Originally, this was going to be the final installment of our countdown of the 50 Most Powerful Oklahomans. But when I started writing tonight, I turned on the TV and The Godfather just happened to be on. That's never good, because every time The Godfather's on I have to stop whatever I'm doing and watch it. Hell, I even watch it when it's edited and on AMC like it was tonight. That means there's no cussing, no nudity, and way too many commercials. Basically, the three reasons that make movies on basic cable so boring. But who cares, it's the f*cking Godfather.
Anyway, after the jump you can find the 10th, 9th, 8th, 7th and 6th Most Powerful Oklahomans. And if you notice references to Luca Brasi, Khartoum and "increased performance and size," you now know why.
10. The Ghost of Ed Gaylord, spirit of most powerful man in Oklahoma history...
Even though he has a funny last name and passed away in 2003, the ghost of Ed Gaylord still haunts (or inspires) most of the powerful people who made this list. Plus, if you're a bitter senior citizen, you can still get away with blaming just about anything that's wrong with your life on this guy.
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9. David Boren, President of The University of Oklahoma
David Boren is a former US Senator and the President of the University of Oklahoma. Not only is he the highest ranking former Senator on this list, but he's also the highest ranking alleged homosexual to be named. But that's not why he made this list. He made the list because he still has a good amount of clout in state and in national politics. Also, some people credit him with being the reason that B0b Stoops and Joe Castiglione have remained at OU. That's a good thing.
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8. T. Boone Pickens, Corporate Raider/Owner of Oklahoma State University
Yeah, he lives in Texas, but he was born here so who cares. He's a billionaire celebrity, so we'll claim him.
That being said, I'm really not sure if I should like or dislike T. Boone. One one hand, it's kind of neat to root for an Oklahoma born guy who owns a University, says what's on his mind, and spends millions of dollars promoting an energy plan with his name on it. On the other hand, he's a ruthless corporate raider who owns a University, says what's on his mind, and spends millions of dollars promoting an energy plan with his name on it.
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7. Clay Bennett, Corporate Raider/Owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder
Even though he's a member of the Black Tower Club and OKC Good Ole Boy Network, we kind of like Clay Bennett. Why? He's the guy who got us an NBA team. See, we're easily bought.
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6. Larry Nichols, CEO of Devon Energy
Larry Nichols is the CEO of Devon Energy. Devon is probably the most respected and solid corporation in Oklahoma. To prove it, Larry decided to announce that he's building an aerodynamic phallic skyscraper to grace our Downtown skyline. In addition, Steve Lackmeyer has a man crush on this guy. If Lackmeyer has a man crush on you, you have to be important.
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Anyway, links to the rest of the countdown are found below. Hopefully, this will be done next week. And if you want to take a guess at the top 5, do so in the comments. Get it right and you win a piece of cake.
