Unfortunately, Boone Is One Of A Kind

Dean Blevins sat down with an extended one-on-one interview with T. Boone Pickens to talk football, oil and anything else under the sun.<br />

Monday, February 20th 2012, 7:25 pm



Dean Blevins, News9.com

How do you not like Boone Pickens? First thing his people tell you when you walk in is "Howya' doin?" and "Can we get you somethin' to drink?" Then they proceed to tell you the hilarious Boone response after Allen Fieldhouse fans held up an "OIL CAN'T BUY BILL" sign. The one where the 83-year-old fun-loving jillionaire tweeted "Oil can't buy Bill? Did buy Big 12 Championship!"

That's the Thomas Boone Pickens I had the great pleasure of spending an hour with last week. The KU faithful got such a kick out of it that hundreds of Boone followers re-tweeted - one in particular wrote, "I think I love @boonePickens more than chocolate after his tweet to KU fans, I think I love him more than I do my own mother."

I found Boone to be cordial, candid and a committed Cowboy. Of course you'd expect anyone who ponied up darned near half a bill to be loyal to his alma mater. But I loved the fact he said things like, "We shouldn't hate each other…I pull for OU every time we're not playing them…and sure, we want to beat them in the worst way…but hate? We shouldn't hate anybody."

Boone's down-home, home-spun humor was as billed. Told me the OSU assistant coach once told him in his playing days, "Pickens, you're not fast enough to scatter leaves."

I loved the way he approached the dream 2011 Cowboy season and how he avoided complaining and avoided controversy while expressing how he felt. Boone inferred the "sadness" surrounding the loss of lives in the OSU plane crash the day before the Iowa State loss may have very well cost them the game. Then added with no hint of arrogance that "I think we'd have beat LSU." Of course, that means Boone Pickens believes OSU should have won the national championship.

Guess I'm getting older because we have many mutual acquaintances. We also share similar political convictions. In fact, Boone told me the day before we were there last week that Rick Santorum sat in the very seat I was in. Said, "He didn't even ask me for money. Just wanted to learn about the energy business." While I admire the Republican nominee in one way, you've got to be crazy to sit in a man's office who shares your political beliefs and fully resurrected a football program and not ask for money. Hell, I did. Just kidding….but the senator got that one wrong.

I could go on and on about Boone, his staff, his stories. But I've gotta get on TV and read some scores. I just hope I get another chance to sit down and chat with my new BF.

See Dean's full interview with T. Boone Pickens in the video windows above.

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