By Lindsey Besecker
Assistant Sports Editor
Some know him as Coco. The name may sound familiar … possibly from those brown T-shirts with a monkey’s face grinning on the back. But Pepperdine junior Dave Osborne is much more than a nickname on a 2003 Spring Fling Cookout T-shirt.
The Southern California native has been labeled a few nicknames in his 20 years, but Coco stuck with him through most of his sophomore year. Luckily for Osborne, the name has worn off after some growing up and a long summer of traveling through Europe in the Florence summer program.
“Florence was the best growing experience, not just academically, but spiritually and mentally, that anyone could have,” Osborne said. “Being in an environment where the whole culture is immersed in religion is amazing. Traveling was amazing. It is just an experience that if you go to Pepperdine, you don’t want to miss out on.”
Shortly after coming home OSBORNE
to Long Beach from Europe,
Osborne underwent some of the most painful days of his life. He had mouth surgery to correct his jaw, which was skewed to one side before the surgery. The surgery pushed it to the middle of his mouth and back a little. Osborne said doctors cut out pieces from both sides and the top of his jaw.
“It was awful,” he said. “Imagine being claustrophobic to the extreme. You can’t breathe out of your mouth because your cheeks are swollen and there’s this little plastic thing in your teeth. You can’t breathe through your teeth.”
Osborne couldn’t eat for more than two months after the surgery. In the first week and a half, he lost 20 pounds and has lost 10 more since then. However, he has slowly been able to eat more food, including some of his favorites – cheesecake, crème brulée, ice cream, cake and brownies. And of course, prime rib.
“It’s been so long since I’ve had it,” Osborne said. “I can’t chew a steak still.”
Nicknames and jaw surgeries aside, Osborne is involved with activities on campus. He is the quaestor (treasurer) of Sigma Chi fraternity, plays for intramural volleyball and is a member of the Swashbuckler’s Society.
“I don’t run it,” he said. “I’m just a member, but it’s a great association.”
How do you feel about having a sibling at Pepperdine?
Wonderful. My brother’s the light of my life. Honestly, we have such an amazing relationship. He is probably one of the people I relate to the best and get along with the best.
Is it nice going to school so close to home?
It’s beautiful. I like the ability to go home anytime I want to go home, but it’s not always the best when I am gone every day like my freshman year. It’s kind of a curse and a blessing. My parents sold their house in Long Beach. I live a long way away now in the desert. But that’s OK because I can golf.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
That’s easy. When girls have letters or anything on their behind, or across their chest. I don’t want people to think I am checking them out. It’s just because they have writing in places that shouldn’t be there.
What is your best memory at Pepperdine thus far?
So many I couldn’t even count them all. Probably the whole overseas experience is one of the best. I love trick-or-treating every Halloween. I dressed up like a baby (this year), wore Depends and a bib, had my awesome rattler. When I was really young, I was addicted to pacifiers, so getting one back in my mouth was awesome.
If you could be an animal, what would you be and why?
So many things. I’d rather be a seal than a sunfish because seals not only lay out, they can surf in the waves, and they are lazy. Or I could see being a lab monkey because they could go up in spaceships. But see the seal is so content; the lab monkey may die in the takeoff or the landing. And you never know what kinds of chemicals they get tested on.
How was staying in Malibu sophomore year?
It was awesome. I felt like I didn’t miss out on a lot of the things that the overseas kids missed out on. I felt that I got a small taste of that in the summer program and that was good enough for me. I would recommend going for any student coming to Pepperdine either a full year or going for a summer.
Do you miss playing basketball and volleyball in high school?
So much, it’s not even funny. I always talk about my glory days, like back in the day when I could actually pass and I could hit the ball, and I could shoot a three-point shot and make it.
November 06, 2003