JR Talks Love For Oklahoma Football, Relationship w/ Head Coach

Jim Ross

The following is an excerpt from a recent interview-article on WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross.

The article comes from The Gazette:

Here are some of Ross’ observations about his own devotion to OU football, about Bob and Mike Stoops, the Sooners’ current team and their history, how OU fans are perceiving this season and the Insight Bowl, Iowa’s contributions to the Oklahoma program via Hayden Fry, and Iowans he has come across, including amateur wrestling’s Dan Gable:

“I grew up in Oklahoma. Like many kids, I grew up sports-minded. I played high school football in a small eastern Oklahoma town (he was a two-time all-conference player for the Westville High Yellowjackets). I followed Oklahoma on the radio. They were on TV maybe twice a year, when they played Texas and Nebraska. It was just part of the culture. Not having a major-league pro team in our state, it wasn’t hard to gravitate to the success the Sooner program had over the years, from the Bud Wilkinson era forward.”

“My grandfather loved it, my father loved it. It means a lot to my family. I’ve made lasting friendships with the coaching staff and players, including some who are in the NFL.”

“The legacy of the program goes back so far to Bud Wilkinson in the ’50s. He had a 47-game winning streak, and then a 31-game streak. That’s where the foundation for greatness and building expectations of Sooner fans started. Fans grew up expecting the same level of greatness.”

“Like many fans in Sooner Nation, I was reenergized in 1998 when OU hired Bob (Stoops). They always say you don’t want to follow a legend. A few have been able to do that. I think Bill Cowher followed Chuck Noll pretty well with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But it’s hard to do at a lot of places. We had three guys follow Barry Switzer, and they didn’t do so well. They couldn’t fit in his shoes. Now, the hierarchy of Oklahoma’s coaching lore is the three ‘B’s, Bud, Barry and Bob. That’s pretty well how you’d sum up how Bob Stoops is looked at in this part of the world.”

Check out the complete article online at TheGazette.com.

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