid-1980s before he left for his dream job at Notre Dame in 1985 after just two seasons.
But more times than not, Minnesota has been a non-factor in the conference race.
Until now.
Fleck has used what some thought was a silly and annoying catch phrase to help guide and fuel his rebuild.
I thought it was silly until learning its origin.
Fleck came up with the phrase to help cope with the loss of his second son, who died from a heart condition shortly after birth.
Fleck watched his son pass away in his wife’s arms and was overwhelmed by the sorrow, frustration and questions that came from the tragedy.
Fleck said to himself that he would just keep rowing as a way to persevere and the phrase grew from there.
And now it’s the Minnesota program that just keeps winning, and you wonder if it’ll eventually come at Iowa’s expense.
Somebody besides Nebraska has to be bad or mediocre in the Big Ten West, and with Minnesota and Illinois both on the rise, and with Purdue much improved under Jeff Brohm, Hawkeye fans should be concerned about more than just the outcome of Saturday’s game.