I always wear an OU shirt on Fridays at the office. This morning in the shower I thought to myself, is it appropriate today for a split second...then I realized that wearing the crimson that Austin loved and gave his body to day in and day out would be the best tribute that I could do...especially since I work in Austin, TX.
Such a tragic end, I sure hope his addiction was innocent and something he could not control, but at the same time that makes it even more of a travesty.
This is what I was trying to express yesterday. IF this turns out to be the case it makes this tragedy even more heartbreaking. I always try to make an attempt to understand tragedies like this and why they happen. It helps me cope with the things I deal with in my profession. In Austin's situtation it appears that a dedicated young man who sacrificed all of his life to play the sport he loved just couldn't bring himself to shut it down even though he was in immense pain. If he used the pain medication it was only because he wanted to play one last year so badly and couldn't bring himself to not try and play this last year even it it meant playing through a lot of pain. I know that everybody that knew him and loved him wishes they could turn back the clock and tell him that continuing his career was far less important than his well-being. Take this opportunity to tell your kids this. I know you may assume they know this but in talking to young adults and adolescents you would be shocked to realize how many of them equate their value to personal endeavors like sports and once you take that away from them their self-esteem plummets.
One of my favorite quotes is ""Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning how to dance in the rain." Austin Box learned better than most how to dance in the rain. He fought through a lot of pain and adversity to live his dream to be a Sooner. The Sooner nation will never forgot him. Eternal rest grant unto Austin, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.
His friend at the house knows what happened and it is only the circumstances we are speculating about, not whether it was a tragedy.
We mourn any tragic ending to a young life in the world of sports. But it hits a little harder when it's one of our own. RIP Austin and may your friends and family find some level of comfort in how you lived your life.
It makes me feel like a selfish a-hole because I was so excited to have him back this year. Despite all his injuries, I never gave a thought to how badly he might be hurting.
While he dealt with a few injuries along the way, he really did have some outstanding moments for OU on the field. I was looking at SS.com's list of accomplishments for him here and was wondering if anyone had any video clips or info on them? 2010: "Recovered a fumble vs. Nebraska" I don't remember the play, but know he had a big impact on the game and definitely earned this celebration afterward: 2010: "second career interception came at Oklahoma State" I distinctly remember him holding his entire arm above the ground for a few seconds as the camera zoomed in on him, making sure that no part of the ball would touch the ground. I think it was in the second half, but I don't remember when or where on the field it was. Once again, I have an "after the fact" shot 2009: "forced first career fumble against Texas A&M" I don't have any images or any info on this at all. All I remember is that we won and that it was in Norman. 2008: "made a diving interception against Texas A&M" This one I have the best pic on: ^^^wow, that is such a cool shot. any and all austin tributes should include that image!^^^ Anyone remember when/where in the game it was? It was in College Station and I think that was one of our 60-point streak games Were there any highlights that SS.com missed or anything else that you remember from any games? Any photos, videos, info about any of the above events (or any others not mentioned) would be great. Thanks! EDIT: Anyone notice the diving grab shot, it looks like the tape on his leg says "R8?" I wonder if that's short for "RR8" as in Ryan Reynolds since it was in 2008, the year he went out in the Texas game with a knee injury. Hmm...
OK, here's some more background: 2010: "Recovered a fumble vs. Nebraska" According to a box score on usatoday.com, With 12:45 left in the third quarter, Taylor Martinez (love you Tay Tay! thanks for the championship!) rushed (does that mean trying like hell to avoid a sack and failing?) to the Nebraska 25 for -4 yards. Taylor Martinez fumble recovered by Austin Box at the Nebraska 24, returned for no gain. 2010: "second career interception came at Oklahoma State" Start viewing at 1:38: [youtube]dQgScg8dGCU[/youtube] It looks like it was 1st and 10 pokes at their own 25 or so. The pass was tipped (by Hammer???) and recovered by extreme diving on Austin's part near the 20. It was about 7:26 left in the 4th with us only up 30-26. Definitely a key play in the victory on the road. Another photo: Rus is right - we shouldn't speculate till the ME report comes back at this point. So, I'd rather think about Austin's life than his death right now.
As a father I could not comprehend the loss of one of my kids. Prayers for the parents to help cope with this. Ive had to take OC before fore injuries and it allways made me breathe extremely shallow, sometimes I even felt like I was holding my breath.
2009: "forced first career fumble against Texas A&M" According to the game's stat page on ESPN.com, it was about 4:55 left in second quarter during a kickoff following an OU score, with us up 28-10. Texas A&M's Cyrus Gray returned the kickoff for 22 yards, but was forced to fumble by Austin. However, A&M's Bradley Stephens recovered at the A&M 29. 2008: "made a diving interception against Texas A&M" Once again using ESPN.com stats archive. With about 7:20 left in the third, it was 2nd and 9 at A&M 28. Good ol' Jerrod Johnson, who I wished we could have met in the A&M this past season, threw a pick to Austin Box at the A&M 37, returned for no gain. Two plays later, Sam connects with Iggy for a 37-yard touchdown pass. OU increased its lead to 59-21 (again, at College Station) and we went on to win 66-28. Start at 4:55. [youtube]fRu1ZXvmkLk[/youtube] I will keep digging to find videos, photos, anything on these any other highlights. Help me out if you can!
I'm not a religious or spiritual man, but I've been praying for the Box family, especially his parents and sisters. I can't imagine what they must be going through. Also, I'm sure its been discussed, but the soonersports video of Venables addressing the media last night is almost too hard to watch.
One more on the Nebrasky game - start watching at 8:00 and you can see the sack before the big play! [youtube]RXtIGAZ7R-Q[/youtube] So he actually sacked Taylor before he got him to fumble (and recovered it). Amazing! GK talks about Austin on NewsOK here. GK: I always said when I did interviews at Oklahoma that I didn't grow up with brothers, I didn't have any, so any team I was on, they were my family, they were my brothers. I remember watching Austin get recruited and I was so excited that he was coming to Oklahoma because I was on defense, he was on defense so I knew he would help us out.
