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'The Boz' still draws attention

BOZ APPEARS
Brian Bosworth: Took part in OU's Varsity O Legends Flag Football Classic on Saturday.

 
By GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer
Published: 4/14/2009  2:22 AM
Last Modified: 4/15/2009  7:00 AM

NORMAN — The teenage girl was walking the stadium aisle, approaching her seat for Saturday's Oklahoma Red/White scrimmage, and scanning Owen Field for a particular flag football player.

"See 'The Boz?' " she kept asking. "Is 'The Boz' playing? Where is he? ... Oh yeah! Right there! See him?"

Actually, it was hard to miss Brian Bosworth at Saturday's warm-up act, the Varsity O Legends Flag Football Classic. He was the player wearing sunglasses, a glistening necklace and taped ankles.

And until Sam Bradford showed up for the Red/White Game, he was the most popular guy in the stadium.

"Boz! Boz!" fans cried out after Bosworth's Red team lost a 12-6 decision to the White.

So "Boz" stopped and signed what he could, including 8-by-10 photos of him in mid-'80s regalia, red bandana and bleach-blond mullet included. He seemed to enjoy the experience about as much as his fans.

"I don't want to leave. I don't want to walk up that ramp," Bosworth said. "You come out here and you take it for granted during the four years you're here. It seems to last an eternity, but when it's over it lasted a second."

Saturday's Legends exhibition lasted more like 20 minutes. "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Free Fallin' " played from loudspeakers. Charles Thompson threw a touchdown pass to Tony Casillas. Bosworth patroled from a deep safety position, not linebacker.

"I haven't put on a pair of cleats since the '80s, maybe the early '90s," he said. "Matter of fact, they gave me this pair of shoes."

Bosworth put his hand on a bystander's shoulder to keep balance as he lifted his foot.

"I'm missing three spikes on this one," he said. "I guess I spun around too much. But it was a good time."

That was clear from the moment Bosworth came running onto the field during player introductions. He waved to both sides of the stadium, then caught unsuspecting Red team coach Barry Switzer with a slap to the rump.

Bosworth shared the field with his old quarterback, too.

Asked afterward if he could remember Jamelle Holieway throwing so many passes, Bosworth cracked, "You mean interceptions? He didn't have Keith Jackson out here today."

"I needed Keith," Holieway verified when informed of Bosworth's teasing later. "No, today was a good thing. It's good to hang out with Boz again."

"I got a chance to see some of the old guys and the new guys," Bosworth said. "You get in and out so fast, and these guys get on with their lives so quick. It's fun to come back and just get to know them."

The current crop of Sooners got a pretty big bang out of it, too. Several, Bradford included, sat in the end-zone stands and watched some of the Legends game. It was clear who OU's linebackers enjoyed seeing.

Said Travis Lewis of Bosworth: "He's the man. He came and spoke to us before a game last year, and they showed us some of his highlights. I love him as a player. I love the way he played with passion and always brought it when he played. You can tell the fans really love him."

"You heard them, didn't you?" Keenan Clayton said. "They were out here to see 'The Boz.' "

They weren't disappointed. At one point, Bosworth swooped in on White team ball-carrier Jowahn Poteat, roughed him up playfully, then jerked Poteat's flag from his shorts before tossing it away disdainfully.

For a moment, "The Boz" was back.

"I don't know what a flag is," he said, still in character, afterward. "If there's a body, I get the body. And then the flag is secondary to that ...

"It's still competitive. It's not like we're frou-frouing it. We're out there hustling and blowing up our lungs like we haven't done in a while. It's good. It's a good time."

Bosworth once said Switzer told him during his recruitment that he would become part of a family at OU.

"It was great to come out and be part of the family again," Bosworth said Saturday.




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

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COMMENTS 
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9 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!

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Rhymeister, Tulsa (4/14/2009 8:11:20 AM)
The dude really lost a lot of hair. Guess that's what happens when u frost and perm one's locks too much, case in point: Andre Agassi.

Hope you're right, Finch, cause when I saw Boz a few times when he was in college he was the very definition of obnoxious.
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Have that, America (4/14/2009 9:27:06 AM)
I thought he was still in jail for his second agravated DUI?
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Arbythree, Tulsa (4/14/2009 9:39:21 AM)
Nice article. Reminds me of the good ol days.
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Arbythree, Tulsa (4/14/2009 9:52:54 AM)
Read the other article old typro. You never knew him.
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im4osu, Broken Arrow (4/14/2009 8:17:14 PM)
He's definetly a legend, didnt he play in the 40's? haha
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Arbythree, Tulsa (4/15/2009 10:16:07 AM)
Ouch! im4osu. LOL!
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tbond74, McPherson (4/16/2009 12:02:40 AM)
It was AWESOME to see Holieway, Casillas, and the Boz back on the sacred grounds called Owen Field! They were back home and I enjoyed watching them play around for 20 minutes. I like the fact they took a 5 minute halftime. They were out of breath! Showed me they are human after all.
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tbond74, McPherson (4/16/2009 12:03:56 AM)
For you okie lite fans out there. Does being OWNED suck?
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SoCal Fan, Broken Arrow (4/20/2009 4:36:43 PM)
Great to see the old guy can still play. With Holieway on the field, did everyone make sure they still had their wallets after the game?
 

 
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