Porter: Mike Gundy Changed My Life

It is absolutely not hyperbole to say that Mike Gundy changed my life.

In 2011, while working a corporate job, I started a ridiculous website about Oklahoma State sports. It turns out that 2011 was a very, very good year to start a ridiculous website about Oklahoma State sports.

Gundy’s preposterous success at a school where 9-4 seasons were celebrated like national championships brought interest and intrigue to my site and my writing. Because of some of that success, I got a job covering golf at CBS Sports (this is a much longer and more providential story, but we don’t have time here). I spent 12 years there, did 47 majors and five Ryder Cups. The best job.

Now I run another ridiculous media business called Normal Sport, where I still cover golf but more like how I used to cover OSU football.

It’s not that much of a stretch to say that all of this happened because Oklahoma State was really good at football for most of the last 20 years. It’s not a stretch at all to say that Oklahoma State was good at football for most of the last 20 years because of Gundy.

Gundy didn’t even like me. Called me one time to tell me that my website wasn’t allowed to cover OSU football because he doesn’t “believe in blogs.” It was all very silly and dumb. But I still appreciated how much he changed the culture at OSU and how good they got at football.

I think his desire for balance in a world that doesn’t reward it was ultimately a downfall. He cared about things outside of football. Wanted his staff to have downtime. OSU probably never became what it could have (especially in recruiting) because of that. Those qualities are a feature for a person but a bug for a college football machine.

Regardless, I’m grateful for his time in Stillwater (even if he’s not grateful for mine!). Getting a job at CBS Sports, where I worked from home, led to our family fostering and adopting our oldest child.

When I say that Mike Gundy changed my life, I mean it professionally, personally and in almost every way.

Congrats on all the success, Mike. And Go Pokes.

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