By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
It was on May 25, 1977, when movie watching changed forever. The names Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Obi-wan Kenobi, C3PO and R2D2 became fixtures in American households.
Stars Wars was nothing we had ever seen in films. Now, 45 years after its release, it has become a literal empire that no one can ever replicate.
The RJB saw it for the first time at the Parkway theatre. It was located off Maryland Parkway in the middle of Las Vegas (that theatre closed in 1995).
It didn’t take much for this elementary age kid to become wowed by the shot of the Imperial Cruiser going on and on and on and on and on wondering if it was ever going to end as it chased down the Rebel ship.
Think the ROI worked out, OK? The film budget was $11 million. The box office drew $778.5 million.
Part of the movie’s allure was the music. The RJB has featured the great John Williams previously.
But as we celebrate an anniversary of sorts, let’s take you back to majestic opening theme with the storyline moving into space. You know the part of it where the Imperial Cruiser enters.
We’ll then take you to the sinister theme when the Millennium Falcon crew realizes that’s no moon, that’s a space station (The Death Star) followed by their escape and the battle with the tie-fighter attack.
Enjoy this trip down memory lane.
*****
If you’re a fan of watching of media days and the talking heads coming up with talking points about the themes that will be discussed, you’ll love what Wednesday and Thursday has in store for you for Big 12 media days at AT&T Stadium.
The first story line likely will be about new commissioner Brett Yormark and what his goals will be with realignment again at the forefront and the Big 12’s attempt to position itself as one of the major players.
That’s pretty much a 180 when the Big 12 media days ended last year, and outgoing commissioner Bob Bowlsby said he didn’t lose sleep about conference realignment. Then the next week, the conference was turned on its side when the story broke and Texas and Oklahoma were heading to the SEC.
Eventually, we’ll get to the point where the preseason media poll will be discussed. Now, the part that will be interesting is how it will be presented.
Will the narrative focus on the fact that Baylor was predicted to win the league for the first time in school history after winning it in 2021? Or will the narrative focus on Oklahoma being unseated as favorites for the first time in seven years and that the program lost its head coach Lincoln Riley to USC
We’re probably going to have a combination of both. However, the blue blood program will get more of the talk because…well…it’s a blue blood that’s going to have a lot of intrigue because of a turbulent offseason.
Baylor will get its share of praise. But I do tend to think that the media will look at Baylor as being a bit boring because it finds its head coach really smart and well respected but not super fun to talk about.
Minus a couple of assistant coaching changes and head coach Dave Aranda having his contract extended, the Bears’ offseason was pretty boring. That’s fine. In this case, boring means your program is in a position where it has found stability and looking to keep moving in that direction.
We all know by now that Aranda is pretty dry, shy to a point and not seeking the camera at every or any opportunity. He will do interviews and will be willing to do what is asked. But he’s not going to be anything that he’s not.
When serious Baylor discussions start, I’m sure we’ll hear the talking heads say, “Well, Baylor snuck up on everybody last year to win the Big 12 last year. But they won’t have that advantage this year. They have the bull’s-eye on their chest.’’ It will be something like that.
Keep in mind, the Bears were picked eighth in 2021. You’ll get that pointed out to you.
It’s an easy storyline to use. But let’s look at 2021 practically. I think you could use snuck up on people idea for the upset win over Iowa State. However, I believe that the sneaking up ended with the 31-24 victory over Texas. Remember, the Bears pretty much manhandled the Longhorns throughout the second half. That made them 7-1 and a real threat.
If Riley and his staff truly bought into that theme two weeks later and felt the win over Texas was a creation of something mystical, then they deserved what they got in Baylor 27, Oklahoma 14.
Actually, I don’t believe that and neither should you. When coaches break down film, they will know pretty quickly how talented/not talented, disciplined/undisciplined their opponent is. I’m sure Riley and his staff believed the challenge Baylor presented was going to be significant. Obviously, they felt like they had the better team and thought they would win. And then the game kicked off.
By that point, Baylor had control of the Big 12 race, and everybody was ready for them. Texas Tech missed a field goal in the final seconds. TCU upset the Bears. Kansas State missed a chance at home when Gerry Bohanon popped his hamstring.
The point is that the line of thinking is overused. I think what should be pointed out is how this program dealt with the pressure of trying to get to the Big 12 title game for that last month. It rose to the challenge.
What is fair to discuss is how the Bears deal with this in 2022. A program in Baylor’s position either respects and embraces it, ignores it or doesn’t want to talk about it. That’s going to go on until Labor Day weekend when the season begins against Albany.
It’s good copy to read, sound bytes to listen to and stuff to talk about. It helps build the interest.
I imagine Aranda and the Baylor player representatives in linebacker Dillon Doyle, linebacker Bryson Jackson and tight end Ben Sims will say the right things and take this attention as a compliment. They should. You’d rather be in this position than be Kansas where it’s nearly hopeless.
These are the things that come with a program with aspirations of becoming one of the alphas of the new Big 12. There’s a new piece of hardware on the Allison Indoor Practice Facility.
Living with the knowledge that it will be the yearly standard bearer in your conference is a territory that Baylor seeks. Of course, this program isn’t there yet. Obviously, a repeat title helps immensely. But being in the race toward the last weekend or even appearing and losing in the 2022 title game builds that.
Rather than getting into a rush, sometimes you have to enjoy the journey. We get a glimpse of that Wednesday and will watch it continue to develop.
*****
Quick reminder about this week. I will have a quick piece of content up on Tuesday.
Stephen will then take you the rest of the week through Big 12 media days with coverage when Dr. Livingstone speaks on Wednesday and what Aranda and the players had to say.
Don’t look for these to be full interviews. Those are quick to drain your attention span and make you lose interest fast. What we will have is a breakdown of the top comments made on Wednesday and chop them up into the best clips.
Stephen may or may not do a podcast for Thursday. That’s up to him. I’m really trying to stay off the grid with the exception of this piece and the content piece on Tuesday.
I trust everyone understands where I am coming from on this. It helps that this break is in July when the Baylor coaches are pretty much taking their vacations as well. Plus, we’re in a recruiting dead period through July 24.
I realize that hardcore football fans look at July as the cruel part of the season. But trust me when I tell you for people like me who are doing this day in and day out, July is perfect to get away from it and recharge.
Let’s make it a great week!
Publisher
It was on May 25, 1977, when movie watching changed forever. The names Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Obi-wan Kenobi, C3PO and R2D2 became fixtures in American households.
Stars Wars was nothing we had ever seen in films. Now, 45 years after its release, it has become a literal empire that no one can ever replicate.
The RJB saw it for the first time at the Parkway theatre. It was located off Maryland Parkway in the middle of Las Vegas (that theatre closed in 1995).
It didn’t take much for this elementary age kid to become wowed by the shot of the Imperial Cruiser going on and on and on and on and on wondering if it was ever going to end as it chased down the Rebel ship.
Think the ROI worked out, OK? The film budget was $11 million. The box office drew $778.5 million.
Part of the movie’s allure was the music. The RJB has featured the great John Williams previously.
But as we celebrate an anniversary of sorts, let’s take you back to majestic opening theme with the storyline moving into space. You know the part of it where the Imperial Cruiser enters.
We’ll then take you to the sinister theme when the Millennium Falcon crew realizes that’s no moon, that’s a space station (The Death Star) followed by their escape and the battle with the tie-fighter attack.
Enjoy this trip down memory lane.
*****
If you’re a fan of watching of media days and the talking heads coming up with talking points about the themes that will be discussed, you’ll love what Wednesday and Thursday has in store for you for Big 12 media days at AT&T Stadium.
The first story line likely will be about new commissioner Brett Yormark and what his goals will be with realignment again at the forefront and the Big 12’s attempt to position itself as one of the major players.
That’s pretty much a 180 when the Big 12 media days ended last year, and outgoing commissioner Bob Bowlsby said he didn’t lose sleep about conference realignment. Then the next week, the conference was turned on its side when the story broke and Texas and Oklahoma were heading to the SEC.
Eventually, we’ll get to the point where the preseason media poll will be discussed. Now, the part that will be interesting is how it will be presented.
Will the narrative focus on the fact that Baylor was predicted to win the league for the first time in school history after winning it in 2021? Or will the narrative focus on Oklahoma being unseated as favorites for the first time in seven years and that the program lost its head coach Lincoln Riley to USC
We’re probably going to have a combination of both. However, the blue blood program will get more of the talk because…well…it’s a blue blood that’s going to have a lot of intrigue because of a turbulent offseason.
Baylor will get its share of praise. But I do tend to think that the media will look at Baylor as being a bit boring because it finds its head coach really smart and well respected but not super fun to talk about.
Minus a couple of assistant coaching changes and head coach Dave Aranda having his contract extended, the Bears’ offseason was pretty boring. That’s fine. In this case, boring means your program is in a position where it has found stability and looking to keep moving in that direction.
We all know by now that Aranda is pretty dry, shy to a point and not seeking the camera at every or any opportunity. He will do interviews and will be willing to do what is asked. But he’s not going to be anything that he’s not.
When serious Baylor discussions start, I’m sure we’ll hear the talking heads say, “Well, Baylor snuck up on everybody last year to win the Big 12 last year. But they won’t have that advantage this year. They have the bull’s-eye on their chest.’’ It will be something like that.
Keep in mind, the Bears were picked eighth in 2021. You’ll get that pointed out to you.
It’s an easy storyline to use. But let’s look at 2021 practically. I think you could use snuck up on people idea for the upset win over Iowa State. However, I believe that the sneaking up ended with the 31-24 victory over Texas. Remember, the Bears pretty much manhandled the Longhorns throughout the second half. That made them 7-1 and a real threat.
If Riley and his staff truly bought into that theme two weeks later and felt the win over Texas was a creation of something mystical, then they deserved what they got in Baylor 27, Oklahoma 14.
Actually, I don’t believe that and neither should you. When coaches break down film, they will know pretty quickly how talented/not talented, disciplined/undisciplined their opponent is. I’m sure Riley and his staff believed the challenge Baylor presented was going to be significant. Obviously, they felt like they had the better team and thought they would win. And then the game kicked off.
By that point, Baylor had control of the Big 12 race, and everybody was ready for them. Texas Tech missed a field goal in the final seconds. TCU upset the Bears. Kansas State missed a chance at home when Gerry Bohanon popped his hamstring.
The point is that the line of thinking is overused. I think what should be pointed out is how this program dealt with the pressure of trying to get to the Big 12 title game for that last month. It rose to the challenge.
What is fair to discuss is how the Bears deal with this in 2022. A program in Baylor’s position either respects and embraces it, ignores it or doesn’t want to talk about it. That’s going to go on until Labor Day weekend when the season begins against Albany.
It’s good copy to read, sound bytes to listen to and stuff to talk about. It helps build the interest.
I imagine Aranda and the Baylor player representatives in linebacker Dillon Doyle, linebacker Bryson Jackson and tight end Ben Sims will say the right things and take this attention as a compliment. They should. You’d rather be in this position than be Kansas where it’s nearly hopeless.
These are the things that come with a program with aspirations of becoming one of the alphas of the new Big 12. There’s a new piece of hardware on the Allison Indoor Practice Facility.
Living with the knowledge that it will be the yearly standard bearer in your conference is a territory that Baylor seeks. Of course, this program isn’t there yet. Obviously, a repeat title helps immensely. But being in the race toward the last weekend or even appearing and losing in the 2022 title game builds that.
Rather than getting into a rush, sometimes you have to enjoy the journey. We get a glimpse of that Wednesday and will watch it continue to develop.
*****
Quick reminder about this week. I will have a quick piece of content up on Tuesday.
Stephen will then take you the rest of the week through Big 12 media days with coverage when Dr. Livingstone speaks on Wednesday and what Aranda and the players had to say.
Don’t look for these to be full interviews. Those are quick to drain your attention span and make you lose interest fast. What we will have is a breakdown of the top comments made on Wednesday and chop them up into the best clips.
Stephen may or may not do a podcast for Thursday. That’s up to him. I’m really trying to stay off the grid with the exception of this piece and the content piece on Tuesday.
I trust everyone understands where I am coming from on this. It helps that this break is in July when the Baylor coaches are pretty much taking their vacations as well. Plus, we’re in a recruiting dead period through July 24.
I realize that hardcore football fans look at July as the cruel part of the season. But trust me when I tell you for people like me who are doing this day in and day out, July is perfect to get away from it and recharge.
Let’s make it a great week!
