The 13th Disciple

The 1930's was a hellish decade for our great nation. . The Great Depression seemed endless. Its effects were seen everywhere from New York to Los Angeles. 15 million people were unemployed, nearly a quarter of the nations workforce. Multitudes of people were selling their family farms and herding across the vast mid-west toward California searching for work. Children were starving. People were dying. Tom Joads could be found in every major city, on every backroad, and on every eternal mile of route 66. Would this time of economic failure and moral depravity ever end? Hope was as plentiful as dollar bills in billfolds. It looked like the strongest, most powerful country in the world was on the verge of destruction. But then in the year of 1932 on the morning of March 12, a savior was born. The 13th disciple was born. Eddie Sutton was born.

During the heart of America's most tragic chapter, the solution to all her problems climbed out of the womb. Many tall tales have been told about that fateful day in a rural Kansas town. One witness said that Eddie didn't climb out of the womb, he leaped, ripped off his umbilical cord in mid air, dunked it in a nearby trashcan, and then calmly climbed back into his mothers arms like nothing had ever happend. Another eye witness said that Eddie walked out of the womb without any assistance from the medical staff, looked a doctor square in the eye, and slowly raised his lower lip above his upper lip. Exactly 26 seconds later the doctor dropped dead with a cause of death doctors could only label as "pure fear." A young nurse on her first day of duty said that right before Eddie was conceived, all the lights in the hospital shut off, a quick laser light show happend, smoke started coming out of the canal, and a man on PA system emphatically shouted, "A 1 ft 11 inch, 9 ounce point guard, straight out of his mother's womb..... EDDIEEEEE SUTTOOOOOOON!!!!!" "Then Eddie walked out, high fived his dad, and bumped chests with one of the doctors," said the nurse, "I stood there in awe, everyone was clapping and hollering 'EDDIE, EDDIE!' I didn't know what was going on. I was absolutely shocked." One account said that Eddie dribbled a basketball out, mouthed the words "screen right" to a doctor, crossed over the nurse in front of him, and drained a 3 in the basket hanging above the door. He then ran back to his mothers arms and told the nurse to go run sprints in the parking lot and not to come back in until she threw up. These stories, as well as many other stories, have been told about Eddie Sutton's birth. None have been proven fact, but none have been proven false either. You don't have to believe these stories (personally I think the 4th story is true, but I wouldn't be surprised if all of them happend). You don't have to agree with any of these tales, but you do have to agree that regardless, Eddie Sutton was born to teach the game of basketball. Eddie was a young, promising, and energetic 8 year old by the time the Great Depression was over. Years later, with the Great Depression in the past, Eddie would meet, marry, and raise a family with his wife Patsy, attend Oklahoma State University, play and learn the art of basketball under Henry Iba, and then start his own legandary career as a high school and college basketball coach.

The hall of famer started teaching this game on the hardwoods of high school gyms. "I was sure high school was where I would always be," Eddie Sutton said in an interview. That all changed when Eddie got a call from College of Southern Idaho, a young university looking to establish a basketball program. Eddie couldn't resist, he took the job, and thank God for it. Eddie's name was out. People started discovering that this man just wasn't any ordinary man; he was extraordinary. In 1969 the University of Creighton made a phone call to Eddie. Eddie answered. In 1969 Eddie made his debut in division 1 basketball. Eddie coached at Creighton for 5 seasons, leading the Bluejays to a winning record each season, and all the way to the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament in his final year there. After Creighton, Eddie packed his bags, and headed for Fayatteville, Arkansas. This is where it gets real good by the way. Eddie coached the Razorbacks for 11 seasons coaching the team to 9 tournament appearances, and his first final four, where they fell in a tight game to UCLA. Eddie was snatching victories faster than Nolan Ryan fastballs. He was quickly becoming a household name. Before dinner each night my grandfather said that they would bless the food in his name. (Okay, so I made that up, but still he was getting pretty big.) He was getting so big that after Arkansas he headed off to Kentucky to coach one of college basketballs most prestigious programs. His 4 year tenture with the Wildcats was mared by controversy. In his third season there serious NCAA rules were broken. Nothing went on Eddie's permanent record, but his team was unable to compete in the big dance. Eddie resigned from Kentucky in 1989. One year later the greatest thing since the birth, death, and ressurection of Jesus happend: Eddie was hired as head basketball coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma State University. That's what I really want to talk about people. What he's done at this place, for these people, the players, the students, the fans, for me.

I had to put this in here somewhere. A blog with come soon just on this picture alone. I'll be disecting it frame by frame, pizza by pizza. Thanks for making this possible Rachel.

Now a lot of crap has been said about Eddie in the last couple of days. A friend from Texas A&M texted me on Monday after Eddie had been issued a DUI after his car accident on Friday night that instead of saying "Eddie Sutton Court" said "Jack Daniels Court." Moments later I recieved another text that said "Maybe Eddie shouldn't have been riding his rascal so fast." I'll admit I laughed, I thought they were funny. Too bad Eddie wasn't drunk or drinking when he got in his wreck or else those jokes could have been funny and true. Eddie was found with a bottle of pain killers for his back pain in the seat next to him at the scene of the wreck. DUI means driving under the influence of anything, including pain killers. Eddie isn't an alcoholic anymore, he's put that behind him. I believe in him with all my heart. Regardless of what you think about the recent events of this past week, you can't disrespect what the man has done for college basketball. It's unbelievable; hard to imagine one man doing so much for a game and for this school, but Eddie made it fathomable. In 12 years he's fashioned some of the finest athletes and young men ever to play this game. He's taken this school to the final four twice, sweet sixteen 3 times, the elite eight once, and only misssed the big dance once. He's the only coach ever to take 4 different teams to the tourney, and one of the 3 who have taken 2 teams to the final four. He's had twenty-five 20 win seasons and three 30 win seasons. At OSU, he won conference 4 times, at UK he won it once, and at the U of A he won it 5 times. Quite a resume isn't it? F-ing right it is beeches. He is without a doubt one of the greatest coaches ever to coach this game. He's tied for number 4 on my all time list. He's only 6 wins away from 800. Only 6. Six. S-I-X. Only four others have reached that mark. I think he's earned more than your respect, he's earned your praise. Worship him. Get on your knees and pray to him right now. He is the Jesus of college basketball. A holy, anoited, and prodigal one. I heard God was thinking about revising the Bible and putting his name at the end of the list of the disciples, making him the thirteenth. And I'm positive he'll replace Judas at some point. So give it up to the man. He's on medical leave for the rest of this season right now, some say he'll hang it up after the Baylor game, and pass the torch onto Sean. Right, and Mormonism is the way to heaven. Don't feed me that crap, Eddie will be back. He's got more class than that, more stamina too. He's got more coaching to do. He won't back down to this. He'll be back. Guranteed. I bet my virginity on it, my virginity to a man on top of that!

Don't worry Eddie, that won't be the last net you cut down. It freakin better not be, I don't want to lose my v-card to a man.