#15 and #24

[Old Titan]

OT, you may most certainly be right.  I didn't post in any way to cause a stink--just to show that there are those out there who feel the opposite of those who posted against the jerseys being reintroduced.  I hold no ill will for those people who disagree with me--I just took the opportunity to voice my ideas as well.

     I agree about collegiate "traditions"...they truly do make college unique, fun, and exciting.  I don't categorize tradition as being "silly"--I simply don't agree about the jerseys.  I do see your point on having so few traditions though--I understand that area and know why you hold it dear.

     You may also be right about the former players and their "agreement" or "lack there of."  I cannot speak for them, and obviously don't know them.  However, it would seem that if there was as much a disconnect to the past and ill will as has previously been stated, then neither player (family) would have had much trouble saying thanks but no thanks.  There have been many other situations all over the country where people have refused in the past.  To that end--I would say that we are both just "Guessing."  However, I do very much appreciate what my own experiences have been in that area, and I also used the OU situation as an example of older players who seem to relish the opportunity to embrace the younger generations.  To be honest--Blaylock and Price got far more recognition as a result this year than they had in the past couple as a result! 

     I enjoy reading your thoughts, and in no way criticize your emotions--I also just don't agree.

 

The feeling's mutual - enjoyed the discourse.

 

And, don't be such a stranger - would enjoy hearing your thoughts on the team and such, even I don't happen to agree from time to time.

 

That goes for everyone:  I know I'm a message board prima donna (bordering on a bully), but PLEASE don't be discouraged from posting further if I (or, somebody else - but mostly, it's I...) jump all over one of your opinions.

 

Differing opinions are what keep a sports message board interesting, especially when they are reasonable and on point.

 

Disagreeing doesn't make one of us automatically wrong - just makes us different.

[tmh8286]

Great point, and if anyone doesn't think this sort of request happens every fall on campuses across the country, you're fooling yourself.

 

But, you know what you do when you're a coach and a young, new player with no sense of your school's history asks if he can wear a retired number?

 

You (in this case) take him out to the center of the empty Mabee Center, with the seats all dark and those jerseys hanging way up there in the dim light, and you say:

 

"Young man, you see that #24?  Well, when that guy started playing here, ORU played in a cracker-box gym that seated 2000 peaple on wooden benches, with a swimming pool behind the curtain on one end of the court.  But, by the time his 4-year college career was over, he had scored so many points in becoming a consensus All-American and putting THE SCHOOL on the map, that one of the largest private foundations in town had donated the seed money that BUILT THIS ARENA.  He was so good at what he did that he PERSONALLY FILLED ALL 10,000 SEATS IN THIS BUILDING when he played.  They even called it "THE HOUSE THAT FUQUA BUILT".

 

And, you see that #15 up there?  Well, all THAT guy did was score SIXTY-SIX POINTS in a game here one night to set a college record for the state of Oklahoma that still stands FOUR DECADES later, and then a couple of weeks later, scored SIXTY-FIVE POINTS in an NIT game to set a D-1 postseason tournament record THAT WILL NEVER BE BROKEN.  And, WITHOUT A 3-POINT LINE.  He was also named a consensus All-American, was taken in the 1st Round of the 1977 NBA Draft, and went on to play SIX YEARS and score TWO THOUSAND POINTS in the N-B-FREAKING-A"

 

"Now, son, tell me one thing:  what have you done - and what are you going to do - for this program to justify taking that number down, literally and figuratively FROM THE HEAVENS, and letting you wear it for your career?  And, don't tell me it's what you wore when you were a star in high school.  If that's the case, YOUR HIGH SCHOOL should retire the number.  High school's over now, son - it's time to be a MAN.  It's time to be a GIANT - like those two were."

 

"I tell you what, son:  you pick ANY OTHER NUMBER that's not retired, then go out there and make us all proud by doing anything REMOTELY RESEMBLING what those guys did, and then some day, we'll invite you back, and at halftime of a game, with your family and friends standing and applauding, we'll raise YOUR NUMBER up there, where NO ONE ELSE can EVER wear it again -- FOREVER.  How about that, son?"

 

THAT's what you tell 'em...and you don't let 'em have it.

 

 

Brilliantly written, OT, as so much of what you post is. 

 

Welcome to the board, Postman.  I take the opposite side from you in this discussion, but appreciate your articulate and thoughtful point of view. However, to refer to the view held by every person who has posted in this thread as "silly" in your very first post ever is really bad form, unless your goal was to rankle.  If so, mission accomplished.

[theeagleman5]

Hey....This ain't Kansas, UNC, UCLA  or Duke where they get 5 McDonalds all americans every year....we've had 3 GREAT players at ORU.....the numbers need to STAY RETIRED!!!....end of discussion!!.....