New Orleans —
Billy Bajema won’t play every offensive snap and likely won’t catch a single pass in the Super Bowl. But for the former Oklahoma State University tight end and Oklahoma City native, simply playing in the pinnacle of his sport is worth more than gold.
“This is something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a little kid and now I’m getting to play in that game, so it’s just really special, really exciting and kind of hard to believe,” Bajema said. “It goes without saying that it’s a special game for everyone. ... After my first seven years in the league never even making to the playoffs, it’s really special and I’m really excited.”
Making his appearance in the Super Bowl on Sunday even more magical is when one looks back to where he was during the offseason. As a free agent after three years with the St. Louis Rams, Bajema wasn’t even certain he would be playing for an NFL team this season. Then the Baltimore Ravens came calling.
“I was still at home when training camps were starting, just working out and hoping for a call while not sure what was going to happen,” Bajema said. “The call could have come from anywhere at all and I would have been happy.
“But the fact that it came from the Ravens, as soon as it was from the Ravens I knew I was going to a join a team with a great history and was a winner. ... It’s just amazing looking back six months ago to not being on a team to where I am today.”
The symmetry of Bajema first trip to the playoffs doesn’t end there. When he lines up in the bulk formation for the Ravens at the Mercedes-Benz Super Dome in New Orleans, he will be lining up against the same team that drafted him out of Oklahoma State — the San Francisco 49ers.
“A lot of the guys that are still on the 49ers are the same guys that I played with,” said Bajema, who was drafted in the seventh round of the 2005 draft by San Francisco and played his first four years for the 49ers. “When we’re out on the field a lot of the guys out there will be guys I’m friends with and guys I played with for a team that I spent more time with than anywhere else in my career. So it’s pretty cool to reach the Super Bowl and be playing against them.”
With the journey the former OSU tight end has traveled since leaving Stillwater, he said family and friends are happy to see him finally get the opportunity to play in this type of game.
“I think everybody’s just excited. All of our friends and family are excited to watch the game,” Bajema said. “They are all just pumped up about it.”
Bajema isn’t the only former Cowboy representing Oklahoma State in the Super Bowl. OSU has four former players on the roster — two for each team — which ranks as the highest of any Big 12 Conference school and is third-most of any college being represented in the game.
“As an OSU guy and a guy who loves the Cowboys, it’s been exciting my whole career to watch their games on Saturdays and the great seasons they’ve been having. What the OSU football program has become is something to take pride in as someone who used to play there and played a small part in helping build the program to where it is today,” Bajema said. “You see it all throughout the league, there are Oklahoma State guys playing all over the place and doing well. That’s just a credit to the program and shows how well they’ve done there and how far the football program at OSU has come.”
Jason Elmquist is the sports editor for the Stillwater NewsPress.
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OSU's Bajema plays in Super Bowl
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Workman's blasts cranks UCO's engine; Bronchos cruise to 5-2 win
Nicole Workman’s solo home run gave Central Oklahoma a lead it would never relinquish and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos went on to topple Winona State 5-2 in the first game of the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional Friday night at the Edmond North High School Softball Complex.
Workman blasted her 14th homer of the season to lead off the second inning, with UCO adding three runs in the third and one more in the fifth to take a commanding 5-0 lead before the Warriors created some anxious moments in their final at bat.
WSU scored two runs and had runners on second and third on with just one out in the top of the seventh, but Kalynn Shrock got the final two batters to close out her fourth straight complete-game outing of the postseason and put the Bronchos in control of the best-of-three series. -
Richters rip competition at KickingBird
The KickingBird 2-man scramble was won by Jeff and Josh Richter, finishing with a 57.9 on May 11.
Jeff Jester and Kevin Wright wrapped up second-place honors with a 59.9 and Rick Morales and Ronnie Roberts placed third (60.1).
In the second flight, the top score was 60.4 by Jerry Bernhardt and Ted Carter. Picking up silver was the tandem of Jerry Fuller and Ramona Jacobi (61.2) and the third-place squad was Dyke Hoppe and Mark VanSickle at 62.0.
Morales was closest to the pin on No. 6 and Jeff Richter landed a dart on hole 14. -
Eagles' season finished; Lopez earns national honor
Southeastern, Fla. eliminated Oklahoma Christian 4-0 om the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series in Mason, Ohio today to advance to the tournament semifinals, while OC closes at 26-26.
OC would have advanced to the semifinals with a win, but completed a terrific turnaround from an 8-34 season in 2012. The Eagles made only the second national-tournament appearance in the program's history, with the other coming in 1972, when OC finished third in the NAIA World Series. -
Multiple baseball camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Schools baseball coaches Kyle Roberts (Edmond Memorial), Jeff Shafer (Edmond Santa Fe) and Karl King (Edmond North) will instruct the Edmond All-Star Baseball Camps starting May 28 at Edmond North High School.
A pair of all-skills camps will take place for kids ages 5 and older from May 28-31 and June 3-6. Times are the same, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
On June 7, a pitcher/catcher camp will be offered for ages 8 and older with the identical time frame. Cost is $35 for the pitcher/catcher camp and $125 for the all-skills camp.
For further inquiries, contact Karl King at 863-3570. -
Arthur Hills eating up Bronchos
Central Oklahoma’s struggles continued at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday.
The Bronchos made 10 double bogeys and two triple bogeys en route to a season-high 329 score on the rugged 6,228-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills Legends Course at LPGA International, leaving UCO in 10th place with a three-round total of 975.
Nova Southeastern has an 881 total heading into Saturday’s final round, giving the four-time defending champion Sharks a one-shot lead over second-place Lynn. -
Bronchos will make 12th appearance in national golf championship Monday
No. 18-ranked Central Oklahoma will make its 12th appearance in the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships in Hershey, Pa. next week.
The 54-hole stroke play portion of the tournament runs Monday-Wednesday at the 7,061-yard, par-71 Hershey Country Club East Course, with the top-eight teams from the 20-team field advancing to match play. -
Online registration for 2013 UCO Endeavor Games now open
Registration is now open online for athletes and volunteers for the 2013 University of Central Oklahoma Endeavor Games, June 6-9, the nation’s largest multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities.
Athletes of all ages or sporting experience are invited to register for the event. Community members are also encouraged to register to volunteer with more than 300 volunteer opportunities available.
Similar to the summer Paralympic Games, athletes may register for multiple adaptive sports, which include cycling, indoor archery, outdoor archery, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, shooting, table tennis, track and field, wheelchair basketball, and, for the first time at the UCO Endeavor Games, paratriathlon. The paratriathlon will be limited to athletes over the age of 16 with previous paratriathlon experience. -
Deer Creek drops Carl Albert again for state title
They did it again.
The Deer Creek girls soccer team knocked off rival Carl Albert in the Class 5A state soccer title game for the second consecutive season.
The Lady Antlers, led by freshman Lauren Haivala’s two goals, topped the Titans 2-1 May 10 at Noble High School.
On May 7, Deer Creek blanked Tulsa Edison 2-zip in the semifinals for a chance to play for its fourth state championship in girls soccer. -
UCO to host US women's sitting volleyball team's exhibition matches against Russia
The University of Central Oklahoma will host five exhibition matches of the U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team versus the Russian National Women Sitting Volleyball Team beginning tonight at 10. Matches continue on Saturday at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. and a single match on Sunday at 9 a.m.
This will be the first time the Paralympic silver medaling Team USA has faced Russia since 2011. According to Head Coach Bill Hamiter, these matches will serve as preparation for the Sitting Volleyball World Championships in 2014.
Team USA will be available after each match to meet with fans and sign autographs.
All exhibition matches are free and open to the public. -
Impact-making Graves inks with OBU
When a basketball team goes 80-3 over the years a player was there, that athlete has made a profound impact on that particular program.
Not only did she/he leave a legacy athletically to have that type of success in Class 6A, but left a mark in a leadership capacity as well.
Cameerah Graves, Edmond Santa Fe’s standout guard who led 6A in assists her senior season with 129, signed a letter of intent with Oklahoma Baptist University last week. - More Sports Headlines
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