Cameron Loope

Barry Sanders on his father: “He was the reason I never spiked the football. I remember Tony Dorsett scored a touchdown on Monday Night Football and he did some kind of celebration. He probably just put his arms in the air or something. So in my next peewee football game, I went out and tried to imitate whatever Tony had done. After the game, I got into my dad’s car and he said, ‘Oh, you think that’s cute? If I ever see you mimicking those guys on TV.…’ And that was it. After that, I started just handing the ball to the ref.⁠ ⁠ My dad was such a crazy Sooners fan. When I chose Oklahoma State on Signing Day, the head coach came to our house to say hello to the whole family, and I can still see my father standing in the doorway, turning back to Coach and saying, ‘Well, I think he’s making a huge mistake,’ and just heading out the door! I don’t think I saw him for a week. Mind you, I wasn’t even recruited by the Sooners. Me going to a rival just offended his sensibilities that much....⁠ ⁠ Honesty. That was my father. In life, you meet a lot of diplomats. You meet a lot of people who tell you what you want to hear. But I always thought my father had the best life, even though he worked his hands to the bone, because he was always 100% himself — and people loved him for it. I loved him for it. After I won the Heisman trophy, we kept it in a glass case at his buddy’s restaurant in Wichita. Right next to a Sooners helmet. That was us.⁠ ⁠ You want to talk about ‘I’ll never forget’? Man, I remember we were playing the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. This is 1994. Emmitt, Troy, Michael. National television. I’m running back to the huddle and I look over and see my dad standing right there on the sideline. He’s smiling from ear to ear. But he’s not on the Lions’ sideline. No, no, no. He’s on the Cowboys’ sideline with his old buddy Barry Switzer. He was probably giving Barry tips! Thankfully, I got them back that night. I think I had 190-some yards, and we won in overtime. That was a feeling.” playerstribu.ne/Barry