Published: June 03, 2009 11:20 pm      

Acclimating to the new digs in Duncan

Ryan Cornelius Column

Driving south on Interstate 35 for eight hours, I started to wonder what Duncan, Okla., was really like, I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous.

I came to Duncan to interview for this position in early April as I finished off my last year at Wichita State University. Luckily, Ron Booth and Michael Pineda decided to offer me the job on the spot. I owe a lot of thanks to those two gentlemen as well as Kevin Hook as many of my fellow graduates enter the “big kid world” with no job.

For the better part of the last week, I have been moving into a new apartment in a new city that is much smaller than the one I had been living in for the past four years, while being much larger than the community in which I grew up. I was amazed in April and even more so now at the quality people I have encountered. People are a lot nicer in Oklahoma than they are in Missouri, with the exception of a few individuals at the DMV in Lawton during my marathon morning stay last week.

I accepted this position because I have a passion for journalism and I love athletics. I ran track for a little over three years in college. Needless to say, I know a little bit about the sports world and if anyone is looking for a running partner, shoot me a phone call. I am looking forward to covering a little bit of everything in Duncan and the surrounding areas. I promise to be as accurate and fair as possible.

There are three things you must know about me. First, growing up in Missouri, I was an avid Missouri Tiger fan, I have already dialed the football gods and switched my allegiance to OU. That process was a lot easier than the changing of the bank accounts, driver’s license, license plates, car insurance and everything else in between. I will now root for OU week in and week out and when they play my Tigers or WSU Shockers, I will just simply keep my mouth shut. “Boomer Sooner” is already on my iPod. Second, I can’t wait for basketball season. I have never lived this close to a NBA city and word on the street is that Thunder fans are some of the best in the country. Not to mention, I’m a big Kevin Durant fan. Finally, I love the Kansas City Chiefs. Sorry Cowboy fans, Oct. 11 is circled on my calendar when the Chiefs will entertain the Cowboys in Kansas City. I’ll save my prediction for later date.

For the remainder of the summer, I’ll look forward to meeting area coaches and athletes and covering a little bit of everything from T-ball to rodeos. Maybe I’ll get to do a little tornado chasing, as well. You know, play like Bill Paxton in “Twister” and drive around the countryside in hopes of finding the big one. So Duncan, thanks for having me, thanks for being so welcoming and I’ll be around for awhile.