My Favorite Cigar
P.J. Fleck • College Football Coach • Flor de las Antillas Toro Gordo
“It teaches you a lot when you’re the worst coach in America,” P.J. Fleck, the now highly esteemed head coach of the Minnesota Gophers football team, says about his coaching debut (1-11) with Western Michigan. One lesson stuck: “That’s probably when I started smoking cigars, because it really taught me you have to be able to celebrate the moments with the people around you.”
Fleck, 45, would subsequently lead each of those teams to their greatest successes, sometimes celebrating victories by diving into his players’ arms. Cigars nurture his contemplative side. “There are some great ideas I’ll come up with, with a cigar in my hand.” Despite his youthful energy, Fleck sees himself as an old soul. He’s one of the few who still wears a tie on gameday, and his musical preference leans to the Rat Pack.
He names the Flor de las Antillas Toro Gordo as his favorite cigar. The My Father Cigars loyalist was introduced to them when this magazine named the Toro the Cigar of the Year in 2012, just as Fleck was getting into cigars. He hasn’t looked back from the brand since.
