What’s Fran Dunphy Been up To?
In Philadelphia, one of the most pleasant sights next to an Ishkabibles Chicken cheesesteak, fries with cheese wiz (the only place cheese wiz belongs) and a gremlin to make it all come together, is Fran Dunphy.
Dunphy is the guy in the movie that says something real ominous to the hero in the beginning and then pops up at the end only to give a thumbs up and disappear, again. Even in his coaching days at Temple, he wasn’t exactly known for being a social butterfly. Literally one of the nicest and wisest men I know, but he was a worker, and workers have a way of being Bruce Wayne-esp when it comes to their social life.
I got the pleasure of seeing him not only once, but twice in the last few months…and yes, they were both Big 5 related events.
The first time I saw Dunphy (really hoping you read that in your best Dave Chappelle voice) this fall was at a Coaches vs Cancer luncheon. I walked in right before everything kicked off, found my assigned table and looked up at six men fixing either their ties, chairs or the mic in front of them. Up on stage, sitting from left to right were Zack Spiker, Aaron McKee, Billy Lange, Ashley Howard, Jay Wright, and Steve Donahue. One by one, they told stories of their teams and their hopes for the year. When the panel wrapped up, the mingling began. I stood up, pushed my chair in and right before I left my seat, I saw him. Dunphy was shaking hand after hand as he made his way towards the door and when we ended up face to face, he flashed a smile and shook my hand. He thanked me for supporting CVC, TRYING to win the auction for City 6 tickets and left.
The second time I saw Dunphy was at the Withum Big 5 charity event a little over a week ago. I went up to the second floor of Talesman and amongst all the mingling and talking, I saw Dunphy standing at the bar looking like the American version of the Dos Equis man. Interesting. I couldn’t talk to him right away because I had to set up for the podcast I was there to record and as soon as I got done setting up I sat down to gather my thoughts. I shot right back up when the coordinator of the event came over to check on me, but he wasn’t alone. He stepped to the side to let the man who was halfway behind him step towards the table. Dunphy.
“What’s going on Coach, how have you been?” I asked as I reached across the table to shake his hand. He matched my smile and shook my hand “I’ve been great Darryl, just wonderful. How’ve you been?”
We began to talk and when he realized it was my set up, he asked “So, you ready?” as he eyed the table with two mic stands and mini recorder in the middle. We got seated and he leaned in to tell me what I thought was going to be a secret. “I’m trying to make it to the second half of this game” as he pointed to the TV showing Penn vs LaSalle. He did a mic check, I asked if he was good which was answered with a nod and I pressed record.
About 20 minutes later we shook hands and I knew three things for certain: all coaches LOVE golfing, especially after retirement; Dunphy can Belichick any question including ones about his favorite Cheesesteak spot and no matter what setting you see him in, you can always learn something when you’re with this great Philadelphian.
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Featured Image: Philadelphia Magazine
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