soonerboy_odanorth
8/2/2006, 07:21 PM
Man.
Who let the air out of the balloon? (Rhett-torical, don't answer...)
But couldn't you almost feel it coming?
I was getting there. Why? No not because of my penchant for being a realist. (Or what some of you would call a nattering nabob of negativity.) But because of Stoops comments earlier this summer...the ones concerning having some players that needed to develop mental toughness instead of walking around with a sense of entitlement because they're an "OU football player."
Sound familiar?
I think they do to Barry Switzer.
Stoops comments were so much a distant echo of things Switzer was saying back circa '81-'83. There's no getting around that players with that kind of poor I-me-mine attitude will negatively affect a team and be a detriment of the sort that led to the rather rough '05 campaign. And perhaps we were even in for a bit rougher time than many expected this year as this team clearly has room to grow... both physically and mentally.
So it took Stoops's boys 6 years to develop that attitude instead of 8 years as it did Barry's. Perhaps that isn't such a surprise given the nature of young people. The only question is whether it will take one, two, three, or more years for most of them to get it figured out and dig out of the current situation.
Rewind to '83... Marcus Dupree we hardly knew ye. A budding superstar with seemingly unlimited potential pulling the double-barrel 12 gauge and taking dead aim at his own two feet, and putting himself above everything and everyone in the Oklahoma program.
Back to the future. So Master Bomar (and I call him "Master" as he clearly not ready to assume a more adult mantle), a budding superstar with seemingly unlimited potential, aimed that 12-gauge a little higher-his back pockets.
Hey Rhett. Don't sweat it buddy, we know how you feel. Most of us would love to give you a little rock salt wake-up call to your hind quarters right about now.
In the meantime you have unintentionally served up a wake-up call to the entire program.
So now the team has a choice:
Pull it together and grow up, or play the victim and let the tailslide continue.
In '84 a group of Switzer's youngsters, notably Spencer Tillman and Brian Bosworth, decided that if the veterans didn't want to make the commitment and lead, then they would. And everyone should take note that it was Switzer that recognized their commitment and put those young men in the position to lead and succeed.
And in Bob Stoops I think we have the right man in the right place to select those players of character that will pull us through this most unfortunate mess.
So those enemies of OU that want to dance now, be very careful and make sure you're familiar with the exits.
Because we know what kind of fire got started in '84.
Who let the air out of the balloon? (Rhett-torical, don't answer...)
But couldn't you almost feel it coming?
I was getting there. Why? No not because of my penchant for being a realist. (Or what some of you would call a nattering nabob of negativity.) But because of Stoops comments earlier this summer...the ones concerning having some players that needed to develop mental toughness instead of walking around with a sense of entitlement because they're an "OU football player."
Sound familiar?
I think they do to Barry Switzer.
Stoops comments were so much a distant echo of things Switzer was saying back circa '81-'83. There's no getting around that players with that kind of poor I-me-mine attitude will negatively affect a team and be a detriment of the sort that led to the rather rough '05 campaign. And perhaps we were even in for a bit rougher time than many expected this year as this team clearly has room to grow... both physically and mentally.
So it took Stoops's boys 6 years to develop that attitude instead of 8 years as it did Barry's. Perhaps that isn't such a surprise given the nature of young people. The only question is whether it will take one, two, three, or more years for most of them to get it figured out and dig out of the current situation.
Rewind to '83... Marcus Dupree we hardly knew ye. A budding superstar with seemingly unlimited potential pulling the double-barrel 12 gauge and taking dead aim at his own two feet, and putting himself above everything and everyone in the Oklahoma program.
Back to the future. So Master Bomar (and I call him "Master" as he clearly not ready to assume a more adult mantle), a budding superstar with seemingly unlimited potential, aimed that 12-gauge a little higher-his back pockets.
Hey Rhett. Don't sweat it buddy, we know how you feel. Most of us would love to give you a little rock salt wake-up call to your hind quarters right about now.
In the meantime you have unintentionally served up a wake-up call to the entire program.
So now the team has a choice:
Pull it together and grow up, or play the victim and let the tailslide continue.
In '84 a group of Switzer's youngsters, notably Spencer Tillman and Brian Bosworth, decided that if the veterans didn't want to make the commitment and lead, then they would. And everyone should take note that it was Switzer that recognized their commitment and put those young men in the position to lead and succeed.
And in Bob Stoops I think we have the right man in the right place to select those players of character that will pull us through this most unfortunate mess.
So those enemies of OU that want to dance now, be very careful and make sure you're familiar with the exits.
Because we know what kind of fire got started in '84.