The "Baker" headband, given away FREE at OU's super successful Spring Game, is now worth at least $41, according to eBay bidding. Mine is NOT for sale! Priceless! -- and all the more valuable as Mayfield goes on to prove his worth as a winning QB.
Hear the words of 4-star DL Gracen Halton from his signing today: "Coach Venables is an unbelievable guy and a very passionate coach. He actually had both of my parents near tears when we sat down and talked with him and they’re very excited about me playing for a man like that."
Loud stadiums are a proven home-field advantage, one Oklahoma sadly does NOT presently wield. OU's coaches are doing their best to upgrade the team for SEC play, but did you see Tennessee's stadium against 'Bama yesterday? Sooner fans, WE MUST DO BETTER! How do you ask? Well ...
Got my Gabriel 8 jersey ready for Saturday. Think I will go in uniform again to commemorate this momentous occasion. PACK the PALACE! You'll be glad you did, especially years later when you can honestly say "I was there when the new era was born."
Please be very careful about this alternative uni. It means no disrespect to OU tradition (like how some schools do to placate selfish recruits). Instead, this powerful symbol of unity, designed by players, honors Sooner tradition by paying tribute to pacesetter Printice Gautt.
Tomorrow represents the dawn of a bright new era for Oklahoma football, and my lady and I will be there. It has been my honor to tell her all about the all-time best program -- that's now about to get even better. Be there to witness history! You can still get tickets!
Two views about OU's season:
First, Brent Venables is a Lord-led man tasked with rebuilding CFB's all-time best program GOD'S WAY! As you have painfully seen, the devil has done his absolute best to frustrate the effort. As always, the battle belongs to the Lord! Back God's man!
It just hit me that I'll be sitting in the stands by *myself* at a college game for the first time since 1968 as an OU student. I always took my late wife of 49 years and sat with her when not working games. And this'll be my first tailgate at age 75! This WILL be interesting.
OU's reconstruction is exposing nominal fans whose loyalty depends on how well they expect the team to perform. Not satisfied, they're sadly withholding support. The Sooners need fans (fanatics, actually) at games and on Twitter who support this, yes, painful effort. Are YOU one?
Got my Baker headband, and I'm safely home and happy!
#SoonerNation
packed the Palace and a good time was had by all! Mission accomplished!
#BOOMER
!!!
Here's a picture of Saturday's most moving moment for me, among several, when Brent locked arms with teammates, and together they stepped into the endzone in unison. The new (and perhaps greatest) era of Oklahoma football has officially dawned.
OU football first became a brand under Bud with a white helmet and red stripe. That WAS long-standing tradition. I was there as a student assistant when Jim MacKenzie unleashed the radical crimson helmet with white interlocking OU. Thank goodness there was no Twitter back then!
Hello, SOONER NATION!!! The "Senior Sooner" is BACK on the Bird!
I've learned my lesson, served my time for an unnecessary political reference and am allowed in my suspended account. I'll only be posting about OU sports and God.
Now, guys, what all did I miss this past season?
If you, as an OU fan, are asking what the hell happened in Dallas, there's your answer: hell. When a devout Christian seeks to rebuild the all-time best program God's way, Satan's going to do his worst to frustrate the effort. However, as always, the battle belongs to the Lord.
Didn't make it through the whole game. My lady Sarah, though in her 80s and in pain, wanted to see the new era begin. But she was dizzy from a med's side effect, and I had to get her out of the Palace. She collapsed after getting off the ADA shuttle, but she wasn't hurt. Whew!
Sarah and I need to thank the wonderful people around the Palace's Sect. 31, row 26 who helped us get seated with her walker (in which she later fell over backwards, unhurt, but I digress.) We really appreciated their helpful Oklahoma attitude today: OU DNA on display!
UPDATE on my lady Sarah:
She is recuperating at the Altus home of her daughter for rehab. Sarah, who flatlined three times a week ago after a heart attack with pneumonia, was released from the hospital on Thursday.
She and I are grateful for all of you who played for her.
My new
#Sooners
jacket arrived in time for this latest front! Outrageous look! Just the way I want it. I love OU more than what others think of me for my clothes. All in!
Ready or not, here comes BEDLAM! Are you up to Brent's challenge? Will the Palace be a NIGHTMARE that gives the Sooners a much-needed advance? Be LOUD and PROUD -- and stay until the Sooners have a victory in hand!
I'll admit it: the
#Sooners
have made me cry for joy many times, and tears were again in my eyes during Saturday's Spring Game. More than Mayfield, I was most moved when Brent locked arms with his players, lined across the field, and they all walked into the endzone together.
If any OU fan isn't up to supporting the Sooners in person Saturday, I promise to yell, clap, jump up and down and give a 100-percent all-out effort in their place, even if medics have to carry me out! Just give me the chance to be there for the team.
I once told here about the press being misty eyed before going into OU's locker room after a Big D loss. I've seen how it hurts OUr players far worse than fans. They didn't work so dang hard and long to lose. It's our pastime, but it's their LIFE. Please don't make it any worse.
In a word, YELL! On every down when OU's defense is on the field! It really does help. I've seen Sooner fans be a game-changer at Dallas when the Horns are on the Crimson end. YOU can't be on the field to make a tackle, but your VOICE can disrupt plays! And YOU want that! So ...
Hey, I got priced out of the Palace when my rent just went way up, so if you're fortunate to go tomorrow, please make noise toward the goal of making OU's stadium a nightmare for Baylor. The Bears pose the toughest test yet for the Sooners, and our guys sure could use your help.
GOOD NEWS: Sarah's procedure showed no blockage or apparent problem. She will stay at the Healthplex to find why she had the heart attack while she gets over pneumonia. To those who have been praying for her, she says thank you very much, and may God bless greatly bless you!
It was 1964, but I can still hear that gravelly voice yell through his bull horn as if yesterday:
"Go Big Red!"
Sure, he yelled "Sooners," but he championed Big Red, especially during the Nebraska rivalry when they purloined the tag. (OU is big crimson, not red, but I digress.)
We've got until Nov. 5 to get ready to roar for Baylor. I propose a Palace Pledge of sorts for Sooner fans to sign online, promising to do their best to free others from quiet apathy by encouraging those around them to join in. Tell them: "If you're proud, you've got to be LOUD!"
OU's Spring Game looms this Saturday!
#BOOMER
! The Senior Sooner and his lady Sarah will be there in Section 31, row 26, seats 23 and 24. Come by and say hello. Yes, I again will be in uniform. (Maybe with a helmet?)
There will be times this Saturday when you, as a Sooner fan, want OU's defense to make a crucial 3rd down stop. Will crowd noise be a factor against Baylor, like at other stadiums? Will the Palace really be the "nightmare" that Brent challenged us to create?
Well, will it?
BREAKING NEWS --
Tours of the home of the Senior Sooner are off after ice and freezing water collapsed my ceiling and deeply flooded the entire apartment. All of my crimsonized clothes are in the mess on the floor.
Like any Oklahoman who lost his home, I will bounce back better.
My emergency apartment is beginning to look like the home of the Senior Sooner again. Building back better! Next to get crimsonization going after losing almost all of my outrageously upgraded clothes in the recent disaster. It's been quite a year, and it's only early February.
My best Christmas present was a plane ticket from my parents to Miami for the 1968 Orange Bowl. Although sports editor of the "Oklahoma Daily," OU didn't send me, so I got on the flight with no hotel reservation just a week before the game. Sooner cheerleaders were on board ...
Sarah and I would like to personally thank the people in this picture and others who helped her up the ramps. We caught Tim's name but not the others who expended effort on her behalf. If you recognize or know of them, please let us know.
@il0venostalgia
Wow, I've been using fountain pens long before these conveniences. Still do. Schools used to supply jars of ink for grade school students to refill their pens. That's why there were jar-holding holes atop old student desks. Got quite a "Beautiful Mind" collection in fact.
PORTAL COMBAT begins today:
if some player seems to fit, let him know OU is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be in the right place at the right time with the right coaching expertise and conditioning and facilities and off-field support to make him ready for the NFL and life.
Tapestry arrived of my lady Sarah and I at the
#Sooners
Spring Game, and my cellphone pic held up well for the enlargement. The tapestry is still wrinkled, but then so are we as Senior Sooners.
Some OU game-going fans appear to suffer from the *clap,* or the lack thereof. Bringing hands together in appreciation is supposed to make a sound. The louder the better at the Palace this Saturday. Golf claps won't do, so here's a tip: Try cupping your hands to clap louder.
Team 128… I love every one of you guys! You are that team who is carrying OU football through the transitions and adjustments. Keep fighting. We believe and will always support you! On to Next!!
@OU_Football
Got my tickets for OU's opener! See you there! I'll be the geezer in a Dillon Gabriel jersey and football pants. Yes, game-worn Sooner pants. (No, not mine, and don't judge: it's my tradition.) Oh, and Baker's headband from the record Spring Game where Brent challenged us ...
No time for that now. My lady Sarah was taken to Norman ICU unresponsive today, and I just now found out. Sooner Nation, please lift her up for me. She's so unselfish that she served 7 more meals to shutins residents yesterday after feeding our complex on Christmas.
@MilesMCreations
My lady Sarah and I, although neither of us are in good shape presently, definitely plan to be there! And this time we're going to ROAR!
@Chicago1Ray
@ChariseK3
I was in a think tank when we were warned the guy, then an Illinois state senator arguing for infanticide at that very moment, would eventually be elected President. Couldn't happen, we all thought. But it came to pass. Makes me think somehow this is ALL rigged.
As crazy passionate as I am for OU, that's nothing compared to Christ. While I rapidly support the University, I will die for Him who died for me and spoke His name. Yes, just like with Moses, almighty God actually said His Name to me in a dramatic "Damascus Road" experience ...
Time to drag out my "ugly Christmas sweater." No, I'm not trying to pass myself off as Brent: I had this made after he was named and became the best present the Senior Sooner could receive that year. Not so ugly now after 10-2 as the only team to beat a certain playoff contender.
From my limited viewpoint it looks like Vegas has the refs in their payroll. Did they really cheat OU out of a TD right before half? I was close to the play, and it sure looked good on the big screen. What'd y'all see on TV?
Oh, well, OU's used to having to beat the refs, too
I may be wrong -- again -- but I feel Oklahoma is ramping up for a big finish, enlarging on the Bedlam triumph tonight against Tech heading into a bowl game, and then into spring practice to start easing this season's painful memory. You might say it's the Sooners' playoff drive.
I'm lucky to know the very day I became an OU fan. It was Nov. 16, 1957. I was 10 and my father, who'd moved us from Taiwan to Tinker, was teaching me football on TV -- except for that Saturday when he ignored me to listen to his transistor radio. "It's over," he finally said ...
It's up! It's GOOD!
'Horns are down outside the home of the Senior Sooner!
Now to figure out how to put the previous tapestry on my living room ceiling. (I've still got to reattach the little football plaques at right, but my fingers are frozen.) I'm going to enjoy this one!
As Christmas nears, I remember what I wanted last year:
Against all odds, I dearly desired a big win at Big D this season. And I got exactly that! I really couldn't have received a better present. Thanks, Sooners, for such an amazing gift that'll be enjoyed for an entire year!
My crimson Christmas present arrived today, and I couldn't resist quickly hanging it to get a glimpse before putting it under the tree. I downloaded the pic of Drake Stoops' fantastic Bedlam catch and added his name yelled by fans. The tapestry is longer than my full-size sofa.
@GrandCanyon72
I'm soooo happy for her. But not satisfied: The penalty should be far worse. And today she "woke" up a hero to many misguided firms. Oh well, in these last days people call good bad and bad good.
Bible says a broken wineskin can't be fixed. Same with Oklahoma's football program. A fresh start was paramount, requiring painful heart and brain surgery, not crutches and Band-Aids. You likely won't believe it, but Brent has OU rightly paying the price for a national title.
@theblaze
She gladly dishes it out, but taking it in turn is a different matter, huh? Hunter, though, is NOT to be messed with. She knows he's the key that, when examined, will unlock virtually everything bad that's happening to America. Media CANNOT let that happen!
As an Oklahona fan, you know what to do when you hear"Boomer!" Right? So why not answer when the Palace PA says it? Why not yell and clap when the noise signs flash? Do you want Baylor to mess up on crucial downs? Well, you have the power: WIELD IT! If you go, make a difference!
LIVING THE DREAM:
I never had any "dreams" to try to live out. I was just happy to not be considered retarded. So when I edged out Al Eschbach for "Oklahoma Daily" sports editor in 1968 (he was so much better), I had no idea of what awaited me. The impact hit me full force ...
Survived! Cleared by 5, as ordered, thanks to neighbor Diane who worked like the Energizer Bunny. And of course all of you who prayed for me. THANK YOU! I felt a surge of energy when I shouldn't have been able to continue. And another kind resident, Donna, had supper delivered.