After losing to Virginia Tech, U.Va. coach Al Groh got up to address his team, unfolded a sheet of copier paper, and read a poem, “Guy in the glass,” by Dale Wimbrow…..

When you get what you want in your struggle for self,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.
For it isn’t your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Who judgement upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He’s the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he’s with you clear up to the end,
And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and “chisel” a plum,
And think you’re a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you’ve cheated the guy in the glass.

Then Groh added his own stanza:

When I visited the guy in the glass,
I saw that he’s a guy of commitment, of integrity, of dependability, and accountability.
He is loyal, his spirit is indomitable, and he’s caring and loving.
I’m sure I will always call the guy in the glass a friend.

With that, he strode out of the locker room.

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Make what you will of that, but it seems like Al Groh’s final words as U.Va. head coach. The poem refers to you being the only person who can effectively judge yourself at the end of the day, a message Groh sends out, I’m sure, to his many critics. At the end, he listed some of the attributes he wanted to be remembered by.

Some player reaction to the poem:

Aaron Clark: “You’ve got to grow up and be a man, you know what I’m saying? If you cant look at yourself in the mirror when you go home at night, you probably didn’t do something right.”

Rashawn Jackson: “Maybe its something he’s been contemplating about. hes a very educated man, very smart, very emotional. And I think that poem described it all – described how he felt. It takes a big man to stand up in front of a team and read something like that.”

Mikell Simpson: “To be honest I was kind of zoned out. I was reminiscing on my final moments here being at Virginia and everything I’ve been though here., so I kind of zoned out through the poem.  I just knew he was reading a poem and it had to be emotional.”

Jameel Sewell: “It was very emotional. You could see it on his face. He’s having a tough time just like we’re having a tough time, but we’ve got each other’s backs. No matter what it is, we’re going to stick it out together. All of us.”

I have to start cranking out words for the print edition - come back in a couple hours to see even more from Charlottesville.

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The coach reads a poem - then adds a stanza about himself.