THE SOONERS DID IT!

You would've thought they'd won the national championship, something they've done some seven times in the past . . . but all they did was beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.  They got some help from lady luck (the breaks went their way) and an outstanding redshirt freshman quarterback in beating the best football team in America.  I'm not complaining.  OU has been my favorite college team for a lot of years, and it's always good to see then come out on top.  As for Alabama, I've never liked them, and that comes from being a native Mississippian.  Over the years I've watched them beat down my bulldogs and rebels, so watching them take it on the chin last night was a sweet victory for me. 

With that said, I should admit that I'm not much of a football fan these days.  Too much is made of it from top to bottom, and somewhere along the line, I reached a saturation line.  I'm full up with football, but I understand why people love it so much.  Even when it's played poorly, it's a fun game to watch.  It's rough as hell, takes lots of strength and agility to play, and it's a graceful sport despite all the difficulties it faces.  Yes, difficulties because the danger of injury is always there, and one can only imagine how much work goes into getting a large team to play together.  When it comes to games played with a ball of some kind, football is still king.

I'm familiar with the University of Oklahoma in ways other than football, and that comes from living in Oklahoma for so long.  I'm a Texan now, but I worked for the Oklahoma State University system for 30 years at a regional college.  Oklahoma is not a big state, and it's not known for a lot of things other than quarter horses, cowboys, the dust bowl, rednecks, tumbleweeds, and feedlots.  It's not rich either, at least not like Texas.  Down here, where there's close to 25 million people living, we've got big colleges flush with money . . . and not near as good, in my opinion, as OU.  In fact, Oklahoma is far ahead of Texas when it comes to academics, and they usually come out on top when it comes to football.  Everybody needs a bragging point, and although Okies don't brag nears as much as Texans, they do their share of it when it comes to football. 

I miss lots of things about Oklahoma (except the weather), and there's a lot worse places to live than Texas.  I really don't care that both states produce outstanding college football teams, but I tend to pull for homefolks when they go up against outsiders . . . like Alabama.  So here it is:  OU 45, Alabama 31.  And for one year in one bowl game, the sooners are indeed number one.