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FOREWORD
Krazy George made the whole sports world stand up and cheer! He’s the
man who invented the Wave! The man who created a whole new career as a
professional cheerleader! Fans past and present have had a long, enduring
fascination with Krazy George Henderson.
My first memory of George was late March 1982. It was day one of my
new job as marketing director for the Tulsa Roughnecks, members of the
North America Soccer League. My predecessor walked out the office door
and gave me three words of advice, “Hire Krazy George.”
When I called George, suddenly I knew I was ear-to-ear with greatness.
In the voice of a cocky and raging professional wrestler, he immediately
went into a rant about how he was going to come to my stadium and “destroy
the place!”
No matter how much I thought I knew about what he was about to do was
nothing compared to witnessing our first game against the New York
Cosmos. Whoever came was treated to a real original. I saw what this one
man in cutoff shorts and a drum could do to 20,000 fans. They were in the
palm of his hand, doing his bidding. The crowd followed as if they had
attended cheer rehearsals days in advance. It was beautiful.
So began a long time relationship of knowing one of the most unique,
funny and lovable people to walk this earth. George showed me what can
happen when you give fans more than just a game to watch. It made big
impression. I went into the sports promotion business and started
representing George as his booking agent.
When he cheered for my alma mater, Oklahoma State University, the
football program was trying to re-establish some momentum following the
years of excitement that Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders and Coach
Jimmy Johnson stirred up. OSU needed to kick-start some excitement while
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