Source: Tulsa World, Okla.迷你倉Oct. 16--NORMAN -- Bob Stoops knows he's safe, no matter how many win-starved Oklahoma State fans or replay-crazed Texas Tech fans come at him.That's because Brian Orr has his back.Orr, the Oklahoma State Trooper who protects Stoops, is a massive, muscular sentinel who ensures postgame handshakes happen amid complete pandemonium, a dedicated guardian who stands watch over the Sooner coach's every move before and after games."That's my job: his safety," Orr said.If you've seen Stoops on game days, you've probably seen Orr. It would be quite hard to miss him. He's 6-foot-2, 240 pounds of imposing physique, a muscles-on-muscles kind of guy, a self-described gym rat who pounds free weights nearly an hour each day because he wants to get home safe each night to his wife and three daughters."Keeping in shape is a way for me to do that," Orr said. "So if I'm in the bar ditch fighting with that guy that's strung out on meth, I know I'm gonna win that battle."Orr's commanding presence goes to another level entirely with that flat-brimmed Trooper's hat and form-fitting brown shirt -- and sidearm, of course.Simply put, don't mess with Stoops."Brian fits that part as a big guy," OUPD Sgt. Steve Chandler said. "... We get on the ground and start talking to other law enforcement, they see him and they're like, 'Holy cow, look how big this guy is.' And then they start talking to him and they realize he's a person, and he represents OHP extremely well."Chandler coordinates OU's security efforts with other law enforcement agencies, and Orr comes in to help ensure things run smoothly."Steve, he's a great partner," Orr said. "It's nice to be able to work with someone as intelligent as he is. He's kind of the brainpower of everything. He's kind of the brains and I'm kind of the brawn, I guess."Orr, 41, works 40 hours a week patrolling Oklahoma's highways. In his day job driving for Troop S, he checks tractor trailer rigs for size and weight requirements and proper inspections and documentation.Friday and Saturday are his days off, which he usually spends working with the Sooners, either on a road trip or at Memorial Stadium.The OU athletic department pays his (and Chandler's) overtime, rather than taxpayer dollars from the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.Orr said he wanted to be a Trooper from a young age. During a career day function as a sophomore at Okemah High School, he marked down "law enforcement" almost on a whim. But, an epiphany: Trooper Joel Franks walked in wearing the uniform."I mean, everything was sharp and crisp and as soon as he walked in that door, I turned and saw him and I knew immediately, that's what I want to be," Orr said. "I wanted to be an Oklahoma State Trooper."Orr earned Tulsa World All-State recognition as an Okemah linebacker in 1989. He played football at the University of Central Oklahoma from 1991-94, got a degree in criminal justice and went back home to work for the Okemah Police Department. He then worked five years for the Moore Police Department, including four as a K-9 officer, and after several applications to the Academy, joined the Oklahoma Highway Patrol in 2002 (the Moore PD even let Orr keep his K-9 officer, Lord).He would soon attend the OHP's Dignitary School, but never figured his dignitary would be Bob Stoops. Nine years later, his off-duty job hasn't changed."I'm glad I did," he said. "I've been to a lot of places, I met a lot of people, and it's been a very, very fun and exciting assignment for me. I've enjoyed it a lot."As unlikely as it seems, Orr turned it down when first offered the job."It was so early in my career as a Trooper, I felt it may hold me back as far as developing my skills as a Trooper, being so young," Orr said. "I wasn't interested in anything else."That was one reason. Another was his loyalty as a fan to Oklahoma State. But logic won out over his passion for the Cowboys."When the opportunity came up, yes, there was a little bit of tug there going the other way," Orr said with a laugh. "You know, I'm a Cowboy fan. So, yeah, there was a little bit there."Chandler also proudly works for OU, but just like Orr, he has other Bedlam loyalties, too: He got his associates degree in criminal justice from Oklahoma State.Being so intricately woven into the Sooner program, Chandler and Orr get their share of good-natured teasing."The equipment people, they call us Buzz and Woody," Chandler said, a reference to the main characters from the Disney Pixar movie "Toy Story." "Because he looks like Buzz Lightyear.""Buzz and Woody," Orr said. "Yeah,mini storagethat's kind of stuck with us. Kind of a little inside joke there."But Orr doesn't joke around when describing the pride he feels in serving the State of Oklahoma. And he's certainly not joking when discussing his admiration for Stoops and for OU."Being a Trooper, there's no other job, in my opinion, that is better than that," Orr said. "The pride and the tradition with our agency goes back to 1937, when the Patrol was established. And being able to represent the Highway Patrol in a high-profile assignment like being Bob Stoops' bodyguard, I think it's a good representation for the Patrol. And it's a great recruiting tool for the Patrol."And it's hard not to become a fan. ... Any time you're around a program like the University of Oklahoma, how could you not be a fan? How could you not, just by the way Bob presents himself, the things that he teaches these young athletes? I mean, it's hard not to go, 'Wow! That's awesome!' :" """When I put (the uniform) on and I'm around someone like Bob Stoops, it makes you want to step up your game a little bit more."From near-incidents in Stillwater and Lubbock (see sidebar) to postgame chaos moments in Eugene, Ore., and Boulder, Colo., Orr has stood guardian over Stoops in some tense situations."You're very careful at Oklahoma State and you're very careful at Texas Tech," Orr said. "The fans at both of those places can get pretty rowdy. They love their schools and they cheer 'em on and everybody else is the enemy and they don't care what happens to anybody else."So you definitely want to keep a close eye on Coach and make sure he gets off the field safely and doesn't get hurt."------Stoops' TrooperIn nine years of providing security detail for OU football coach Bob Stoops, Oklahoma State Trooper Brian Orr hasn't had too many sticky situations. In an interview with the Tulsa World, Orr recounted three times, all road games, when he encountered rowdy fans on the field:2005: Texas Tech 23,OU 21What happened: Tech won on a Taurean Henderson touchdown on the final play, but, in the first year of instant replay review, needed three controversial replays. One overturned an incorrect TD call, one wrongly gave Tech a first down and one gave Tech the debated TD as time expired. Fans rushed the field."We had a couple Texas Rangers that were assigned to us, and Steve (Chandler of the OUPD) and I were protecting Bob. He's going out to shake (Mike Leach's) hand and I hear a little scuffle going on behind us. I get kind of nervous and I look back there and this Texas Ranger's got this kid in a chicken-wing. They go out there and do their thing and Steve and I are looking around, going, 'What the heck?' After it was all said and done, we get Bob safely up the ramp and we hook up with the Ranger again and said, 'Man, what's going on?' Well, they interviewed this guy and he was actually going to try to go up and hit Bob in the back of the head. He didn't realize that was a Ranger that was standing behind Steve and I, so he ends up hitting the Ranger and of course that was a bad move."2006: Oregon 34, OU 33What happened: The Ducks came back from a 33-20 deficit with two touchdowns in the final 72 seconds and, again thanks to a botched replay review, took the lead. When Garrett Hartley's 44-yard field goal attempt was blocked as time expired, fans rushed the field."I remember that fiasco at Oregon. Kind of the same deal. They all rushed the field and that was kind of chaotic. That was my very first road big trip with Bob. So all these people rushing the field and me being a young, new Trooper, me being from a small town and protecting somebody like Bob Stoops and I'm, like, 'Holy crap!' So I kind of sucked Bob up next to me and Steve and I, we start making a trail through these people to get Bob out of there. That was pretty exciting."2011: Oklahoma State 44, OU 10What happened: After eight years of Bedlam defeats, the Cowboys pounded the Sooners with a physical running attack and won their first Big 12 championship. Naturally, fans rushed the field."OSU fans start rushing the field and they're all trying to get to Bob. ... There was a water bottle somebody chucked at him. I don't think he ever saw it coming, but my angle, from where I was at, I was able to see it and the guy threw it and missed, but it was one of those deals I was able to kind of knock it out of the air before it got to him. That was a typical going-to-an-away-game type of deal."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at .tulsaworld.com Distributed by MCT Information Services儲存
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