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25 years of angst has been cleansed from me by this years BYU victory over the Oklahoma Sooners.
Yep...I've held a grudge against the Sooners since 1984 when BYU won the National Championship, and the arrogant statements by Barry Switzer towards BYU and the football program. Since that time, I have always despised the Sooners, and they were a team that I just "loved to see them lose".
However, after watching the 2009 version of the Oklahoma Sooners (and a random meeting with some OK fans while I was at the 2006 Vegas Bowl), I was impressed by the following:
*that Oklahoma played a 'clean' game. Their players were not jerks, showboats, and throat slashers. It appears that the leadership on that team has these young men heading in the right direction. No cheap shot artists, just hard nosed, hard hitting, good football players. I really like that.
* Stoops. Ok, I got some satisfaction of knowing that Switzer was in the building watching the game, and saw his Sooners lose,...but, to his credit, I think I actually like Bob Stoops. He came across to me as a confident (as opposed to arrogant) coach. He did not demean BYU, gave credit where credit was due, fessed up to the teams shortcomings etc. Seemed like a good coach, and therefore my animosity towards the Oklahoma superiority, condescending attitude was dispelled.
* fans. From all the reports I have read on the 'classy' (that word bugs me) fans from Oklahoma, and how they treated our fans....it backs up my experience when I randomly met some OK fans in Vegas. They were travelling to one of OK's bowl games, stopping in Vegas, and this was after the Sooners got jobbed in Oregon that year on the bogus fumble recovery call. Anyway, they stopped us and told us how they despised Oregon, the Pac-10 for it's officiating corruptness and hoped that we cleaned their clock. Fans seem very knowledgeable, and friendly. I like that too.
All in all...not only was this a good win for BYU...it has cleansed me of the animosity I've held against Oklahoma for so long.
Ahhh.... I feel like a new man!
Yep...I've held a grudge against the Sooners since 1984 when BYU won the National Championship, and the arrogant statements by Barry Switzer towards BYU and the football program. Since that time, I have always despised the Sooners, and they were a team that I just "loved to see them lose".
However, after watching the 2009 version of the Oklahoma Sooners (and a random meeting with some OK fans while I was at the 2006 Vegas Bowl), I was impressed by the following:
*that Oklahoma played a 'clean' game. Their players were not jerks, showboats, and throat slashers. It appears that the leadership on that team has these young men heading in the right direction. No cheap shot artists, just hard nosed, hard hitting, good football players. I really like that.
* Stoops. Ok, I got some satisfaction of knowing that Switzer was in the building watching the game, and saw his Sooners lose,...but, to his credit, I think I actually like Bob Stoops. He came across to me as a confident (as opposed to arrogant) coach. He did not demean BYU, gave credit where credit was due, fessed up to the teams shortcomings etc. Seemed like a good coach, and therefore my animosity towards the Oklahoma superiority, condescending attitude was dispelled.
* fans. From all the reports I have read on the 'classy' (that word bugs me) fans from Oklahoma, and how they treated our fans....it backs up my experience when I randomly met some OK fans in Vegas. They were travelling to one of OK's bowl games, stopping in Vegas, and this was after the Sooners got jobbed in Oregon that year on the bogus fumble recovery call. Anyway, they stopped us and told us how they despised Oregon, the Pac-10 for it's officiating corruptness and hoped that we cleaned their clock. Fans seem very knowledgeable, and friendly. I like that too.
All in all...not only was this a good win for BYU...it has cleansed me of the animosity I've held against Oklahoma for so long.
Ahhh.... I feel like a new man!
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