FANNING THE FLAMES OF OPTIMISM

If last night's Twitter reaction to the GOP presidential debate was entertaining, then this afternoon's activity was downright exhilarating.

Bill Haisten of the Tulsa World, who of course covers OSU football, was tweeting away with commentary and observations about fall practice. By the time he was done, I personally was ready to pay whatever was necessary to acquire tickets to the CFP.

I was already excited about the upcoming season, but what Bill did for me today was the equivalent of what Tyreek Hill's Bedlam punt return did for the Cowboys.

It basically pushed me over the edge.

Below is the full list of Haisten's OSU related Twitter conversation, including some responses. You might even see an old friend...

It started quietly enough:

#okstate Headed to Stillwater for day four of the OSU football preseason. Lake Keystone looks like a postcard today. pic.twitter.com/OvB2C8W1g6

— Bill Haisten (@billhaisten) August 7, 2015

But then came a segment on the Sports Animal where he said Jordan Burton might be the best player on team, even better than Ogbah:

.@billhaisten just said that Star LB Jordan Burton may be the best player on the entire #OKState football team. Better than Ogbah. Wow.

— Royal John (@Royal_John_OSU) August 7, 2015

You can catch the entire interview here.

From here, it was all downhill...

#okstate Play of the day: RB Jeff Carr collects a short pass, makes defenders miss and rockets to the end zone. Very interesting freshman.

— Bill Haisten (@billhaisten) August 7, 2015

@RobertW_OkSt @billhaisten What? What happened?

— Chaz Cook (@ChazCook) August 7, 2015

@ChazCook @billhaisten he used the term "rockets" and Jeff Carr in the same sentence. That's all I'm going to say.

— Robert Whetsell (@RobertW_OkSt) August 7, 2015

At that point, I believe Bill decided to troll me a little bit (not really, but it's a better story that way...)

#okstate On the OSU roster, Jeff Carr is listed as being 5-7 and 168 pounds. As of Tuesday, Gundy said, Carr's weight was 174.

— Bill Haisten (@billhaisten) August 7, 2015

#okstate Since arriving at OSU, and with a member of the Cowboy strength-and-conditioning staff on the watch, Jeff Carr ran a sub-4.4 40.

— Bill Haisten (@billhaisten) August 7, 2015

#okstate As a senior at Temple (Texas) HS, Jeff Carr rushed for 2,147 yards, averaging 10.1 per attempt while scoring 18 TDs.

— Bill Haisten (@billhaisten) August 7, 2015

#okstate Signing day 2015: Mike Gundy on Jeff Carr: "In a couple of years, a lot of people are going to wonder why they didn’t recruit him."

— Bill Haisten (@billhaisten) August 7, 2015

@SQUALLA_WISDOM Jeff Carr isn't in Tyreek Hill's class from a pure speed standpoint. Otherwise, Carr is among the very fastest Gundy guys.

— Bill Haisten (@billhaisten) August 7, 2015

Talking about Jeff Carr wasn't enough, he had to mention Chris Carson:

#okstate I'm intrigued by the potential of Jeff Carr, but Chris Carson is the big dog in the backfield. Powerful and smooth.

— Bill Haisten (@billhaisten) August 7, 2015

Of course other players had to get some love:

#okstate Early takeaways on new guys: Victor Salako a mountain at LT, Carr is a bottle rocket, Carson has an NFL look, Burton is a hammer.

— Bill Haisten (@billhaisten) August 7, 2015

@RobertW_OkSt No hype. Just honest impressions. Still very early, though.

— Bill Haisten (@billhaisten) August 7, 2015

@RobertW_OkSt If you hadn't spent so much on a rational meter, you'd already have the money for those tickets,

— Bill Haisten (@billhaisten) August 7, 2015

I wasn't the only one having issues...

@RobertW_OkSt mountain at LT! NFL look! Stop it now!

— Seth Krug (@Seth_Krug) August 7, 2015

Just a little more...

#okstate Last season, Brad Lundblade was a walk-on freshman who commanded playing time at center. Now, he seems solid as the No. 1 guy.

— Bill Haisten (@billhaisten) August 7, 2015

@Royal_John_OSU #okstate I will say this: The 2015 defense has a chance to be really, really good. Most collective speed of the Gundy era.

— Bill Haisten (@billhaisten) August 7, 2015

And our old friend said it best...

If you're an #OKState fan and you aren't following @billhaisten on Twitter, you're doing it wrong. #TidbitsForDays

— Royal John (@Royal_John_OSU) August 7, 2015

I think if I open up an OSU Football KoolAid stand, I could get $100 per cup right now.

GO POKES!!!