It Isn't Easy Being Griese

The year after Judith Ann's death, Brian's older brothers were away at college, so Brian and Bob quickly formed a gang of two.

Bob instituted a rigid schedule: wake-up call at 6:30, breakfast at 7:20, depart for school at 7:30, Bob driving. A perfectionist in everything, Bob made a science out of breakfast, aiming to put hot food on the table the moment Brian slipped into his seat. On weekend mornings, when Brian was too down to get up, Bob dragged him out of bed to play basketball.

But the void of his mother's death - and its affect on his father - were never far from Brian's thoughts, even as years passed, as he wrote in Undefeated, the book he and his father wrote in 2000.

As he prepared to meet his high-school friends on a weekend night, Brian would see his father reading the paper, or staring at the television. He usually canceled his plans and stayed home with his father; often, he spent the entire weekend at home.

"I never saw Brian doing the things that were considered to be, you know, natural childish things, the pranks or whatever," said Chris McKeon, athletic director and assistant principal at Columbus High. "I never saw him being immature. He had to grow up a lot earlier.

"He was quiet, shy. And he was a very disciplined, because he had to be. His time schedule was such that he had to have time slotted for everything to take place. Otherwise, his life wouldn't have functioned."

In ninth grade, Griese played junior-varsity quarterback. As a sophomore, he came in and replaced the injured starter, threw a TD pass in his first game and four that season. As his senior season approached, Brian ranked among Florida's top prep quarterbacks. But much of the attention centered on his father, who helped coach Columbus' QBs and receivers.

"I was a human interest story," Brian said.

The story grew boring to Brian.

"I think being Bob's son wore on him; it's got to get old. When your dad coaches you, sometimes they're glad you're there, sometimes they're not," said Dennis Lavelle, Columbus' coach in the early '90s. "One time Bob was yelling at him in practice, and (Brian) turned to a coach and said, 'Get him the hell out of here.'

"He was comfortable with his friends and he was comfortable being in school because at school he could just be himself and not have to (deal with) the Griese name. Teachers didn't care. Kids didn't care, especially other players."

Venerable Bob

Bob and Brian: "A Gang of Two"

CONTINUE