My life as a sports fan, a history
There's this team in the city in which I grew up and live, what are they called?
The Sooners were a constant until it became my job to cover them, though by Billy Tubbs’ second season, or maybe his first — I attended his basketball camp before he’d even coached a game — hoops was my favorite Oklahoma sport.
I’d ride my bike to The Myriad to watch Tubbs’ squads play the All-College and I can remember wondering if I might make it into a highlight package on his coach’s show for cheering the Sooners on some Friday afternoon in OKC’s old arena, though figured I wouldn’t because I’d failed to wear crimson or cream.
I made it on anyway.
Seriously.
But, and this is why I bring it up in the first place, OU being a constant until I arrived at The Norman Transcript on March 7, 1997, let’s put that fandom aside.
For the record, probably because the two coaches I’ve enjoyed most over the years have been Sherri Coale and Larry Cochell, to the extent I remain a fan, it’s for their old programs, women’s hoops and baseball, and still I can’t help but view them critically, like a sportswriter, though it pleases me when they excel and I can get angry when they underperform.
The rest of OU’s programs, when they do well, I’m mostly just happy for the 10-year-old I used to be but am not any more, though I still like the music.
Styx, Boston, Van Halen, Kansas, REO Speedwagon.
Disco, uh no. Sorry.
I digress.
Now, for the second time, let’s put the Sooners aside.
So, what have we got?
My first prevailing sports memory was the ’75 World Series because I loved the Cincinnati Reds and Johnny Bench was from Binger and my dad talked about him a lot and, beyond Bench, I loved Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, David Concepcion, Pete Rose, Ken Griffey, César Geronimo and George Foster, too.
The Big Red Machine.
Greatest lineup ever.
Then cable arrived, first for my grandparents in Norman, where spending the night with them meant not only pro wrestling from Georgia, Kansas City and Fort Worth each weekend, but Braves, Cubs and Royals baseball and Hawks, Bulls and Kings basketball.
I took to the Braves and I know I’ve watched more than a thousand of their games from start to finish. I devoured them like I’ve devoured nobody else.
I picked them up when Bobby Cox managed the first time around, before Joe Torre took them to a crown, through lean seasons led by Chuck Tanner and Russ Nixon, before Cox came back and they won a million division titles in a row.
I loved Dale Murphy and Bob Horner because they could swing it. I loved Jerry Royster because he could steal bases and play every position. I loved Biff Pocoroba for his name.
I loved David Justice, especially when he hit the biggest regular season home run I’d ever seen in Cincinnati. I loved Fred McGriff because he was the Crime Dog.
I never loved Mark Wohlers. Didn’t trust him. I didn’t like John Rocker at all.
I loved Glavine, Avery, Smoltz.
I loved Maddux, Glavine, Avery, Smoltz.
I loved Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz and Charlie Liebrandt or Kevin Millwood or Kent Mercker or whoever the fourth (or fifth) starter might have been.
They went through a few.
I loved Francisco Cabrera knocking in Sid Bream to win the ’92 NLCS from the Pirates, a young Sean McDonough on the call, more than I’ve loved any other live moment in sports history, then or since.
Watched a bunch of Hawks basketball, too.
Dominique was great, but I really loved watching Dan Roundfield grab rebounds.
Still, not close to how I loved the Braves.
I loved the Braves like my dad loved Sooner football.
Since, it hasn’t been the same.
Since, I’ve mostly chased moments and broadcasters.
Blame the job.
• I loved how the Women’s World Cup took over the country in ’99.
• I’ve loved every Belmont Stakes the Triple Crown’s been at stake, Funny Cide in ’03 the most.
• I loved it when John Daly won the PGA and Open championships. I loved it when Phil Mickelson finally won his first major at Augusta. Remember the putt and the jump?
• I loved it when Tiger Woods burst on the scene and dominated the game like nobody previously or since and I loved rooting for anybody to beat him when I got tired of him dominating the game like nobody previously or since.
• I loved the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off just this season. Best All-Star break ever.
• I loved listening to Blues hockey called by Ken Wilson on KMOX, back when I wrote sports in Woodward and was always driving home from Leedey, Vici, Seiling, Taloga, Dodge City, Garden City or Perryton, Texas.
• I loved coming home late to the MLB baseball package just to hear Vin Scully call the Dodgers and Dick Enberg call the Padres.
• I loved Blazers hockey just to listen to the great John Brooks.
I never quit being a fan.
Now, I like the Reds again.
Blame Elly De La Cruz.
I had a brief fling with Sabres hockey and still have a soft spot for Edmonton, which claimed Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals from the Florida Panthers right before I sat down to write.
I love watching Big Inning on MLB.TV, four games on one screen, just like NFL Red Zone, but a better sport.
And, now that I think about it, there’s this other team I’ve rooted for, too.
When they arrived, back when newspapers were still newspapers, I found creative ways to to give them a big presence in the sports section I designed, though we couldn’t afford our own beat writer.
In the one that could afford a beat writer, two, actually, I read every word. The stories, the notepads, the boxscores, all of it.
That carried on for a bit, but after a while, I couldn’t keep it up, the fandom.
Perhaps because my paper eventually hired a beat writer, Fred Katz, who I edited who I like to think I helped make his way.
Fred, entirely curious and utterly hard working, the best two traits, now covers the whole league for The Athletic.
And when Fred left, I took them over, my last in-person night on the beat the night sports died, the Jazz in town on March 11, five years ago.
You remember.
Now, I write about them only sometimes, I’m a fan again but not with the same intensity, though we’ll see about that the next couple of weeks.
I’m an Oklahoma City kid.
I lived here until I left for college and I live here again.
Politically, we’re such a rotten state, but OKC’s not so bad.
And we have this team.
Not only has it been historically great this season, with an all-time average point margin of 12.9, an MVP and two or three others that would be huge stars in other markets, but the way it’s gone about doing it may prove historic, too, changing the way franchises address culture, building their teams and paying their players.
Believe me, “OKC model” will become NBA parlance.
Tonight, the Oklahoma City Thunder, heavily favored, begin the NBA Finals against the Indianapolis Pacers.
It may not be the series the league or national media wanted, but will probably be the best basketball the Finals have seen in some time.
I’m not sure how I’ll respond.
Actually, that’s not entirely true.
If they lose, I’ll handle it.
I won’t like it, I might hate it for about 10 seconds, but I’ll detach quickly. It’s the sportswriter in me.
If they win?
I might cry.
I might not, but I really might.
I can see it.
I’m an Oklahoma City kid.
Clay, I really enjoyed this. Although my sports fandom hasn't been as far-reaching yet, I can appreciate your taste for storylines and big moments in sports history. When I was growing up as a baseball-obsessed kid, I was enamored with the Phillies of the the late-2000s. Despite being from Virginia and having zero ties to the city of Philadelphia, the way the Phillies played and the dominance of their starting rotation of pitchers had me hooked. Now, I can't stand them. It's funny how fandom works. Keep up the great work!