Another Reason I Love the Captain, Dave Hunziker's Perfect Perspective

Sometime last year I wrote a story and good friend and Tulsa World sports columnist Bill Haisten told me, "I wish I'd wrote that." A strong compliment from a talented writer. Let me pass it on to Dave Hunziker for this prose on Twitter.

Robert Allen - Pokes Report publisher

STILLWATER -- I like to call my friend and colleague Dave Hunziker "The Captain." The voice of the Cowboys, Hunziker has been a good friend for the past 20-years and some of the best advice that I've received in that time has come from "The Captain." I found out just how good a friend Dave was this past December. Now, in the wake of a vastly changing and challenging world for all of us. The past week has certainly been like none other those of us that work in and around the sports community. Dave Hunziker captured the right approach and the right spirit with his message on Twitter.

So, you don't have to squint, here is what the message written on Dave's laptop and pictured on his Twitter account (@Gopokesvoice) says. 

Prespective

The games are over                                                                        And we're not sure how to process all that 

But there's another battle now                                                            It's not on the court or on the field                                                      It's in laboratories and hospitals                                                          Not in arenas full of adoring fans                                                        Or performed by people whose autographs are worth thousands  But by dedicated scientists and professionals     

We cheer for them now                                                                        We need those people to deliver and All-American performance    Suddnely, it doesn't matter where their degree comes from            Cowboys and Sooners, Tigers and Jayhawks, Gators and Seminoles will team up for this fight                                                  They will win what is now our most important national championship

In the meantime, be well                                                                    This March, survive and advance has an entirely new meaning

And when the games come back, we'll enjoy them more than ever                                                                                                      The popcorn smell will overwhelm us                                                The fight songs may bring us to tears                                                Because we all know                                                                            We don't understand how much we appreciate something            Or take it for granted                                                                            Until it's gone

Dave Hunziker wrote it well. I read it and it sums up my feelings. I'm not smart enough to understand all that is going on. I do appreciate leadership and decisions and those of this week were tough to make. 

It takes me awhile sometimes to come off my stubborn and routine approach and realize that severe consequences have to be met with severe adjustments. I hope that my buddy, "The Captain" and his faith in the medical field and the scientists working on COVID 19, will be realized with results that can point us back to normalcy and our routines we cling to for confidence and security.

In the meantime, I told you I learned in December how good a friend I have in "The Captain." My father had passed away the night before Thanksgiving and the funeral was Wednesday of the next week. Dec. 4 and that night Oklahoma State was playing an important basketball game with Georgetown in Gallagher-Iba Arena. I was in Dallas for the funeral and after the Bedlam football game the previous Saturday, Dave had asked me where the funeral was. I figured he was going to send flowers. I did not expect him to be there. However, when I pulled up at Restland Funeral Home and Cemetery, pulling up right behind me that morning was "The Captain." He was my first hug when I got out of the car. He got up early, drove from Stillwater to Dallas and then turned around and drove back to broadcast that game.  

Dave Hunziker is one of the finest people I know. I can learn a lot from him and in times like this, I can read his wisdom and gain a proper Perspective.