Ford and Cowboy Nation together again
Travis Ford has recaptured the magic and rekindled the love.
Earlier this season, the honeymoon was over between the Oklahoma State coach and the Cowboy Nation. No one ever sensed an annulment was coming. Still, with the team struggling and the TV cameras catching profanities, Ford had all but emptied the well of good will that all coaches receive when they take a new job.
But credit Ford — he has endeared himself to the OSU faithful once again.
The reasons are simple: his antics have cooled off and his team has heated up.
The Cowboys enter the Big 12 Tournament this week as the winners of six of their last seven games. That was a streak that seemed almost impossible less than a month ago. When OSU went to Texas and got blitzed by 20-plus, it was difficult to see the Cowboys winning many of their remaining games. Didn’t matter that the schedule got easier. Didn’t matter that they had winnable games. They just didn’t look like a team capable of winning many games the rest of the way.
Then, Ford juggled the lineup, making Obi Muonelo a reserve and stressing the importance of defense. Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, the Cowboys became an NCAA Tournament team.
Ford transformed them. Obviously, the players have gone out and played the games, Byron Eaton and James Anderson and Marshall Moses all coming up big along the way.
But it’s a testament to Ford and his growth as a coach that he was able to turn this season around mid-stream. That isn’t an easy thing to do, to take a train that’s going down one track and put it on another track all together. That’s what Ford has done.
That has helped improve his image, as has his actions. He is managing his emotions better on the bench, and he is reaching out to the fans. Ford took the microphone and addressed the Gallagher-Iba Arena crowd after several home games. Those kinds of things resonate with fans.
Ditto for wins on the basketball court.
The bond between Travis Ford and the Cowboy Nation is getting stronger by the day. Who knows what a trip to the NCAA Tournament could do for their relationship? It might feel a little like a second honeymoon.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
But have we lost obi getting there. I can’t help but remeber he is a very good player. I hope he gets a chance to shine in the 8ig 12 tournament. I am afraid he won’t be around when we need him.