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    10-Year Reunion and Draft Party Update

    the-oil-blog
    The reunion is definitely happening. Here is what is certain so far: 

    • Saturday, 5 September 2015: Henry Hudson's Public House in Bricktown OKC 1100-2000ish. We have half the venue there reserved, including a big screen TV we can use to showcase a collection of photos from the SECFOR mission. We'll have half-price appetizers and happy hour beer specials. Of course, no one has to drink. There will be plenty of non-alcoholic options available as well. 
    • Sunday, 6 September 2015: OklahomIraqis League fantasy football draft at AT&T Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX. This will start with a guided tour of the stadium that each of us will have to pay for ($20), but it will end with a draft party somewhere in the stadium (either post-game press room or a luxury suite). This is primarily for members of the OIL, but anyone is welcome to come. Please let me know if you are not in the OIL but do plan on joining us at Cowboys Stadium. 

    Here is what is TBD so far: 

    • An activity for either Friday evening or Monday morning/afternoon: I'm working on a tour of the Coop Ale Works brewery with cookout out back afterwards. They have a nice setup with horseshoe pits and the whole nine yards for a nice atmosphere. That is not certain yet. 
    • Transportation to Cowboys Stadium: I want to get us a chartered bus (Red Carpet) to the stadium for the draft. The first quote I was given on that is $1,600. That is a possibility, but we may need more funds. Otherwise, everyone will carpool.
    • Lodging: I was hoping to get some sort of sponsorship so our guys from out of town could stay in a hotel near Bricktown for free or at reduced rates, but I'm having trouble getting any traction there. Anyone have any ideas? I assume plenty of us live in the OKC area and can host guys. 
    • An alternate activity for Sunday: Those that do want to join us at Cowboys Stadium should have an alternate activity in Oklahoma City for that day. Their reunion should not end on Saturday. It's been 10 years, so let's spend at least a couple days together. Please post suggestions for that activity in the comments section. Here are my suggestions: 
    1. Go to the range at H&H Shooting Sports? They have more indoor lanes than anyone else and have a bar and lounge to congregate in after you're done shooting.
    2. Dave and Busters? 
    3. Fishing or cooking out at one of Oklahoma City's three lakes? 
    4. Just hang out in Bricktown? 
    5. Oklahoma River? 
    6. Cookout somewhere? 
    7. Horse races? 
    8. Car races? 
    9. Float the Illinois River? 
    10. Hunting? 
    11. Paintball? 
    12. Go-Kart racing at Pole Position?
    13. Tour the 45th ID Museum (would it be open)?

    • Budget: Our GoFundMe is not doing very well. Outside of a few very generous donations, we're not getting anywhere near our goal. Why is our goal so high? Because I wanted to make it as easy to get to the reunion as possible. I was hoping to raise enough money for travel and lodging expenses for the guys that are out of state. Unless we really get on the ball, that's not going to happen. We'll be able to help here and there, but not to the extent we'd hoped for. I can't do this alone, guys. I need every single one of you to contact your local media, local civic organizations, and local businesses to try and make this happen. 


    Here is what I need from you:

    • Share the GoFundMe page: I can't stress this enough. Send it to family, friends, co-workers, local media, celebrities on Twitter. If you can ask family, friends, and co-workers to buy your kid's school fundraiser candy bars, you can ask them to donate $5 for this 10-year reunion. The URL is www.GoFundMe.com/158reunion
    • Contact local veterans organizations like the VFW and American Legion: The men will know how to get the most coverage possible. Please contact your local lodge. 
    • Make contact with ALL our SECFOR brothers: Let's do this in a structured manner. Platoon sergeants: make contact with your squad leaders. Squad leaders: make contact with your team leaders. Team leaders: make contact with your team's soldiers. We need 100% accountability here so no one is left in the dark. If you have trouble locating someone, let me know. I have access to databases that can maybe find them. 
  • Published on

    2015 Uniform Tournament: Championship

    the-oil-blog
    It's been a long road, but the OIL Uniform Tournament is down to its final two teams. Vote below to decide which franchise has the best logo and uniform set in the OIL.

    #10 Dead Again vs. #1 Dirty Hippies

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    OIL History 2014: Expansion

    the-oil-blog
    This is the ninth installment in our ongoing oral history project. You can read previous chapters here. 
    2014 was a big year. Alpha and Bravo Battery deployed again, this time to Afghanistan. The OIL joined the Yardbarker Network. Two longtime rivals chronicled their rivalry in an oral history. The league, fresh off losing a SECFOR brother, added 14 new teams as the league moved to a conference model. Cliburn spearheaded an oral history project to document the year in Iraq the men shared, and the men lost another brother-in-arms.

    The OIL Heads to Afghanistan

    ROGERS: This was my fifth season in the OIL, but it was my first deployment. I was in the 158 before their 2006 deployment and re-joined later. I wasn't sure how well I'd do competing from overseas, but I knew everyone else in the league had done it at some point. 

    ZERGER: This was my first year in the league and my first and only time in Afghanistan (although I'd been to Iraq twice). It brought back a lot of memories seeing familiar names that I hadn't necessarily forgotten but hadn't talked to in a while. I do believe that systems such as our league keep veterans in touch and might help some of our brothers reach out if they need help or something.  

    Chronicling a Rivalry

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    OIL History 2013: Devastation

    the-oil-blog
    This is the eighth installment in our ongoing oral history project. You can read previous chapters here. 
    A lot happened in 2013. One OILer lost his house in the Moore tornado that gained worldwide attention. Two brothers-in-arms died. Four managers had children born. There were trips to Lambeau Field and Cowboys Stadium. A new champion was crowned. And one of the OIL's own became "Top."

    The Tornadoes

    In May, two-time OIL champion Jack Bruesch lost his house in the Moore tornado. Fortunately, he and his family were uninjured, and OIL members and more came together to help in any way we could. 
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    Bruesch's home after the Moore tornado.

    CLIBURN: On a lighter note, it's a good thing I won the OIL and DBFA trophies back from Bruesch in 2012. Otherwise, those trophies would have been lost in the tornado rubble.

    BRUESCH: I guess that's one silver lining of the whole thing. 

    CLIBURN: We can joke about it now, but I was really worried about Bruesch on the day of the tornadoes. I couldn't get ahold of him, and I knew his house was in the path. Thankfully no one in his family was seriously injured though. 

    Losing One of Our Own

    On a more somber note, 2013 was also the year the OIL buried friends and brothers-in-arms. 1LT Brandon Landrum died in May from an IED explosion in Afghanistan. Members of the OIL knew him as SPC Landrum. 
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    CLIBURN: Landrum was a medic and spent 2008 in Iraq with the 158. He went to the same high school and college as me, although we were in different classes. He had transferred to active duty as a commissioned officer when he died. 

    DUFFY: He trained with me at a "war fighter" exercise when he was still with the 158. 

    CLIBURN: I just remember how much he made us laugh at Camp Gruber. He'll be missed.
  • Published on

    OIL History 2012: A Draft Day Mistake Haunts 13 OIL Managers

    the-oil-blog
    This is the seventh installment in our ongoing oral history project. You can read previous chapters here.
    The period from the 2011 OIL Bowl to the 2012 season may have been the quietest in OIL history. With no one in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Walter Reed, the commissioner's only concern was getting the draft planned. 

    The Draft

    The 2012 draft was scheduled to be the third in a row conducted at Buffalo Wild Wings in Lawton. But their Internet wasn't working so, with just minutes until the start of the first round, the men loaded up and drove to The Hog Pin bowling alley and sports bar instead. 

    CLIBURN: Once we realized we weren't going to be able to draft at B-Dub's, my wife told us to go ahead and go; she'd take care of the tab. We jumped in Josh's truck and made to The Hog Pin just in time. 

    JESSEN: There wasn't the same atmosphere at that draft. There weren't as many guys who could make it to the live draft location, including Duffy. 

    CLIBURN: Duffy was going into his second year of living in his family's home state of Wisconsin. It didn't feel right not having him with us.

    DUFFY: I had two drafts that day: my OIL draft, and I was working on the Norse draft at my brother's house. I was distracted and trying to do too many things at once. It was a beautiful day here in Wisconsin, and we were outside with laptops and beers. It was a very cool setup, complete with a bonfire and a TV on the deck.

    BRUESCH: I remember going back and forth between Aaron Rodgers and Arian Foster up until the day of the draft. Adrian Peterson was my favorite player but he was coming off ACL surgery.

    CLIBURN: There were many text messages back and forth preceding the draft debating which one to take. I did the math based on projected points and found Bruesch's projected points were higher if he went Arian Foster. But, with Foster's injury risk, choosing Rodgers was a safer pick. 

    BRUESCH: And I went with the safer pick. I couldn't risk my number one pick missing a good chunk of the season. 

    DUFFY: Cliburn and I did a lot of mock drafts together at Fantasy Football Calculator.com that summer. So I felt like I had a good idea what he would do at 1.13, but then he chose Sproles. 

    CLIBURN: I did the math and knew Sproles was my best bet in the first, but I didn't want to tip my hand. So I never chose Sproles in any mock draft leading up to the draft so no one (including Duffy) would know how much I valued him. 

    DUFFY: The story of the 2012 draft though was Adrian Peterson. 

    CLIBURN: Remember, Peterson had torn his ACL late in the 2013 season, and no one thought he'd be the same for the first few games of 2012. That's why I chose Ryan Mathews in the second round over Peterson. 

    COBB: I still can't believe a league full of Sooner fan let me choose Peterson at 2.10.

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