Crowds camp out for Tressel’s book signing

By Denise Dick

More than 500 people waited at the store to get signed copies of the book.

BOARDMAN — Donna and Jon Burnell of Columbiana arrived at Barnes Noble 14 hours before Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel’s expected arrival time to get signed copies of his new book.

“No one was here yet, so we went to see a movie,” Donna Burnell said Thursday morning at the store.

The Burnells, both dressed in OSU apparel, returned a couple of hours later and were joined by Alex Riddle and Trevor Butch, both of Poland, who arrived at 11 p.m. Wednesday for the 10 a.m. Thursday book signing.

“We’re just big Ohio State fans,” Alex said.

They didn’t want to run the risk of coming late and missing a signature from the popular coach, he said.

Tressel’s book, “The Winners Manual for the Game of Life,” was released Tuesday, and Tressel was signing copies as part of a book tour. Proceeds from the book sales will go toward building a new library at OSU.

More than 500 people waited at the store for numbered wristbands to stand in line for an autographed copy and a chance to greet the coach.

“I brought a hammock, and she had a chair,” Jon Burnell said.

They spent the night chatting with other early arrivals and snoozing off and on.

“It was actually a lot of fun,” Donna Burnell said.

The Burnells bought six copies of the book between them, and their early arrival earned them the Nos. 1 and 2 spots in line for Tressel’s signature in each.

“We’re going to give them as gifts,” Jon Burnell said.

The teachers — he in Lisbon and she in Austintown — also plan to give one copy each to a student during the upcoming school year. Just what the students will have to accomplish to win the books hasn’t been determined.

Riddle and Butch drove a van to the store and parked it in the lot, taking turns stealing naps through the night.

Tressel, who served 15 years as head coach at Youngstown State University before assuming the OSU head spot in 2001, says one important message in his book is, “there’s a clear difference between what we are and what we do.”

The book outlines the coach’s Big 10 Fundamentals for Success: attitude, discipline, faith, handling adversity and success, excellence, love, toughness, responsibility, team and hope.

“It began here at Youngstown State when we put together our blueprint, our plan,” Tressel said.

The fundamentals worked for players and coaches, Tressel said, even beyond football.

“It’s a compilation of a lot of good lessons,” he said.

The coach downplayed his own popularity in bringing so many fans out on a weekday morning.

“That’s Ohio State; that’s not me,” he said.

Jan and Kristin Seidler of Poland arrived at 8 a.m., when the store opened, to get their Tressel books.

“The line was already down to Kohl’s,” Jan Seidler said.

Mother and daughter are big Tressel fans.

“When he was at YSU, he and Kristin had a special relationship,” she said.

Kristin and Tressel would sit together at YSU basketball games and chat, Jan Seidler said.

“We were happy but sad when he left to go to Ohio State,” she said.