Boomer Sooner!

I finally made it down to Oklahoma for an OU game. Dad still has his season tickets to OU football games and my grandfather uses the tickets every season for the home games. I strategically decided to attend the OU vs. A&M game so I could cheer for OU with minimal guilt. As y'all know, I am a HUGE UT fan so by default I can't cheer for A&M. I was exicted about visiting my family in Oklahoma -- I miss that southern hospitality and we always have fun.

On the Friday before the game Grandpa and his wife, Bobbie, drive down to Norman from Edmond in their huge motor coach and camp out for the weekend in a campus parking lot. I knew that college football is a way of life in the South but I had never experienced it firsthand. It's an understatement to say that OU fans are dedicated and fanatical. The entire parking lot was filled with motor homes decked out in OU paraphernalia. And in front of every motor home there were groups of people grilling their dinner. A few of Grandpa's fellow Rollin' Okies (the motor home club) camped out nearby so the weekend was one long party.
I particularly enjoyed reminding these ardent OU fans that not only had UT won the Red River Shootout, the Longhorns are also the number one team in the country. :-)

Friday evening my cousin Jason and I decided to go bowling so we visited the Sooner Bowling Alley near campus. Halfway through our game we heard a commotion behind us and turned to see that part of the OU band (The Pride of Oklahoma) had filled the entry way of the bowling alley. They then proceeded to play several OU songs (including Boomer Sooner) in a mini pep rally. I couldn't get over the fanaticism surrounding a football game. Jason then reminded me, "Meredith, you're in Norman!!!" I swear that as soon as the band played "Boomer Sooner" I started playing poorly. (Did I mention that song drives me crazy?!) I don't think I'll ever experience anything like that unique bowling game again. How often are you serenaded by a college band as you bowl?!

Saturday morning we headed over to the stadium along with thousands of other fans. It's quite an organized process. Buses transported the fans to the stadium from all around the campus. Now I understand where the term "sea of crimson" originated. Every single person I saw had some type of OU paraphernalia. Shirts, shoes, pants, hair clips, hats, temporary tattoos (I hope!), stadium seats, sunglasses--you name it, they had it. I didn't know you could put OU on so many different things. (BTW, as we rode to the stadium, Bobbie pointed out where the terrorist had detonated his bomb just a few weeks earlier -- it was very close to the stadium.)

We entered the stadium and I was surprised at how small the field was. On TV the field seems so much larger. The stands were packed with that sea of crimson and the field was abuzz with pre-game preparations. You can see where I was seated in the picture above: we were just below the left corner of the ceiling. The seats were great because you weren't so close that you couldn't watch the entire field but you still felt part of the action. And the overhang shaded us from the sun. The reason everyone is holding their index finger up is that whenever OU is kicking or receiving, the whole stadium points upwards and yells, "Ohhhhhhhhh..." and when the ball is kicked, "U!" It's really interesting to observe the many traditions of each college.

The part of the game that I was most looking forward to was experiencing a game live and watching all the off-camera action you never see on television. I was also really looking forward to watching Bob Stoops coach on the sideline. After all the pre-game hoopla, the game finally started. OU came on very strong in the first half; they racked up 28 points. But something must have happened at half time because in the second half A&M almost caught up and the Sooners had to run out the last two minutes of the game just to hang on. The final score was 36 to 30. Before the game my step grandmother had sung the praises of the A&M band repeatedly and at half time they validated her praise. What an incredible band! I've never seen a college band so professional in not only their marching uniformity but in the quality of their sound. If you ever get the chance, definitely watch the A&M band.

I enjoyed watching Bob Stoops during the game. He always squats right on the line of scrimmage and watches each play. When his players make a good play, he greets each of them as they walk off the field and praises them. When they make a bad play he gets in their faces and lets them know his displeasure. It was so much fun to watch every aspect of the game instead of watching portions of it on television. You can watch the cheerleaders, listen to the band, visit with the other fans and watch the visiting fans (A&M has some strange traditions). The only thing missing was some expert commentary that I rely upon when I watch football. Next time I'll take a radio for the play-by-play commentary.

As we were sitting in the stands Grandpa pointed out a rather portly man on the field and said, "that's the TV man." He explained that because the game is televised, they have to make sure they don't start any plays during commercials. So this "TV man" stands on the field during each commercial break and when the commercials are over, he lifts his hand and the game can continue. I'd always figured there must be some way to prevent the game from proceeding when commercials were playing so it was interesting to watch the process. Even though we rented the OU stadium seats, we spent most of the game on our feet.

The game was very exciting up to the very last seconds and I was sad that it flew by so quickly. There's such an energy on a college campus and especially during a big sporting event. Except for the powerful wind, the weather was perfect and I had a wonderful time. As soon as the last play was over, we headed back for the motor home and our after-the-game BBQ. One of Grandpa's friends, who had been teasing me about being a Longhorn, greeted me at the motor home with a tissue and said, "Here, I thought you might need this." Well, I didn't shed one tear for the Aggies, even if it was hard to watch a Texan lose to an Oklahoman. :-)