Boomer Sooner – You Bet…

This week I can’t help but write about my Sooners. Going into the season, I had very little hope. Thinking we would finish the year around .500 was a good probability. Just look at our schedule – Michigan, Texas, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Mizzou, and LSU. That’s two playoff teams from last year and two from this year’s tournament. But hey, you can count us in too!

Nobody wants to read my rantings on and on about OU football, so I’ve decided to tell a few stories about bets that my loyalties have gotten me into. The latest is a bet that I made with the daughter of a very good friend. She’s a world champion cheerleader and is being recruited by every school in the country, including Oklahoma. She recently announced her decision, and of all the schools she could have picked, she chose Alabama.

I’m broken-hearted, but completely understand why she wants to join the Crimson Tide. On her last trip to Alabama, she came back with an Alabama t-shirt that I couldn’t force myself to wear. So for the OU/Alabama game, we made a bet. Should her new team beat mine, I’d wear her shirt to school for the entire day. But, if my team beat hers, she would have to wear the shirt of my choosing to her school, and I wanted video proof. Well, guess what… we beat them for the second straight year! I purchased what I think is a very tasteful shirt for her that you can see below. However, as you’ll soon read, not all of my bets have been so tasteful…

The first OU bet I made in my Chicago era was back in the early 90s. The bar I was managing was home to the Nebraska Cornhuskers and we packed the place every Saturday. It killed me to hear their fight song over and over (and over) again, watch them drink red beer, and make them elk creek water every game day. Some how during those days, I became good friends with several of the alumni, and still call them friends to this day.

Now, we’re talking the early 90s, and I still had some hair left, enough that I went to the barber twice a month. Back then, OU was going through a rough patch and Nebraska was always ranked in the top five. This didn’t change my fervor for what I always believed was our biggest game of the year. That first bet involved shaving my head should we get beat by the dreaded team to the north. And, if we pulled a rabbit out of our hat, that group of friends would have to get the “Coach Cut.” Just imagine a group of guys with heads of thick hair suddenly looking like Tibetan monks. Luckily for them, their boys got the job done and they got to shave my head for the first time, amongst hundreds of cheering Cornhusker fans. That bet continued and modified itself for years.

Not too many seasons later, I bought Durkin’s and we became a Steelers bar. I didn’t go into Steeler Nation cold turkey because while KP was a huge Bears fan, JB was a big Pittsburgh fan, growing up watching the steel curtain, Terry Bradshaw and Lynn Swann.

Every Sunday we packed the place 400-strong. Each table had a Steelers tablecloth, every fan wore a Steelers jersey, and every hand had a Terrible Towel and an Iron City beer. I say every fan, but we had one holdout – a lone Bengals fan who sat at the bar watching his Bengals get beat week after week. However, one of those seasons, they had a decent team and a new bet arose. If the Steelers beat the Bengals (which they always did), he would have to spend the next Sunday at the bar decked out in Pittsburgh attire. If Cincinnati found a way to win, he got to draw Who Dey on my head for all the world to see. Below you can see they results of that bet…

Over the years, there were dozens and dozens of those types of bets. Many involved clothing choices, a few involved performing actions unwillingly, and more than a few involved shots. But one still stands out above the others, and again involves my beloved Sooners…

In 2000, I befriended a crew of Harley riders that soon became my constant companions. Someone in that crew was getting married in Sonoma in 2006. We all flew out together and stayed at a beautiful resort that also served as the wedding venue. One of that group of yahoos was dating a girl from Dallas, who we all called “Dallas,” and she was a big Texas fan. As fate would have it, OU was playing the Longhorns that weekend and I just had to make another bet. This wager required the loser to wear the other’s clothes to dinner that night, which was planned for a nice Italian restaurant in downtown Sonoma. As you’ve guessed by now, I lost that bet and many stories still come out of that night, some of which are actually true. Below is proof that I am a man who pays my bets… and will probably never learn my lesson.

As I moved out of the nightlife and started spending my days with students, my crazy bets continued but they became more physical in nature. Test scores, attendance, and making free throws became targets for my wagers with push-ups at stake. Just a couple of years ago, I could still crank out 100. This awful disease now makes 3 difficult, but that doesn’t mean I’m not working on them or have given up on getting back to where I once was.

With that being said, there is one more bet that I’m staking my life on, which has inspired the title of this blog. Building on the faith I started with, I’m giving my stress and worry to God. It’s more than I could ever carry on my own. I watch so many people struggle to find purpose and meaning as their bodies waste away, quickly losing hope, wondering if what this life has to offer is all there is. Sure, I’m still doing my outside-the-box therapies like acupuncture, infrared sauna, cold plunge, hot tub, massage, not to mention the supplements and my new drug that was designed for epilepsy. No doctors can explain my slow progression, and they’re having a very hard time acknowledging that I’m getting the slightest bit better. I’m choosing to give the credit to Him, for not only hearing, but also answering my prayers. I guess my little mustard seed has taken root and I’m going to keep working at it until I can move that mountain.

If it sounds too good to be true, give it a try. What do you have to lose?

Putting this week’s entry to rest, I want to share that Amy and I are so excited that we secured fantastic tickets to see Third Day at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. One of the songs I leaned on heavily after I was diagnosed was I Need A Miracle. We’ve always heard what a great venue Red Rocks is and believe this is going to be a great first show.

Thanks for reading.

As always, find joy wherever you can, then share it.

God bless.

Coach