Marcus Dupree

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GophersInIowa

GophersInIowa

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Anyone see the 30-for-30 tonight on former RB Marcus Dupree? Very sad but interesting story. I'm too young to remember his playing days. Some of the footage of his high school and Oklahoma days were ridiculous. He played only half of the 1983 Fiesta Bowl because of an injury but rushed for 245 yards on 19 carries! Oh, and he was only a freshman.
 

Great story. It was a reminder of the importance of athletes having a solid Plan B. Eventually, they all need it.
 

Maybe Royce watched it and can take something away from his story.
 

I saw him play a couple of games at OU. An unbelievable back. Very sad story for such a great talent.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Anyone see the 30-for-30 tonight on former RB Marcus Dupree? Very sad but interesting story. I'm too young to remember his playing days. Some of the footage of his high school and Oklahoma days were ridiculous. He played only half of the 1983 Fiesta Bowl because of an injury but rushed for 245 yards on 19 carries! Oh, and he was only a freshman.
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I opened the Gopherhole a couple of hours ago and then channel surfed upon the Dupree story during a time out during the NIU-Toledo game.

That story was so good that I just got back to the board now. A friend called and was equally enthralled by the story.
 


Yeah that was awesome. What a player he was, and what a disappointment that injuries robbed him of what should have been a great professional career. And that guy who screwed him over financially, what a prick. With friends like that.... :mad: And the thing of it is, Marcus didn't even seem like he was that angry with the guy, despite having to sue him all those years ago. He seemed just wistful and regretful about it more than anything.

I came away very impressed with him as a person. Rather than choosing to wallow away in sorrow over what might have been, or even worse allowing his misfortune to be used as an excuse for misbehavior or as an excuse to let his life get off track or turn him into an angry and embittered person, he seems to have just accepted it and moved on with his life quietly and honorably, as a working man and a regular Joe just like all the rest of us. He's making the best of what life has given him, and there is courage involved in that, and I have total respect for that.
 

Seany said:
Yeah that was awesome. What a player he was, and what a disappointment that injuries robbed him of what should have been a great professional career. And that guy who screwed him over financially, what a prick. With friends like that.... :mad: And the thing of it is, Marcus didn't even seem like he was that angry with the guy, despite having to sue him all those years ago. He seemed just wistful and regretful about it more than anything.

I came away very impressed with him as a person. Rather than choosing to wallow away in sorrow over what might have been, or even worse allowing his misfortune to be used as an excuse for misbehavior or as an excuse to let his life get off track or turn him into an angry and embittered person, he seems to have just accepted it and moved on with his life quietly and honorably, as a working man and a regular Joe just like all the rest of us. He's making the best of what life has given him, and there is courage involved in that, and I have total respect for that.
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I agree completely. His comments about his short comeback in the NFL showed a lot about him. He seemed so thankful to just get that opportunity, even though he didn't play a whole lot and was cut unexpectedly.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I agree completely. His comments about his short comeback in the NFL showed a lot about him. He seemed so thankful to just get that opportunity, even though he didn't play a whole lot and was cut unexpectedly.
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Yep. I took his story as being much more inspirational than sad. He's not sad, so why should I feel sadly for him?

I remember him as a player, but I had never 'known' him as a person, and I was quite taken aback by how real he was and his obvious humility. It was very touching at the end there where he was looking at footage of himself as a high school player, and he was like "Wow, where did you find this?", and it was clear he'd never seen that footage of him as a prep player before, and how he just sat there wide-eyed as a child and almost in disbelief at how good he had actually been, and his comment that "It's almost like it was all a dream" brought tears to my eyes. What might have been is always a sad thing, but he's not bound in sorrow. He's living his life, and grateful for the moments of glory he did have.

It was a beautiful piece, and I was quite moved by his story and the grace he showed as a person. He's someone I would consider a very high quality individual.
 

Didn't see the whole thing, but I came away impressed with him as well. He doesn't seem to have any bitterness of "what could have been" that is so prevalent with athletes in this era (and I'm sure there were those in earlier eras who didn't accept their fates as readily as Dupree).

He was an unbelievable talent. One of the first truly big backs (225 pounds) who was among the fastest guys on the field. If he had stayed healthy, one can only imagine what he might have accomplished on the football field.
 



This was one of the rare times I watched a show from start to finish. I couldn't stop watching it
 

I think this was the best "30 for 30" yet. I'm in my mid-20s, so I really didn't know much about Marcus Dupree prior to this. What a remarkable talent.
 

Excellent TV last night - His mom gets a new double-wide trailer in order for Marcus to return to OK ... It was all about payoffs to Marcus and his 'friend/agent' at that early time in his life. It was good to hear Marcus say that leaving OK was his biggest mistake. Barry Switzer now seems like he knows that he was too hard on Marcus.... Lot's of mistakes were made by numerous people, not just by Marcus.
 





30 for 30 scores again. Tough to beat "Guru of Go" (Loyola Marymount) or "Without Bias" (Len Bias), but this is right up there
 

Poor guy.

At least his grandson is interested in football. His son was a great talent also.
 


It was an excellent piece. I have a lot of respect for Marcus Dupree after watching that show. Very touching when he got choked up talking about hoping that he has made his mother & brother (now deceased) proud. He seems like a good man.

I would also suggest reading "The Courting of Marcus Dupree". It was a book I read for my Sports in Literature class at St. Thomas back in the mid-80s. Nice read on the circus surrounding Dupree's recruitment.
 

marcus-dupree.jpg
 

Yes, if you get the chance, read The Courting of Marcus Dupree. Fascinating.
 

Recruiting back then

must have been a trip. When I lived in Florida my roommate worked with a guy who played at Florida in the early eighties. He had story after story about boosters and the free reign they had over the team. He said they were regulars in the locker room and after wins, cash would flow freely to the stars of the team. Wilbur Marshall was repeatedly given so much cash that he would often hand out twenties and hundreds to his teammates after the boosters would leave.

I can't even imagine the things that went on during the recruitment of such a prized player.
 

freshtrout said:
It was good to hear Marcus say that leaving OK was his biggest mistake.
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I wish that Marcus had stayed at Oklahoma too. If he had, we'd have gotten to see him play in Minneapolis, when Boomer Sooner came up to play in the Dome in Sept. 85, and oh how we came so heartbreakingly close to beating them. What a game. I will never forget it, how they came in ranked #2, and how we stood there toe to toe with them and physically slapped them around. Our defense knocked multiple OU players out of the game, including their All American TB Spencer Tillman and his primary backup, Earl Jackson. I mean our defense was hitting hitting HARD all night long. I was a kid back then watching it on TV, and the energy within the Dome that night was just incredible. It was a sellout I believe, 62,000+, and they were very loud and very, very, very into it.

It was an amazing performance, especially within the context of the 84-13 debacle vs. Nebraska still being fresh in everyone's minds from two seasons prior. Despite the fact we lost the game 13-7, I can honestly say that is one of my favorite Gopher games ever, and I have never felt more proud of a Gophers football team than I felt for those fellas on that day. If I could have hugged them I would have, for their effort and for how supremely hard they played that game. OU went on to win the national championship that season, and how we almost, almost, ALMOST beat them, down 13-0 late in the 4th quarter, and then we get the huge special teams turnover, and Foggie throws the TD pass and all of a sudden it's 13-7 and there's this energy building like a storm with just a few minutes left in the game. And how our defense continued to dominate as they had all night, holding them to the three and out and forcing the punt, and about how Foggie had about the length of the field to go and precious little time with which to do so, and how he almost did it, ya know. He got us all the way to the OU 32 with just seconds left, and with the game ending play being Foggie's desperation throw into the end zone, trying for the winning TD and how it looked for a second like it had a chance, but no such luck, and they picked it on the very last play of the game. It was absolutely thrilling, just an outstanding football game.

It was epic, but that was what Lou Holtz could bring to a team and the level of difference he could make, and that is why Lou is the man.
 

Watched this 30 for 30 episode last night. Powerful stuff. It was just amazing the accepted illegal recruiting that went on back than (and probably still goes on today). I wonder what he really got for going to OU with Ol' Barry running the show....especially since he had already verballed to Texas?

Finally, I too was impressed by Dupree's lack of bitterness. He gets screwed over by his "advisor" (what a slimeball), gets criticized by Switzer on national TV despite running for over 100 yards, has his career derailed by a knee injury, and is cut by the Rams despite leading them in rushing during the preseason. He's making an honest living and should not be ashamed. As he says, "it pays the bill and puts food in my stomach." I also think his character came through when he instantly teared up talking about his brother and playing for him. What a great story.
 

cheeseheadgophfan said:
Watched this 30 for 30 episode last night. Powerful stuff. It was just amazing the accepted illegal recruiting that went on back than (and probably still goes on today). I wonder what he really got for going to OU with Ol' Barry running the show....especially since he had already verballed to Texas?

Finally, I too was impressed by Dupree's lack of bitterness. He gets screwed over by his "advisor" (what a slimeball), gets criticized by Switzer on national TV despite running for over 100 yards, has his career derailed by a knee injury, and is cut by the Rams despite leading them in rushing during the preseason. He's making an honest living and should not be ashamed. As he says, "it pays the bill and puts food in my stomach." I also think his character came through when he instantly teared up talking about his brother and playing for him. What a great story.
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Can't wait for Pony Exce$$ this Saturday on ESPN.
 

I saw it on demand on Comcast try this if you live in ms and want to watch
 

Seany said:
I wish that Marcus had stayed at Oklahoma too. If he had, we'd have gotten to see him play in Minneapolis, when Boomer Sooner came up to play in the Dome in Sept. 85, and oh how we came so heartbreakingly close to beating them. What a game. I will never forget it, how they came in ranked #2, and how we stood there toe to toe with them and physically slapped them around. Our defense knocked multiple OU players out of the game, including their All American TB Spencer Tillman and his primary backup, Earl Jackson. I mean our defense was hitting hitting HARD all night long. I was a kid back then watching it on TV, and the energy within the Dome that night was just incredible. It was a sellout I believe, 62,000+, and they were very loud and very, very, very into it.

It was epic, but that was what Lou Holtz could bring to a team and the level of difference he could make, and that is why Lou is the man.
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I think I was a soph. in high school when I went to that game. It was the first time I was allowed to drive (with a buddy) to a Gopher game without my dad. I still remember that game well. So close. Oklahoma was like the Yankees back then in my mind.
 

just the fact that Dupree lost 100 lbs in 3 months to get back in shape for his comeback to get to the NFL just to show that he could do it is enough inspiration that I need.
 

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