Digi-Blog goes to Stillwater! (and you won’t like T-shirts)
The Digi-Blog, the new sensation that’s sweeping through parts of Fulton County and allows a sportswriter the opportunity to tell a story without the danger of misspelling too many words, is moving up to the next level, or at least to the Dustbowl. After past tours through SEC media days in Hoover, Ala., and the Falcons’ training camp in Flowery Branch, we took a digital photo tour of Stillwater, Oklahoma, where Georgia opens its football season Saturday. I must admit, I had never been to Stillwater before. In fact, I think the only time I had ever been to Oklahoma was when I drove through Tulsa for something, which was such a momentous event that I can’t remember what it was. I also wasn’t a big fan of Bruce Springsteen’s, “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” What’s a digi-blogger to do? Enough. Climb aboard the wagon train.
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I learned they don’t fly the most spacious planes to Oklahoma City. But I knew I was on the right flight Friday morning, given the number of Georgia shirts and hats. Even the flight attendant announced, “Ladies and gentleman, good morning for what appears to be the University of Georgia’s Morning Express to Oklahoma City.”
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We’re here. Fast flight, huh? This must be the rush hour at the Will Rogers World Airport. Will Rogers said he never met a man he didn’t like. That’s probably because he so seldom ran into one.
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Thought I’d stop and show you a few sights along the way. This is tucked between the airport and downtown Oklahoma City. I’m sure you always wondered where the world’s largest stocker and feeder cattle market was.
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Lies! Lies! Lies! It’s empty! Well, we all know how the stock market is down. (Thank you very much. And that’s why I only do two shows a night.)
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I got my first endorsement deal. See, a guy walks up to me and says, “You shovel. I shovel. Let’s go into business together.” (I thought I’d beat you to the punch.)
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Oklahoma City beat out Paris, London and Madrid for the International Pro Rodeo Association (which is as international as IHOP).
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I have a feeling we’re getting close. That’s a large inflatable Barry Sanders to the left, standing guard over his Hyundai dealership. Because when you think Barry Sanders and Stillwater, Oklahoma, you think Hyundai.
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We have entered enemy territory. This dude is Pistol Pete, and he is everywhere. I’m also reasonably certain there is no waiting period for handguns here.
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I warned you, didn’t I? Trust me. This isn’t the worst thing.
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Tennessee, Florida, Clemson — look Georgia fans, you have a whole new orange to hate.
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No, this isn’t the worst thing either.
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This is the worst thing. (Tech fans: If you would like to purchase a case or two, I can hook you up with my pal Lydia from the store.)
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Ladies and gentleman, the original Bee Gee.
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Here we are outside of the newly renovated T. Boone Pickens Stadium. Thomas Boone Pickens is an alumnus, made his money in oil and has given millions and billions and trillions of BooneBucks to Oklahoma State. I’m not sure if any of that money ended up in the pockets of a football recruit or two in the late 1980s, when the program went on probation. I don’t know why I brought that up. Probably goes back to the whole top soil endorsement thing.
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The door was unlocked. Very nice stadium. But fake grass and no hedges. Good news: also no tumbleweeds. (Fact is, I half-expected a couple of those old grasshopper-lookalike oil wells in the back of the end zone.)
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“Sit around the camp fire, boys and girls. Let me tell you the legend of Pistol Pete. He had a jump shot like no other gunslinger in these here parts . . .”
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They’re kind of into cowboys here.
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Gotta admit, this is an impressive trio in the trophy case: John Starks (hoops), Thurman Thomas (football), Robin Ventura (baseball).
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Just outside the stadium, workers were setting up a tent commemorating past Heisman Trophy winners. And guess which two winners were depicted right next to each other: Herschel Walker (Georgia) and Barry Sanders (Oklahoma State).
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There was a memory book for visitors to sign. I couldn’t resist. (Got a little nervous signing for Herschel.)
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194 comments Add your comment
Steven Blair
September 5th, 2009
10:43 am
I’m with calhound. Wish there were more blogs like this one. Wish we had done this when we came to Athens. Between the girls, the food, and the night life, I would have an impressive collection. BTY the Eskimo Joe’s t-shirt is the 2nd most sold tee in the world behind the Hard Rock tee’s. Have a good one. Go Pokes!!!
mstaff
September 5th, 2009
10:50 am
Great job Jeff, funny article + pics. You should do this for each road game.
Thats Fire
September 5th, 2009
10:55 am
Man, those shirts are just asking for an A55 whooping, no worries here, Cowgirls have no defense whatsoever and i mean its bad
Bibble
September 5th, 2009
10:59 am
Pretty stadium, but I don’t get the turf. I once lived in that general part of the country, and grass grows just fine. In fact, the entire area used to be vast grasslands.
Sonny Clusters
September 5th, 2009
11:12 am
We was never fond of artificial turf. Sometimes Stinky Wintes like to chew on a piece of grass to calm him down before the ball was snapped and he’d have a bad time with getting a blade of that artificial stuff. We was afraid he’d swallow it and stop breathing and nobody was going to give Stinky Winted mouth-to-mouth. He’d die right there on the field. We was always reading Jeff back then when he was new with the paper and still forming his writing personality. We was probably influential in making Jeff the sportswriter he is today and that is some pretty heady stuff for somebody even before they was state championship.
MightyQuinn
September 5th, 2009
11:13 am
Jeff, even though you never respond to any of my posts, (I know, when I say something worthy of a response, you will) I think this was one of the funniest things you’ve ever written. My wife kept coming into the room asking what was wrong with me. By the way, every fall the locals go to east Oklahoma and watch the tree change colors.
David
September 5th, 2009
11:15 am
Jeff– looks like you’re enjoying yourself! If you get a minute, check out the pick in the Dawgs game on http://pickinchickendinners.com/
Danny
September 5th, 2009
11:21 am
Of course, Jeff took the most unappealing photos he could take (except for the stadium and trophy case).
Our campus is really pretty. You missed that, Jeff. Of course, that’s the purpose of your blog and photos — to degrade Oklahoma and OSU.
Fine. If you’re happy (and apparently so) being a shortsighted redneck from Georgia, be so.
We OSU fans couldn’t care less about your barking and “humorous” misspelling of words to attract southern rednecks to southern businesses.
You’re and a lot of southerners are more than happy to wallow in your undereducated redneckness.
Go for it, Jeff.
I hope we beat the crap out of your dogs so you can really get angry and slam the state and university like you do Florida and Tennessee and Louisiana and everybody else that beats your “Dawgs”.
GO POKES!!
Beat the Rednecks!!
Peaches
September 5th, 2009
11:30 am
T. Boone Pickens seems to have built his wind farm after all.
Jim
September 5th, 2009
11:37 am
Jeff while I would agree your atrical did it’s job and got approval from a lot of folks I thought it showed a complete lack of class to run down their town and program as you did. Sports writers today will grasp at anything to draw attention and it’s shameful to say that ajc employees really dig to the bottem of the barrel to sling the nastiest mud. Coach Dooly always stressed that you can and will lose to the least expected on any given day. Today we should see a great game and hopefully our dawgs come back with the victory. Just remember you can make your point without showing you backside.
uga121
September 5th, 2009
11:45 am
I spent a lot of time in Stillwater about 6 years ago…There was an awesome bar called Tumbleweeds. You should look it up!
BravesFan79
September 5th, 2009
11:59 am
great article….. gives me something to brighten up the weekend with Cox mismanaging the Braves right out of the playoff race. Gotta love how Bobby decided to use KK for one inning last night instead of letting him work the 6th-8th innings of Thursdays game. I think Medlen, Gonzo, Soriano and Moylan are all great relievers…. when used properly!
Im really a GT fan 1st… but Go Dawgs!!
Bob Horner had a sweet compact swing
September 5th, 2009
12:02 pm
Nobody asked me…but I think Chipper should be in the batting cage…not on the Gameday set wearing a Gator jersey…
BravesFan79
September 5th, 2009
12:22 pm
It all started with DOB…. but yours and Bradleys blogs and interaction with the fans has really gotten alot better over the years. Things seemed to get alot better when lame bcs supporter T-Moore left town for AOL.
( he might as well as gone on the Jim Rome show and said “yes, i agree that football players ARE 2 dumb for a playoff system and cant miss more classes like EVERYOTHER athlete does”) yes hes correct… football players in general are dumber than most other athletes.. but common we all know most of their school work is really done by “tutors” anyways so the missing class argument is a weak one.
Funny… how come its called “America Online” yet when u call them…. u speak to someone in India that half understands you? My last conversation with them went something like:
Indian lady: Why do u want to cancel your service? Me: “Because i HATE your company… you bought the Braves and fckin ruined them you cheap fcks… and i hope your recording this!”
Of course she had no idea wtf i was talking about, hell, she probably didnt know what baseball was! I will never again support “India online”
BugKiller
September 5th, 2009
12:27 pm
Let’s just say that Stillwater ain’t Tucson.
And we’ll leave it at that.
JSS
September 5th, 2009
12:30 pm
Danny, you made some astute comments… Nevertheless, Jeff Schultz has never and never will be a Southerner. He’s from Los Angeles County, CA. You can blame Long Beach State for his lack of taste ad politeness. Like Ronald Reagan, he’s a carpetbagger in every classic sense of the term. You know the old saying: “Never let remembering where you come from keep you from creating the allusion of something completely different!”
Good luck Ok State…
1eyedJack
September 5th, 2009
12:30 pm
Dawgs dominate both lines of scrimmage. Game over!
MattDawg
September 5th, 2009
12:48 pm
Yeah they are really ones to make fun of UGA 7 especially when they have a stupid big-headed pigeon-toed mascot.
Thanks
JSS
September 5th, 2009
12:49 pm
By the way, the very best to Mr. Ernie Harwell! Ernie, Curt Gowdy, and Milo Hamilton were the voices that filled my ears as a young boy… No screaming, no hollering, just pure enjoyment of the game… You’ll never get that from Scott Howard… You can beat the Big C… Go Ernie!
schultz is mighty smart
September 5th, 2009
1:18 pm
another winner
GT FAN
September 5th, 2009
1:33 pm
Looking good so far! If Nesbitt was a little better at passing, this offense would be unstoppable.
Roger
September 5th, 2009
1:36 pm
Really enjoyed the pictures in Stillwater. It gives us non-travelers some insight into what the place looks like.
AW
September 5th, 2009
1:46 pm
What color unis are the Dawgs wearing today?????
william cranman
September 5th, 2009
1:52 pm
Jeff, are you still there? How about an updated blog? What’s the scene there? How is Joe Cox feeling? We’ll take anything.
honest_abe
September 5th, 2009
1:55 pm
funny how things change jeff, you used to be the most hated man in atlanta. what a difference a year makes.
funny stuff. would’ve appreciated some pictures of some ladies, cows. whatever the men like out there.
you’re handwriting is about as ugly as mine… heh
Hillbilly Deluxe
September 5th, 2009
2:09 pm
That Pistol Pete Eaton looks like he’d have been an interesting character. What’s the story on him, anyway?
Dangerous
September 5th, 2009
2:10 pm
CAPTN RENNIE AND THE WRECKING CREW will be a TOP 10 DEFENSE this year! Cowpokes you’re in for a long day! T Boone it’s not to late to hedge your bet on the Pokies and take the DAWGS!
Hillbilly Deluxe
September 5th, 2009
2:12 pm
Dany @ 11:21
You do realize that a large portion of the people who settled Oklahoma were Southerners?
David
September 5th, 2009
2:13 pm
DAWG FANS: forget about Chipper Jones. Great ball player, but teetering on the edge of starting his retirement job, bartending at Hooters. True story. But despite your very respectable confidence in your beloved Bulldogs, get some additional confidence and check out http://pickinchickendinners.com/
Joe Cox is sick, yes. But he had an undefeated high school career (yes in high school, but never losing a game means something to people who know sport–reveals character) And a football player who makes the trip to Stillwater and runs out of that tunnel, is going to certainly give a high-character effort…with a little help from his friends (phenomenal offensive line).
We're live from Stillwater (and Part II of Digi-Blog) | Jeff Schultz
September 5th, 2009
2:41 pm
[...] posted earlier but I decided to venture outside the press box to take a few more photos, sort of a followup to Friday’s Digi-Blog. Yes, Joe Cox looked fine when he walked by me. But that was the extent of medical examination (or [...]
JSS
September 5th, 2009
2:45 pm
Hey Hillbilly… Unlike most of the South, Oklahoma was very forward thinking… Prentice Gautt played at Oklahoma in 1956 when most of the South was all of the SEC was still nearly 20 years from having their first players of color…
Here’s a good link on “Pistol Pete” Eaton
http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/saints/eaton.html
JSS
September 5th, 2009
2:52 pm
Speaking of Rednecks, try looking up the name Johnny Bright… An incident that occured in 1950 at then Oklahoma A&M (now State) came to change the thinking of many oklahomians regarding sport and race… I think you’ll be enlightened if you choose to investigate for yourself…
Pete on the Coast
September 5th, 2009
3:21 pm
If UGA played outside the southeast USA more than once every forty years, Dawg fans might not be so amazed at what the rest of the country looks like . . . I’m sure Stillwater can’t compare to the beauty of Starkville, MS, or Auburn, AL, no sir, no trailer parks there or in the Deliverance Country of North Georgia! Oh, and that airport picture: was that suppose to be an UNfavorable comparison to how much fun it is to fly from Hartsfield?
Campout Cowboy
September 5th, 2009
8:31 pm
Well I admit I was wrong on the score.
So much for that vaunted SEC defense.
Yellow Fuzz
September 5th, 2009
9:26 pm
45ACP
Sugar Hill Dawg
Mountain dawg
Habersham Dawg
1eyedjack
Kendawg
WTF???
Reservoir dawg
Altamaha dawg
MiltonDawg
Reality Check
SECrules
Jax Dawg
Miami Dawg
DirtyDawg
NC Dawg
PTC DAWG
G Dawg
CLTDawg
GeoffDawg
Bugkiller
SimpleDawg
CUZ
RxDawg
DawginLex
ToccoaDawg
L-Dawg
Pumpdawg
Denver Dog
I thoroughly enjoy reading your comments and excuses.
NC Cowpoke Fan
September 5th, 2009
10:45 pm
Ha ha..pretty funny blog..made even funnier since you get to go back to “beautiful” Athens with your tail between your legs and an ‘L’…
PJ Fuller
September 6th, 2009
7:55 am
I know this is supposed to be in fun – but trust me, you are coming off as a total dick. While I have the pleasure of visiting Atlanta often for business, and I do think Athens is a great college town – not quite up to the level of Madison or Austin, for example – taking pictures in an effort to accentuate a stereotype is lame. It’d be like anyone from Oklahoma thinking that everyone is Georgia lives in the woods and wants to make Ned Beaty squeal like a pig.
You guys have a great football program, a filthy rich tradition, and and a beautiful state. You don’t need some idiotic, unoriginal, middle-aged blogger giving you guys a black eye.
Shane
September 6th, 2009
12:40 pm
Its funny how the game ended up, right? Oh, shut up about Stillwater, Athens isn’t a fun town and has nothing on Stillwater.
LJ
September 6th, 2009
12:58 pm
Garth Brooks, Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, John Starks, Robin Ventura. Some of the best in their field, all OSU people.
Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Stoney LaRue, all makes their rounds and play to full venues every time they swing thru Athens. All OSU people as well….
You did a nice job of depicting Oklahoma as how it really is not….Making Oklahoma the butt of some stereotypical jokes is easy. That’s why it works, is because it’s easy. Example: Georgia-squeal like a pig. That’s too easy. Think outside the box.
Western Oklahoma – rolling hills and canyons on the Canadian River and home to some of the best deer hunting in the U.S. Forests and lakes of Eastern Oklahoma, actually a lot of places resembles most of Georgia!
Muscogee Creek
September 6th, 2009
3:58 pm
65,000 displaced Georgians (now Oklahomans) salute the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Job well done. Go Pokes
bruce bear
September 6th, 2009
4:18 pm
I am from OSU. Of course I liked the outcome, but this is a good and funny article.
Bri
September 6th, 2009
9:14 pm
LJ, very well put.
Bri
September 6th, 2009
9:19 pm
also….why are SEC teams constantly referring to their “superior” conference? Is it because they have an identity problem….
Our team is just mediocre but by golly we’re from the SEC….So we are better than you…..
ha haha ha haha ha ha aha
Pistol T
September 8th, 2009
11:40 pm
GA Fans, it was a big day for our school to beat a school with a rich tradition. Good luck in the SEC. And the article was funny Jeff, but c’mon, you are in fricking GA. Careful how many stones you through from your glass house…and keep your hands off your sister. For the rest of the comments about Stillwater see LJ comments re: Athens vs. other college towns…and suk it.