Big-Game Bob Gets His (Statue)

Friends, I’m off for a couple of days of being the roadie for the Dad at another Western Swing event, this time in Wagoner, OK.  Since Cousin Fred hales from those parts, he was lobbying hard to make the trip, but the Dad is having none of it. The last trip Cousin Fred made with us resulted in city ordinances being passed (in Texas, mind you) banning Western Swing from ever being performed there again. 

So, I’m looking forward to a couple of relatively quiet days that will give me the chance to work on my part for the statehood festivities taking place on the 16th of this month. I’ll have the laptop with me and can hopefully punch out a blog tomorrow morning so I don’t have to resort to replaying old posts again.
I finished a column for the local newspaper yesterday that should run on Friday that discusses two points of philosophy that I apply to my daily life, no matter what I’m doing.  These two points have been honed by years of experience in dealing with the fools that seem to abound in life.

One of these I’ve discussed before in this blog – that the world is full of stupid people. Keeping that in mind, will get you a long way.

But there’s a second point that I brought up in the column, though I didn’t have enough space to add an example so I’ll do that here.

My second point is that there are well-meaning assassins behind every bush. You know, what I’m talking about.  People that you rely on to do something. People who you believe are on the same wavelength as you.  People who know just what it is that you want them to do. Guess what? They don’t.

I guess a prime example of that is the now infamous…or is it notorious…possibly perplexing…yeah, that’s it…the perplexing travel tour by trailer of the Bob Stoops statue.

By now, we all know that OU had previously arranged to have a statue of Big-Game (sic) Bob created to one day sit among other statues to include the likes of Owen, Wilkinson, and THE Switzer.

Actually, I think the statue as shown in numerous photos and video of the trailer is too tame for the essence of Stoops. Perhaps a better one would have been a statue of the Stoops brothers screaming at one another on the sideline.

The OU Athletic Director at least acted shocked and dismayed that the statue producer would do something so indiscreet. Uh huh.

The statue producer is probably like, “Hey, it’s done! Get it delivered!”

Maybe some minion at OU’s department of statues figured he could stash it in the back of a warehouse somewhere where the barn owls could spend their days crapping on it until such time as Lord Boren beckoned to bring it forth into the light of day!

Regardless, Stoops made it clear that he didn’t want a statue of himself erected before he retired or is otherwise run out of town. He said it would be “weird”…well, put Coach Stoops, well put. I guess that would be like someone delivering your headstone to your house with a date of death engraved while you’re still alive.

But now, the entire student body knows that statue is stashed somewhere on campus.  As does the student body of every other Big-12 (please don’t count the actual teams) campus. You don’t think someone is going to have some fun with it?

Attention OU…attention! We here at the compound would be very happy to store said statue until such time as Lord Boren beckons.

Honestly, the best idea for it, was put forth by the Lost Ogle.  I think it was Patrick who suggested leaving it on the trailer and touring it around Texas until such time as high school football players begin to think of Stoops as a Football God and flock to Norman begging to be Sooners!

Well, anyway, nobody is asking me, but if I were in the OU department of statues, I would definitely put a squad of Marines around it. Otherwise, it may very well appear in Stillwater during Bedlam this year painted in safety orange and black. Just sayin’