More Qs & As with Bradford and Robinson
Sam Bradford and Zac Robinson appeared together Monday night at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Honors Banquet. The Oklahoma quarter and Oklahoma State quarterback did a Q&A with Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett presiding over the session at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
Yesterday, I had the first part of their Q&A on my blog. (If you missed it, be sure to check it out.)
Today, the second part.
How did your walk with Christ begin?
Bradford: Actually, we didn’t really start going to church when I was really young. It’s something that kind of came about when I was in the fifth grade. We were playing sports every weekend, and it’s not like I didn’t know who God was, but it’s just something that we really didn’t have the time to do. I think my mom finally brought it up and was like, “Hey, we’re going to start going to church.” We started going to a couple different churches, and finally, we found one where a couple of my friends attended. I give a lot of credit to my friends; they were the ones who got me involved in youth group, got me involved in confirmation, got me to really stick with it. Through high school, I continued to be part of our church and FCA.
Robinson: I grew up going to church since the day I was born. I always had gone church. When I committed my life to Christ, I was in the third grade after actually watching the “Jesus” film. That really hit home for me. The Lord was tugging at my heart that it was time to turn my life over to him. I committed my life to Christ and just have been walking with him ever since.
Talk about FCA. Has it been important in your life?
Robinson: Yeah, it has. In high school, it played a little bit of a role, but then when I got to college, it did a lot. We have every Wednesday after football practice, John Talley does a 20 minute thing with the football team. I feel like as an example, not only as a quarterback but as a Christian on the football team, to kind of tug at guys to go … and listen to his message and after that see what they’re doing on Sunday morning, if they’re interested in going to church. It’s been very influential to me.
Bradford: FCA’s been a really big part of my life, actually. My middle school and high school FCA leaders are actually here tonight. They’ve had a big part in keeping me involved in FCA. It’s funny — me and Kent Bowles, who’s the leader at OU, we were actually talking about things tonight, talking about how if you want things to be successful in your life, they have to be consistent. FCA, especially now, offers me something that’s consistent in my life. I’ve got so many things. With football and school, there’s so much going on. But I know that every Tuesday night at 8 o’clock, there’s a place that I can go for an hour and forget about absolutely everything and I can learn more about our Lord and what he has in store for me. To know that there’s a place every week that’s consistently going to grow my walk with Christ, that’s about the greatest thing you can ask for.
There are a lot of kids out there. What advice do you have for kids who might look up to you?
Bradford: Every night before I went to bed, my dad would make me say 10 things to him. One of those things I’d have to say is, “I can do anything I think I can.” You can do whatever you think you can, but it starts with you. You have to set goals for yourself. You have to realize that nothing comes easy. You have to work hard for everything that you want. Nothing is going to be handed over to you, whether it’s a sports position, a grade. You have to work for it. I just encourage all the kids out there to set goals and don’t be afraid to set extremely high goals. But also realize that you have to work to get to those goals.
Robinson: God has a plan for each and every one of you. At times, we might say, “Lord, what are you doing to me? Why’d you put me in this situation?” That’s when you just have to trust him in all that you do and know that the big picture, he’s got it figured out for you. You just have to trust in him and trust that he’ll put you in the right position. Also if you haven’t found it by now, the Lord will put a passion in your life. Whatever that is. Whether it’s sports-related or school or playing the piano, whatever it is, he’ll put a passion in your life. I challenge you to just go after that passion with all your heart.
Q&A with Bedlam QBs Bradford and Robinson
Sam Bradford and Zac Robinson appeared together Monday night at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Honors Banquet. After posing for photos with the high school FCA academic all-staters, the Oklahoma quarter and Oklahoma State quarterback did a Q&A with Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett presiding over the session at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
Today, Part I.
Tomorrow, Part II.
You live a very public life, but what’s going on in your life right now that most people have no idea is going on?
Robinson: Well, I’m playing a lot of golf. (Laughter.) Spring football just got over, so it’s been kind of nice to get a little bit of a break. Finishing up school, and just been hanging out, trying to finish up school strong and, like I said, playing a lot of golf, which is a good thing.
Bradford: I wish I got to play a lot of golf. (Laughter.) But hopefully that will come in a couple weeks when we’re out of school. But kind of like Zac, I’m just trying to finish up school right now. We’ve got about three weeks left. Just trying to hit the books and get ready for finals and sneak out to the golf course or the fishin’ pond any time I can.
It’s the perfect weekend. No football. No studies. A clean slate for you. What do you want to do?
Bradford: A perfect weekend that I could make happen sometime in the next couple weeks would be at the lake. Wake up, go fishin’ in the morning, go to the golf course, play a round, go back out on the water, mess around on the boat. Then wake up the next day and do it again. (Laughter.)
Robinson: Well, my girlfriend’s here right now, so if I didn’t say hang out with her a little … (Laughter.) But I like going to the lake as well. I’d probably say wake up, play golf. Then I would probably go to dinner and a movie with my girlfriend. We do that all the time, so that would probably be a good weekend.
Your most favorite football moment?
Robinson: It would have to be just this past season when we played Missouri. We were kind of under the radar at the moment, and Missouri was ranked No. 2 in the country. It was fun time for us to go up to their place and pull that upset and put Oklahoma State football on the map. That’s definitely been my most fun moment playing football in my whole career.
Bradford: My also came against Missouri. It was this year in the Big 12 Championship game. We knew if we won we had a good opportunity to go to the national championship game, and we came out and we played about as well as we could have. It was kind of the dream game, to play in a championship game, and we were fortunate enough to win that and have the opportunity to play for the national championship. Winning that Big 12 title was definitely my favorite memory.
If you couldn’t play quarterback and you have the ability to play any position on the field, what position would you choose?
Bradford: That’s tough, but I think just to get the perspective I’d be an offensive lineman. (Laughter.) I probably don’t appreciate those guys as much as I should, and I think that if I actually got to play a game and go through what they go through, I would actually understand more about what they have to do.
Robinson: I would take a little bit different approach. I’d want to be the punter. (Laughter.) My roommate, he’s graduated and he’s the punter Matt Fodge, and I’d really like to know what just goes through his head. Sometimes he plays two plays a game. (Laughter.) Obviously, that’s not a lot of pressure, so I’d like to see what it feels like.
Didn’t he lead the nation in punting?
Robinson: He did. But he didn’t have very many attempts, though. (Laughter.)
The greatest influence in your life?
Robinson: I’d definitely have to say my parents. They’ve meant so much to me. I’ve grown up in a Christian home. Not everybody’s fortunate enough to have that. Having them raising me the way that they have and just going to church every Sunday and instilling the Lord in me at a very young age has meant a lot to me. It’s helped me get through college and all the tough things that have come up in my life to this point. Without a doubt, I’d have to say my parents.
Bradford: It’d be my parents as well. I’m an only child, and I got the opportunity to spend a lot of time with my parents. I played a lot of sports growing up, and they were always there to take me to every game, every practice whether it was 5 o’clock in the morning or 10 o’clock at night. Even if they had something to do, it didn’t matter. They were always there. My dad coached a lot of my teams growing up, and they view sports as a way to really teach me a lot of lessons about life. Without them, there’s no way … I’d be sitting in front of you. Everything I stand for is because of my parents.
Durant dishes on season bests, summer plans
Jenni Carlson: I wonder if you could give your “best of”s for the year. I’ll throw out a few categories. Team MVP?
Kevin Durant: That’s tough. I’d have to say Russell. He’s been the point guard, and he’s been handling the offense very well. His stats speak for itself. He’s been playing good basketball throughout the year, and he’s gotten better and better.
JC: I should’ve told you — you can vote for yourself.
KD: Nah. I don’t think it’s me.
JC: What about best off the bench?
KD: We’ve got so many guys that come off the bench and help us. I would say Kyle Weaver. He’s been helping us out in different areas. Scoring the basketball. Passing. Playing defense.
JC: Is there an unsung hero?
KD: Nick Collison. He’s been counted on to do so much on this team — rebound the ball, play defense. He’s been one of our go-to big guys, one of our consistent big guys throughout the year. He doesn’t complain; he was in the starting lineup, then he was taken out. But he still comes and plays hard.
JC: Who’s been most improved this year?
KD: Jeff Green. He’s stepped his game up throughout the whole year. He’s been playing great basketball.
JC: Biggest surprise?
KD: Um, Kyle Weaver. In the offseason, he was a little timid. He didn’t want to be aggressive like we wanted. But as the season went along, he’s been more aggressive. We all know he can play defense, but he’s been helping us on the offensive end.
JC: Most memorable moment?
KD: I have a lot of them, but I’d have to say the one where Jeff hit the big shot against Golden State. That was a big one for us. We needed that win, and he got it for us. I’d also say when Russ dunked on Mario Chalmers. That was a good moment for me.
JC: Once the off-season starts, you’re going to be taking some summer school at Texas. What classes are you going to take?
KD: I don’t know yet. I’ve got to talk to my academic adviser.
JC: But you’ll actually be back on campus?
KD: I’ll be back on campus with regular students.
JC: That has to be weird.
KD: It was last year because I spent the whole year away from school. I was waking up in the summer at 5:30 to workout at 6, be done with workouts by 7:15, then head to class. It was tough, man. I wasn’t waking up that much during the season. I would wake up at 9:30 or 10 to go to practice.
JC: How many classes will you take?
KD: I’ll take two, I think. D.J. Augustine, plays for the Bobcats, he’s going to be with me, too. Last year, I was just by myself. With him there, it’s going to be a little bit easier.
JC: How far along will you be after the summer?
KD: Give me three or four more summers, and I’ll be through my sophomore year. I’ve got a long ways to go.
Is this the NBA or the third grade?
Want to be inspired? Check out this story
Hope you had a chance to check out the “Why I Run” feature of our Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon coverage on Sunday.
Here’s one story that didn’t make print that is more than worth your time:
Slayde Meyer
Forgan
I had been thinking about doing mission stuff. They always take a group of Oklahoma high school students overseas for missionary work, so I signed up for it. I got accepted, but I found out that you had to have a body mass index of a certain level.
I was overweight.
So, I started exercising, and that’s when I started losing it — 78 pounds. I’m at 202.
I just started eating a lot healthier and running. I had run before, but I could never really lose weight. We live on a country road, and I started on that. At that point, I could probably do about a mile and a half.
I did 10 miles last Sunday.
My German teacher, she lost 110 pounds. She runs, too. We’ve kept each other motivated.
I’m doing the half (marathon). It’s just so amazing. I think back — what if someone would’ve told me a year ago that I’d be doing this, I would have never believed them.
I hope to run a full marathon by the time I’m 18.
More from The Q&A: Wheelchair marathoner Richard Vaughn
No doubt it is an admirable thing for anyone to go 26.2 miles, but Vaughn isn’t like most who’ll be out on the streets of Oklahoma City. He is in a wheelchair, and it isn’t one of those fancy-pants racing chairs either. It is a heavy, conventional chair.
He still plans to finish the marathon in less than six hours.
So, what are you doing Sunday morning?
Jenni Carlson: You’ve done the Memorial Marathon before, right?
Richard Vaughn: I’ve done it the past two years. I met Mark Bravo at the Little Rock Expo before I was doing the Little Rock Marathon. I saw the Oklahoma City booth, and I thought, “What’s in Oklahoma City?” When I met Mark … he gave me a brochure. I went home and I read it, and I said, “Oh, this is for the Memorial. I’ve got to do this.” The only problem is, it’s only six weeks after the Little Rock Marathon, so it doesn’t give me a whole lot of time to recover.
JC: Very true.
RV: But last year I ran it in memory of one of the people that perished at the Murrah Building, and then had my picture taken by that person’s memorial and we e-mailed it to the family. I intend to do that again this year.
JC: I love that idea.
RV: There’s never going to be closure for those families, but the families need to be honored, too, because they’ve suffered a lot.
JC: Can I ask how you came to be in a wheelchair?
RV: I don’t mind talking about it. I don’t usually talk about it because I’ve always said it’s not so much what I’ve done in my life, it’s what I’ve learned. But … when I was 17, I fell 85 feet off of a scaffolding. I was sandblasting a building, and a harness broke. Just literally shattered my back. I actually got up to the point where I was walking on crutches. Then when I was 39 … I reached over a box and picked up a computer and broke the spinal fusion. That put me right back in a wheelchair.
JC: What first inspired you to start doing marathons?
RV: I’ve been playing wheelchair basketball for 30 years. I’ve been active in wheelchair athletics, but nothing in the way of endurance activities. But in 2005, a friend at work was going to walk the Little Rock Marathon. He said, “Why don’t you do the marathon?” That night, I left my house and started pushing around and just couldn’t stop. It felt good. I went the distance. Then, I got invited to Memphis for the St. Jude’s Marathon … where I broke my neck during the marathon.
JC: Wait. What? Timeout. How does that happen?
RV: The St. Jude’s Marathon ends in their baseball park. When I came up over the ramp and all the people are cheering … I got this rush of adrenaline and hit the wheels and I hit the warning track and it was pea gravel. My front casters sunk down in it, and I whiplashed my neck. I went ahead and popped wheelies all the way around the outfield … and went ahead and finished the race. But the next week went to the doctor and had to have a vertebrae removed.
JC: Wow. Marathoning is a whole new extreme sport for you.
RV: It’s a different paradigm than basketball. It’s team-oriented, but it’s also that you’re beating another team. So there is a certain animosity. But in marathon, everybody is encouraging everybody else and you’re only opponent is the course. … Incidentally, this marathon is very special to me. This particular race Sunday … is my 10th marathon. No. 10 is very special to me.
JC: I read somewhere that you once said that in not using a racing chair you were making sure you didn’t have an advantage than anyone else didn’t have. That’s a powerful sentiment.
RV: Flying down a hill at 35 miles an hour passing people … I like running with the crowds, not away from them.
JC: How much of a physical toll does 26.2 miles take on you?
RV: I use weightlifter gloves without fingers. Then I tape the pressure points where blisters might occur. I spend three nights a week in the gym lifting weights, keeping my shoulders, elbows, triceps and biceps strong. So, really it doesn’t take much of a toll on me at all, except at the end of the race I’m usually pretty hungry.
Mr. Treadmill running to gain attention … for others
And even if he broke the Guinness Book of World Records mark for miles run on a treadmill earlier today, the airman from Altus still won’t be widely known.
That’s just fine with him.
Brustad made his treadmill attempt at the Downtown Sheraton this week not because he wanted to see his name in the record books. He didn’t do it to grab attention. He didn’t do it to make headlines.
Truth is, he‘s probably a little squeamish about all the attention he’s been getting. A column that I wrote earlier this week about Brustad snagged tens of thousands of hits on the internet. Among internet sensations, he’s not that gal from “Britain’s Got Talent” but the crazy guy on a treadmill has definitely created a buzz.
Thing is, Brustad would be doing cartwheels about the attention if that were possible while running on a treadmill. That’s because attention for his efforts is attention for the 168 victims of the Oklahoma City bombing. That’s who he’s been running for, after all.
He’s been running in their memory. He’s been running for the most noble of causes.
He’s been running for all the right reasons.
Brustad, by the way, isn’t a native of Oklahoma. He grew up in New York state and only moved here a few years ago. But the bombing memorial struck a chord with him. The 168 victims motivated him to run 168 miles from Altus to Oklahoma City last year. It also motivated him run for a week — 168 hours.
He calls his efforts the 168-4-168.
And frankly, it would be difficult to do what Brustad did if you only had selfish motives. If you were only moved by personal gain, I don’t think you could run 60-plus miles a day on a treadmill.
Have you ever tried to spend even an hour on a treadmill? It’s boring with a capital B.
But Brustad spent hour after solitary hour on a treadmill. He did it all in the name of those bombing victims. He did it all for the right reasons.
Playoffs will cost the Thunder
First Church of The Marathon
Hope you had a chance to catch my Sunday column on First Church and the Second Wind ministry. You’ll want to be sure to check out the video, too. Lots of interesting stuff about a downtown church that has become a hub of activity during the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.
A side story that I wanted to share here on the blog: today is the 120th anniversary of First Church. Located at the corner of Robinson Avenue and Fourth Street, it is the oldest Protestant church in Oklahoma. The congregation first met on the Sunday after the land run that opened the Oklahoma territory in 1889. It met on the very same spot where the church still stands.
The church nearly moved from that location after the bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The church was so heavily damaged by the blast that the congregation was displaced for three years, but despite the rebuilding, the church decided to stay put.
The sanctuary took the brunt of the blast that happened 14 years ago today. Glorious wooden beams were cracked and damaged. Beautiful stained glass windows were shattered to bits.
But found undamaged amid the rubble in the center of the sanctuary was a stained-glass face of Jesus. That the glass was intact was unbelievable, but it was hardly the most unbelievable aspect. The face was part of a window on the south side of the sanctuary. Because the explosion occurred to the northwest of the sanctuary, the force and thrust of the blast should’ve blown the Jesus face out of the building.
Instead, it was found in the middle of the sanctuary.
The Jesus face is now part of a stained glass window in the church’s prayer chapel.
More from The Q&A: Chris Brooks
Oklahoma gymnast Chris Brooks tragically lost his father last year. Larry Brooks was killed in an auto accident, and because of his love for gymnastics, the Sooners dedicated this season to his memory.
They finished third at NCAAs on Friday night.
Here’s more from my interview with Brooks, who talks about his father’s role in his gymnastics:
Jenni Carlson: Did your father start you in gymnastics?
Chris Brooks: He did gymnastics in high school, and when I was a kid, I was pretty athletic, always running around. He decided to start trying to teach me some flips in our house. I was 6 years old doing round-off back handsprings in our living room.
JC: Bet your mom loved that.
CB: Oh, yeah, she was not happy. They thought I was too young to start gymnastics classes, but they put my brother and sister in it. Of course, I wanted to be just like my older brother. He would come home and teach me things that he learned that day. It just took off from there.
JC: Did your dad coach you?
CB: My dad was my coach for a few years. He definitely instilled a sense of hard work in me. He always expected more from me. He loved it whenever I would win, but he also let me know that just doing my best is the only thing I can do. In the sport … it’s not like a timed thing. It’s what you can do, then the judges have control from there.
