Three Longhorns I can pull for without holding my nose.

[Raysor]

I frequently tell friends that my two favorite teams are OU and whoever is playing Texas.

But I greatly admire Earl Campbell, Kevin Durant and now Jordan Spieth. Classy kid and while you have to finish 72 to win a green jacket, in position to do it in an amazing way. A few pieces of evidence that the pressure of the Sunday back nine at Augusta is kicking in a little, but a 21, what a remarkable performance so far.

 

[Rob Lewis_rivals]

My choices are Campbell, Tommy Nobis, James Street, Colt McCoy and DKR.

 

[[email protected]]

Meh. If they play for a team I root for, I root for them as well.

Dallas Cowboys, or Cincinnati Reds. And I guess the Thunder, even though they're basketball.

 

[bdshull2001]

Originally posted by MiccoMacey:
Meh. If they play for a team I root for, I root for them as well.

Dallas Cowboys, or Cincinnati Reds. And I guess the Thunder, even though they're basketball.

Once they leave texas I root for any and all to have success in life. It's just a game.

Now, while they're there, I hold my nose.......................

This post was edited on 4/12 9:33 PM by K2C Sooner

 

[JB4AU]

Originally posted by K2C Sooner:

Once they leave texas I root for any and all to have success in life. It's just a game.

This right here....100%.

 

[gtanduga]

Earl Campbell, Ricky Williams and Colt McCoy are the three horns that I'm familiar with and respect. Tommy Nobis was before my time, but he's a legend among the old school Atlanta Falcons fans, so if I was a little older, he'd probably be on the list as well.

 

[Raysor]

It's funny how this turned out. I meant it as a tribute to Jordan Spieth and his performance in The Masters. Ironic that at almost the identical time, DrewC was starting a thread with the same intent.

If you haven't seen the twenty minute press conference afterward, it is about the most impressive thing I've seen from an individual in a long while. The best way I can put it is he is a guy who "gets it."

In my lifetime, I've seen a 180 in the sports world. There used to be at least a public pretense of sportsmanship at the highest levels. Former Sooner, ultimately great UT coach Darrell Royal put it in a way that I understand and prefer. "When you score a touchdown, act like you've done it before." And from another more recent coach that I can't attribute, understand that everybody had to do their job right for you to score.

It seems across the board to be all about "me." The noisy ones are the one the press eats up and so behaving boorishly actually helps the pocket book. Richard Sherman doing a Campbell Soup commercial with his mother seems to epitomize that.

Spieth is the opposite of that. He does and says all the right things with a humility that seems so genuine that in the culture now, it is incredibly refreshing.

He's about to be tested in the demands on his time. And since he's in a sport where you don't get paid if you don't perform, it can have an impact. Because of who he seems to be, I wouldn't be surprised to see a big boon in the popularity of pro golf. He talked about the attitude that the guys in his young peer group have for each other. They pull for each other to be successful.

Yesterday was the best golf win I've ever seen. Seemingly all the top recent champions except for Bubba, were on the leaderboard chasing him. Three or four of them interviewed afterward had a couple of common themes. One was that if they had know before the tournament that they would shoot what they shot, they would have been thrilled, and would have expected that to win the tournament. But not this year.

The other was that the guy is a great player, and a better human being. That he has this humility at 21 is just a remarkable statement of excellence to those who've impacted his life.

From one Sooner to a great Longhorn, "Well done."

 

[Hovpen]

Agree completely about Campbell, Durant, and Speith. Others on that list (for me) include McCoy and Street.

In golf, my favorite player is Ernie Els and I read his weekly blog. About a month ago, Ernie commented on Speith by saying what a great player and person Jordan is. Els has an autistic son and Ernie's donated millions of dollars and thousands of hours to autism-related causes through the years.

If I recall the blog post correctly, Jordan Speith has a younger sister with autism (or a similar impairment) and he gives very generously to that cause. He also donates significant sums to assist military families along with other charities.

I don't care where Jordan Speith went to college, you have to admire and respect him for the person he is both on and off the course.

 

[Raysor]

I am not sure what is the specific mental issue of his sister, but pretty sure it is not autism. She is very social with him, but with a low IQ. I do not think it is Downs, though she does have some physical issues. But he loves he like crazy and credits her with keeping him grounded.

She wa not able to be at Augusta, but has been with him I think as recently as last week When he was in contention, but did not quite pull it off.

Apparently, during the round last week, or whenever it was, she asked him several times if he had won, and his answer was something like Not yet. And when it was over, and she asked again, he had to tell her No.

It reminded me of coaching my oldest in tee ball. We had a decent team and only lost twice, but one of them was to a team that was bot just way way better than us, but liked to razz you about the thumping they were delivering. Especially the head coach. Ny parents wanted to ring his neck.

The boys came off the field asking ... Did we win Coach, did we win? And we had to tell them no, without mentioning the 25 to 7 blowout. They did not know what the result was, but they did care about winning.

His sister does care a lot if he wins. But she does not really know.

 

[Mr.Razorback]

Originally posted by BillyRay:

Originally posted by K2C Sooner:

Once they leave texas I root for any and all to have success in life. It's just a game.

This right here....100%.

that is a good philosophy to have on rival players because at the end of the day it is just a game. I pull for any player to make money for his family and stay injury free, kind of like Bradford, I hope he makes it and pray he doesn't go to the browns

I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

 

[RRH1]

Originally posted by Plainosooner:
I am not sure what is the specific mental issue of his sister, but pretty sure it is not autism.

It is autism.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/13/golf/jordan-spieth-masters-augusta-golf-sister-ellie/

 

[Hovpen]

Plaino...blh beat me to it. I found this excerpt in today's New York Daily News in an article titled "18 Things to Know About Jordan Spieth:"

"3. Runs The Jordan Spieth Charitable Fund, which was inspired by his 14-year-old sister, Ellie, who was born prematurely and is on the autism spectrum. The website for the fund says it's his platform to lend time, awareness and financial assistance to special needs youth, military families and junior golf."

IIRC the incidence of autism is several times higher in boys than it is in girls and that's why it caught my attention. The part about military families touches a soft spot in my heart, as well.

 

[gtanduga]

Originally posted by WP76:

Plaino...blh beat me to it. I found this excerpt in today's New York Daily News in an article titled "18 Things to Know About Jordan Spieth:"

"3. Runs The Jordan Spieth Charitable Fund, which was inspired by his 14-year-old sister, Ellie, who was born prematurely and is on the autism spectrum. The website for the fund says it's his platform to lend time, awareness and financial assistance to special needs youth, military families and junior golf."

IIRC the incidence of autism is several times higher in boys than it is in girls and that's why it caught my attention. The part about military families touches a soft spot in my heart, as well.

IIRC? Obviously and Interwebs abbreviation, but what does it mean?

 

[Hovpen]

Originally posted by Schoonerman:

Originally posted by WP76:

Plaino...blh beat me to it. I found this excerpt in today's New York Daily News in an article titled "18 Things to Know About Jordan Spieth:"

"3. Runs The Jordan Spieth Charitable Fund, which was inspired by his 14-year-old sister, Ellie, who was born prematurely and is on the autism spectrum. The website for the fund says it's his platform to lend time, awareness and financial assistance to special needs youth, military families and junior golf."

IIRC the incidence of autism is several times higher in boys than it is in girls and that's why it caught my attention. The part about military families touches a soft spot in my heart, as well.

IIRC? Obviously and Interwebs abbreviation, but what does it mean?

IIRC = "If I recall correctly"...which is, frankly, shorthand for "I'm too lazy to look it up."

 

[zebtron]

I agree with Plaino I watched every hole on Sunday wondering if he had the nerve to hold on. Scott put pressure on him early and Jordan responded every time. I hope Rory and Jordan go at it for many years to come! And yes, this kid gets it, refreshing to watch his interview after match.

 

[Beaux]

My three are:

Johnny "Jam" Jones
Johnny "Lam" Jones
Johnny "Ham" Jones
This post was edited on 4/15 12:11 AM by SoonerinLA

 

[btcaskey]

Spieth shot 2 over yesterday and came back today with career low 62. Still down 6 strokes as Merritt has shot a blistering 69 and 61