Mike Shaw

Just A Dad who cheers for his kids, favorite teams #Sooners, #Thunder & #Patriots, and other people to succeed.

[Mike Shaw @HR2CEO]

@EnesFreedom @okcthunder Powerfully captures the spirit of the State and Memorial so well. Thank you @EnesFreedom

[Enes Kanter FREEDOM @EnesFreedom]

To my Oklahoma family;
this piece comes straight from the heart.

I hope you’ll take a moment to read it and feel what I felt.
Thank you for allowing me to be a small part of it.

I came to @okcthunder to play basketball. I left carrying 168 lives.

When I was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, I was thinking about basketball, nothing more.

I didn’t know that before I ever stepped on the court, this place would show me something that would stay with me far longer than any game.

Like any player, my mind was on the game. A new team, a new city, a new opportunity. I expected the usual routine when I landed in Oklahoma City. Physicals, practices, meetings, and a jersey waiting in a locker.

But before any of that, Sam Presti pulled me aside and told me there was somewhere we needed to go.

He didn’t explain much, and I didn’t think to ask. I was focused on the next step in my career.

What I didn’t understand was that, before I could represent the place I was about to play for, I needed to understand it.

So instead of heading to the facility, he took me to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.

I walked in without knowing what I was about to see, and within minutes, everything slowed down.

There are 168 chairs at the memorial, each one representing a life lost on April 19, 1995. They are arranged in quiet rows, each engraved with a name, each standing where a person once stood in that building. Then you notice something that is impossible to process the first time you see it. Some of the chairs are smaller.

They belong to children.

There is no speech that prepares you for that, no headline that captures it. You simply stand there, and the silence carries a kind of weight that is hard to describe but impossible to ignore.

As you walk through the memorial, you pass between two gates marked 9:01 and 9:03. At first, they seem like simple numbers, but then you understand what they hold. One marks the last minute before the attack. The other marks the first minute after. And in between those two gates is 9:02, the moment when everything changed.

That minute does not feel like history when you are standing there. It feels present.

The reflecting pool stretches across what used to be a city street, its surface calm and still. When you look into it, you do not just see water. You see yourself standing in a place where unimaginable loss occurred, and for a moment, everything else in your life becomes quieter.

Nearby stands the Survivor Tree, an American elm that was damaged in the blast but endured. It is not untouched. Its scars are part of what it represents. But it is still standing, and in that, it carries a kind of strength that does not need to be explained.

We did not speak much while we were inside. It did not feel like a place for conversation. Some places ask for words. This one asks for reflection.

When we stepped outside, Sam Presti looked me in the eye and said, “This is what this state has been through.”

Then he said something I will never forget.

“Every time you step on that court, you are not just playing in front of fans. You are playing for a state that carries this with it. Give them everything you have. They deserve that.”

In that moment, basketball felt different.

Not smaller, but clearer.

Because what I had just seen was not only about what was lost. It was about what remained. A state that had experienced unimaginable pain and still chose to come together, to rebuild, and to move forward without losing its humanity.

From that day on, every time I stepped on the court, I carried that with me.

On the nights when I was tired, when I was hurt, when I was dealing with challenges that felt heavy in the moment, I would think about those chairs, about that minute, about the people behind those names. And I was reminded that what I was going through did not compare to what this state had endured.
https://t.co/XfNLliRVaO

[@amuse @amuse]

https://t.co/TE56Sg1JRO

[Dede Westbrook @DedeTHEGreat11]

Mannn we need to hire Coach Gundy back as the RB coach!!! What yall say??? @calegundy let’s make it happen! #Boomer

[Pennsylvania Football News @PaFootballNews]

We are going to see soon that 1000s of players made mistakes. Coach nails it. Stop worrying about a check. Start enjoying life. Most of those in the portal just made their college experience more expensive and many just ended theirs.

[Tampa Bay Buccaneers @Buccaneers]

Leading Tampa Bay on & off the field 🫡

1 repost = 1 vote #WPMOYChallenge @bakermayfield

[The Tunnel_Sooners @TheTunnel_OU]

@ OU Fans...

This the best you can do?

All the off-season polls we win are pointless if we cant pull this off.

Don't be Twitter fake.
Get Tate his extra point.
Go vote!
https://t.co/OSHNlglbjT

[Mike Shaw @HR2CEO]

Heard @tobyrowland talking about @Bowen_AmeeL. Thought Grok did a good job of creating a cool image. Grateful for the whole family and what they have meant to #Sooners sports and #OU. #HardtoKill

[Kaci Nicole @PennyLane449]

OU fans: This guy organized a drive for OU Children’s Hospital last year when Tenn came to Norman.

It’s time to return the favor!

Go to the UTVolShop website and order some gear, enter the code below at checkout, & it will get taken to the children’s hospital there!

Boomer!

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

"I was pulled over Wednesday morning by a TN State Trooper. When he came up to the car he asked 'Why are the two boys in the back seat not in car seats?' My answer was the two little boys were my foster sons who I had just got the night before. I showed him paper work and explained to him that when I got them they had the clothes they were wearing and that is about it. No carseat, no toys, no coats, and so on. He was very nice to the kids and to me. He asked me for my phone number. I gave it to him. His wife called me and asked about the boys. This morning Officer Tidwell met me in Waverly, him and his wife had purchased gifts for the boys. Not just the two boys in the back seat but, their older brother too.

I cannot thank him enough for the kindness he has shown these three boys. I never asked him for anything. He and his wife acted out of the kindness of their hearts. He showed these boys that there are very nice cops out there and I hope he has left a lasting impression on them that cops are good. The boys have been telling everyone that 'cops are nice.' He has made their day. You hear way too much negative stuff now days so, here is some good news for you all."~Credit: HT Tennessee Highway Patrol

[Charlie Kirk @charliekirk11]

Good men must die, but death can't kill their names.

[Harrison Butker @buttkicker7]

Thank you for your strong witness for Christ @charliekirk11. Thank you for pursuing truth and leading your family as a husband and father. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

[JD Vance @JDVance]

Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father.

[U.S. Department of Labor @USDOL]

🚨Pell Grants for THE TRADES!

Thanks to @POTUS’ One Big, Beautiful Bill, people can get Pell Grants to pay for workforce training courses—a “game changer” for students pursuing the trades🔥

[Bryan Porter @jbryanporter]

A special Simple Modern, WORLD CHAMPION OKC Thunder drop.

The comment or share. I’ll randomly select a few winners.

#ThunderUp

[Bleacher Report @BleacherReport]

RT IF YOU GOT THE THUNDER WINNING THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP ⚡️🏆

[Mike Shaw @HR2CEO]

Super excited to watch @okcthunder win our State’s first Major professional Championship. Grateful for they players, Coaches, Staff and ownership for this #OKChampionship #NBAFinals2025 #ThunderUp

[Fletch17 @RealFletch17]

Robin Williams
American Flag
Happy Flag day!

[OKC THUNDER @okcthunder]

RT if you love Thunder defense 😤

[NCAA Softball @NCAASoftball]

"But the best part of this whole journey wasn’t just the game, it was the people."

Sam Landry reads a heartwarming letter to softball.

#WCWS x @OU_Softball