Sooners' Little Helpers
Published: 9/1/2006 12:52 PM
Last Modified: 9/1/2006 12:52 PM
Just for kicks, let's say Garrett Hartley is called on to win the OU-Texas game Oct. 7. It's a 49-yard shot with :03 on the Cotton Bowl clock. Snap, hold, kick...
Bam. Right down the middle. Sooners 26, Longhorns 23.
Far-fetched? Maybe, maybe not.
But should that scenario play out in a month, OU fans should do something after running joyful victory laps around the living room/block/city:
They should thanks two young lads from Norman. The Brothers Johnson.
Let me explain...
To reach the gathering point for post-practice interviews, the media must walk across the south end of Memorial Stadium. Typically, this stroll is accompanied by the "Clank! Thunk! Ping!" of wobbling footballs floating down from the sky and onto the bleachers, courtesy of Hartley and the rest of the Sooners kicking crew. Sort of OU's practice within its practice.
Well, one recent afternoon, a 105-degree broiler I might add, there wasn't as much clanking, thunking or pinging going on. Evan and Drew Johnson, third- and fifth-graders from Norman's Jackson Elementary, saw to that by running under Hartley's blasts and returning the balls to their sender.
I don't think they noticed the heat much, or the exhausting practice of heaving footballs back down to the kickers time and time again. For them, see, the stadium was a cathedral and this was a practice in hero worship. Just like it would have been for about every young boy in Norman.
No, this was an honor.
"I don't think they mind very much," said the boys' dad, Greg Johnson, after he finished his quota of stadium steps nearby.
Don't think Hartley minded much, either. Evan and Drew kept the routine running a little more efficiently this steamy afternoon. Kept the players from climbing into the stands after footballs. Kept their minds focused on splitting the uprights.
Something Hartley just might do when crunch time in the Cotton Bowl arrives. He should get a game ball if we actually see it for ourselves.
So should Evan and Drew Johnson.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
