Tressel Reflects On Recent Journey

So when he heard they would be spending a couple of nights in one of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's palaces, Tressel was thinking comfortable bed, if no fruit basket.

"We walked in with our bags that we could barely carry, we were in our bulletproof vests that were 40-something pounds, and we were thinking, 'Man, I can't wait to get into this room and have a little bit of fun,' " Tressel said. "And we walk in and there were four bunk beds, one restroom."

They made do, of course, and found time for perspective in Saddam's palaces in the coming days.

"The next night we had an hour or two before we went to bed and we sat outside on his porch, looked over at his other palaces, thought about the kids we'd met that day, thought about what had gone on before there and just looked at one another and said, 'Here we are, these sorry football coaches, sitting in Saddam's palace,' " Tressel said.

"We might have even had a cigar -- I won't tell you for sure. But it was like, 'Wow, if the boys could see me now.' "

tmay@dispatch.com


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