Boomer Sooner

Boomer Sooner! Anyone who is familiar with the state of Oklahoma and/or college football will know what this means. Yesterday the University of Oklahoma defeated Oklahoma State University 47-41 in a game that has been traditionally called Bedlam. It truly is bedlam or chaos. The state is divided. I obtained my Ph.D. from the Department of Communication at the University of Oklahoma. I am proud to be a Sooner even though I did receive my undergraduate degree from the University of Texas (the other main rival). I was fortunate enough to watch the game in the state of Oklahoma. It was really crazy, chaotic and divided. I took some really cool pictures (thank you Miss Elizabeth from Pauls Valley who was brave enough to wear her OSU sweatshirt in Norman. She posed for a picture among all the OU products. I unfortunately for the blog got a new phone on the same day and lost her picture. Blogger failure on my part). The day of Bedlam made me think about the ways in which I am marked as a Sooner. I have the cap. But, I also have the memories. I spent 4 great years at the university and many many thousands of dollars in tuition money there as well.

The cap is not much but it stands for my understanding of how I belong to OU. The good folks at OU taught me the critical thinking skills to research and teach. I will forever be grateful for that. So, really the cap means so much more.
One of my good friends gave me my own crimson (the colors at OU are crimson and cream) blanket with my name on it. Very cool. The timing was so perfect. On game day. A victory for OU. A victory for this blogger in the cold weather.

I understand many people feel that college football has become very commercial. We should place as much emphasis on academics and community building as we do on athletics in our society. However, that does not take away from the fact that we as college students and alumni are branded in much the same way as the products we wear. I thought I would post an interesting link on Sooner traditions. This site has prompted me think about what it means to be a Sooner. http://www.soonersports.com/trads/sooner-tradition.html.  I will always be a Longhorn since that is where I first went to college (http://www.utexas.edu/), first learned about branding our ideals and our hearts, but I will always be a Sooner as well. I encourage everyone to think about what their university community means to them. Football is one aspect, but for many people it does symbolize a greater understanding of knowledge and belonging. Football is part of our culture in the U.S.

Boomer Sooner!