Saluting Fellow Okie Toby Keith: Big Talent, Even Bigger Heart
By Andy Lee
As fellow Okies mourn the untimely passing of beloved country icon Toby Keith, I recall the oversized spirit of this larger-than-life local legend who poured so much homegrown heart into our shared roots.
Like many natives, some of my fondest memories of Toby stretch back to those autumn Saturday afternoons with him proudly cheering on our Sooners from Memorial Stadium’s sidelines. Regardless how packed the schedule between chart-topping tours and stadium sellouts, Toby made time to boost our boys in Red come kickoff. He knew firsthand the sweat-soaked sacrifices having walked briefly in their cleats himself.
Of course, being the diehard Sooner he was, Toby relished the chance to actually play in the alumni game alongside childhood heroes in 1994. He got inserted on defense standing in for former great Jimbo Elrod. But sadly, it was a painful two-way street – on the very last play a pileup caused another player to accidentally roll onto Keith’s foot, snapping the bone instantly.
I can only imagine Toby’s horror realizing a fractured ankle could cancel his upcoming tour stops supporting Brooks & Dunn. Yet even injured, his beaming Sooner pride and spirit persevering through pain embodied the Oklahoma grit he’d soon rally worldwide fanbases with for decades to come.
Beyond the cowboy hats beat an artistic heart though, evident in fearless lyrics kinda like old faded blues Polaroids preserving overlooked but vital human truths. Whether honky tonk knee slappers or vulnerably real slow numbers, Keith albums spin life’s twin languages of laughter and heartache in balance. Among his most courageous admissions may be “Don’t Let the Old Man In” – a remorseful meditation now carrying heavier weight beyond its studio recording. When Toby warns against squandering precious time assuming enough remains ahead somewhere, truth rings from a wise vista where mortality’s horizon suddenly looms clearer over latest verses. Yet defiant optimism still spurs embracing passion’s possibilities despite days unknown.
That compassion lives on through the Toby Keith Foundation funding cancer care right here as well as supporting child crime victims and unemployed veterans from coast to coast. His legacy will span all fifty states just like the inspiration his lyrics have given so many traveling to chase dreams beyond county line horizons. The marquee may have dimmed too soon, but the Oklahoma spirit he embodied so brightly burns on in all of us lucky enough to call him our hometown hero. Though hushed too abruptly, let his red dirt repertoire play on eternal.
Stay standing tall, keep fighting. ❤️🤍
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