Armed Forces Bowl
On the third day of Christmas, ESPN sent to me the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl … in Dallas?
ESPN, clearly not the worldwide leader in geography, welcomed viewers to Fort Worth with a graphic showing the skyline of Dallas with the Reunion Tower front and center.
What in the wide, wide world of the USS Fort Worth is going on here?
This is not the way Dale Carnegie suggests one to win friends and influence people in these parts.
Well, with that bobbled snap, we got on to the business of the postseason college bowl season in a game — the “Bowl for the Brave,” played in honor of the United States Armed Forces — featuring Oklahoma and Navy. These bowl games have changed, of course. Instead of football, the tradition now in this part of the 20th century is celebrating those guys who care enough about their team to show up.
ESPN
Here it is. Curses.
Oklahoma suited up only 54 scholarship players. That’s 31 fewer than what they started the season with. The Sooners probably lost another one or two after kickoff. Most of those missing, perhaps all, are in the transfer portal looking for greener pastures, literally and figuratively, at other universities that might give them better money to play there.
The days of playing for books and tuition, and corvettes at SMU, are long gone.
Hard to say what’s worse: That ESPN graphic or the state of college athletics?
It was no surprise then to learn that Navy, with more of its team intact, beat Oklahoma — though just by the hair of its chinny-chin-chin — 21-20 at sold-out Amon G. Carter Stadium at TCU.
The Sooners scored with mere seconds left to come within one, but coach Brent Venables chose to go for the win by attempting a 2-point conversion. It made sense he didn’t want to go to overtime with so few players available. The Midshipmen, who came back from 14 points down with 21 straight, rebuffed the attempt — game over.
Navy quarterback Blake Horvath, the game’s MVP, had 155 yards and two touchdowns rushing, while adding another 92 yards passing.
Navy, winner of the coveted Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy with victory over Army earlier this month, completed had one of its best seasons ever. The Midshipmen (10-3), best known, among many others, for shelling enemy positions in Cuba and the Philippines at the turn of the last century, or making leading contributions in quashing Tojo’s global ambitions, won double-digit games for only the sixth time in its history.
The Sooners (6-7) finished with a losing record for the second time in three seasons under Venables. In Oklahoma, that could get through thrown into the Red River with all your belongings.
Regardless of the reasons, the outcome certainly would have been reason for my old friend Maj. Gen. John Edd Long to reach for one of his patented Gibsons. Patented, as in his version of the famous drink. Gen. Long — his preference was to be called John or John Edd — would order Chopin or Monopolowa vodka with a splash of onion juice from the jar, rather than vermouth, shaken.
And shaken some more to be sure it was good and chilled. With it, he liked four cocktail onions.
John Edd stayed forever faithful to his beloved alma mater, Oklahoma. After graduation he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps.
That began a more than 30-year career in service to his country, which included tours to Vietnam. His military education included the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the Army War College.
What I didn’t know until I learned of his death at age 89 in May was that he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal, all according to Oklahoma University, where he served on the Board of Visitors and as a mentor to students there.
John Edd moved on to business after retirement. He was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma, but raised 30 minutes to the southeast in Madill. Though he lived in Fort Worth for a long time, he made his final resting place in Madill.
John Edd and I made fast friends over history. We both loved it and could talk hours about it.
He had the most remarkable wit and connection with humanity, both in terms of the characteristics and emotions that define human beings, as well as those branches of knowledge dealing with culture, philosophy, and history.
Years ago, we took a trip up to Norman to watch Oklahoma and Texas Tech play football. He got us seats in the fourth row at the 50-year line. Where did he get these seats, I asked him?
“Well,” he said, “I have friends.”
That’s a line I have since adopted.
He once told me a story about a time he — or maybe it was an associate of his, I can’t quite remember — was dealing with a mischievous, rowdy kid on a family road trip. Frustrated, he pulled into a burger joint for a break. While the rest of the family went inside to eat, he punished the unruly daughter by making her stay in the car with the dog.
After the family enjoyed their burgers, he ordered one to go. As he walked back to the car with the fresh, juicy burger, the girl's eyes lit up, practically glowing with the hope of scarfing it down.
And then — wait for it — he fed the burger to the dog. Ha!
Which, of course, is exactly what we should do with ESPN.