[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by Griffis

Yeah, to each his own is right. I like racing and fast cars and all, but NASCAR doesn't do much for me.

It's kind of like baseball with me: not a sport I follow or have much interest in watching, but I AM pretty fascinated by the history of both those sports.



Yeah, I also have fond memories of small town football games in middle school years. And when I was in college, I often went to the school's women's and men's basketball home games. A lot of fun. Basketball is likely my favorite to watch, and I agree 100% it is an entirely different experience watching any sport live rather than televised.



See, I think this is cool. My family wasn't geared so much towards sports. I did a good deal of hunting and fishing and camping with my dad, uncle, grandpa, etc. when I was younger and even played school hockey and was a wrestler back before high school.

Used to watch college ball and a lot of boxing on TV with my dad growing up too.

I honestly do think it's great that people have fun with sports and get exicted by them and enjoy family time at games or watching them on the tube.

It's just never been than much of a big deal for me. Mine was kind of a creative, musical, book-read type of family. I'm not saying one is preferable to the other at all. It's just the way I grew up. Dad was a college professor.



Again, I sincerely think that's cool. I did play a lot of neighborhood backyard football and driveway basketball, and I've always liked things like bowling, archery, shooting pool, frisbee, etc. But organized team sports I guess never got its hooks in me really.



Yes, and it has long been a source of pride in this state. After the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, the state was really teetering and "Okies" had a real bad reputation as ignorant people stuck in generational poverty of the worst kind. When the state began to recover, and some who emigrated out began to return, citizens of the state needed something to rally around.

Due to many circumstances, and resulting from the efforts of many people, Oklahoma began to erect a College Football Empire. It's a great story, really. I realize the team had existed decades before this, but it was during this period things began to expand, for OU as well as OSU.

Really, the only thing I don't get is how people are so invested in a team from a certain school or certain city or region when the greater percentage of players aren't even from there, won't be there long most likely, could be traded out, and aren't really invested in that particular community.

I read the following quote this morning and thought it explained a whole lot better why Okies are so nutty about Sooner Football. Sooner Football has a lot to do with our state's history and is one of the few things that has given us a positive national image/brand.

Here's the quote from an ol' timer like me trying to explain to a young fellar about why the Sooners' victory over Notre Dame means so much:

"I'll explain to you, the relevance of the OU teams of the 50s...That's where Oklahoma Football was Born...Those team laid the foundation for winning games and attracting nation-wide attention. They put The Sooners at the TOP of the Elite. They raised the bar SO HIGH that no other team, including OU, has ever crossed it. They put Oklahoma on the map. When all we had was dust and failed crops and broken men who couldn't feed their families, they gave us something to be proud of...to be recognized, favorably, for. They changed us from being Steinbeck's derogatory 'Okies' to being Bud Wilkinson's Proud SOONERS. They gave us an Identity that No One can take away from us. That's why, when ND broke The Streak, in 1957, Oklahoma hearts were broken... That's how those teams have relevance...Get it, now?"

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Both the Sooners & Cowboys need to bow up and get it done from here on out. We can't have Tejas Shorthorns moving in on the Big XII championship.

Let's go SOONERS & Pokes!

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Well, both the Sooners and Cowboys looked pretty rusty yesterday. Both teams will have to step it up big-time to get by Tech & Baylor.

We'll see.

[linicx]

A year or so ago I read a national higher education review based on what students thought of their college/university school. The top 10 schools in the review were not chosen based on academics or sports. It was based on parties (not political).

I am not a big fan of any particular sport; I never was. On the other hand who is not impressed by the 'Hail Mary' pass that is caught at the final second, the next to impossible "hole-in-one" that ends a tie, the win "by a nose", the ball launched from mid-court that wins the game, or the 12 Rounds that ends in less than 2 minutes into the first round with a "knock out!" This stuff thrills fans ever bit as much as the less dramatic Humi Under Glass "wheel standers" and riding bucking horses. Big sports is big money and it builds careers.

Anyone who doubts college sports equals big money has forgotten what happened to Penn State in 2011 when Jerry Sandusky broke the rules of the school and of society. The shock and sanctions handed down by the NCAA was severe. To date the school has paid $50M and it is not over. It could conceivably cost another $120M to settle the last suit. This scandal was not only costly in terms of dollars. It badly damaged the the school image as embarrassed students transferred out. And it not only destroyed the reputation of two once well respected coaches, it devastated their families.

I am not anti-sports, but I get no thrill watching college or pro football or basketball. I much prefer to watch the younger kids learn how to ride and rope. Although I do say it is much easier to find a small working arena where kids practice in small town in SW MO than it is in NE OK. This is an Oklahoma shame considering the number of horse owners, cowboys and ranches in Oklahoma.

[Goodpasture]

Originally Posted by linicx

.........I much prefer to watch the younger kids learn how to ride and rope. Although I do say it is much easier to find a small working arena where kids practice in small town in SW MO than it is in NE OK. This is an Oklahoma shame considering the number of horse owners, cowboys and ranches in Oklahoma.

Perhaps its a good thing that the children in NE Ok do not practice the old sports the way you suggest. With NE Oklahoma being ndn, I would think that the ancestral sport of horse stealing would be at the top of the extracurricular list. Rodeo is a cowboy thing, although a lot of ndns do it.......I am thinking of both Ryan Dirteater aka "The Cherokee Kid" on the PBR circuit as well as the Navajo Rodeo in western NM.

[linicx]

The old way? I don't understand. I'm talking about kids and calf roping. Indians didn't steal horses until white man took them away the same way they took the buffalo. They tamed wild horses to ride. Maybe the cowboy isn't popular in OK. Rodeo is a spectator sport just as much as golf and Australian Ruls Football.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by linicx

The old way? I don't understand. I'm talking about kids and calf roping. Indians didn't steal horses until white man took them away the same way they took the buffalo. They tamed wild horses to ride. Maybe the cowboy isn't popular in OK. Rodeo is a spectator sport just as much as golf and Australian Ruls Football.

Oh, there will always be plenty of cowboys (and even a few Pokes) in these parts.

[Miami HurricaneZ]

Here in Florida we have the The Miami Hurricanes (Heck yeah, 7-0), Florida gators (Does not deserve capitalization and are scum of the earth) and the Florida State Seminoles (Wide right/Wide Left). We are all pretty crazy about our teams. On a smaller scale we have the University of Central Florida Golden Knights and the University of South Florida Bulls.

We all hate each other to. I live in the southern boundary of gator country and it sucks. It is the same no matter what state.

[linicx]

Sorry to hear you are so unhappy. Improve life and come to Oklahoma. You need to understand OK sports are mainly in western Oklahoma. Once you're halfway between OKC and Tulsa much changes. Go to the eastern border and you won't find the rabid Sooner fans. We'd sooner fish and play on the lake, or hunt.

[Goodpasture]

Originally Posted by Miami HurricaneZ

.........We all hate each other to.........

How incredibly sad.......