{"id":24412,"date":"2015-04-23T15:52:35","date_gmt":"2015-04-23T20:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=24412"},"modified":"2015-04-23T15:52:35","modified_gmt":"2015-04-23T20:52:35","slug":"sikes-orvis-is-not-in-fact-ron-swanson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/sikes-orvis-is-not-in-fact-ron-swanson\/","title":{"rendered":"Sikes Orvis Is Not, In Fact, Ron Swanson"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a good chance that you\u2019ve seen Sikes Orvis<\/strong> today.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in one of the thousands of cars that gets hung up on the new intersection at Highway 6 and West Jackson, your eyes have probably wandered toward a massive billboard that reads \u201cThis is Olemaha\u201d and pictures the senior slugger mid-swing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such publicity is the price of being a senior captain of an SEC program, particularly one that enjoyed unprecedented success last year. Add a signature mustache to that face and a propensity for power at the plate, and you\u2019ve got a surefire recipe for a fan favorite.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Such a whirlwind of publicity can make it difficult for many student-athletes to stay grounded. One doesn\u2019t get the sense that Sikes Orvis is one of those guys.<\/span><\/p>\n

He walks over to the dugout before practice and shakes my hand. He doesn\u2019t make much\"Sikes<\/a> eye contact during our conversation. This doesn\u2019t come across as rude or aloof, though; he\u2019s simply more interested in what\u2019s happening on the field.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI just got done shooting a thing for ESPN,\u201d he says offhandedly. He squints through the sunlight at his teammates rolling up a tarp.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The mustache is gone. He\u2019s opted for a moderate scruff that marks him as the 22-year-old college student that he is. But one gets the sense that he\u2019s more comfortable like this anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were playing down in Baton Rouge<\/strong> and one of the ESPN commentators said \u2018Fear the Stache.\u2019 Next thing you know, I get on the bus and I have about 200 Twitter notifications. I was being compared to the most random people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fast forward roughly a month, and large groups of local schoolchildren with fake mustaches (boys and girls alike) are hanging a \u201cFEAR THE STACHE\u201d banner from the walls of Oxford-University Stadium<\/strong> for a midweek game.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI saw the banner,\u201d he grins. \u201cI actually have [it] now, in my room.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Among his favorite comparisons: John Kruk. A middle-aged Blockbuster employee. The security guard from Terminator 2. But one comparison, perhaps the most oft-cited, stands out above the rest.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a huge \u2018Parks and Rec’ fan. I\u2019ve seen every episode,\u201d he grins. \u201cRon Swanson<\/strong>\u2019s my favorite.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sikes is nothing if not self-aware. \u201cI\u2019m an old soul in a young body. I love the whole mustache look\u2026 [y]ou get the creepy looks. But I like to laugh at myself, and what better way than just putting a ridiculous mustache on my face?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He also attributes some of his humility to the ribbing he receives from his teammates: \u201cChristian Trent<\/strong> spent a good couple hours searching my name on Twitter to find a bunch of ridiculous stuff and making sure [he] showed it to me. We have a great group of guys, very close-knit, and we\u2019re pretty good at picking on each other.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Drafted by the Boston Red Sox<\/strong> out of high school, Sikes didn\u2019t have<\/em> to come be a Big Man on Campus. He chose <\/em>to, citing the college experience and the idyllic atmosphere of Swayze<\/strong> on the weekends as major factors in his choice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a really cool experience getting to go out there and play a game up in Fenway. But I knew from the start that I really wanted to come to school. I knew I was going to play at one of the most beautiful ballparks in the country in front of some of the greatest fans.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve played in some of the best atmospheres, and the best stadiums. Auto Zone in Memphis<\/strong>. Obviously, Swayze\u2019s up there. Of course, Alex Box<\/strong> down in Baton Rouge is always real loud. Our [2014] Super Regional down in Lafayette<\/strong> was something else. They had about 3500 fans, but it sounded like there was 30,000. I mean, they got after us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Orvis is no stranger to banter with fans, at home or on the road. Of course, as with any athlete in this day and age, he also owes a good bit of his celebrity to the effects of social media. Perhaps the best example is the prevalent hashtag #WhiskeyAndMeat that fans use when referring to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat kind of came in with the whole Ron Swanson persona,\u201d he explains. \u201cLast year, me\"Ron<\/a> and my old roommate Austin Blunt<\/strong> were just kind of joking around. We\u2019d say \u2018Whiskey and Meat,\u2019 and stuff like that, after I had a good game.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCouple of the fans started taking to it, and it just kind of blew up. Couple fans that, every game, always tweet \u2018whiskey and meat,\u2019 or, \u2018get that guy a steak,\u2019 all this funny stuff.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And while he admits to enjoying a nice steak and a good whiskey, he again insists that this persona is perhaps another exaggeration.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t consider myself a connoisseur. I\u2019m still ballin\u2019 on a budget, so, whatever my parents want to get me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While he may not come off as gruff and brooding as Ron Swanson, Sikes exudes the character\u2019s no-nonsense practicality that belies his role as a leader for these young Rebs. \u201cThis year, being one of the older guys\u2026[i]t\u2019s a lot of responsibility,\u201d he explains. \u201cPeople recognize you now. You can\u2019t just do whatever you want.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I could start over and be a freshman all over again, I would right now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His gaze shifts back to the outfield. For a split second, he seems to let down his media-savvy guard and speak as a member of an SEC baseball team in the middle of some growing pains. With only three home conference series remaining, the time to pass the torch is rapidly approaching.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI look out there, and a lot of times, it\u2019s mainly just freshmen and sophomores. A lot of young guys being thrown into a tough situation early. But they\u2019re really starting to come around\u2026 [I] think our best baseball\u2019s ahead of us.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He jogs over to his teammates at the tarp. And despite the fact that he\u2019s towering over the highway at the first exit out of town, he seems to be altogether here, solidly rooted in the present moment, and enjoying every minute of it.\u00a0\"The<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a good chance that you\u2019ve seen Sikes Orvis today. If you\u2019re in one of the thousands of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":238,"featured_media":24413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[6476,6474,88,2300,6472,3463,3994,6469,6473,6470,468,741,7067,3627,5029,6471,700,6380,2311,5293,5389,655,6475],"class_list":["post-24412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-athletics","tag-alex-box","tag-austin-blunt","tag-baseball","tag-baton-rouge","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-christian-trent","tag-espn","tag-fear-the-stache","tag-fenway","tag-john-kruk","tag-memphis","tag-mustache","tag-ole-miss","tag-olemaha","tag-oxford-university-stadium","tag-parks-and-recreation","tag-rebels","tag-ron-swanson","tag-sec","tag-sikes-orvis","tag-swayze-field","tag-university-of-mississippi","tag-whiskey-and-meat"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/SIkes-FEAT.jpg?fit=620%2C349&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}