SOUTH DAKOTA STRAIGHT TALK

No! I am not talking about Brarack Obama’s winning the Presidency.

Last weekend I watched with near rapture the Texas v. Texas Tech gridiron battle. Last Saturday night was the most exciting football game I ever saw. The Red Raiders under the tutelage of “The Mad Professor” Mike Leach consistently dominated the line of scrimmage (on both offense and defense) like no team ever. Time and again as the underdog against the awesome reigning #1 Team in the Nation Texas Longhorns, Texas Tech answered the call. On the first offensive play of the game they scored a safety and on the last offensive play of the game scored the game winning TD with Harrell’s amazing pass and Crabtree’s near immaculate reception.

The Raiders came to the game to win with many fans decked out with eye patches signifying they wanted to pirate the game from #1.

The New York Times had an interesting piece on Leach this week telling about his unique coaching theories and his go for broke – let it all hang out coaching style. Leach who is the only lawyer who is a collegiate head coach does bring a unique philosophy and personality to the sport.

Sidebar – Leach was an assistant coach at Oklahoma for one year where I believe he was the Quarterback Coach. While there he I am told was responsible for recruiting Josh Heupel from Aberdeen, South Dakota to OU. Heupel led the Sooners to an undefeated season, an Orange Bowl Victory, and the 2000 National Championship. Heupel was also a runner up for the Heisman Trophy. Addendum - Coincidentally or NOT, Heupel currently is the Quarterback Coach for the Sooners. 

Of political interest, Heupel’s sister, Andrea is married to Democrat U S Representative Dan Boren (Oklahoma’s 2^nd District). Representative Boren’s father is University of Oklahoma President David Boren a former Oklahoma Governor and U S Senator. Dan Boren’s grandfather was also a U S Congressman.

My interest in football waned about the time that I moved to South Dakota circa 1973. Reflecting on the reason, it probably had to do with the lack of real Goliath competition that I was used to in the Lone Star State.

I grew up during the glory years of the old Texas College League, officially known as the Southwest Conference. Non Texans knew the schools at TCU, SMU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Rice, Baylor, and out of state Arkansas but in Texas they were thought of hometown teams )Fort Worth, Dallas, College Station, Austin, etc.). Each weeks conference games were not TCU v Rice, but Fort Worth against Houston or Waco v Dallas – very much at the collegiate level like South Dakota High School Football, ie. Yankton v. Sioux Falls. Just like South Dakota communities this how we Texans determined whose town was better. Growing up in the fifties my home town TCU Horned Frogs won 3 Southwest Conference Championships and were consistently ranked nationally despite being a private Church school.

Television and the arrival of Big Television Money into Athletic Budgets enabled primarily State Universities to compete. The demise of the Southwest Conference was the inability to compete financially to build a Goliath Athletic Program. The three State Universities (Texas, Texas Tech, and A&M) along with Baylor later merged with the Big 8 Conference. Baylor while also a private Church school was the beneficiary of the Baptist faith that has a large membership in North, Central and East Texas. Consequently the Baylor Bears were able to compete financially.

In the 50’s heyday of the Texas College League, the Big 8 was referred to by Texans as the Big 1 and the Little 7. The Big 1 being Bud Wilkinson’s Oklahoma University Sooners. Wilkinson won three National Championships in the ‘50s capped with a 47 game winning streak, a record that still stands after 50 years. Bud Wilkinson’s had an overall winning record of 82.6%. Wilkinson after retirement from coaching became the Republican U S Senate candidate in Oklahoma in 1964. He lost to Fred Harris. Texans took pride while jeering OU to tell the Okies that the bulk of their players were transported Native Texans who had played their High School Ball in Texas.

The football success last year of Kansas University and Missouri set the stage for this year’s emergence of Big 12 Football to be the nation’s best conference. With their high scoring wide open style of play – America is Watching. This week in the Associated Press Top 25 Teams there are 5 Big 12 teams (Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Missouri with even Kansas receiving votes.) PS - TCU is #11.

Indeed Happy Days are here again.

My childhood football hero was Jim Swink. Swink was a small lanky halfback who played for TCU in and led the Frogs to consecutive Conference Championships in 1955 and 1956. He was All American both years and in 1955 rushed for 1283 yards (2^nd best in the Country), scored 125 points (1^st in the Country) and was runner up for the Heisman Trophy. Though recruited by George Halas to play for the Chicago Bears he declined and went to Medical School. He was later successfully recruited by Lamar Hunt to play for the Dallas Texans (later the KC Chiefs) for the inaugural season of the American Football League. Swink then became an Orthopedic Surgeon and is now retired.