Reminiscing about Toby Keith's legacy as an Oklahoma Sooners' fan

Toby Keith was an Oklahoma man through and through. Having been born and raised in the state, he grew up in Moore, just a short drive from the OU campus in Norman.

Keith always had a love for sports, playing defensive end for Moore High School. However, while he once dreamed of playing football for Barry Switzer and the Sooners, it would be music that would ultimately make him a household name.

Keith rose to become one of country music’s biggest stars in the 1990s and maintained his relevance over the next few decades, performing into his 60s. All the while he remained one of the biggest OU fans there was, becoming a regular on the sidelines at football games and sitting courtside at basketball games.

Sadly, Keith’s usual spot at the Lloyd Noble Center was empty on Tuesday night as the Sooners basketball team tipped off against No. 21 BYU. He passed away earlier that day at the age of 62 from stomach cancer, leaving behind a lasting legacy in the state for his generosity to and presence in the community.

“Obviously, you would run into him at football games and he would be at almost all of them on the sidelines,” Eddie Radosevich of Sooner Scoop told On3‘s Andy Staples. “But you go to one of those Tuesday night nonconference games against Directional State basketball, he would be there. He was always on the baseline right next to (athletic director) Joe Castiglione. I do all the video for Sooner Scoop, so I would sit right in front of him on the baseline.

“It’s a tremendous loss and I think what he was able to do for the Moore community not just in terms of what he would do when tornadoes blew through and stuff like that, but the Toby Keith Foundation. He was always giving back. One of those guys that, when you think of Toby Keith, he was maybe the most approachable superstar that you would come across as far as what he was and who he was. He treated everybody the same. It was incredible.”

Keith had given back to the Oklahoma community for years, and his foundation serves to offer no-cost housing for pediatric cancer patients. He has also been active in helping local animal shelters as well as in 2013 when Moore was struck by an F5 tornado.

But more than just donating money, Keith was active in getting out and showing that he was truly just another Oklahoman. Nowhere was that more evident than at Sooners sporting events as he mingled with other fans.

“Anybody could talk to him,” Sooner Scoop‘s George Stoia III said. “He would blend in with the crowd. If you were just to bump into him at an OU football game or OU basketball game, you would think he was just a big OU fan. I remember the first time I met him. Joe Castiglione introduced me to him at a women’s basketball game in 2016 and he shook my hand and said, ‘Hi George, I’m familiar with your work. Keep up the good work.’

“For him to say that to me as a student reporter, I was like, ‘that’s crazy.’ That’s the type of guy he was. Just very easy to talk to. A diehard OU fan. He was one of us. He was somebody that anybody could relate to when it comes to Oklahoma sports growing up in the state.”

Keith’s connection with Oklahoma athletics even led him to grow close to some of the players. When the softball team won it’s first of three straight national championships, he invited them to celebrate in downtown Oklahoma City at his restaurant, Toby Keith’s Bar and Grill. Now it’s the go-to spot every time Patty Gasso’s team wins another.

When OU basketball legend Wayman Tisdale passed away, Keith wrote a song for him called “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song).’ That song was later nominated for a Grammy.

“The guy was an icon in the state of Oklahoma and in country music,” Stoia said. “He will be remembered as an American patriot. I think a lot of people remember all the songs he did for the troops. I think he went over to Afghanistan one year and sang for the troops over there. So just so many different facets of life that people will remember him by.”

Keith’s music career is only part of what made him such a special person. It’s also stories like these of his love and support for his home state, and he’ll certainly be missed by all of Sooner Nation.

“One of the things that jumped out this morning in everybody kind of putting out their memories or stories of him on social media is just how many players recognized Toby,” Radosevich said. “He was around the program so much and they all developed some type of kinship or friendship with him. Each guy or woman had something to say about their relationship to Toby. It certainly was a surprise to wake up this morning to that news and certainly sad. Way too young at 62.”