No. 1, they start out with a huge gender gap. The only time you are an athlete is the day you announce and, from then on in, you have to stay away from your athletic side. Despite the successes, Cole maintains, there are more corpses on the political road than successes. The failed 1964 Senate run of former Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson is a case in point. Sooner, Jack Mildren, was elected lieutenant governor but failed in 1971 to reach the governor s office.
Good luck is a factor, but so is strong character.
One of the reasons analysts give for Largent and Watts excelling within the GOP ranks is their strong character, defined more by their religious and family values than by their sports achievements. Watts played for Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer at a time when the Sooners were renowned for their bawdy behavior. In such company Watts and Largent were even more outstanding for their Christian character than for their athletic talent. This has carried over into politics. The important thing about them is that they both have profound religious beliefs, notes Cole.