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Despite struggles, OU's Stoops still has hungry determination

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops argues a call during their football game against Texas. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

 
By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Writer
Published: 10/24/2009  2:22 AM
Last Modified: 10/24/2009  6:52 AM
Go to Dave Sittler's Blog

This may shock a multitude of Oklahoma football fans, but Sooner coach Bob Stoops enjoyed himself last Saturday in Dallas.

"I had a blast," Stoops said.

Yo, coach, your team lost. Not only did it lose, but the 16-13 setback was applied by that hated team south of the Red River. The one that's a five-letter swear word to everyone who is Sooner born and Sooner bred, and would rather be Sooner dead than admit it was fun watching a loss to Texas.

"I enjoyed Saturday," Stoops said. "It was a beautiful day and we were fighting our butts off."

What would Stoops say to any of those red-clad OU fans who filled half of the Cotton Bowl and left the stadium disillusioned when the Sooners fell to 3-3 after losing to Longhorns for the fourth time in the last five years?

This is purely a guess. But after covering Stoops the entire time he's been at OU, I'm confident he'd tell those with short memories of OU's success the past decade that they should stay home next time because there are thousands of loyal Sooner supporters waiting to take their place.

Now just pull up the reins on Boomer and Sooner and hold your horses for a minute before you contact athletic director Joe Castiglione and demand Stoops be fired immediately.

No one is more angry and frustrated with the way this season has gone than Stoops.

"Of course I'm hacked off," Stoops said.

Well, he actually didn't say "hacked." You don't need much of an imagination to realize the word Stoops did use. The hurt the Sooner Nation's feeling right now wouldn't even register on the pain-threshold scale when compared to what is churning in Stoops' gut.

You think he had a blast when quarterback Sam Bradford was injured for a second time in the first quarter? Or that he's enjoyed losing three games by a combined five points? And he didn't feel anything when All-American tight end Jermaine Gresham was lost for the season before the first game?

Hell, yes, he feels it. It's ripping him up inside. But the competitor in him won't allow him to give up and wallow in his self pity or anyone else's.

A quick story about Stoops when he played at Iowa makes my point. He was a lightly recruited redshirt freshman safety who didn't know if he had a future when coach Hayden Fry took over the team.

At a reunion in September, Fry recalled asking defensive coordinator Bill Brashier during the first days of spring practice if he'd seen anyone who had impressed him.

"He said, 'Coach Fry, there's a guy out there who would chase you up into the two-bit seats just to knock your jock off.' " Fry recalled. " 'He's so hungry to win. His name is Bobby Stoops.'"

Stoops' was determined not to let a new coach run him off from the only big-time scholarship offer had coming out of high school. He wasn't going back home to Youngstown, Ohio, without a fight.

The hungry determination that drove him to become a standout four-year starter for Fry hasn't gone away. He may be a millionaire coach instead of a broke college player, but Stoops' competitive juices haven't run dry.

That's why he took some joy out of last week's loss. He loved it that his players battled their backsides off, giving him the all-out effort and refusal to quit that every coach worth his whistle hopes to draw out of his team.

"I liked their attitude; they were extremely competitive and played hard," Stoops said. "But you know what? In the end, that's how the game is — you're not always going to make all the plays. And if you're playing another good team, you're not always going to win.

"That doesn't mean you don't like what you're doing and competing. That's what we (coaches) do."

So Stoops isn't down in the dumps over the fact his 11th OU team seems cursed with bad luck? And that a season once so promising is now on the verge of going way south of the Red River?

"Heck, no. No one is," Stoops said. "You try to do your best to change your circumstance and you try to be one play better. As hard as that is, you've got to keep pushing for it."

That push has resulted in a remarkable six Big 12 championships and a national title. It's what makes him refuse to surrender the 2009 Big 12 title to Texas with six games left, starting today at No. 24 Kansas.

"That's why it's exciting," said Stoops of the fight to get better. "That's why you look forward to it."

And if critics try to stop him by suggesting he's lost his edge and the determination to succeed, Stoop is liable to knock their jocks all the way up into the cheap seats.
By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Writer

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hornhater2, (10/24/2009 8:16:15 AM)
Way to go coach!!!!! Love them sooners.
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scarab, (10/24/2009 8:37:10 AM)
Great attitude Coach Stoops. I would like for the team to be about 3 or 4 plays better, not just one. However in the three losses the coach is right. One play better would have won those games.
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JR, (10/24/2009 10:05:42 AM)
Dave hit the nail on the head!!!!! Good article. Go Sooners
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Wheat Shocker, (10/24/2009 11:19:19 AM)
Dave: Yes, you know Bobby Stoops very well. I think the team will be mentally prepared for Kansas and they now know what QB will lead the team. This could be their get their act together game today. Dave, I really enjoy your comments and very seldom do you miss the mark. Winning inspiration has to come from the Coach especially in adversity.
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rufnec, Ventura (10/26/2009 1:51:10 PM)
Finally an article that I enjoyed written by Dave Sittler. Even though it originates from a negative perspective concerning OU, which Dave's always does about the Sooners, he was right on about Coach Stoops. Well done Dave.
 

 
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