Oklahoma Football Monster!

    Hello! How do you do? It's Drew the View! One constant throughout my life has been The University of Oklahoma Sooners Football. I have pictures of me wearing jerseys as a newborn.  I remember as a kid being so excited because one of my friends was supposed to have OU quarterback Charles Thompson at his birthday party.  He never showed, but a few weeks later I saw Charles getting into a car on the cover of Sports Illustrated, wearing hand cuffs and an orange jump suit.
    My dad and I would sit around listening to the games on the radio on weekends (we weren't on television much in the 90's due to the sixteen NCAA recruiting violations).  The first game I ever attended we played Kansas State.  My favorite player growing up was Cale Gundy who played high school ball at Midwest City.   
   I played all the way until freshman in high school and had really good hands but ran like a broke robot.  One of the guys I played with in junior high and high school was recruited by OU. Cale came to our school to visit him.  The Sooners signed him but he still needed to make the grade on a standardized test. 
   The story I've heard is that on the day of the test, the recruit had some girl show up to take it for him. One of the teachers monitoring the test happened to be a football coach at another high school and told on them.  Ain't that some shit? He eventually joined the team. I was at the only game he scored a touchdown. 
   I have a great life. I love my family, enjoy going to work (most days) and I love creating, but when the Sooners line up on Saturday there's nothing more important.  Below is a brief history of The University of Oklahoma Football Monster minus the Gibbs and Stoops eras. 
    I love you! Thanks for reading!-Drew The View

Oklahoma Football Monster

    Dr. George Cross is credited with creating the OU football monster.  In 1944, Dr. Cross took over as the president of the University of Oklahoma.  He had an idea to provide a sort of relief for Oklahomans who were feeling the financial and emotional strain caused by the Dust Bowl.  "I was trying to counter this depression and give the people a source of pride in their state. And we did give them a since of pride.  But they eventually took too much pride in us, as a matter of fact."   
   Us started growing in the fall of 1945.  The war was ending and many fine young athletes would be returning home to attend school.  Dr. Cross aimed to hire a coach who had been involved with the military football teams: enter Bud Wilkinson. 
   In 1947, The Touchdown Club was formed for the "receiving, holding, and disbursing money for the support of athletics, especially football...." but truthfully it was setup by rich alumni and boosters to recruit players. 
   Oklahoma was one of the first major universities to recruit black athletes.  In 1954 they took all the players on the Muskogee High School football team to the Orange Bowl and gave all Muskogee athletes a scholarship to OU.
   "They were pretty wild years after World War II and through the 1950s.  During that period sportswriters called the stroll from Owen Field to the athletic dorm the Million-Dollar Walk because it was widely believed that wealthy OU boosters would line up to press handshakes padded with cash on the football players." (Barry Switzer: Bootlegger's Son) 
   Wilkinson coached the Sooners from 1947 to 1963, won three national championships, fourteen conference titles and had an impeccable record of 145–29–4.  After Wilkinson, losing wasn't tolerated. Coach Switzer experienced this first hand. "You need to understand that at the University of Oklahoma, an 8-4 record is considered a losing season.....That didn't make me or the program a failure in my eyes, but it wasn't good enough for the group of Oilys (Oil Tycoon boosters) we were embarrassing at the time."
   While the head coach at OU, Barry Switzer won 3 national championships, 8 bowl games, coached 54 All Americans, and had a record of 157-29-4.  After sixteen seasons as head coach, Barry chose to resign in the face recruiting violations and immense pressure from the university's board of regents.

The Football Monster Loves Stoops!

"Why is your old lady going through my shit?  Get your ass out of my van. Where are my sunglasses?"-Brian "The Boz" Bosworth Stone Cold

Its Game Time!!!

"Duran-cula"

I Revolutionize.......

     Hello! How do you do? Thanks for reading Drew The View!  How many of you can say you were wed by an agnostic minister who plays death metal?  Well you can keep your hands up and your heads banging for my spiritual-counselors' band, I Novare.  Below are some pics I shot at their Hot Topic show last week.

"Hey dude, are you ok?"

"I can't concentrate! I'm surrounded by too much cool shit."

    Shop at Hot Topic in Crossroads Mall (Oklahoma City, OK), they are cool people and support local bands.  Thanks for reading! I love you! Drew The View

Also, if you dig a progressive death metal band check 'em out!

www.facebook.com/inovare 

Happiness is a warm.....

    Hello! How do you do?  Thanks for reading Drew The View!  At the poker table tonight I was sitting  next to nine subdued men who weren't speaking at all minus the, "How much did you bet?" or "Cocktails!"  The main reason people play poker in a casino is not to socialize.
    I was looking at there faces among the silence and tried to imagine them all laughing.  At one time or another most all people have had that wonderful experience of  laughing with someone uncontrollably.
   The first time I went to New York was in December of '02ish. I had been waiting outside our hotel in Manhattan for about an hour, smiling and saying hello to people as they walked by. Not one person acknowledged my presence.  What's wrong with those people, and why would anyone live there?  I don't know but next time I go, I'll try and picture them all laughing.

    Are you bored?  Do you need to go to the grocery store but just dread the experience?  Here's something fun for you to do! Step #1 Get off your ass! Because you know ya'll need some toilet paper.  Step #2 Smile, I mean really smile at ten people.  You can even say "Hello!" if you like.  Step #3 Enjoy their reactions and making 9.75 persons' day :) Your thought just now--> "it would be fun to film me doing this and send it in to drewtheview.blogspot.com so he could post it online for everyone to watch!" Thanks for Reading! I love you!-Drew The View
    "If you can go and finds things to devote your time to and live for, then everything else is easy."-Unknown

Almost Time!

   My lady painted this and has some student loans to pay.  We'll deliver this picture and three others framed, for just $30,000. Call 940-BAG-FEET for yours today!  Also, here's a free invitation to our pumpkin carving party! Call today!

It's Prime Tyme For A Picnic !

   Hello!  How do you do?  In high school our house was about two miles away from Midwestern State University, once home of the Dallas Cowboys training camp.  I would go to their practice about once a week to watch and get autographs.  During one of these deathly hot summer days I was among several hundred fans gathered to get signatures when the one and only Deion "Prime Time" Sanders decided to stroll through.  Number twenty-one had just become a newly born-again Christian, a local preacher and was doing us all a favor by signing autographs that day. While making his way down the fence line where his charismatic fans were gathered,  he drove a customized golf cart bumping Christian rap.  Five lucky kids were chosen that day.  As I watched the last autograph being signed I realized I recognized the recipient.  His name was Picnic, short for Richard Escobedo.  I've  always been jealous of him for his super talents, and that damn autograph!  I'm lucky to know this guy.  Below is a link to his "Wolfboy Beat Sampler" he just completed fresh off touring with Erykah Badu.

http://www.picnictyme.com/2010/09/27/test/#more-87 

    Me and my brother were walking to the car but stopped to get the back up kickers signature(who's name escapes me but was very courteous) when Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin pulls up in his golf cart.  There are about twenty kids gathered around along with a woman in her early twenties.  He had  a discreet discussion with the girl before declaring, "You can either stay here with these kids....Or get yo mother-fucking-ass in this golf cart with Michael Irvin!"  She chose the later....Duh!  Thanks for reading! I love you! -Drew The View
P.S. What is it about assholes and golf carts?

Animal Lover....

“The difference between the right word and the nearly right word is the difference between lightning and lightning bug.”-Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Hello! How do you do? I remember watching this talk show, it must have been at least ten years ago.  The guests on the program had phobias that seem very silly.  One lady was scared of a head of lettuce, another man was terrified of cotton.  The first segment of the show was basically an exercise in frightening the shit out of these poor people. The second segment was dedicated to an expert working with these folks trying to rid them of their fear.  They were told to think of the cotton, once they weren't upset with the thought of a t-shirt, then they'd have to hold a q-tip...and so on.  They say that fear is the inability to live in "The Now,"  and by thinking about the future and what could happen...when that clown decides to attack.  Man, this clown scared the shit out of me one time at McDonald's. If it wasn't my sister's birthday party I would have kicked its ass.

"Traditionally dogs are hunters and guardians, rather than pets, therefore a certain amount of healthy fear is reasonable, and dogs, especially unfamiliar ones, should be approached with caution." - Wikipedia

 I don't fear animals, but I do have a healthy respect for them. With that being said, I've been attacked by a cat and two by dogs this year. The first incident came last Christmas when we were in Las Vegas.  My mother-in-law's dog, Remington was playing a game of keep-away with me and the lady in between opening Christmas presents.  I had just opened my favorite gift (an Elvis Starbucks CD), started petting Remington when he snapped, barked once and bit me. I felt bad about my mother-in-law keeping the dog in the garage the rest of our stay...but not enough to object.  Second attack.... We accept our friends invitation to dog sit their shih tzu while they're away visiting family.  I met and played with the dog in question two days before with no problems, and had no qualms about going over to pick her up on my own.  I walk into our friends' house, she barks at me and runs underneath the bed snarling.  I attempt to coax her out with bologna and cheese for about fourty-five minutes.  Forty Five Minutes! Have you ever heard of a dog not giving in for bologna and cheese? Me Neither.  I call in my wife for reinforcement.  When my wife arrives to save the day, she informs me, "the dog doesn't like men, especially tall ones."   The next day I take the dog outside, right before heading to work not thinking about how long it might take, she barks profusely, runs to the corner of the yard and puts me to the decision.  Pick her up, or wait it out in the one hundred and six degree heat.  I choose option one, thinking that my hands might be quicker then her teeth (the heat will make you do some dumb shit). I'm proved completely wrong as I look down at my bloody finger. The dog takes off running under the fence and out of our yard. I'm sitting down on the porch with my toilet-paper-bandaged-finger, smoking a cigarette calling my wife...
....Phonebook, Wife, Call, Dialing, Connecting......
Drew:  "Hey baby how are you doin'?"
Wife:   "Good. Just working on some stuff, about to eat a snack. What's up?"
Drew:  "You know our friends' dog?"
Wife:    " Uh..Yeah.....?"
Drew:   "She bit me."
Wife:    "Are you serious?!"
Drew:   "Yep. On the finger."
Wife:    "Where's the dog?"
Drew:   "(Silence)...Did you not hear the first part of this conversation? Let me start it over. Hey baby how you doin'? You know our friends' fing dog?!.....



I won't tell the story about the cat attack, but I will say that it happened during adoption of the newest member of our family.....Alice Hooper (Pictured below)

Like my dad always said, "A little pussy never hurt anybody." Ha Ha! Thanks for Reading! I love you! -Drew The View

Happy 70 John!!

John Lennon at Seventy.

 Ben Kingsley, 1982.

Rick Moranis.

Chicken Fried Heisman?....

Hello! How do you do?  Good morning to all of you!  If you like chicken fried steak and haven't ever been to Kendall's (Noble, OK) then you are doing yourself an injustice.  Also, I promise they have the best cinnamon rolls that you will ever have in your life or....I'll eat it for you.  Below is an episode of their reality show written by my buddy Steve Judd, with a small cameo but yours truly and Steve Owens! Thanks for reading and watching! I love you!-Drew The View...oh yeah, my line is,"Go get that rope."

Hero Sandwich....

he·ro   /ˈhɪəroʊ/ Show Spelled[heer-oh]
–noun, plural -roes; for 5 also -ros.
1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.
3. the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.
4. Classical Mythology .
a. a being of godlike prowess and beneficence who often came to be honored as a divinity.
b. (in the Homeric period) a warrior-chieftain of special strength, courage, or ability.
c. (in later antiquity) an immortal being; demigod.
5. hero sandwich.
6. the bread or roll used in making a hero sandwich.

"I'm not a role model... Just because I dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids". -Sir Charles Barkley

Hello! How do you do?  This is Drew The View! Me and the lady went to watch "Scott Pilgrim Versus The World" last night.  Michael Cera portrays Scott Pilgrim, an ackward twenty-some(imagine that..) living in a video game world who must defeat seven evil X's in order to win the girl of his dreams. The show is in the spirit of Juno, has a real cool soundtrack and is very fun to watch.  I think I was the oldest person in the theater. Yikes!

I really do feel for the real-life non-fictional hero these days.   Their challenges aren't private, often riddled with scandal, and truimphs are easily forgotton.  In 1986, Roger "The Rocket" Clemens dominated the baseball diamond becoming the first pitcher to strike out twenty batters in a nine inning game.  After being hearld as the greatest pitcher of his era, his career ended in 2007 with the Yankees. After retiring,Clemens  lied in his testomony to the grand jury in regards to his use of steroids during his playing days. He was recently summoned for perjury. One of my friends is selling T-shirts to Clemens' inmates that read,"I Played Catch With The Rocket" and "I Blasted Off In The Rocket." I don't get it. Tiger has a great  chance to bounce back from all the adversity he faces.  Here's something I didn't know until recently.... Did you know Tiger Woods' dad would cheat on his wife while he and Tiger were away on "golf trips?" Me Neither! I wonder where he gets it from? Also, did you know that Willie Nelson smoked a joint on top of the white house with one of Jimmy Carters sons?  I mean really, he was a guest in the Lincoln Bedroom did you not expect him to find somewhere to fire one up ? 

"Did you ever know that you were my hero? And I can fly higher than an eagle, because you are the wind beneath my wings."- Jeff Silbar

When I was kid, before television/radio was champ, my folks were my heroes. Robert Matthew Van Winkle(aka Vanilla Ice) was simply too cold for my parents to hold that title for long. "His Airness" Mr. Michael Jeffery Jordan swooped it up, then Shawn Carter became God. Tiger-Tiger Woods ya'll! I think the hero application that I filled out, for the most part, was done completely backwards.  In order for a hero to not disappoint, I think we should be concerned about character first and then... performance,accolades,ect.... What good movie has Lindsey Lohan been in lately?  None. Kathy Griffin is a likeable lady, not a great comedian.  But I'll sit there with my wife and listen to her make fun of Lindsey and Paris Hilton for an hour. Why do I care? Are them bitches my heroes now? As the public, I think we find there stories the most intriguing of all. Never have we gravitated toward boring figures, we love the most exciting.   Thanks for reading! I love you! -Drew The View