You, too, can play "Six Degrees of Bob Stoops' Bacon"
Published: 2/29/2012 7:52 AM
Last Modified: 2/29/2012 12:24 PM
I'm a little late with this, the Oscars having already been presented, but here goes...
John Garretson, online editor of the Boise State student newspaper The Arbiter, recently matched actors with main characters in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, figuring the Oklahoma-Boise epic might make a good film. He cast Thomas Jane as Bob Stoops.
My first thought, as it is anytime someone brings up Thomas Jane, was of the drug deal scene in Boogie Nights, among the best nine minutes in modern cinematic history. I watched the scene on YouTube for the 1,035th time, considered blogging about Stoops in the Jane role instead and how that would have turned out, quickly reconsidered that idea, and came up with a second (safer) way to play off of Garretson's stroke of originality.
Remember the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" game from the 90s? Where you get six shots to link any actor to KB? What if you pick an actor you think could play Stoops on screen, and you get six shots to link him back to the Sooners coach?
Until we can think of something better, we'll call it "Six Degrees of Bob Stoops' Bacon." Or "Six Degrees of Play-Action Fakin." "Six Degrees of the Man Who Coached Pryce Macon." Or whatever. We'll work on the name later.
Here's how it works. Let's take Jane for example…
He was in Boogie Nights with Burt Reynolds.
Reynolds was in Smokey and the Bandit with Sally Field.
Field was in Places in the Heart with Ed Harris.
Harris was in The Truman Show with Jim Carrey.
Carrey was in Yes Man, where he is shown attending a Nebraska vs. OU game in Lincoln.
Stoops coaches at OU.
Yeah, you have to go off the rail a bit at the end. But since Stoops hasn't appeared in any movies yet – at least to my knowledge – you sort of have to.
We'll do one more, then you can occupy the rest of your day putting together strings. This time, let's have Edward Norton play Stoops (hey, the guy can play anybody).
He was in Fight Club with Brad Pitt.
Pitt was in Ocean's Eleven with George Clooney.
Clooney was in Good Night and Good Luck with David Straithaim.
Straithaim was in We Are Marshall, a movie in which Bobby Bowden helps the Thundering Herd rebuild from their tragic plane crash.
Stoops beat Bowden to capture the 2000 national championship.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
