Previously: The Story 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008. The internet (and probably some sacred documents) say that the Buddha found enlightenment after sitting under a Banyan tree for seven days. Cool! Way to go, Buddha. Ever try some goalposts? om [Fuller] I cannot exactly elucidate why these images have burned themselves into my head, and the heads of many Michigan fans. Maybe it's that the happy-go-lucky McCarthy seems like a breath of fresh air to a Michigan fanbase that was, until recently, beset by woe. Maybe it's just nice to have a guy who's a little different because it makes things more interesting. Maybe, I dunno, it's a different mode of leadership fit for the 24th century: On J.J. McCarthy’s leadership: It’s vibrant. It’s infectious; it rubs off on everybody. Last summer, we took a team trip around Michigan and we got into this wiffle ball game. My kids were playing — a bunch of nine-year-olds, some of Jack's friends. And you couldn’t tell who the nine-year-olds were and who the 18-year-olds were. He's running, he's diving, he’s sliding. One ball gets hit out into the street and he's running out, doesn't even look. Dove into first base one time and barely missed this tree that was planted and had the bricks around it. He missed it by that much. He's got the enthusiasm of a 10-year-old guy. It’s a beautiful thing. It's that vibrant, it's that infectious and it rubs off on the team. Maybe next time demand McCarthy wears pads, but… maybe not. In fact, let's not. I know what it is now. [After THE JUMP: what it is]