As the fans at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium stuck around to cheer on their team for a few moments longer, Bob Stoops walked towards the north endzone, bowing down to the fans who stayed until the final whistle in a game that was over before halftime.
It was a sign of appreciation to the fans he had called out just days before, and while the fans deserved the love, Stoops may have deserved it more.
There are a variety of words you can use to describe Stoops, but stupid is not one of them. So when he made comments last week about the crowd in Norman not being a main contributor to the Sooners’ 59 – 2 record at home since he arrived at OU, you knew he had a reason.
And that one comment could have saved the Sooners’ national title hopes, in many ways.
Chances are, whether Stoops had riled up the fans or not, the Sooners would still have won on Saturday. Any time you win by 44 points, you’re clearly the better team.
But the environment at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday wouldn’t have been the same. The Red Raiders wouldn’t have struggled to hear play calls, leading to several busted plays and penalties. The fan experience wouldn’t have been the same, with 85,646 fans screaming even when OU was up by 40 and their throats were begging them to stop.
And maybe OU wouldn’t have won as convincingly on Saturday, which could be the difference between making the Big 12 title game (and eventually the BCS championship) or not.
It was a perfect storm in Norman on Saturday night. Stoops and his coordinators drew up a beautiful game plan on both sides of the ball.
Defensive coordinator Brent Venables, for one night at least, silenced his haters as the Sooner defense played inspired football, holding Tech to 160 yards and 27 points below its average, forcing three turnovers along the way.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson pushed down on the gas pedal and never let up, as he conducted a Sooner offense that dominated a defense that was supposedly improved.
And of course the Sooner players executed the game plan to near perfection.
It all led to a lot of loving between Sooner fans, Sooner coaches and Sooner players on Saturday. On a night when OU’s seniors probably weren’t ready to leave the field following their final home game, Sooner fans didn’t want to leave either.
They hung around in near-freezing temperatures, cheering the team and the coach that challenged them to do so. And for at least one night, the Sooner dream for a national title in 2008 lived. It’s that kind of excitement, that kind of support, and that kind of love that makes college football what it is.
So for all those who didn’t like Bob Stoops comments about OU fans, it’s hard to argue with Saturday’s results. The man knew what he was doing. The only problem is that for the rest of the road, whatever it may hold, the Sooners won’t have that home field advantage.
The Sooners played their last game on Owen field in 2008 on Saturday, but thanks to Stoops, and everyone else wearing crimson and cream, they couldn’t have finished in much better fashion.
Steven Jones is a language arts education junior.
The Oklahoma Daily is pleased to provide you the opportunity to share your thoughts about this article. We encourage lively debate on the issues of the day, but we ask you refrain from using profanity or other offensive speech, engaging in personal attacks or name-calling, posting advertising, or straying from the topic at hand. To comment, you must be a registered user of OUDaily.com. Thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register
dbh 3 years, 6 months ago
I like the PA system music which helped get the crowd a little louder. JUMP Jump...
TheJR 3 years, 6 months ago
I've never heard the stadium that loud. Ever.