Wadley’s Weekly: Volunteer Magic
By Will Hadley
Let me set the stage for you.
It’s October 11, 2021 and I am settling into my cubicle at News 9 KWTV in Oklahoma City. As I was writing my scripts for the Monday morning show, it was time to recap any sporting events that happened over the weekend. The prior Saturday just happened to be the Red River Rivalry game where Caleb Williams took over for Spencer Rattler halfway through the game to lead them to a stunning comeback victory. It was all the buzz across the state.
Before a news station goes to commercial break, they often tease the upcoming stories and have a little banner with a teaser line. Being someone who didn’t grow up in Oklahoma or know much about OU football lore, I asked my fellow producers what line I should put in the teaser.
“Sooner Magic,” all the alumni hive mindedly said in unison.
Sounds stupid. What is that?
“Well, you see, we kinda have this thing. When we’re in a tight game, we always find a way to win it. Something crazy will always happen to lead us to the win. You can’t explain it. It just kinda happens. So we call it Sooner Magic.”
When I asked for other examples of said magic, I was greeted with Baker Mayfield’s comeback performance in Neyland. The 2014 Sugar Bowl vs Alabama. Red River in 2020. Something about the softball team?
Alright, fair enough. Seems like a cool premise to get the fanbase hyped up. Hell, we’ve seen them talking about it all week. A top 10 opponent coming into Norman to face a team that has massively underachieved through 3 games. They believe it’s a perfect storm for them.
But the longer I sit here and think about it, another example comes to mind. In 1999, the great Mike Leach took a chance. He took a chance on an unknown kid from a junior college in Utah. A kid that nobody feared. One who was undersized and many felt lacked athleticism. A kid that their defensive coordinator (guess who) was against joining the roster.
Nobody was confident in him. Nobody feared him. But against all odds, Josh Heupel made magic happen. He led that team to an undefeated season and Oklahoma’s most recent national championship.
So where am I even going with this? I know, I know, it sounds like an Oklahoma suck fest. But I’m getting somewhere.
Josh Heupel stayed with Oklahoma. He showed his loyalty to the brand, and more importantly his loyalty to Bob Stoops. And as we all know, that loyalty was burned to the ground in 2014 when Big game Bob fired Josh. And we’ll hear all the excuses about how the offense wasn’t up to par and they lost to Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl or whatever.
But we know the truth. He did it so he didn’t have to blame the defense coached by his brother. The same brother that eventually got fired by Lincoln Riley after consistently having one of the nation’s worst defenses. The same brother that ended up going to Saban’s rehab program only to result in a 1 year stint at Florida Atlantic with Willie Taggart. The same brother who is currently COACHING LINEBACKERS AT KENTUCKY.
I thought loyalty meant something to these people? After all, they’ve thrown a fit for 3 years now about Lincoln Riley leaving for a better job. They’re still bitching about Kevin Durant! (Give it a rest by the way, it’s been like 10 years. It’s weird.)
Make no mistake about it. These people are not the good guys. This “magic” they’re talking about is anything but. It’s witchcraft. Voodoo. Diabolism. And it’s ironically being led by a guy who looks like Voldemort.
But as for every magical story, the protagonist always wins.
You know what sounds like magic to me? Rebounding from that sad divorce. Restarting at a Mountain West school. Grinding it out and rebuilding your image. Growing as a coach. Landing at one of the premiere venues in all of the sport and leading them back to relevancy. Taking all of those things people said about you and throwing it back in their faces.
They said he couldn’t recruit. They said his offense couldn’t work on a big stage. They said he couldn’t build a coaching staff. They said he could never have a great defense. Well he did all of that. And he’s bringing it back to the place that broke his heart.
He’s the chosen one. The boy who lived. And he forgets nothing.
The magician is back. And it’s time for Sooner fans to sit their ass down and watch the show.
A sea of orange is coming. The Vols will cement their return in front of the world. And together, we’ll raise up our glasses against evil forces. And all will be well.
-Will
