Run Ricky Run

I couldn’t find a torrent.

I thought the same thing about Theisman…shut up Joe – you have used enough words for two lifetime

Damn, missed it, but will catch it. Think of something better, and involving a female, and that’s who I was doing.

Ricky being Ricky is more apropos than “Manny being Manny.” I defend him as well. I fault no man for being themself, no matter how different.

I hate that Ricky left so much of his pro potential on the board, but thems the breaks.

And yeah, you should take care of your kids. As Chris Rock said, "N*****, YOU SUPPOSED TO! Nice write-up, Sailor.

Really enjoyed the doc. I guess having never been a Longhorn, I never felt embarrassed by Ricky and never held any of his stuff against him…I’ve always stayed a fan of his simply because I loved to watch him play and his return to prominence is nothing short of amazing. Like you said, though, if he decides to walk away tomorrow, I won’t be surprised or upset at him – just disappointed that I can’t watch him anymore.

And Theismann is fucktard. But we knew that much already.

The best part for me was the end, where it showed him getting married, playing with his kids, and his mom smiling instead of crying. He’s had quite the character arch, but it seems like he’s really got his shit together now.

I cared enough about these guys that I would argue with and even push people in bars while defending them.

I had trouble getting past this line without falling out my chair laughing, but like Ricky, I persevered and finished this otherwise excellent piece. The lens that is Ricky Williams also reflects back on the elusive SR. Pay attention people, this is a rare occurrence.

For all the shit that Ricky took about going off to Australia, India, and studying Ayurvedic medicine; that’s the shit that healed him. By teaching himself how to heal others, it lifted the cloud inside him (helloooo HenryJames!). Putting the pipe down obviously helped as well.

It was striking to see the mental clarity and maturity he showed at the end of the doc. He almost seemed … happy?

It’s impossible not to love watching that guy tote the rock.

Ricky’s character arc continues. He is in Austin — in school working towards his degree.

Great write up Sailor

Ricky is on a different journey from most of the rest of us. I was on the field the day he broke the record. You cant lmagine the pressure he was under that day. He was wound tighter than a 8 day clock in warmups. Tony and all the longhorn stars on the sideline to see Ricky break the record. That was not a given. AnM had a good defense that year. Field was slop. Absolutely terrible. He made it happen. Even with the late fumbles he was unstoppable. Ive got a picture of him running down the sideline covered in mud and aggies. Hell of a day and hell of a journey for a very different human being.

It will be interesting to see how much, if any, not taking all of those hits in his 20’s will prolong his career.

Really enjoyed watching him in 2009. I had forgotten just how big and how fast he is.

I was also there when he broke the record. Went to the game with 3 friends (one an aggie) and they were trying to find tickets on the cheap. I said f’em and bought a single for about double the face and didn’t miss a carry.

This was a great documentary. This series by the WWL is also unquestionably the best thing I have ever watched on their channel. Not surprisingly, it is one of the least hyped.

I was a freshman when Ricky played his last season in Austin, and for that I feel fortunate. I even dated a girl who had a friend (football trainer) get me a few footballs signed by Ricky.

I was a little upset when he first bailed in 2004, but quickly realized that was about the coolest thing I’d ever seen.

Seeing him come back, through the CFL, multiple suspensions, shoulder blade getting cracked, and then rushing for 1,000+ last season, awesome. The dude brings it, and the fact that he made an honest woman out of his “life partner” by making her his wife, is solid.

I also agree with him being on the same plane as Vince and TJ as far as players I’ve seen.

Hook ’em!

Love Ricky!

The first two years he was at UT I used to go into the locker room after every home game and get him to sign stuff. There was no security back then because pre-Mack nobody cared.

After one game I was hanging out in there and this little kid and his dad were talking to Ricky for a few minutes and the dad thought he was video taping the whole thing. The camera was off so Ricky offered and did re-do the entire conversation so his dad could tape it. Loved him even more after that.

I always liked him better in #11 though.

Excellent stuff, Sailor.

Loved and do love Ricky. I was at school when he played. In 1996, got to high five him during the player entrance for the Hex Rally. That was pretty cool.

I don’t like the fact that he neglected his children and spent so much time stoned. However, I never cared that he retired in 2004, other than I didn’t get to draft him for my fantasy league. Isn’t it his choice when he plays and when he retires? I think Ricky probably did then just because it was so against expectations. I love that about him.

Great piece.

I was in undergrad during Ricky’s tenure and was also present for the record-breaking game. In fact, Ricky used to hang with some guys that lived next door to me (Waterford, holla!) a lot that year and was always unfailingly polite. And clearly far too intelligent not to recognize what his running style was doing to his body.

I tivoed this one plan on watching it tonight. But I, like uthookem, have thoroughly enjoyed everyone of the 30 for 30 series that I’ve watched so far. I’m really, really glad that they did it and the topics were well-chosen.

see i disagree a little monahorns. your last two statements imply you think he is kind of a contrarian. i dont get that vibe at all. i just think he actually is simply very different than most. hes aware of this, spend a lot of time and effort trying to find himself, did, and appears to be happy. great for him. phenomenal doc by espn.

I had to rewind the scene where his current wife (then girlfriend) mentions his new baby with another woman. The look on her face says it all. Hell hath no fury.

I have to agree with all the comments on not raising the kids, and especially the part where he flat out said he didn’t really miss his kids. As a father, and former f-up myself, this is unacceptable. Looks like he has gotten his act together in this area though, so good for him.

A friend of our family is a professor at UT and taught an upper level poetry course that, for obvious reasons, did not get too many jocks. Ricky not only took the class but actually did quite well. He’s just a different cat.

I enjoyed it when he asked Mike Wallace from 60 minutes “When is it ok for me to stop playing football”

As someone with a relative who’s in their late 50’s who played, i’ve seen the damage it does to those men later in life. Who wants to grow older and end up hobbling everywhere with mental issues before their kids are out of college.

The only problem that most of his arguments have is the failed drug tests after the initial retirement. Of course, i’m not really sure why pot is banned but vicodin and oxycotin are fine, especially in the amounts they are taken by NFL players.

That Dolphins offense was going to cripple Ricky. I remember that fucktard aggy Seth McKinney bitching about Ricky retiring. Here was Ricky’s response"

“Williams also gave insights as to the reactions of teammates as to his move. In response to the criticisms of center Seth McKinney, who called Williams a quitter, Ricky said, ‘I owe Seth an explanation? That guy owes me. I almost got my head taken off last year because of him.’”

(As an asude, is there something in the water that makes all those McKinney’s dumbass fucktards. They are quintessential aggy — dumbass fucktards who were NFL scrubs).

Ricky wouldn’t answer why he failed that last drug test… he just said it wasn’t weed and wasn’t speed. Thoughts?

Ricky laughed when amphetamines were suggested, but the reasoning made sense. I wouldn’t think steroids would be the culprit, but speed could have…

Seth McKinney broke his ankle at our high school pep ralley. Moron close to the level of Theisman.

Steroids, if I had to guess. AND IT’S JUST A GUESS. He came back into the league at like 208 lbs. The opposite weight fluctuation one would think from a guy leaving the game, offensive linemen notwithstanding.

All that time off has definitely extended his career. One of the most talented running backs of all time.

uthookem -

he didn’t laugh so much as get very defensive (“You really think that?!?!”). Maybe the question was correct and he just didn’t want to admit it. It could have been some other substance entirely, but I don’t have a list of the NFL banned substances.

Maybe it was one of his herbal remedies that he learned in those classes and was embarrassed to admit that his attempts at enlightenment actually made things worse in this one instance.

Nero, that was my thought as well. Something natural, but not weed. Maybe psilocybin?

As someone who worshipped Ricky the horn, hung out with Ricky the person, has similar anti-social anxieties, used green as a crutch, and who is coming into his own as a father, last night’s program was special for me. Thanks for being so open, Ricky.

Was it Seth McKinney who broke his ankle doing the hat dance? I went to Westlake with one of them and he was a knuckle dragging trogladyte of the first order.

“Was it Seth McKinney who broke his ankle doing the hat dance? I went to Westlake with one of them and he was a knuckle dragging trogladyte of the first order.”

I think so. But it’s hard to tell the difference. All the McKinney’s — starting with their idiot dad — are fucktards of the first order and ultimate aggys.

Great write up.
 
I’ll never forget Ricky. Speed, power, moves, and a complete warrior on the field. I was gratified to see his happiness and his acceptance of responsibility at the end of the documentary.
 
For some reason, the doc made me flash to the Cotton Bowl against Mississippi State. Ricky had been on the banquet tour leading up to the game and he got up to around 245, though he’d clearly kept running to stay in cardio shape. He knocked two Mississipi State defenders unconscious and ran for 200+. One of the most brutal displays of running I’ve ever seen.
 
I also loved him for playing so freaking hard in Mackovic’s last year debacle when the rest of the team had fallen into such dissension and quit on the year. Every week, the guy was plugging away trying to save the day singlehandedly.
 
Glad to see Ricky has found some peace.

Regarding Ricky’s 4th drug violation, I found this on an article on InsideTexas (http://insidetexas.com/news/story.php?article=2286)

“Ironically the violation wasn’t for marijuana, but for a drug used in Williams’ holistic medicine practice, a practice which had helped him stop using weed.”

I think that was Aaron Brooks who was the target of the head twisting situation.

Westlake has always had a nasty Aggie infection. It’s baffling.

Not really baffling. If someone who likes college station was moving to Austin, where would they feel most comfortable, demographically speaking?

I lived in Westlake for my first 18 years of life and see no similarities with CS.. If you mean all white, okay but that’s where the similarities stop and we’re not a bunch of racists. I would slit my throat before living in CS.

Ricky is and will always be one of my favorite Longhorns for many reasons, all of which have been touched on above. What stands out for me about his football ability is what an incredible blocker he was, particularly for a feature back. I don’t believe I have ever seen anyone come close to him, Longhorn or otherwise, in that regard.

Good stuff. I like the line about Mack. I wish they had interviewed him in ‘09…would’ve been curious what Mack has to say about Ricky now, as opposed to, say, John Bianco. I decided to re-watch the pilot of FNL just to get me some additional Mack time.

I was at UT for the VY era and not the Ricky era, so I don’t hold him in as high regard as other alums. I did love watching him tear it up for the Fins and always found him fascinating from afar. That one interview with Ced Benson (who I do ardently root for) just about summed up the Texas love for Ricky, though. It’s like Ced had stars in his eyes.

I thought the documentary wrapped up Ricky’s life a little too neatly—there’s no guarantee that we won’t hear about another drug suspension or Ricky cheating on his “life partner” in a couple years. But it was a revealing insight into his past and a “no holds barred” exposed look on some of the figures in his life. Couldn’t have asked for more in a jam-packed hour.

As an aside, Dan LeBetard’s look just screamed “douche,” though I know he’s got nothing but insightful things to say about Ricky.

I wish I had cool stories about RIcky like the rest of this thread but I loved the documentary. Like others have said 30 for 30 is the best thing ESPN has done. As a cardinals fan the Bartman film will be like christmas day for me.

When the documentary ended my respect level for Ricky went up. Too many athletes stay when they don’t want to or should give it up. I admire a guy with a rare skill set who’s willing to say “fuck it, I quit. I’m going to go do something that makes me happy.” Too many people keep going along because others say they’re supposed to,

I don’t get not wanting to father your kids, but then again I don’t have kids so I don’t understand why anyone would want to have the filthy creatures in the first place. Get a dog, at least then you can beat it when it shits on the carpet.

Too smart to be a football player but too gifted not to be one. I think a great deal of Ricky’s issues stemmed from intellectual need to see himself as something more than just a running back. I think he’s finally, truly, found the place where Ricky the runner and Ricky the thinker can co-exist and as a result he’s been able to find happiness. Watching the documentary it becomes clear why UT and especially Austin were so pefect for him, and conversely why Ricky is still so loved here today.

Does ESPN replay their 30 for 30 shows? I’ve missed a couple of them I want to see.

Seth McKinney’s biased opinion should automatically be thrown out, he’s a bitter aggie.

texastough, they’re re-showing one as I type. Check local listings.

I used the google and found this:

http://30for30.espn.com/schedule.html

I’m looking forward to this one:

http://30for30.espn.com/film/straight-outta-la.html

Snoop and Cube. {Clay Davis}Sheeeeeeeeet!{Clay Davis}

I agree with you flamingmonkeyass. When Ricky was running his own website I used to read it weekly. For those that don’t know, he actually built it himself, complete with cheesy gifs and crappy photoshopping. You can check the whole thing here:

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.runrickyrun.com

You could tell from his journal entries that he was no meathead like alot of athletes. His mind went on tangents, and you really got the feeling that he was very alone. In one of the journal entries (maybe a few actually) he talked about playing Madden online, and inviting readers to look for his username to play head to head. I don’t think he liked being a celebrity, and he tried to do anything he could to just be “normal”. Problem was that he was just built to play football, even though I don’t think it is what he really wanted to do. Most of his professional struggles seem to come from reconciling the fact that he can’t escape being a football player.

Well the link got borked, you can copy and paste it and it should work.

Ricky would have been special in anytime, but he really came along when we needed to pull ourselves out of irrelevancy. I was on campus 94-99 and before Ricky, suckville. UCLA is the game that I remember the most before that.

For all the complexity associated with football strategy wse, it is not a sport that accepts intelligence at a position beyond quarterback well. Nor spirituality of the tebow variety.

It has never been accepting of the warrior monk.

Re: Westlake is affluent, white, and relatively urbane. I don’t even think it has a 4H. Natural feeder school for Rice, Tulane, Plan 2, and SAE chapters across Texas? Definitely. A&M? A little more confusing.

“NON-tebow”

I think the documentary effectively showed that Ricky is a study in contrasts. He is constantly conflicted, and is not afraid for that to be seen. Stunning courage in walking away from football, shocking cowardice in walking away from his kids. I will always love Ricky for most of the reasons you guys listed above. To me, he sparked what has been (arguably) the greatest run in Texas football history. And it’s still going. Appropriately, so is Ricky.

I once left my career really without a plan for what I was going to to next. Everyone thought I was nuts. I didn’t even tell my parents I had done it until about 4 months later. So I feel like I kinda understood what ricky was going through when he left football. And also like ricky, I eventually went back, because I needed them and they needed me.

It’s hard to plug away at the same thing every day. Some people struggle with that feeling of constriction. I guess eventually one develops the appropriate outlets and finds balance.

BatesHorn –
I have a few friends from Westlake that are Aggies and they basically said it was hard for them to go to UT after growing up so close to it forever, and being that close to their families. A lot of kids want that feeling of “going off” to college. For whatever reason, this didn’t seem to bother my friends from Bowie and Austin High, who went to UT.

Man, from Westlake to Bates in Maine. What, no graduate work in Nova Scotia?

“"going off to college” for those westlake kids is going 100 miles east to an all caucasian male military school, that’s their reason? That’s really getting away!

When I feel like arguing with myself I try to figure out who I love more: Ricky or Vince?

When I feel like making my head explode, I imagine them running the Zone Read together in their primes.

What up, Earler?

I went to Westlake and wanted to get out of Austin but being an aggy was not an option. I chose SMU (insert joke here). Drive down Bee Caves and Westlake Dr. and then drive down to BCS and tell me what they have in common. All but a few of my friends in HS that went to a&m were already wanna be cowboys. Many more went to the schools Bates mentioned.

I didn’t get past the second sentence.

“What up, Earler?”

Just trying to get by right now. I feel the same way about Ricky and Vince.

As nordberg so eloquently laid out, I went east for school, and so did a lot of other folks in my class: Swathmore, Cornell, Tufts, Emory, Duke, Washington and Lee, etc. And the others headed west to Berkley and Stanford. Many others went to Rice or Tulane. Even Auburn, LSU, Georgia. Those with a little more financial sense went to Texas, then out of state for graduate school. Westlake is not an Aggie feeder school. Plenty of kids went to SW Texas (er, Texas State), SMU, even TCU and Baylor. Something about that place tends to drive kids out of Austin. I’ve got no idea why, since every person I meet in DC says something to the effect of “Why would you ever leave Austin?”

Earl -

My sincere apologies if you have in any way been offended. As I tried to make clear, my list is a product of my time and my age, not a list of the best to play at Texas. Please let Mr. Durant know if you see him.

I recognize you were a singular force of nature.

Caught the replay of this last night. I really hope this doc can help rehabilitate Ricky in the minds of the fans – particularly the ones that run the UT athletic department. Ricky should have his statue right next to Earl’s at DKR. I really hope the athletic department in general and Mack & the football team in particular stop worrying about the weed positives and just embrace Ricky as the Longhorn legend he is. I know he’s still busy most Saturdays getting ready for Sundays but after he retires (which should be in the next two or three years I imagine) I really hope UT can have a big homecoming for him. Preferably at halftime of an aggy game in Austin.

I saw it last night as well and a couple things stood out. First, it wasn’t the life altering experience some made it out to be. Seeing Ricky wander through life with a beard full of food just doesn’t really do it for me. But, some things stood out. New paragraph….

Being lost in life is something we all feel at some point. He just took the different route when most of us play it safe. I give him props for that. It takes stones to do what you know will be ridiculed just because you’re following “your path.” I’ve felt the ire from friends that I hold in high regard that expect more out of me. Never in my travels did I throw away millions. That takes balls. I don’t want to equate it to Pat Tillman in any other way than the “follow your heart” cliche. Transitioning…

It was laughable, and I damn near spit up the Svedka and Soda I was fashioning (best cheap vodka, in my opinion) when the pundits in the idiot gallery were saying things like, “He’s a disgrace to humanity!” I don’t recall hearing that about Ron Mexico.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a RB coach that could bring us that kind of RB again? Or maybe develop one outa what we got?

Run Ricky Run.

If Ricky wants to play another season after 2010-11, then I’d def. like to have him on the Texans.