Thursday is Thanksgiving, which gives me pause to consider all that I am thankful for. The most important thing is, I'm very thankful for my family and to be able to live in these United States and a great place like Edmond, Oklahoma.
But I'm also VERY thankful - grateful even - to work at UCO. I've come to realize many things about working in athletics during my 23-year career here and the benefits far outweigh the negatives, despite the long hours that are often involved.
My main thing is, I basically get to watch games for a living. Sure, there's plenty to do before, during and after a contest -- from getting a program ready to keeping statistics to writing a post-game story -- but the gist of the matter is I watch sports. It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it!
Obviously, I'm more involved than a casual fan who shows up just before a game and leaves right after it, but you get the idea. In a way, I'm the ultimate Broncho super fan.
I've been very fortunate with my choice of a profession and I can honestly say that there have been precious few times when I didn't want to come to work over the years. Most of that is because of the people I work with, as many of our coaches have become my best friends.
It's fun to be around young people like our student-athletes, who really do a great job of mixing their athletic interests with their academic endeavors. There are many former student-athletes on my cell phone speed dial and I am very thankful that relationships built with "kids" 10, 15 and 20 years ago are still there.
One of the main things I've always said when describing my job is that I know far too many people who can't wait for Friday because it means their work week is over, whereas if I can't wait for Friday it means we have a game on Saturday. And even though that means I have to work on that Saturday, is it really "work" when you're watching a game?
Well, technically, I guess the answer is yes. But not to me and for that I'm very thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Hole In One Appeal
When women's golf coach Michael Bond called Tuesday afternoon to tell me about the holes in one scored by UCO players and sisters Erica and Lindsey Bensch that day at KickingBird Golf Club I thought it was a pretty cool feat and hung up.
And then I started to think about it.
I mean, what are the odds? A quick google search let me know that the odds of a professional golfer making a hole in one are 3,000 to 1 and for an amateur it's 12,750 to 1. But what about two sisters doing it on the same day on the same course? How astronomical could those odds possibly be?
How about 15 million to 1! That's 15 with six zeros -- 15,000,000 -- to 1. Run those numbers around your head for a while.
It's really a pretty amazing story. Junior Erica aces the third hole at KickingBird and freshman Lindsey equals it less than two hours later on No. 11. Neither sister got to see the other one's unique accomplishment, but they were close enough to hear the ruckus and celebration that followed.
Great stuff. And with far-reaching appeal.
A story was sent out to numerous local, state and regional media outlets Tuesday afternoon, which was soon distributed nationally by the Oklahoma City Associate Press Office. The result? Newspapers and online publications from Connecticut to California to Florida to Washington and all places in between ran the story.
And Taiwan. Yes, that Taiwan. Oh, and Australia.
UCO head coach Michael Bond received calls from ESPN and a television station in San Francisco asking if he had any video. The AP Broadcast Center in Washington, D.C. wants to have the Bensch sisters on their radio show. Yes, I would say this unique story piqued the interest of people virtually around the world.
I played golf for 30 years before making my first and only ace a couple of years ago. My 84-year-old uncle waited 60 years before getting his lone hole in one. I know plenty of people who have played for years and years without making one.
Yet in the span of two hours on a fall afternoon in Edmond, Oklahoma, two sisters did what every golfer dreams of. Unbelievable.
And then I started to think about it.
I mean, what are the odds? A quick google search let me know that the odds of a professional golfer making a hole in one are 3,000 to 1 and for an amateur it's 12,750 to 1. But what about two sisters doing it on the same day on the same course? How astronomical could those odds possibly be?
How about 15 million to 1! That's 15 with six zeros -- 15,000,000 -- to 1. Run those numbers around your head for a while.
It's really a pretty amazing story. Junior Erica aces the third hole at KickingBird and freshman Lindsey equals it less than two hours later on No. 11. Neither sister got to see the other one's unique accomplishment, but they were close enough to hear the ruckus and celebration that followed.
Great stuff. And with far-reaching appeal.
A story was sent out to numerous local, state and regional media outlets Tuesday afternoon, which was soon distributed nationally by the Oklahoma City Associate Press Office. The result? Newspapers and online publications from Connecticut to California to Florida to Washington and all places in between ran the story.
And Taiwan. Yes, that Taiwan. Oh, and Australia.
UCO head coach Michael Bond received calls from ESPN and a television station in San Francisco asking if he had any video. The AP Broadcast Center in Washington, D.C. wants to have the Bensch sisters on their radio show. Yes, I would say this unique story piqued the interest of people virtually around the world.
I played golf for 30 years before making my first and only ace a couple of years ago. My 84-year-old uncle waited 60 years before getting his lone hole in one. I know plenty of people who have played for years and years without making one.
Yet in the span of two hours on a fall afternoon in Edmond, Oklahoma, two sisters did what every golfer dreams of. Unbelievable.
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