tfoolry
9/15/2009, 02:02 PM
OU needs to arrange a series with Iowa......
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090914/SPORTS020502/909150346/1093/sports0205
Hawkeye football: Mother of Arizona coach is eager for return to Kinnick
By ANDREW LOGUE • [email protected] • September 14, 2009
Iowa City, Ia. — Dee Stoops is stoked about her first visit to Kinnick Stadium's infamous pink locker room.
That's where she'll be Saturday afternoon, huddled with the Arizona football team, listening as head coach Mike Stoops gives his pregame pep talk.
"They're all intense," Dee Stoops said of her sons — Mike, Bob, Mark and Ron Jr. "Michael is probably more demonstrative. He shows his fire." The intensity level will rise when Mike Stoops returns to his alma mater for a 2:30 p.m. showdown with Iowa.
He was one of three brothers, including Wildcats defensive coordinator Mark, who helped revive the Hawkeye program under former coach Hayden Fry, and several family members are treating the occasions as a homecoming.
"It'll be odd for them to go out and root against Iowa," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "But they're going back because of all the great feelings. We all still have a lot of fond and fabulous memories from our time there."
Bob Stoops, who will be coaching the Sooners against Tulsa this weekend, began the legacy when he played defensive back for the Hawkeyes from 1979-82.
Mike was a strong safety from 1982-84. Mark played from 1986-88.
Throughout the decade, Dee and her husband, Ron Sr., would make the 10-hour trip from their home in Youngstown, Ohio, to Iowa City.
"We would drive all night," Dee recalled. "I loved bringing ham sandwiches and things for the kids to eat."
They formed a friendship with Kirk Ferentz, who was then an assistant under Fry.
"We used to park our car at coach Ferentz's house and walk to the game," Dee said. "He was very good to us."
Click here for this week's Iowa and Arizona two-deep depth charts
Ferentz owns a 72-53 record in 11 seasons as the Hawkeyes' head coach.
Mike Stoops is 27-34 after inheriting a downtrodden Arizona program in 2004.
"I like our character, our toughness," Stoops said of this year's 2-0 Wildcats. "We're just better off than we've ever been."
Those words remind Dee of how her sons helped Fry reverse Iowa's football fortunes, and Bob Stoops' early struggles before leading Oklahoma to a national championship in 2000.
"You go through the highs and the lows in this game," she said. "I guess I've been cheering for underdogs all my life, and they've always come to the top."
All three Stoops brothers wore No. 41 for the Hawkeyes. And when Ron Sr., a high school coach, died of a heart attack in 1988, he was buried in a black and gold jersey.
"All of us in our family have warm feelings about the University of Iowa," Ron Jr. said. "We care for them."
Dee is prepared to tackle mixed emotions.
"The people were wonderful," she said. "I follow every game of Iowa. I always watch them when they're on TV. I'm a very big supporter of coach Ferentz and the Iowa program."
On Saturday, however, she'll be in the visiting locker room with Mike and Mark.
"I finally get to hear them talk to their team, and oh, it's just exhilarating," Dee said. "I just love to see them in their own environment."
Fry once explained that he wanted pink walls for the visitor's locker room, because he thought it would have a mellowing affect on opponents.
Dee Stoops doesn't expect the color scheme to dampen the mood of Mike, Mark and the Wildcats.
"They are fierce competitors," she said. "If you know my four boys, they're all very similar. And they're a lot like their father."
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090914/SPORTS020502/909150346/1093/sports0205
Hawkeye football: Mother of Arizona coach is eager for return to Kinnick
By ANDREW LOGUE • [email protected] • September 14, 2009
Iowa City, Ia. — Dee Stoops is stoked about her first visit to Kinnick Stadium's infamous pink locker room.
That's where she'll be Saturday afternoon, huddled with the Arizona football team, listening as head coach Mike Stoops gives his pregame pep talk.
"They're all intense," Dee Stoops said of her sons — Mike, Bob, Mark and Ron Jr. "Michael is probably more demonstrative. He shows his fire." The intensity level will rise when Mike Stoops returns to his alma mater for a 2:30 p.m. showdown with Iowa.
He was one of three brothers, including Wildcats defensive coordinator Mark, who helped revive the Hawkeye program under former coach Hayden Fry, and several family members are treating the occasions as a homecoming.
"It'll be odd for them to go out and root against Iowa," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "But they're going back because of all the great feelings. We all still have a lot of fond and fabulous memories from our time there."
Bob Stoops, who will be coaching the Sooners against Tulsa this weekend, began the legacy when he played defensive back for the Hawkeyes from 1979-82.
Mike was a strong safety from 1982-84. Mark played from 1986-88.
Throughout the decade, Dee and her husband, Ron Sr., would make the 10-hour trip from their home in Youngstown, Ohio, to Iowa City.
"We would drive all night," Dee recalled. "I loved bringing ham sandwiches and things for the kids to eat."
They formed a friendship with Kirk Ferentz, who was then an assistant under Fry.
"We used to park our car at coach Ferentz's house and walk to the game," Dee said. "He was very good to us."
Click here for this week's Iowa and Arizona two-deep depth charts
Ferentz owns a 72-53 record in 11 seasons as the Hawkeyes' head coach.
Mike Stoops is 27-34 after inheriting a downtrodden Arizona program in 2004.
"I like our character, our toughness," Stoops said of this year's 2-0 Wildcats. "We're just better off than we've ever been."
Those words remind Dee of how her sons helped Fry reverse Iowa's football fortunes, and Bob Stoops' early struggles before leading Oklahoma to a national championship in 2000.
"You go through the highs and the lows in this game," she said. "I guess I've been cheering for underdogs all my life, and they've always come to the top."
All three Stoops brothers wore No. 41 for the Hawkeyes. And when Ron Sr., a high school coach, died of a heart attack in 1988, he was buried in a black and gold jersey.
"All of us in our family have warm feelings about the University of Iowa," Ron Jr. said. "We care for them."
Dee is prepared to tackle mixed emotions.
"The people were wonderful," she said. "I follow every game of Iowa. I always watch them when they're on TV. I'm a very big supporter of coach Ferentz and the Iowa program."
On Saturday, however, she'll be in the visiting locker room with Mike and Mark.
"I finally get to hear them talk to their team, and oh, it's just exhilarating," Dee said. "I just love to see them in their own environment."
Fry once explained that he wanted pink walls for the visitor's locker room, because he thought it would have a mellowing affect on opponents.
Dee Stoops doesn't expect the color scheme to dampen the mood of Mike, Mark and the Wildcats.
"They are fierce competitors," she said. "If you know my four boys, they're all very similar. And they're a lot like their father."