Al Eschback Is My Hero!

[FaninAma]

Has there ever been anybody who has done more with less? He is living proof that you don't have to have looks, intelligence, talent or the ability to speak coherently to be a success.

[Newbomb Turk]

can't disagree with any of that - except the hero part.

I honestly can't stand listening to the guy.

[soonersam]

i like him... but he needs some fashion help

[Soonerus]

Despite his act, Al has been a very hard-working journalist in the OKC area since the 70's...lots of institutional memory....

[Soonerus]

btw, Eschbach....

[umberto]

Eschbach is annoying. He tries too hard to get the other guys off of sports and on to Castro or some other crap. We only get like 15 minutes an hour of sports anyway Al; no one wants to hear about your vacation or Castro's love of beer!

[FaninAma]

Despite his act, Al has been a very hard-working journalist in the OKC area since the 70's...lots of institutional memory....

Define hardworking.

[critical_phil]

Define hardworking.
i think he meant to say that Al was a hardworking journalist during the 70's - and he was back then. now, not so much.


don't kid yourself. Al knows no more about the current state of sooner football than many of the fantastic idiots that frequent this board.

[King Crimson]

i know a lot of people who have lived in Norman in the same interim who know more than Al about the last 25 years of Sooner sports. Al has been useful for more than one coaching staff.

Al is alright in my book, but like Dick Vitale....once become a parody of yourself it's over.

[picasso]

I've got no problem with him. he's uncooth at times but that might just be his role on the air.
and he does know tons of trivia there Claybon. and he's a Sooner.

also, if you were a skinny nerdy type you'd probably dress odly too to distract the eye a bit.

[sooneron]

Sometimes he makes me chuckle, but often, he makes me say, "Jeez dude, move onto something sports related!"

[Soonerus]

Al works hard at knowing the intimate details of his bell cow...OU Football...For example when some were debating who created the biggest OU football problem of all time, Bomar or Dupree, I heard Al suggest Kerry Jackson..I think he is probably right...I get annoyed at him like everybody else but the guy knows his OU football...

[FaninAma]

I'm serious that he's my hero. He is the Forrest Gump of sports reporting.

[mrowl]

Despite his act, Al has been a very hard-working journalist in the OKC area since the 70's...lots of institutional memory....

what he does, does not qualify as "journalism"

"blabbering on the radio", yes.

[Remembering Tom Stidham]

I first met Al at the Orange Bowl debacle against Arkansas. He had just married and introduced his bride to my wife and I. She was lovely, charismatic, and class...all of which traits Al did not have. Al and I quaffed a few in the Big 8 hospitality room. After a week of this revelry, I was seeing what his lovely bride had already spotted.

I have been with him many times since that week, and my admiration has grown. He is an excellent writer with a phenomenal memory and truly loves our university and its athletic teams. I can overlook his sometimes cloddish appearance and behavior.

[Soonerus]

He is definitely not my hero, he is not a good role model, he has wacky views outside of sports but the guy knows his OU football like few others....

[sooneron]

He is a good writer.

[Soonerus]

Al was a very good print journalist for years back in the Oklahoma Journal days, very good writer, IMO....

[sooneron]

Al was a very good print journalist for years back in the Oklahoma Journal days, very good writer, IMO....
Print journalism is obviously what Al was made for.:texan:

He's got a face for radio and a voice for print.

[Soonerus]

Al has never made it for long on TV I can not figure that out....

[King Crimson]

i hate to disagree with at least one poster i respect, but i have never thought Al to be a good writer. his stuff i've read, to return to the Vitale comparison, just reads like he sounds. and fairly simplistic.

i'm not asking for Faulker, but i'd like to see/read some thoughts and observations that were not obvious to myself.

i respect Al's place in the media days of the Switzer era......but he's coasting these days.

[Soonerus]

A good writer in the area of sports writing must be evaluated in its proper context...

[MikeInNorman]

Al Eschbach, at one time, knew everything there was to know about OU football, inside and out. He was very tight with Switzer's staff, and was constantly fed inside information. Al also basically invented the entire local market for recruiting information, being the first journalist/personality locally (and one of the first in the entire country) to stress and promote recruiting as the most important thing in college football. Al was a very hard worker, who earned his place. Even as a writer, Al provided great information you couldn't get elsewhere, even though you had to pick through his atrocious grammar.

Al hasn't actually seemed to "work" at all since he returned from Kansas City. Fortunately for Al, John Blake became head coach, and the Switzer connection insured that Al would continue to receive all the inside info he wanted without breaking a sweat. That changed COMPLETELY when Bob Stoops became head coach.

Al no longer has any inside information, despite what he may intimate. He gets exactly the same stuff any other press guy gets from the staff. Stoops made Mikey give up his show with Al at Big Red (ugh) when he thought Mike was giving Al more info than necessary. All of the coaches know that Al should be treated decently, but are instructed not to give him anything that isn't general knowledge. This explains Al's woeful ignorance on current Sooner football subjects, as nobody is feeding him information any more, and he's too lazy to work hard enough to find out. Al's basically guessing, and literally knows nothing more than most of the posters here, and in some cases, less. ;)

[jdsooner]

Having Al as a hero is better than having Robert Allen as a hero.

[FaninAma]

Al Eschbach, at one time, knew everything there was to know about OU football, inside and out. He was very tight with Switzer's staff, and was constantly fed inside information. Al also basically invented the entire local market for recruiting information, being the first journalist/personality locally (and one of the first in the entire country) to stress and promote recruiting as the most important thing in college football. Al was a very hard worker, who earned his place. Even as a writer, Al provided great information you couldn't get elsewhere, even though you had to pick through his atrocious grammar.

Al hasn't actually seemed to "work" at all since he returned from Kansas City. Fortunately for Al, John Blake became head coach, and the Switzer connection insured that Al would continue to receive all the inside info he wanted without breaking a sweat. That changed COMPLETELY when Bob Stoops became head coach.

Al no longer has any inside information, despite what he may intimate. He gets exactly the same stuff any other press guy gets from the staff. Stoops made Mikey give up his show with Al at Big Red (ugh) when he thought Mike was giving Al more info than necessary. All of the coaches know that Al should be treated decently, but are instructed not to give him anything that isn't general knowledge. This explains Al's woeful ignorance on current Sooner football subjects, as nobody is feeding him information any more, and he's too lazy to work hard enough to find out. Al's basically guessing, and literally knows nothing more than most of the posters here, and in some cases, less. ;)

So what you're saying is that Al is living off his past reputation and that his past success confirms the old addage that it's not what you know but who you know.

I live my life by that little tidbit of wisdom.

[MikeInNorman]

So what you're saying is that Al is living off his past reputation and that his past success confirms the old addage that it's not what you know but what people think you know.

I live my life by that little tidbit of wisdom.

Fixed that for you. ;)

[toast]

I wish he would use less of his junior high sense of humor, but for the most part I think he's ok.

[fwsooner22]

If you don't "GET" Al Eschback.........then the joke is on you............

Al could care less what we think about him.........the people who are close to him are very loyal to him.........That says it all..........

Stop Complaining.........we have games in just a few short days

[FaninAma]

If you don't "GET" Al Eschback.........then the joke is on you............

Al could care less what we think about him.........the people who are close to him are very loyal to him.........That says it all..........

Stop Complaining.........we have games in just a few short days

fwsooner, I haven't read a lot of complaints just some honest opinions.

And BTW, show me a guy who's friends aren't loyal to him and I'l show you a guy who doesn't have any friends.

I am sincere when I say I have a great deal of respect for what the guy's accomplished. People with far more God-given assets have accomplished far less than Al. That's a quality I admire.

[william_brasky]

Al is a good man who loves OU football.

[snp]

I love Al.

Every time I've chatted with him at his bar, he's been friendly, cool, and gave us a minute of his time.

He doesn't take himself seriously, and cracks me up.

See-yaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[PDTsooner]

It may also depend upon your level of Fanaticism. I have always been a strong Sooner fan, but not one who feels I must know every tidbit of information or be the expert in the crowd when the Sooner’s are on topic. Since I moved back to Oklahoma three years ago I periodically catch his show. I do enjoying listening to him and feel I pick up on some knowledge each time. He definitely knows more than I do. I am listening not only for insight, but also for enjoyment. I think he has personality and personality goes a long way.

For someone who prides them self on being the quintessential Sooner fan I could see why he may annoy them. He's changeling them for the top spot.

[fwsooner22]

You want a subject to discuss regarding Oklahoma Media..........Try Bob Barry....that argument is tiring and obviously falls on deaf ears.......but at least it has merit........

[soonergooner]

what he does, does not qualify as "journalism"

"blabbering on the radio", yes.


A true journalist would have exposed brs&i years ago, except the obvious conflict of interest... Is the crack still teaching "journalism" @ the university?

[goingoneight]

what he does, does not qualify as "journalism"

"blabbering on the radio", yes.


A true journalist would have exposed brs&i years ago, except the obvious conflict of interest... Is the crack still teaching "journalism" @ the university?

A true journalist, like a true compliance administrator cannot know everything about BRSI and players stupid enough to let this go on.

Judging by your "gooner" screen name, since "gooner" isn't a word, and is a reference OSU cow-pokers use for lack of an intelligent insult... I say you look up the history and success of OU journalism vs. OSU "we gots that too" before spouting off.