A buddy of mine (we'll call him Dave since that's his name) and I got to golf 18 holes with Johnny at a benefit tournament in the summer of '99. When we saw the group assignments I about **** a brick. We stepped up on the tee box and up pulls Johnny in his cart. "Hey Coach. Johnny Orr." I don't know that I've ever said less in a round of golf as I didn't want to waste any time that could be filled with Johnny telling stories. One after another, each one funnier than the last. He treated us like lifelong friends and absolutely made our day.
A different friend of mine who was also an ISU grad was having a party at his house in town that night. About the 15th hole and after several cans of jaw lube we asked Johnny if he'd be willing to stop by the party as there was going to be a lot of Cyclone fans there. He said, "hell yeah, I can stop by for a little bit." Johnny had to give a little talk in the clubhouse after the tournament and the meal. He sat with us for the meal and when it was time to talk he got up front. As always he had the room rolling. After talking for a few minutes he said, "Well, I need to cut this short. I'm hitting a party with my buddies Dave and ca4cy." He thanked the sponsors and everybody for coming out and with that, he came back by the table and we all walked out together in front of the whole crowd. You couldn't have knocked the grin off my face with a 2x4.
Johnny jumps in his car and follows us to the house where the party is. We intentionally park up the street just a little bit so nobody can see us until we come around the corner. It's a nice summer night so everybody is outside and there's probably 20-30 people there. I heard somebody say, "hey who's that with Dave and ca4cy?" Then I hear the guy that lives there say, "THAT'S JOHNNY F'ING ORR!!" It was absolutely awesome! Johnny took pictures with everybody and told stories. He probably only stayed for 15 or 20 minutes, but he made that party memorable for everybody there. He shook our hands when he left and thanked us for a great day.
In my 38 years, I still rank it as my best day that didn't involve my wife or my kids and I've still got the picture of Johnny with my wife and me in my office.
A different friend of mine who was also an ISU grad was having a party at his house in town that night. About the 15th hole and after several cans of jaw lube we asked Johnny if he'd be willing to stop by the party as there was going to be a lot of Cyclone fans there. He said, "hell yeah, I can stop by for a little bit." Johnny had to give a little talk in the clubhouse after the tournament and the meal. He sat with us for the meal and when it was time to talk he got up front. As always he had the room rolling. After talking for a few minutes he said, "Well, I need to cut this short. I'm hitting a party with my buddies Dave and ca4cy." He thanked the sponsors and everybody for coming out and with that, he came back by the table and we all walked out together in front of the whole crowd. You couldn't have knocked the grin off my face with a 2x4.
Johnny jumps in his car and follows us to the house where the party is. We intentionally park up the street just a little bit so nobody can see us until we come around the corner. It's a nice summer night so everybody is outside and there's probably 20-30 people there. I heard somebody say, "hey who's that with Dave and ca4cy?" Then I hear the guy that lives there say, "THAT'S JOHNNY F'ING ORR!!" It was absolutely awesome! Johnny took pictures with everybody and told stories. He probably only stayed for 15 or 20 minutes, but he made that party memorable for everybody there. He shook our hands when he left and thanked us for a great day.
In my 38 years, I still rank it as my best day that didn't involve my wife or my kids and I've still got the picture of Johnny with my wife and me in my office.
