TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | Tuesday, February 09, 2010 | WIRELESS
CONTACT US | SUBSCRIBER SERVICES | SIGN IN SIGN OUT | MY PROFILE PAGE | MY ACCOUNT

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on RSS
Sports Extra!
Follow us on ...
OU | OSU | TU | ORU | HIGH SCHOOLS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL | COLLEGE BASKETBALL | NFL | FANTASY | OUTDOORS | GOLF | PROS | ALL




SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS
    Sports Editor
Mike Strain
Sports Columnist
Dave Sittler
The Picker
Entertaining & Infuriating

LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

TULSA WORLD

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA



Newspaper View Newspaper View      Print this story Print      Email this story Email     
Share      Bookmark Bookmark

Football family a comfort
Team supports Lewis after daughter's death.

OU's Travis Lewis (right) had teammates and coaches come to his house every day for support following the death of his infant daughter last week. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World

 
By GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer
Published: 11/4/2008  2:14 AM
Last Modified: 11/4/2008  3:14 AM

What did coach Bob Stoops think of OU’s drop in the BCS standings after a 34- point win? And listen to his thoughts on Auston English’s injury.



Team supports Lewis after daughter's death.



NORMAN — As his team closed out a 62-28 victory over Nebraska last Saturday night, Oklahoma's Austin Box had something to say to fellow linebacker Travis Lewis.

"I told him, 'Thank you for being here with me. It means a lot,' " Box said. " 'I can't imagine having to go through something like that. To be tough enough to come out and play at the top of your game, I can't say enough about it.' "

Lewis led the Sooners with nine tackles just five days after the death of his prematurely born infant daughter.

"The baby was 7 or 8 weeks old," said Brent Venables, Lewis' position coach and OU's defensive coordinator. "She was going in for a procedure where they said she had a 50-50 chance. He wanted to think she would be just fine, that this couldn't happen to her."

When it did, the Sooners reprioritized their week.

"We went to his house, went and saw him every day. We certainly never talked about football," Venables said. "We wanted to be there for him. It was very hard on all of us, to see him go through that kind of pain. Travis is very strong, and he likes to be alone and he keeps his emotions to himself sometimes. And we wanted to make sure we were there for him in the most difficult time of his young life.

"It was hard just seeing him in that type of condition."

Lewis rejoined the Sooners on Thursday and discovered something Venables did three years ago when he lost his mother the week of another Nebraska game — the team could be a "sanctuary."

"We let him know we were here for him," Box said.

"You find some strength and are pulled in some places that you really never realized you had in situations like that," Venables said.

By practice Thursday, Lewis was, according to Box, "all business."

The Sooners had planned on playing without their leading tackler. Now?

"I went back and forth," Venables said. "Do I start him? He said he wanted to come back. He practiced really well. He really prepared himself well. But that's a different situation than if a guy misses for no good reason. Or a guy misses because of injury ...

"There's no book or manual on how you handle a situation like that."

Lewis wound up joining Box for OU's first tackle of the night.

Monday night after practice, Lewis was back to business.

"I'm sore. Very, very sore," he said. "I need to stop ducking my head when I tackle. My neck is killing me."

He would talk about football. His personal situation was just that, understandably.

Those within his sanctuary spoke on his behalf.

"You can't say enough about his courage," Venables said, "his strength."

"I respect him tremendously, as a person and a football player," Box said. "I'm thankful he's on our team."



Guerin Emig 581-8355
guerin.emig@tulsaworld.com
By GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer

Newspaper View Newspaper View      Print this story Print      Email this story Email     
Share      Bookmark Bookmark


COMMENTS 
      Add your comment Show: Most Recent Comment First

1 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!
Report Comment Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you.  -- Web Editor Jason Collington
 

 
Report Comment
wsums2, Cincinnati (11/4/2008 6:17:38 PM)
Tremendous support shown by all, but most impressed by the strength of Tavis to come out and play under those circumstances. I lost a daughter when I was about his age, don't know how he did it. I was ruined for some time.

It means so much to have the love and support of family and friends. This OU team is more than a football team, you're family. You make me very proud of you. I hope more than ever, that you guys can win out, play for the NC, and bring it home for Travis' little baby girl. Even if you don't and you do your best, we fans will always be proud of you. You guys are special in our hearts. May God bless you with strength and wisdom to overcome!
 

 
Add Your Comment 
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.

 
Post Your Comment
 



Home | About Tulsa World | Advertise With Us | Privacy | Usage Agreement | FAQ and Help | Contact Us | Today's Headlines
Copyright © 2010, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.