As the Sooners prepare for their final home game of the season, an OU fan is worried it will be her last game day next to a friend she has sat alongside for the past 28 years.
Kasey McComas and David Talley have sat together through four head coaches, a national championship and 14 conference titles as well as losing seasons, but they are concerned they will no longer sit next to each other after this season due to renovations to Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium’s west side.
OU Athletic Communications announced The Palace Project on Nov. 21, a plan that will “strategically” decrease seating by approximately 7,000 and is expected to be completed by 2029. The project also includes “the construction of 47 suites, 64 loge boxes with seating to accommodate approximately 280 guests, and approximately 4,000 new club seats.”
McComas first heard the number of seats being removed while listening to her husband, Tyler McComas, on sports radio KREF, where she heard that fans were more upset about the stadium changes than excited for an upcoming game.
“I was listening to his show, and I heard he got a text … (that) said, ‘Stop talking about the game and talk about them trying to take our seats,’” McComas said.
McComas added that she was surprised to hear people ask to stop talking about the game because people often “get mad if (reporters) get off the topic of the game,” before she realized the severity of the situation. She also then realized how it affects her.
“And that is when I fully heard the number, 7,000 people. Like, that is completely insane, …” McComas said. “Our seats are going to get disrupted.”
McComas posted on social media after hearing people’s frustrations and reflecting on her own situation. She garnered a million views on both Facebook and Instagram, but more than that, it allowed her to take a step back and embrace the time she’s had alongside Talley.
“I knew that I had heard a lot of people talking about it, and I knew that there were other people feeling the same way. And I also thought about how long I'd sat next to him and how long I've had those seats, and I'm like, ‘This is insane,’ …” McComas said. “It's always been me and David next to each other.”
‘Game day family’
McComas has actually been a season ticket holder for 32 years, while Talley has been one for 50. She said they first began sitting next to each other in 1998 when they moved to seats that were more affordable, and she never expected the friendship to develop like it has.
“When you first sit next to someone in new seats, you don't know if they have season tickets or if they're just buying seats for the game, so it's not like initially, we had this big introduction or anything,” McComas said. “But over the years, … you start high-fiving each other and hugging during touchdowns, and they become your game day family.”
McComas remembers a moment when Talley supported her when a fellow OU fan was upset when she stood on her seat during OU’s 51-13 win over Miami in 2007.
“The fact that David jumped up and protected me or defended me as well was nice,” McComas said. “He would always say that I own this seat all the way up to heaven, so if I want to stand on my seat, I can stand on my feet.”
She said that, over the years, they have helped each other through personal struggles. Talley eased McComas’ sorrows when she was going through a divorce with her ex-husband in 2019.
“A divorce is one of the worst things in the world, … and when your life is completely turned upside down, it's nice to have something that's consistent that you can go to, that feels like home,” McComas said. “It feels comfortable and safe. … When my world was completely chaotic, it felt good to walk to my same seat I had had for over 20 years and sit next to my buddy (who) didn't care who I was married to or whatever and just talk about football.”
Talley would be optimistic about her situation while helping her concentrate on the game rather than the divorce.
“Whenever I was going through my situation, … he was just like, ‘Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but you know things are going to work out for you. You're a great lady. I just know it,’ …” McComas said. “Then we’d focus on football.”
During the 2025 season Talley dealt with his own struggle; his wife’s health worsened over the year. He took care of her before she passed in November, and McComas supported him through the grieving process.
“He had been taking care of his wife, and she had been struggling. It had been tough, and so he had confided some of that in me,” McComas said.
Amid game celebrations and shared personal troubles, they met each other’s children, too. With all of the experiences happening within the stadium, they are concerned about losing connection with each other.
‘It’s embarrassing’
McComas understands that OU will likely continue with its renovation plans but wishes it could decrease the number of people moved.
The stadium’s current capacity is 80,126, and she fears not only the disruption of current seating but also feels that the reduction will give OU less of a competitive advantage. She traveled to Alabama and Tennessee, which hold up to 101, 821 and 101, 915 people, respectively, and she feels that OU should be closing the gap rather than expanding it.
“I understand that it is not possible to not move anyone. I get that that's not a thing with any renovation,” McComas said. “It'd be great if they could keep the seats where they are and just build up, but I understand that that's not possible. But I think that 7,000 is too many people to move. I think it's really sad to think that. I think it's embarrassing that we are going to go below 80,000 capacity.”
McComas prepares for the reality of no longer sitting by Talley because she believes it would be “very unlikely” to stay together if they move. She said that Talley has seven seats and she has two, so finding another place to have them all together would be difficult. She feels frustrated with OU for accommodating people who can afford suites over fans like them.
“I understand that money talks,” McComas said, “but to get rid of the people who are down there screaming the whole time we're on defense to make more room for people (in suites) doesn't make any sense to me.”
This story was edited by Laurie Jones. Sophie Hemker and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
