HELLO! Bob Stoops explains his TV stardom

It's the commercial you've undoubtedly seen hundreds of times by now.

A high school football player avoids a tackle by performing a mid-air flip, eliciting a delighted "Hello!" from an off-camera observer. The video goes viral, drawing Oklahoma's Bob Stoops to visit the player-turned-improvisational gymnast, greeting him with a familiar "Hello."

In case you've been living under a rock for the past two months, here's the commercial.

Not coincidentally, Stoops was asked about the story behind his AT&T commercial stardom before Friday's AT&T Cotton Bowl. 

Approached earlier this fall, Stoops traveled to Putnam City (Okla.) High School, two hours northwest of Norman, on a Thursday night during one of the Sooners' off weeks.  

“I think I was there from 11 at night until 1 to 1:30 in the morning for that ‘Hello.' That's how bad I am. It took two-and-a-half hours to say that. I don't know how many takes," Stoops told the Oklahoman.

“It just sort of came that way. It just felt the recruiting exposure and putting the program in front of people never hurts. As long as it fits your schedule.” 

A late night spent saying a formal hello to one high school player has given Stoops an informal hello to millions of potential prospects.