Go Pokes!

The Oklahoma State Cowboy football team played in it's first-ever BCS game tonight – the Fiesta Bowl. My dad and sister came over to our house to watch the game. We even served orange and black tortilla chips.

Thanks to a couple of missed field goals, the Cowboys had a chance to win the game at the end of the first overtime. The kick sailed through the uprights, giving OSU the 41-38 win and making the Cowboys the Fiesta Bowl Champions! The postgame trophy presentation was touching as OSU's football coach Mike Gundy shared the trophy with Shelley Budke, the window of the late OSU women's basketball coach.

Go Pokes!

Today is a big day for the Oklahoma State football team. It's Bedlam, where they play in-state rival OU, who the Cowboys typically lose to. Not only that, but a win will put the Cowboys in a BCS game and possibly in the national championship. Needless to say, we were pretty excited for tonight's game.

But we started off the day going to the Home Depot Kids Workshop where Mara got to try her hand at painting her craft – a snowman napkin holder.

Our elf, Fish, even got into the spirit of today's game by taking up residence in our replica of Lewis Field for the day.

Here we are all decked out in our OSU gear, waiting for the game to start.

And Jack and Mikey were ready with their popcorn.

Jack got bored during the game and started playing a game with Lori.

The Cowboys showed that their defense is far better than their current ranking and ended up winning the game 44-10. Now to see what bowl game they'll be playing in. They made their case to be in the national championship game, and I definitely think they deserve to be there. However, I will also be happy if they wind up in the Fiesta Bowl.

November 17, 2011

This will be yet another date ingrained in the hearts of the members of the Oklahoma State athletic department. It goes right up there with January 27, 2001.

Yesterday afternoon, there was another plane crash carrying part of the OSU basketball family. This time, it involved the women's basketball coach, Kurt Budke, assistant coach Miranda Serna, and former state Senator Olin Branstetter and his wife, Paula. They were on their way to some high school basketball games in Little Rock for a recruiting trip. They never made it.

While this doesn't hit as close to home as the other plane crash just because I didn't personally know anyone on board this flight, it still hurts. It's heart-wrenching to see the OSU community go through this again, just 10 years and 10 months since we lost the 10 members of the men's basketball program. At the same time, it's amazing to see how the same community rallies around each other and the family of those lost to offer comfort and support.

Favorite quotation from Miranda Serna's Facebook page: "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I hope that I have not a single bit of talent left and could say to him, "Dear Lord – I used everything you gave me and thank you for all you entrusting in me!"

We will always remember

Remember the 10. That's being said a lot this week especially in the OSU community and on this day. But to us, it will always be the 10 plus 2.

I've talked about that awful week on this blog before and even wrote down a lot of the details here. It's still hard when the end of January rolls around each year. However, I agree with something I either heard or read this week. The tears and sadness that hits us right now isn't because we're still grieving for those we've lost. They wouldn't want it that way. It's because this time of year always brings back the raw emotions and feelings of that week 10 years ago and in some ways makes us relive it all over again.

I think about what it was like to work in the OSU Athletic Media Relations office. All of the late nights and games. I haven't been back to Gallagher-Iba Arena since the Bedlam game in March 2000. That was the last game played in the "old" arena. I'm glad that those who were lost got to experience the new one. I also think about where we were when we found out—just entering the Will Rogers Turnpike on the way to Aunt Jennie's funeral.

I wish we had spent more time with John's grandparents while we were in Stillwater. I think we spent more time with John's grandma after we moved down to Texas than in the two years we lived on the same street, just separated by a couple of miles.

To me, this time of year isn't just about those we lost that week. It also makes me think of others we have lost in the last 10 years—my grandma, my mom, John's grandma, and John's other grandpa. I look at it as more of a time of reflection and not sadness even though there might be a few tears shed as I remember what it felt like to lose these people.

Here are some news stories and videos that have been published this last week that have really touched me. Some may look familiar because I've shared them on Facebook.

• Remembering the 2001 OSU Plane Crash
• A father's presence never forgotten (a story about my former boss and mentor)
• 'Remember the 10' halftime ceremony
• We Will Remember: The 10th anniversary of the OSU plane crash
  

Third Week of February

Here are more Project 365 pictures.

Monday, February 16


When John picks Mara up from school, Mara loves to come to my car to greet me. She insists on opening the door for me, and then she proceeds to climb into my lap so she can beep the horn and pretend to drive.

Tuesday, February 17


We fixed homemade chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight. It's one of Mara's favorite meals, and the plate has her favorite princess on it – Ariel.

Wednesday, February 18



Mara wore her "Tiny and Tuff" OSU shirt today, and we spent the evening cheering on the OSU Cowboys basketball team as they beat Texas Tech. Mara was doing the "Go Pokes!" cheer in this picture. Later she got down on the floor to play with her animals.

Thursday, February 19


Today, Mara woke up not feeling too well and saying her throat hurt. We decided to go ahead and let her stay home since strep was going around her class. John took her to the doctor to rule out strep, and we found out she just has a cold. The bad thing about that is that there really isn't anything she can be given to help her get over it.

Friday, February 20


We needed new Band-Aids for Mara and were able to find some Littlest Pet Shop ones tonight. Mara was thrilled since that's one of her favorite toys.

Saturday, February 21


Mara attended another birthday party today, and she's finally staring to like going to the inflatable play areas. I think she would have had a lot more fun if she still wasn't getting over her cold, but I was glad to see her play some.

Sunday, February 22


We've been trying to work on her loose tooth, but we haven't had much luck so far. I have the feeling we're going to have to make an appointment with the dentist to have her pull it. At least she is feeling much better today.

It really is a small world

A couple of months ago, I met someone here at work who also went to OSU. Being here in Dallas, you would think that would be more common, but there are only three OSU grads out of about 280 employees here.

Today, the girl from OSU came by my office, and we started talking about Stillwater and even a little bit about Bartlesville since her grandparents lived there. Come to find out, she also worked with John at Creative Labs in Stillwater, and we know some of the same people from our days at OSU.

It was neat to talk about people and places that I haven't seen in over eight years.

Go Pokes!

I don't usually post about OSU football on our blog, but I felt like I had to post this once since the Cowboys trounced my nephew's school (Texas A&M) yesterday. Sorry your Aggies lost, Robert. Well, actually I'm not. :) Better luck next game!

The End of an Era

For as long as I have been a fan of OSU basketball, a Sutton has been at the helm of the team. Now, that's no longer the case.

For the first time in 18 years, someone else will be leading the Cowboys next season, and I don't know what to think. Actually, I do have one thought about this. I think that Sean Sutton should have been given one more year as the Cowboys' head coach. He was only there for two brief years during a time where there were a lot of changes in the makeup of the team. Two years is not enough time for a new head coach starting his career. And his record isn't any worse than the first few years for a lot of the big name coaches out there.

In college basketball, players come and go, but coaches are pretty constant. In fact, I think most people invest more in a coach because they never know if the players they like might only stay at the school one year and a maximum of four. And that's why people get so upset when their coach is forced to resign or skips out early on a contract.

I've never rooted for a Sutton-less Cowboys. There's no question that I'll still support OSU since it's my alma mater, but I really wonder if I'll have the passion for OSU basketball that I once had. Not only was Eddie Sutton the coach of the Cowboys when I started avidly following them in high school (back in 1992 or around there), Sean was one of the coaches I could always count on when I needed to interview someone about an upcoming game while working for the O'Colly. I really wanted him to succeed as OSU's head coach (I remember talking to him back in the mid-90s about eventually taking over when Eddie retired), but I don't think he was given an adequate chance.

Despite all that I've written here, I'm really at a loss for words. I guess I'll have to wait and see who OSU hires as its next basketball coach, and then I'll go from there. However, I do wish Sean as well as next year's Cowboy team all the best.

And if you want more information about what's going on, go here.

We're Back!

We're back from our trip to Oklahoma. We had a nice visit with everyone – just wish I felt a lot better. It was hard to get going Friday morning since I still wasn't feeling too great, but we finally made it out of here before noon. That means we didn't make it to Stillwater until after 4 (after stopping for lunch on the way).

The first thing we did was head to good old Gallagher-Iba to inquire about tickets to the game. They didn't go on sale until 6 p.m. and we would have to order them online. And who knew how quickly they would sell since the Cowboys are on a winning streak. We wandered around Gallagher for a few minutes and ran into someone I used to work with at Sports Info. He said the Cowboys' practice was open to the public, so we decided to go in to watch for a little bit. Mara loved it. She would squeal when the guys would make a basket and cheered them on. We spent about 20 minutes there before she started to get bored, so we left. We decided that getting to watch practice along with the uncertainty of getting tickets and me not feeling well were enough to forgo the game the next day. One of these days we will make it to another game. :)

So, instead of spending most of our Saturday on the OSU campus, we got to visit with John's family and then we headed to Clinton and Evelyn's Saturday evening.

Overall, it was a nice trip despite my constant coughing and stomachache. I'm just so ready for this silly virus (along with the spotting) to be over. Hopefully it will be in the next day or two so I don't have to worry about it when we go to San Antonio this weekend.

Road Trips!

We're going to be on the road the next two weekends. Next weekend, we're going to head up to Oklahoma to visit family and friends, and the following weekend we're going back to San Antonio.

For one of the first times since we moved away from Stillwater eight years ago, the OSU men's basketball team is playing a home basketball when we're there. On top of that, we should be able to get tickets since they haven't been playing their best this year (until recently, that is).

After going to almost every single home game and sitting courtside the six years I was at OSU, I haven't been to a game since OSU closed out the old Gallagher-Iba Arena with a Bedlam loss to OU in March 2000. That means I haven't experienced watching the Cowboys in the expanded Gallagher-Iba. Maybe I'll tell John that he doesn't have to get me anything for my birthday this year if we can actually get tickets to the game. :)

We're really looking forward to our trips and spending some time together.

In Rememberance

This week marks one of the worst weeks in our lives. It's been seven years now since we lost many people we knew and loved. I just wanted to take a moment to remember them. They left a lasting legacy not just through us but through everyone whose life they touched.

For those who would like to read more about what happened this week in 2001, go back and read my post from about this time last year.

Six Years Later

It’s hard to believe it’s been six years. Six years usually isn’t a big “anniversary,” but for some reason I’ve been thinking about this a lot this year. Maybe it’s because for the first time the days on the calendar have coincided with the way it was in 2001. Maybe it’s because we went to Stillwater just last weekend. Maybe it's because this will be the first time since 2001 that OSU plays a basketball game on January 27. It's probably all of the above.

It’s been six years since we were afraid to answer the phone because each call brought bad news.

The death of a great aunt.

A plane crash carrying former coworkers and friends.

The heart attack and subsequent death of a grandfather.

All within days of each other.

We lost my Aunt Jennie on Friday, January 26, 2001. We weren’t too surprised as she was going downhill and we knew we would lose her soon. It still hit me hard, and I knew we were going to attend her funeral in Kansas.

The next day, we found out my aunt's funeral was going to be Monday, so we made arrangements to be gone for a few days and packed to leave the next day. Of course we followed the OSU basketball game as well (the Cowboys lost at Colorado), but we didn’t pay any attention to the news that evening as we packed because we didn’t think there was anything we would need to know about.

On the way to Pittsburg, Kansas, the next day, my dad called to ask if I had read the paper. We had brought that day's Dallas Morning News with us, and I had flipped though it looking at the coupons, ads, and Sports section but not really reading it. He told me that the news up in Kansas that morning was talking about how one of the planes carrying players and support staff for the OSU basketball team went down over a field in Colorado, and there were no survivors. I immediately pulled the DMN from the back seat and saw that right there on the front page right at the fold was an article talking about the crash.

On that plane was Will Hancock, who was one of my bosses and mentors when I work for the OSU Athletics Media Relations department the three previous years. One of the last emails I received from Will was from the previous November. I was toying around with going to the OSU game at the University of North Texas on November 28, 2000. It didn’t work out since John was out of town that Tuesday and Will wasn’t even sure if he would make it to the game since his wife was due with their first baby around that time. Needless to say, I wouldn’t talk to him again.

Also onboard were Bill Teegins, a sportscaster from OKC, and Kendall Durphey, who was the engineer for the radio broadcasts, and I had spent a lot of time with both of them while I was at OSU. There were 10 people total on that plane, including two players, three trainers/managers, and two pilots. Most of them I had worked with or at least talked to. All of them weren’t coming home from that game January 27, 2001.

Tuesday morning, the day after Aunt Jennie’s funeral, we decided to head out to Stillwater. Plans were still in the works for a memorial service for the plane crash victims, but I knew I wanted to be there no matter what. We hadn’t even been out of Stillwater nine months, and I thought it would be best to just go be with the other people with the Media Relations department. John had talked to his grandfather Monday night to make arrangements to stay with John's grandparents while we were in Stillwater. On our way out of Pittsburg, we received a phone call from John’s mother. His grandfather – the one he had just talked to the night before – had suffered a heart attack that morning and died.

We hadn’t even left Pittsburg yet, and our world was turned upside down again. Now we didn’t even know where we were going to be staying that night.

The rest of the week was a numbing blur of tears, family, friends, and condolences. Wednesday, January 31, we went to the OSU memorial and sat with the Media Relations staff. It was a nice ceremony, and being there helped a lot. All of John's family came to town that week, and we attended John’s grandpa’s funeral Friday, February 2.

Even though Will’s funeral wasn’t until the next Monday, we ended up coming home Saturday because I didn’t think I could take anymore. I was ready to be home.

We still can’t explain it six years later, but for some reason both of us had taken plenty of clothes as well as our birds on what was originally supposed to be a two- or three-day trip that turned into a seven-day one. I guess God was watching over us as we packed.

Snow!

No, not here in Texas, but up in Oklahoma. Despite forecasted snow of 6-9 inches, we made the trek up to Stillwater this weekend to see John's grandma. Oklahoma had been having winter weather all week, so we got to see plenty of snow. It was the first time Mara had been able to see real snow and not just the ice we get down here.

Sadly, the falling snow quickly turned to freezing rain most of the day Saturday, so no half-foot of snow as forecasted. But, what they had received earlier in the week was still around Sunday, so Mara got to run around in it some. She enjoyed that little bit so much that I think she would have a ball in 6-9 inches of the powdery good stuff.

While we were up in Stillwater, we ate at Eskimo Joe's and drove around the OSU campus some. I always feel so old when I go up there now. It's hard to believe that it's been almost seven years since we moved away. Plus, so much has changed with all of the construction that has been going on around campus, and I'm not just talking about the changes to the football stadium. (I'll probably always call it Lewis Field and not the name it goes by now.) The dorms are all different – espeically after they tore down the set of high-rises where John used to live and built suite-style dorms in it place. It's neat that we're able to go back and visit every once in a while, though.

Go Pokes!

We just finished watching one of the best college basketball games. OSU took on Texas in Gallagher-Iba, and after three overtimes, the Cowboys pulled off a two-point victory. Luckily, we didn't wake Mara up when Mario Boggan made the game-winning shot. It was a well-played game from beginning to end and definitely worth watching all the way through (all two and a half plus hours worth of it). There were many highlights from it, and it's already being dubbed an "instant classic" by TV analysts.

Watching games on TV – especially ones like this – makes me miss our college days. It's hard to believe that it's nearing 7 years since the last time I attended a game in Gallagher-Iba after attending almost all of the Cowboys' home games as well as the conference tournaments for six years. Maybe one of these days we'll finally get to see a game in the new Gallagher-Iba.