I didn't used to be a big football fan. Sure, as a kid I casually followed the NFL, but my interests mostly were in the NBA, MLB, and NASCAR. I especially didn't follow college football. I rooted for Arizona St. in their 1996 National Championship run with Jake Plummer, but that was about the extent of my college football interest. After the Oklahoma Sooners won the National Championship in 2000, my aunt and uncle who lived in Oklahoma sent me a poster of the team. Around the same time we began to take more family vacations to Oklahoma to see them, my grandpa, and other family members, and my interest in OU grew.
In high school there was no dress code policy against wearing hats at school and I quickly found out that you weren't COOL unless you had a fitted college team hat, so I convinced my dad to take me to the mall to buy a hat. It was my first fitted hat and without hesitation I picked out a black hat with a red OU logo on it (to this day, 10 years later, I still have the hat and wear it on occassion). Although I had the OU hat and considered myself an OU fan, I still didn't follow much college sports, most of what I did was college basketball, and I didn't fully understand the rivalries. So in 2004, when the Oklahoma State Cowboys worked their way to the NCAA Final Four I began rooting for them because they were an Oklahoma team. The local hat store even had an OSU fitted hat in my size on clearance for $10 and I got it and wore it proudly.
As the years went on I became more and more of a football fan, but it was mostly NFL. It wasn't until 2007, after moving to Oklahoma, that I really turned into a college football fan. Every Saturday we would sit around and watch OU led by then freshman Sam Bradford. I fell in love with OU and college football, I still liked the NFL, but nothing compared to college. Despite being such an OU fan, I would still root for OSU, so long as they weren't playing the Sooners. I began liking OSU more after Mike Gundy's "I'm a Man!" tyrade where he valiantly defended his quarterback from the hounding media. I gained a lot of respect for him and liked the way he coached his team. Then I married into an OSU family and began to follow the Cowboys even more, even to the point where I purchased a couple of OSU t-shirts, again, only to be worn when they weren't playing OU.
Now when it comes to football, OU has been a power house for the last 12 years and had a lot of success before that. OSU has not had much success at all. Since moving to Oklahoma, however, I have noticed a distinct difference between the 2 fan bases, particularly the students and alumni of the 2 schools. I know this is stereotypical, but I have noticed a lot of OU alumni feel high and mighty because they went to OU and they are not afraid to tell you they are better than you if you did not attend their school. I once had a co-worker that graduated from Oklahoma and his belief was that if you did not attend the school, you should not root for them. He was offended that I rooted for them in which my reply was "I'm sorry, I wanted to attend the school, but could not afford the out of state tuition!" This was such a ridiculously stupid statement. Then I had a co-worker that graduated from Oklahoma State. He was as cool as can be. Very nice, very accepting of other people. He knew that the sports programs were not the best, but he stuck by them through and through.
This year, it is OSU's football team that is looking at a potential spot in the National Championship game, which is absolutely fantastic, unless your an OU fan. OU's fan base is acting like a bunch of sore losers right now. I have heard Sooner fans in the past refer to OSU as "little brother". Now I understand that the older brother does not want his younger brother to beat him, but doesn't the older brother root for the younger brother against everybody else? Come on Sooner fans, support your state! Tomorrow is the Bedlam game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. It's in Stillwater(OSU) and the Cowboys are ranked #3 in the country, OU #10. Most people believe that OSU is going to win, but the OU fans think that is ridiculous for even more ridiculous reasons. OU is dwelling in the past. These are the apparent reasons that the Sooners will win:
1. Out of 105 games played between these 2 teams, OSU has only won 16.
My response: So what, that's the past, this is now.
2. OSU has only 1 football great in their history!
My response: It's true that Barry Sanders is the only OSU player to ever win a Heisman, but let's not forget Thurman Thomas played there and a guy named Jimmy Johnson coached there, just to name a few.
3. Justin Blackmon is a thug!
My response: Yes, he did get arrested for a DUI and he may not have the best moral character, but have we forgotten about Ryan Broyles and Kenny Stills and their run ins with the law?
4. How can a team that lost to Iowa State be any good?
My response: Oklahoma State lost to Iowa State on the road in double OT a day after a plane crash killed the head coach and assistant coach of the OSU women's basketball team. Not to mention that Iowa State was on a hot streak with a new quarterback and 2 weeks before had beaten Texas Tech 41-7. Oklahoma lost to Baylor on the road, a team with a similar history to Iowa State, granted they are a much better team. They also lost at home to Texas Tech, a team whose 4 previous wins were all against teams with losing records.
I have also heard some pretty heartless things being said about the OSU plane crash that have made me sick to my stomach. Although I'm not certain where my allegiance will lay in the future, I do know one thing....Come Saturday, I'll be wearing orange and black!
GO POKES!!!!!
In high school there was no dress code policy against wearing hats at school and I quickly found out that you weren't COOL unless you had a fitted college team hat, so I convinced my dad to take me to the mall to buy a hat. It was my first fitted hat and without hesitation I picked out a black hat with a red OU logo on it (to this day, 10 years later, I still have the hat and wear it on occassion). Although I had the OU hat and considered myself an OU fan, I still didn't follow much college sports, most of what I did was college basketball, and I didn't fully understand the rivalries. So in 2004, when the Oklahoma State Cowboys worked their way to the NCAA Final Four I began rooting for them because they were an Oklahoma team. The local hat store even had an OSU fitted hat in my size on clearance for $10 and I got it and wore it proudly.
As the years went on I became more and more of a football fan, but it was mostly NFL. It wasn't until 2007, after moving to Oklahoma, that I really turned into a college football fan. Every Saturday we would sit around and watch OU led by then freshman Sam Bradford. I fell in love with OU and college football, I still liked the NFL, but nothing compared to college. Despite being such an OU fan, I would still root for OSU, so long as they weren't playing the Sooners. I began liking OSU more after Mike Gundy's "I'm a Man!" tyrade where he valiantly defended his quarterback from the hounding media. I gained a lot of respect for him and liked the way he coached his team. Then I married into an OSU family and began to follow the Cowboys even more, even to the point where I purchased a couple of OSU t-shirts, again, only to be worn when they weren't playing OU.
Now when it comes to football, OU has been a power house for the last 12 years and had a lot of success before that. OSU has not had much success at all. Since moving to Oklahoma, however, I have noticed a distinct difference between the 2 fan bases, particularly the students and alumni of the 2 schools. I know this is stereotypical, but I have noticed a lot of OU alumni feel high and mighty because they went to OU and they are not afraid to tell you they are better than you if you did not attend their school. I once had a co-worker that graduated from Oklahoma and his belief was that if you did not attend the school, you should not root for them. He was offended that I rooted for them in which my reply was "I'm sorry, I wanted to attend the school, but could not afford the out of state tuition!" This was such a ridiculously stupid statement. Then I had a co-worker that graduated from Oklahoma State. He was as cool as can be. Very nice, very accepting of other people. He knew that the sports programs were not the best, but he stuck by them through and through.
This year, it is OSU's football team that is looking at a potential spot in the National Championship game, which is absolutely fantastic, unless your an OU fan. OU's fan base is acting like a bunch of sore losers right now. I have heard Sooner fans in the past refer to OSU as "little brother". Now I understand that the older brother does not want his younger brother to beat him, but doesn't the older brother root for the younger brother against everybody else? Come on Sooner fans, support your state! Tomorrow is the Bedlam game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. It's in Stillwater(OSU) and the Cowboys are ranked #3 in the country, OU #10. Most people believe that OSU is going to win, but the OU fans think that is ridiculous for even more ridiculous reasons. OU is dwelling in the past. These are the apparent reasons that the Sooners will win:
1. Out of 105 games played between these 2 teams, OSU has only won 16.
My response: So what, that's the past, this is now.
2. OSU has only 1 football great in their history!
My response: It's true that Barry Sanders is the only OSU player to ever win a Heisman, but let's not forget Thurman Thomas played there and a guy named Jimmy Johnson coached there, just to name a few.
3. Justin Blackmon is a thug!
My response: Yes, he did get arrested for a DUI and he may not have the best moral character, but have we forgotten about Ryan Broyles and Kenny Stills and their run ins with the law?
4. How can a team that lost to Iowa State be any good?
My response: Oklahoma State lost to Iowa State on the road in double OT a day after a plane crash killed the head coach and assistant coach of the OSU women's basketball team. Not to mention that Iowa State was on a hot streak with a new quarterback and 2 weeks before had beaten Texas Tech 41-7. Oklahoma lost to Baylor on the road, a team with a similar history to Iowa State, granted they are a much better team. They also lost at home to Texas Tech, a team whose 4 previous wins were all against teams with losing records.
I have also heard some pretty heartless things being said about the OSU plane crash that have made me sick to my stomach. Although I'm not certain where my allegiance will lay in the future, I do know one thing....Come Saturday, I'll be wearing orange and black!
GO POKES!!!!!
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