(April 9, 2016) It was a little past 6 a.m. this morning and I was on the way to the New Orleans airport. Leaving that city on a Saturday morning when a whole weekend could be played there might not make much sense. But, I had a game to go to back home. That’s what I told the cab driver, L.C., from the back seat of his Suburban as we pulled onto I-10 from the French Quarter.
One of your kids’ games? He asked. Nope, I said. College game. Spring game. I’m a big fan, I said.
L.C. told me that his father was too. His dad was the biggest college football fan ever, he said. When he died, he left L.C. the house and to take care of his mom. Then Hurricane Katrina hit. And it was left in ruin. The family had to move to Houston for months. His brother and family went to Birmingham, Alabama. L.C. returned to Louisiana, but his brother stayed in Alabama; said the kids were doing well in school there.
I told L.C. I used to call my dad after every game. And talk. We were passing by Metairie Cemetery when I said that. L.C. said, me too…man I miss him.
He loved his college team, L.C. said. And you know, it wasn’t LSU or any team around New Orleans. It was “Oklahoma,” L.C. said.
He loved his college team, L.C. said. And you know, it wasn’t LSU or any team around New Orleans. It was “Oklahoma.”
He loved his college team, L.C. said. And you know, it wasn’t LSU or any team around New Orleans. It was “Oklahoma.”
Right then I just made a new friend in NOLA.
That’s where I’m going, I told him. Back home to Norman. No way, he said. Yes, I said. I’m a Sooner.
And then L.C. told me about his nephew, Dwayne, who as a little boy had to move with the family to Alabama when the hurricane destroyed their entire neighborhood. But there he grew into a very large young man attending Homewood High School in Birmingham. An athlete. A football player. A highly recruited one at that. Standing 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighing in at 301 pounds. Right there in Nick Saban’s back yard. And Alabama came a calling.
But other teams’ coaches did too. And one of those was from my home, Norman.
L.C.’s nephew decided to take a visit to the University of Oklahoma. He attended one of the games on Owen Field. He really liked the coach. A good guy, L.C. said. And he loved how the fans were at the game. It made the difference.
It also didn’t hurt that there was a grandpa in heaven who was a Sooner.
And so, this afternoon back home I watched my New Orleans cab driver’s nephew on Owen Field in OU’s Spring Red-White game. Dwyane Orso-Bacchus. Number 79. He is a redshirt sophomore reserve right tackle. He played well. I kept thinking how his grandpa would be so proud of him.
So, after the game, I called L.C. on his cell. Dwayne’s doing fine, I said. He’s looking good in his crimson and cream.
— Mike
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