Well, here is my second go at this: I screwed up and erased it the first time around while trying to please the grammar police. For those that don’t have Grammarly, I highly recommend it. It catches things that spell check does not. Just write the damn thing in word and pull it over. SAVE is your friend. Ugh.
So, most of you know from my past that I have posted some good info on this board. Sometimes I am wrong (it happens), but I try to be as accurate as possible (to a point). In this case, I will tell you about my experience with the team starting last Thursday. It was very unexpected, but it opened my eyes to the REALITY of where we are as a team.
For anyone that doubts my account or thinks is bullshit, you can go F yourself. I owe this board nothing, especially people sitting behind the keyboard typing bshit that would never have the stones to say to my face. I love my Sooners like many of us, and it’s okay to have an opinion, but being an a-hole is not acceptable.
Thursday practice:
My buddy and I (Most of you know who it is, but I won’t name names) headed to the practice field in the middle of the afternoon. The team was stretching, so the gentleman that greeted us gave us a tour of the facility. Wow is the best word to describe it. I think it was #64 walking the halls as he was headed to the field and gave me a fist of greeting on the shoulder. Pretty cool, I thought. He was huge! After the tour, we headed into the weight room. A few kids were rehabbing with a strength coach. All the kids greeted us with yes sir…no sir…handshakes…hugs. NUTS! All of them were so very polite while getting hammered by the coach. Name of note
Emeka Megwa. True freshmen. In all my years, I have never seen an 18-year-old kid this built. A man-child, and if he gets healthy, my God, get out of his way.
To the field we go:
Controlled chaos. Two fields are going at one time. Some kids are in full pads, while others are in shorts and helmets. I think the scout team was in full pads. Either way, it was awesome. Pads popping…coaches yelling…music blaring…all under the watchful eye of BV. They were running plays and such at this time, so BV was not involved. You could smell it…hear it and feel it. Game time was coming. Fuking awesome.
In any event, about 15 minutes later, BV came sauntering over to my buddy (not me, of course), and I was in a bit of clenched-ass mode. Coach introduces himself to me. I said my name, but it probably sounded like grib-nib. **** me. I hope I did not sound like an idiot. In any event, the conversation was just nuts, and BV was talking to me like he knew me as well.
After I settled down, I was able to chat with him and such about the team and where we are. I can not get into some of the specifics, but the thing that stuck out was that they have 53 new faces on the team. 53-fing new faces! That’s more than I thought. BV was every bit the intense workman that you would expect. He was genuine, and he so loves THIS team. You can just hear the way he talks about them. Man, I can’t describe it. I even told him I wanted to strap on the helmet. Put me in. Make no mistake about it. He has no excuses. He wants to win today. Now. He knows what we need and what it will take to get to the next level. He was honest about but make no mistake. It’s his way, and we are just getting started. He spoke of a foundation and such. I was amazed. Truly amazed. The man has a plan. I was so impressed with him. I will forever remember that conversation. He is a great man.
After about 20 minutes or so, he left us, and we got to walk around. And watch the rest of the practice. I got to meet Thad and, of course, Smitty. Freaking love that guy. I chatted with other coaches as well, and one comment that stuck out was the fact that a team like Georgia has 16 dline, and they can rotate in and out that can play in the SEC. We (may) have 4. We have zero depth, guys, and it shows. That’s been our problem on D all year. No pressure; undersized (by a long shot), had no experience, and we filled holes with bodies from other teams. Do your research, and you will see the truth. Not my/your opinion but the reality of the position we are in. We also chatted about the football facilities. News coming, but I can’t say here.
They break and surround BV. He brings the gospel.
He pulled no punches with the kids. They even called some kids out for the boneheaded mistakes they made. He preached accountability and to do YOUR job. JUST YOUR JOB. He was fire and brimstone, but you could feel his passion for perfection, and he oozed it. He was willing to help his kids with everything he had. I can’t say enough about that moment. The kids were dialed in. I wanted to get right in there with them. For fuk’s sake, I would have run through a wall for BV.
They break and go to separate fields. BV is right in there with them. He was even playing QB. Not a bad arm, indeed. He was coaching…coaching…coaching the whole time. He never stopped. My God, what energy, and the kids loved it. They were focused indeed. It’s not that the other coaches were not involved. It was more so that I concentrated on BV. It was a site to see.
Practice ended, and I got to chat with DG for a bit. I love that kid. So very polite. We talked about his concussion and some other things—a genuine young man. I saw him make a beautiful one-handed grab on a skinny post. Yes…our QB can catch. Pretty cool.
Practice ends. My head is spinning.
Friday:
Walkthrough. Wanna go? Hell ****ing yes, I do.
This was altogether different. It was about packages and pulling kids in and out. Very regimented and detailed. It was indoors, so it was easier to hear things. Kids were at attention, and to cross that line, you had to earn the right to play. It was a relaxed feel to it. As I walked around a bit by myself, MC (line coach) walked up to me and introduced himself. The dude is so cool. Not sure whom he thought I was, but it was freaking awesome for him to do that. I was soaking in the moment. I was in a place that 99% of you yahoos would never get to see, and I was lucky…blessed…fortunate to be there, and I will forever be grateful.
They break and surround BV. More fire….more brimstone…more reality. I will only tell you one comment that hit me like a ton of bricks.
“Former players set the standard, and they are watching you.”
You could have heard a cricket fart. It was so quiet after that.
Walk-through ends.
The kids come filing by, and I have no delusions of grandeur here. I was standing next to my buddy (no names), and they were all slapping hands…hugging, and such. I was part of the party, and they were doing the same to me. I gave encouragement and such, and they were oh-so-nice and grateful—all of them. I felt part of them. I started loving those kids. Truly. I will never forget that. Ever.
We leave. Head spinning…again. I need a beer or 12 stat.
Game day: Wanna go on the field? Are fuking serious? Hell, yes, I do. FML, hell, yes.
I have been on the sideline line at the cotton bowl, and that was cool, and I had been on the field at the palace for Stoops HOF, but this was altogether different. Let me tell you.
Warm-up:
Man, you could feel the energy. Kids were dialed in. Relaxed. I was not. My ass was tighter than a hamster’s ass in a hurricane. To be that close is super cool. I did not expect what would happen next. At the cotton bowl, we went back and forth during the game but behind the bench. This time….oh boy.
Game time:
To put it bluntly, I was on the tarp. Did I feel out of place? Your damn right I did. The game started, and here I was right in with the team. Back and forth we went, and it was so crazy cool. At one point, I was standing right in front of the dlineman as they sat down. MC sat with them and was not happy…not ****ing happy at all. He was pissed. Holy hell, if I could slink away under a rock, I would have, but I stayed. I won’t tell you what was said, but after he was done, BV came over and started in on them again. Holy fuk.
At the end of the first quarter, I decided to head back up to the suite. I could have stayed the whole game, but I left for reasons of my own. I did come back down at halftime for the HOF induction. I got to chat with Stoops again and, of course, coach Switzer. Gosh, I love those guys.
On a funny note, as I was standing with Stoops, a girl yelled for him so he could see her tshirt.
It said:
Switzer
Stoops
Bitch
Venables
I almost pissed my shorts because I know Stoops saw it. He did not say a thing. My Lord, it was funny.
The game ends. Ugh.
It’s a three-hour drive for me, so I got a chance to reflect on my weekend. I will share my thoughts here, and they are not meant to dissuade any of you yahoos either way. This was my special time with the team, and I will forever cherish every moment. Take it for what you will, gang.
The team:
I love these kids. They break their asses every day. They were so gracious to me and such gentlemen. That’s a product of BV. As God as my witness, I would have hugged every one of them after the game.
They lost, and I know it kills them.
“Former players set the standard..and they are watching.”
I know this rings true.
Of all the losses, this one has affected me greatly. My time with them was short, and I could only imagine how the coaches felt for these kids after a loss. It was heartbreaking. Truly. I know the coaches take it ten times as hard, and I would have hugged BV. I know how much he cares. There is no doubt in my mind.
So where are we:
Here is the truth: this is no dig at the current players. We are young…small…..no depth, and have no experience. Fifty-three new faces on a proud Oklahoma team that has had great success since 1999. They have a new coaching staff that has a history of greatness, and that’s a lot to live up to. We, as fans, only see it from the chair in the stands or the TV. We see the same mistakes over and over, and trust me; the coaches were all about JUST DO YOUR JOB. Over and over. They are coaching the hell out of this team. They see the mistakes WAY more than we ever will.
Guys, we just don’t have the horses. We lost our best players on D last year, and we were not very good then. Did we win more games? Yep. But we were damn lucky.
We are no Alabama…Ohio state. We can not plug in a new player and be awesome. Some of you will point to Oregon or LSU and say well, look at them! They did not go through what OU went through. Not even close. It’s triage for the coaches right now, and in order to be great, they must be in the system, and this will take time, guys. But it will happen.
So in closing, the future is bright for OU. We have an excellent coaching staff in place. The kids are all in, but there will be bumps in the road. Some of you will sit on your pulpit and piss and moan. That’s fine. That’s your opinion. I have my opinion, and while it’s damn difficult to see what we have on the field, I have been given a far greater perspective on the big picture. Time….we need it and lots of it.
I was so blessed to be there. Fortunate, lucky, and I will always remember it. The smells…sounds….the atmosphere was just so awesome. I love my Sooners, and I know all of you do as well. Just be patient. It’s going to take some time to rebuild, and trust me…it’s a rebuild. But I genuinely believe we have the right guy in place. His hand was dealt, and he will play with it. I won’t speak for him, but my impression is that he knows it.
Well, there you have it, gang.
Have a great day and please keep this here.
