No Bedlam of Roses

Boooooo!  Booooooo!  BOOOOOO!

As you read that, I hope, in your head, you got louder with each one.  That was the effect I was going for.

I woke up today a little less mad than I was yesterday.  At this rate, I should be over this Bedlam loss by March.  So there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I thought all day yesterday about what I wanted to write in this blog.  What angle did I want to take?  How could I write about the game, without totally losing my cool?  Was it even possible?  Doubtful.  So I'll just touch on a couple of topics, and we'll call it a day.

First, I'm happy to report, if I ever spend four hours outside in 17 degree weather with single-digit windchills again, I have compiled the perfect ensemble to keep myself warm.  Hooray!  I can officially apply to be an Eskimo.  On Saturday, I wore three pairs of leggings and jeans, two pair of wool socks (valued at $65), two pair of gloves (valued at $40), two winter jackets over my two shirts (valued at < $200), and a big puffer coat.  I announced in the car on our way, "I hope no one tries to steal me today, I'm very valuable."  Alas, the only thing that was stolen was my heart and soul.  I also used 8 hand warmers/toe warmers.  God bless the person who invented those.

Second, it seems like OU fans might have just learned this weekend that OSU fans don't like them.  I feel kind of sorry for them that this is brand new information, I've know this for more than 30 years.  You know how you feel about Texas?  We feel that way about you.  And when you beat us, it gets worse.  At least now you know.  As GI Joe says, knowing is half the battle.

And finally, as if the loss wasn't hard enough to stomach on its own, social media has been a buzz with the claims that OSU fans are terrible fans. Pretty sure I've seen the phrase "low class" used 859 times.  You have sufficiently made your point.  Here are my thoughts, in no particular order:

• I think the days of OSU fans claiming that they are "the best" fans, is probably over.  I, personally, believe this correlates directly with success.  Back in the good ol' days, we weren't very good.  So no one expected to win, and when we did it was a nice little surprise.  You can't really talk trash, when your team goes 0-10-1.  But now we are better, and fans expect to win.  And with that comes bad behavior.  Throwing stuff at players...not our finest moment.   Gone are the days of the Lovable Losers. Embrace who you are, Pokes...loyal to a fault and there are some bad apples in the bunch.
• Speaking of embracing who you are...come on OU.  Enough with the, "Golly!  I can't believe they were so mean to us!"   "What the heck!  That sure hurt my feelings."  The OU team was jazzed up from the beginning.  They were hyped and talking noise from the start.  I watched multiple players rip their helmets off and celebrate when a big play was made.  Jaz Reynolds went so far as to come over to our sidelines to express how excited he was (punk).  And at the end of the day, that trash talk was backed up by their victory.  But when the game was over, the players ran directly to the OSU student section to celebrate.  Jumping.  Hootin' and hollerin'. And middle fingers raised in the air to show who they thought was #1.  From what I can tell, OU fans believe that the student section should have given them a standing ovation for their effort on the field.  Instead, upon being flipped off, the students threw stuff.  Here's some age-old advice...if you don't want stuff thrown at you, don't taunt the crowd.  And in all my 30+ years of attending sports, I've never seen "the bird" go over well with opposing fans.  No one thinks, "Look at all that pride that young man has, he can't help but express himself through hand signals." You can't play both victim and villain.  You can't taunt all game, and then be shocked the fans lose it.  Isn't that the point of your taunting?  To get people riled up? I try to live my life by the following mantra, "If you don't want to be punched in the face, don't perform punchable acts."
• Our cheerleader tried to trip a player....  What could I possibly say about this?  He obviously took the "be aggressive" cheer literally.

I've got several Sooner fans as friends.  And I know they are totally stoked with the victory.  I'd say I'm happy for them, but that would be a lie.  But I beg of you, enough with the complaining about the low class fans.  We are big meanies.  And you are the winners. Just let me wallow in my misery and go about your day.

Also of note, the Sundevils didn't make it to the Rose Bowl.  They got stomped by Stanford.  And then yesterday Drew Brees was the cause of me losing in fantasy football for the second week in a row.  Cool story, Drew.  You're dead to me.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd give this weekend a -8 1/2.  If we were talking temperature, I'd be golden.  But we aren't, so no amount of hand warmers can make this right. 

Booooooo!