Cowgirls Honor Kurt Budke On Five-Year Anniversary of Crash

I’ll never forget where I was when I found out about the second plane crash (or the first, but especially the second). It was five years ago today. My sister’s birthday. Mrs. Pistols and I were in L.A. visiting my brother. I woke up to the news on a Friday morning. Then I watched Oklahoma State fall in Ames 12 hours later. I’d just started this blog. It was the most stunning day in its young life. Probably still is.

I wrote about Budke that day and shared some stories from when Nolan Cox and I played on the scout team for his teams. He was amazing. It’s hard to describe exactly what made him amazing, but he certainly made you want to enjoy life even more than you already did.

He had a little Mike Gundy in him. That “I know some stuff you don’t know and that pleases me” smirk. It wasn’t deceptive or contemptuous. More ironic than anything. He was always kind and generous, too. He was everything you tell your kids to be but don’t display yourself. Except he did.

He was the best.

Travis Ford knew this. He spoke to Nathan Ruiz recently about the five-year anniversary.

“I always wanted to do better,” Ford told the O’Colly. “I can lose my cool way too much and show my emotions too much at times. I can’t tell you how many times, as a coach, after he passed, that I would think, ‘Man, I want to be like him.’ Words can’t express how much I thought of him as a person. I think about him, I think about him a lot. I don’t think he probably knew how much I admired him.”

Pretty awesome.

We used to shut down GIA after women’s practice. We’d be pulling from Pete’s mustache for hours. He’d laugh at us and kick us out of an empty 13,611-seat arena. Those were some of my favorite college memories. We had a squad, too. I was by far the worst player on our scout team. I was also the shortest. So of course they made me guard Andrea Riley. Cool, guys.

It’s hard to believe it’s been five years. I’ve had kids since then. Lost kids since then. Budke’s kids have rolled through GIA. Now they’re working in GIA. Life always churns on. It’s good, though, to stop and take stock. To remember Nolan pinning a Christian Hood layup off the top of the box on the backboard. To remember Budke calling Courtney Paris “the greatest women’s athlete of all time.” To remember Dez Bryant storming the court with us after a Bedlam win.

#NeverForget pic.twitter.com/R3gYYTK2J0

— Sam Mayes (@AllmericanMayes) November 17, 2016

The memories all meld together. They weren’t all terrific. Some were bad. Most were bland. But the ones you remember are the great ones. The nights it feels like college will go on forever. The days of sitting in the empty gym talking about flag football and accounting. College was incredible, and coach Budke made my college experience than it already was.

For that I owe him a thank you. It’s hard to believe it’s been five years because it’s still hard to believe he and the others died. But the days and years keep going. His kids will have kids, and I will have more kids, and we will all pass away someday.

And life will keep rolling. And only the memories will remain.

Five years ago today. Never forget the four we lost. Never forget how #okstate stood tall in the face of adversity #KBMS #Rememberthe4 pic.twitter.com/0ngw7jUtqk

— Cowgirl Basketball (@OSUWBB) November 17, 2016