The Blake Era

[Sooner04]

I've had this discussion before with some friends of mine on this board, and it always brings me some perspective. Sometimes, when I bitch loudly in the upper deck about atrocious special teams play, I think back to a red and white Twister board that we used to get our respective units "on" the field. I use the term "on" loosely because you never really knew if there'd be 10, 12, 9, 11 or 13 men on the field for any given play.

I remember seeing OU give up a 99-yard-run and a 99-yard-pass within 53 weeks of each other. The first was in Norman against Tulsa in '96 and the other was against Kansas a year later in Lawrence.

I remember outgaining Kansas by 170 yards in '96 and losing by 28.

I remember the offense taking the field against Nebraska in the fourth quarter in '96 down 73-0.

I remember the "Rotating Quarterback Wheel of Death" that plagued the '98 season.

I remember Chip Ambres.

I remember my grandfather being furious over winning in Fort Worth in '98 because he was convinced we'd saved Blake's job.

I remember him being even more horrified when we beat Tech later that year.

I remember Dick Winder finally being given the keys to the offense prior to the Tech game in '97 and seeing OU dominate the Red Raiders in Lubbock. Blake promptly fired him two days later.

I remember Brandon Daniels and the Wishbone.

I remember going for two while down nine with a couple of minutes to play against Colorado in '98. We missed, then got the ball back and scored. You guessed it, we lost by two.

I remember being surrounded by 40,000 Sooners and 10,000 Aggies when eATMe came to Norman in '97. To quote Lefty, I remember the frozen ground, so cold.

I remember Justin Fuente playing a pretty good 1st half of football in Lawrence against Kansas in '97. I remember Fuente never stepping onto the field in the second half. I remember us drilling the tying field goal only to be flagged for not having enough men on the line of scrimmage, and I remember the pain moments later when the next attempt was blocked.

I remember Joe Dickinson and his bag of tricks.

I remember the destruction of the recruiting files.

I remember the 46 defense.

I remember Eric Moore running out of bounds at the two-yard-line on 4th and Goal against Tech in '96.

I remember the bags on people's heads.

I remember sprinting to the line from the huddle.

I remember scoring 7-7-7-7 over four straight games in '97.

I remember thinking after the Texas game in '98 that I may not see us win in Dallas again for a VERY long time.

But, most of all, I remember the dread. I remember worrying about what would go wrong this week. I remember worrying about who on Earth was going to play quarterback. I remember thinking that everything I'd grown up loving about OU football was dead, gone, and that it was never coming back.

Now, ten years removed from that walk through the desert, I remind myself sometimes of where we are and what we've come from. It's a good reality check for me every time I berate Reynolds for not covering the TE again.

You know, we're awfully lucky to have what we have.

[The Maestro]

I've had this discussion before with some friends of mine on this board, and it always brings me some perspective. Sometimes, when I bitch loudly in the upper deck about atrocious special teams play, I think back to a red and white Twister board that we used to get our respective units "on" the field. I use the term "on" loosely because you never really knew if there'd be 10, 12, 9, 11 or 13 men on the field for any given play.

I remember seeing OU give up a 99-yard-run and a 99-yard-pass within 53 weeks of each other. The first was in Norman against Tulsa in '96 and the other was against Kansas a year later in Lawrence.

I remember outgaining Kansas by 170 yards in '96 and losing by 28.

I remember the offense taking the field against Nebraska in the fourth quarter in '96 down 73-0.

I remember the "Rotating Quarterback Wheel of Death" that plagued the '98 season.

I remember Chip Ambres.

I remember my grandfather being furious over winning in Fort Worth in '98 because he was convinced we'd saved Blake's job.

I remember him being even more horrified when we beat Tech later that year.

I remember Dick Winder finally being given the keys to the offense prior to the Tech game in '97 and seeing OU dominate the Red Raiders in Lubbock. Blake promptly fired him two days later.

I remember Brandon Daniels and the Wishbone.

I remember going for two while down nine with a couple of minutes to play against Colorado in '98. We missed, then got the ball back and scored. You guessed it, we lost by two.

I remember being surrounded by 40,000 Sooners and 10,000 Aggies when eATMe came to Norman in '97. To quote Lefty, I remember the frozen ground, so cold.

I remember Justin Fuente playing a pretty good 1st half of football in Lawrence against Kansas in '97. I remember Fuente never stepping onto the field in the second half. I remember us drilling the tying field goal only to be flagged for not having enough men on the line of scrimmage, and I remember the pain moments later when the next attempt was blocked.

I remember Joe Dickinson and his bag of tricks.

I remember the destruction of the recruiting files.

I remember the 46 defense.

I remember Eric Moore running out of bounds at the two-yard-line on 4th and Goal against Tech in '96.

I remember the bags on people's heads.

I remember sprinting to the line from the huddle.

I remember scoring 7-7-7-7 over four straight games in '97.

I remember thinking after the Texas game in '98 that I may not see us win in Dallas again for a VERY long time.

But, most of all, I remember the dread. I remember worrying about what would go wrong this week. I remember worrying about who on Earth was going to play quarterback. I remember thinking that everything I'd grown up loving about OU football was dead, gone, and that it was never coming back.

Now, ten years removed from that walk through the desert, I remind myself sometimes of where we are and what we've come from. It's a good reality check for me every time I berate Reynolds for not covering the TE again.

You know, we're awfully lucky to have what we have.


This post deserves a martini, but in the spirit of the 90's I may just go buy a bottle of Boone's Farm.

Man...that was a great trip down a horrible memory lane.

Having said that, OU-Texas 1996 was my bachelor party (who does that after an 0-4 start and that Kansas game you speak of? Oh! Shotgun wedding guy does!). And my present to my groomsmen were tickets to OU-OSU 1996. We saw two of the three wins together!

I also remember how fans went nuts at Spring games in the Blake era cause the offense looked good when Brandon Daniels ran for touchdown after touchdown!!!! Oh, with a blue jersey on that meant to not touch him...UGH!!

[tulsaoilerfan]

I remember the Taco Tech game in 98, and being pissed that we won cause i also thought that would save Blake's job; thankfully i was wrong. :)

[Paperclip]

I was at all the games mentioned above. Sigh.

[The Maestro]

I was at all the games mentioned above. Sigh.

I will say this. I saw the three marquee games of the Blake era in person and they all stand out.

1996 OU-Texas - my bachelor party weekend

1997 OU at TCU - my wife's 21st birthday. Yeah, I robbed the craddle. Gotta problem?!?!?! Anywho, I flew her wife in from PHX to Dallas and let them run around so I could go to the game. What a guy! We rushed the field!

1998 OU v Syracuse - my son's first game. My wife spent the entire second half of the game out of the heat by the concession stands with our 1 year old and I would run down to check on them during timeouts. I ALMOST missed the blocked field goal! ALMOST!!!

[Paperclip]

I will say this. I saw the three marquee games of the Blake era in person and they all stand out.

1996 OU-Texas - my bachelor party weekend

1997 OU at TCU - my wife's 21st birthday. Yeah, I robbed the craddle. Gotta problem?!?!?! Anywho, I flew her wife in from PHX to Dallas and let them run around so I could go to the game. What a guy! We rushed the field!

1998 OU v Syracuse - my son's first game. My wife spent the entire second half of the game out of the heat by the concession stands with our 1 year old and I would run down to check on them during timeouts. I ALMOST missed the blocked field goal! ALMOST!!!

Just as long as you got to see McNabb hurl.

[Sooner04]

'97 - Syracuse game.

'98 - TCU game in Fort Worth.

The Syracuse game in '97 was landmark because we hadn't won a game at Owen Field in 713 days. Think about that, almost TWO YEARS since we won in Norman. Eight games in a row. I rushed the field that day.

[proudsoonergal]

'97 - Syracuse game.

'98 - TCU game in Fort Worth.

The Syracuse game in '97 was landmark because we hadn't won a game at Owen Field in 713 days. Think about that, almost TWO YEARS since we won in Norman. Eight games in a row. I rushed the field that day.

Yeah, the Syracuse game was 1997....I rushed the field as well.

1997 was my senior year - I went up to Lawrence for that Kansas game where we made the extra point, but the play was nullified because we had too many men on the field (or not enough - something stupid like that). I also remember Homecoming 1997 - I was on the court - and we barely beat Baylor 24-23. Sigh.....thanks for the memories. We have it SO good right now.

[Sooner04]

Ahh, good one.

I remember beating Baylor 24-23 in '97. Terry White made a good play in the endzone to bat away the two-point conversion attempt when Baylor tried for the win.

I remember the next week, when that very play was highlighted on the jumbotron as that week's "Great Sooner Moment".

[The Maestro]

'97 - Syracuse game.

'98 - TCU game in Fort Worth.

The Syracuse game in '97 was landmark because we hadn't won a game at Owen Field in 713 days. Think about that, almost TWO YEARS since we won in Norman. Eight games in a row. I rushed the field that day.

Thanks for clearing that up. I thought my son was younger than that at the Syracuse game. 5 months. My wife turned 21 in 98. Makes more sense.

[RacerX]

I remember Eric Moore's tirade against the media.

[MrJimBeam]

I've had this discussion before with some friends of mine on this board, and it always brings me some perspective. Sometimes, when I bitch loudly in the upper deck about atrocious special teams play, I think back to a red and white Twister board that we used to get our respective units "on" the field. I use the term "on" loosely because you never really knew if there'd be 10, 12, 9, 11 or 13 men on the field for any given play.

I remember seeing OU give up a 99-yard-run and a 99-yard-pass within 53 weeks of each other. The first was in Norman against Tulsa in '96 and the other was against Kansas a year later in Lawrence.

I remember outgaining Kansas by 170 yards in '96 and losing by 28.

I remember the offense taking the field against Nebraska in the fourth quarter in '96 down 73-0.

I remember the "Rotating Quarterback Wheel of Death" that plagued the '98 season.

I remember Chip Ambres.

I remember my grandfather being furious over winning in Fort Worth in '98 because he was convinced we'd saved Blake's job.

I remember him being even more horrified when we beat Tech later that year.

I remember Dick Winder finally being given the keys to the offense prior to the Tech game in '97 and seeing OU dominate the Red Raiders in Lubbock. Blake promptly fired him two days later.

I remember Brandon Daniels and the Wishbone.

I remember going for two while down nine with a couple of minutes to play against Colorado in '98. We missed, then got the ball back and scored. You guessed it, we lost by two.

I remember being surrounded by 40,000 Sooners and 10,000 Aggies when eATMe came to Norman in '97. To quote Lefty, I remember the frozen ground, so cold.

I remember Justin Fuente playing a pretty good 1st half of football in Lawrence against Kansas in '97. I remember Fuente never stepping onto the field in the second half. I remember us drilling the tying field goal only to be flagged for not having enough men on the line of scrimmage, and I remember the pain moments later when the next attempt was blocked.

I remember Joe Dickinson and his bag of tricks.

I remember the destruction of the recruiting files.

I remember the 46 defense.

I remember Eric Moore running out of bounds at the two-yard-line on 4th and Goal against Tech in '96.

I remember the bags on people's heads.

I remember sprinting to the line from the huddle.

I remember scoring 7-7-7-7 over four straight games in '97.

I remember thinking after the Texas game in '98 that I may not see us win in Dallas again for a VERY long time.

But, most of all, I remember the dread. I remember worrying about what would go wrong this week. I remember worrying about who on Earth was going to play quarterback. I remember thinking that everything I'd grown up loving about OU football was dead, gone, and that it was never coming back.

Now, ten years removed from that walk through the desert, I remind myself sometimes of where we are and what we've come from. It's a good reality check for me every time I berate Reynolds for not covering the TE again.

You know, we're awfully lucky to have what we have.

I'm making 25 copies to hand out to the JA's in my section who complain about 25 pt victories.

[badger]

My brother started college at OU in... 96? I remember helping him move in and they had an ad in the student newspaper: Student football tickets for $50 total. It was like they were begging students to be football fans. They also had "Oklahoma: The School of Football" sweatshirts there, which I thought was funny, because I didn't remember them being a national powerhouse or anything (I lived in Big 10 country and on free tv, where the only bowl games televised are the big ones).

He used to remark how they only had one good player, Demond Parker (who went on to play for the Packers - I still remember him because he'd fan off his shoes after scoring).

Times a'changin'.

[tigepilot]

I remember thinking that OU football was so far down and out that all I could hope for was to get back to a point that it would occasionally knock someone off from that underdog roll but would never really accomplish anything... sort of like a Texas Tech.

Thank God we have Stoops! I may complain about a call here and there (mostly to myself) and sometimes I don't agree with the gameplan but you'll never hear me get really upset with that man. We owe him too much for the resurection he orchestrated. As for getting mad with players when they mess up, well I'm not going to say their just kids but it's not like they step on the field and say "gee, let's see how I can mess this play up". I don't really get upset with them either, at least not individually. Doesn't stop me from getting upset in general with the team when they don't play well though. I do remind myself of the Blake years when things aren't going well on the field.

I do still feal a little cheated that my time as a student at OU was from the last year of Gibbs through the Blake years. :(

[sooner518]

1997 OU at TCU - my wife's 21st birthday. Yeah, I robbed the craddle. Gotta problem?!?!?! Anywho, I flew her wife in from PHX to Dallas and let them run around so I could go to the game.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

[Sooner04]

I remember throwing a 60-yard or so TD pass to Matt Anderson in the California game of '98 in the first quarter and then not attempting another pass until the 4th quarter.

I remember John Blake in a dress shirt and tie.

I remember the AD flooding the south endzone with FCA kids or soldiers from Fort Sill just to get butts in the seats.

I remember De'Mond Parker, and wondering how many yards he would've had if his downfield blocking hadn't kept running into him.

I remember my uncle walking out of the Baylor game in '97 when all we needed was a first down after we threw to Chris Blocker, who responded with yet another drop. No receiver in OU history has EVER had worse hands.

I remember the Sooner Shockwave.

I remember eight times having more penalties than points.

I remember averaging about 60 more yards a game than our first four opponents in '96 and losing those games by an average of 17 points a game.

[TopDawg]

SoonerFans.com is a better place when 04 is posting.


I remember sprinting to the line from the huddle.

Do you remember running to the 35 yard line on kickoffs...THEN STOPPING!...and resetting for the kick? How fun!


I remember the next week, when that very play was highlighted on the jumbotron as that week's "Great Sooner Moment".

Also in the file of Embarrassing Jumbotron Moments: The Sooner Shockwave. I forget what year...or should I say game...they tried to make that happen.

OU Fans, prepare to be part of the start of a great Sooner tradition that will live on for years...

riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight

[TopDawg]

DOH!

I got distracted while writing that and you beat me to "submit."

[The Maestro]

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Too funny. I meant sister.

Her wife. Heh.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I remember

Having a linebacker returning kickoffs(Travian Smith) because he was the best option

Brandon Daniels refusing to pitch the ball against North Texas, and Patrick Fletcher completing 12 passes in a row

Going to the Syracuse game, and thinking things were getting better...and McHurl vomitting

John Blake looking confused on the sidelines every game

Watching OU beat Chris Redman and Louisville 35-7, Jermaine Fazande and DP both having huge days, and wondering why can't OU play like this more than once a year

Watching the first appearance of DP against San Diego St and thinking he would save OU football..

Watching the offense struggle against Northwestern, shooting themselves in the foot every time they made a significant play..

Jake Sills 2 fumbles and 2 INTs against osu....

Thinking how great it would be just to get to a bowl game

I ll admit this one also...being mad that Bob Stoops let Rex Ryan go and bringing in his brother Mike to be DC.....

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I also remember cheap tickets, tickets laying on the ground

[sooner518]

Also in the file of Embarrassing Jumbotron Moments: The Sooner Shockwave. I forget what year...or should I say game...they tried to make that happen.

OU Fans, prepare to be part of the start of a great Sooner tradition that will live on for years...

riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight

LOL. I was at that game. I think it was that Baylor game since that was one of the few Blake years games I went to. I remember thinking to myself "this isnt going to work" and then I was proved right mere seconds later. I also remember that they tried to coordinate it by posting the row numbers that were supposed to stand, so basically they would count from 1 to 75. The numbers on the screen were wayyy too slow.

The Sooner Shockwave was about as disorganized and crappy as our football team

[NormanPride]

This is a sad thread. But sad threads are needed in happy times, to make the happy times seem happier.

Remember how we felt when we beat A&M in '99?

[UberSooner]

Ive blanked out those years but I still remember the "keeds". It's all about the "keeds" anyway.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Josh Norman told me that when they fired Blake, he packed his stuff and was headed for the house...He loved him....glad he changed his mind

[NormanPride]

I will never understand that. Why did the players love that man so much? He put them in a position to embarrass themselves every single game. And he showed his true colors when he left and destroyed the recruiting files.

[Sooner04]

Also in the file of Embarrassing Jumbotron Moments: The Sooner Shockwave. I forget what year...or should I say game...they tried to make that happen.

OU Fans, prepare to be part of the start of a great Sooner tradition that will live on for years...

riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight
It was the '97 Baylor game. The moment of silence right after the "start" of the Sooner Shockwave was deafening.

I remember leaving Owen Field early in the 4th quarter of the eATMe game thinking there was no way it could get any worse. That was the most miserable football game of my life.

I remember watching Wane McGarity catching a 97-yard TD pass from Applewhite early in the 3rd quarter of the '98 Texas game and me being out of the Cotton Bowl and ordering a Corny Dog before the UT band had finished Texas Fight.

I remember Stockar McDougle being good for at least 50 yards of penalties by himself in '98.

I remember Kelly Gregg and Martin Chase.

I remember Travian Smith, an alumnus of Smokey State University.

I remember Jarrail Jackson and Jermaine "Gumbo" Fazande.

I remember hugging the granddaughter of Mary Jane Noble the day after Mrs. Noble, a regent at the time, cast one of the votes to fire John Blake.

I remember hearing the words, "these kids" over and over and over during every one of John Blake's press conferences.

I remember K-State drilling us in Norman, 26-7, in '97 with a quarterback, Michael Bishop, who, according to John Blake, was not good enough to for Oklahoma.

I remember being outscored 176-28 during that infamous 7-7-7-7 four-game losing streak in '97.

I remember averaging 17 points a game in '98.

I remember season tickets being readily available: first come, first serve. Waiting list? Yeah, right.

[RacerX]

This is a sad thread. But sad threads are needed in happy times, to make the happy times seem happier.

Remember how we felt when we beat A&M in '99?

Actually, I remember driving home happy after every home game.

The A&M game, just about everything OU tried, worked.

[badger]

I remember attending games my first year in 2001, when I was surrounded by people who were in their second year attending games, the year OU never lost (2000, duh). When option boy Eric Crouch trick played us in Lincoln for our first loss since 1999, I was surrounded by outrage (guys), angst (guys who were really boys at heart) and sorrow (teary eyed chicks). I was kind of like, "Hey, with all the wins this season so far, I've already experienced more winning in one season here than four high school seasons up north!"

The angsters and ragers didn't make me hate the OU fanbase, nor did the sorrowers make me roll my eyes. It was just cool to be around fans that expected to win, and not fans that were so enthrawled by the third quarter that we were plotting how to break the wooden bleachers.

[MikeInNorman]

Speaking of Embarrassing Jumbotron Moments, I remember this all too well:

Bluto: Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Otter: Germans?
Boon: Forget it, he's rolling.
Bluto: And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough...
[thinks hard]
Bluto: the tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go!

Or watching some of the in-game Great Sooner Moments, showing long ago a$$-beatings The King had inflicted on our opponent that day while we were in the process of getting smoked by that very opponent while running 9 guys out there for a punt.

[mdklatt]

I remember when a win meant a lot more because it wasn't a foregone conclusion. Hell, even first downs were cause for celebration. Now we're disappointed if we beat somebody by fewer than three touchdowns. Sometimes I envy fans that still have a reason to rush the field after beating a ranked opponent or becoming bowl eligible, y'know?

[Position Limit]

i remember sitting in the stands til the bitter end of an absolute beatdown by nebraska with the worst hangover known to man. i wanted to see my beloved sooners hit rock bottom. and with said hangover, i went and drank my depression of ou away after the game.

but being the eternal optimist with ou football that i am, while living in NYC no tv station was going to broadcast that variety of mockery on air. so what did i do to listen to the game in pre-internet days? called home and had my mother lay her phone by the radio so i could listen to the game on intercom on my phone. talk about a pricey phone bill. it was bad enough watching it live, try listening to it on a freaking telephone. it was damn near comical if it wasnt such a tragedy.

[SoonerJack]

This thread helps put things in perspective.

[King Crimson]

i remember getting the new score board in the south endzone (97?) and my granddad saying...."what they need to do is figure out how to put more points on the one they had".

i remember after the Baylor game (the big win in Norman) Blake saying in the paper about making corrections the next week in practice: "it's fun to make corrections after a big win".

i remember reading the DOK at my dad's coffee table visiting in late August (98?) and *actually believing* back to the 'bone.

[The Maestro]

This thread feels like Tony Saprano meeting with Dr. Melfi.

[Penguin]

Could somebody explain the Sooner Shockwave? I missed out on that. It sounds awesome.

[mojohornfan]

[QUOTE=NormanPride;2423699]Why did the players love that man so much? QUOTE]

I had a little affection for him myself.

:D

[The Maestro]

[QUOTE=NormanPride;2423699]Why did the players love that man so much? QUOTE]

I had a little affection for him myself.

:D

Oh come on...how dare a horn fan bring up Blake. Is a loss to an 0-4 OU team the most embarrassing moment in Texas football history? That has to be worse than 63-14 and 65-13...at least those teams were great!

Of course, Jesus was with our players...at least Blake thought so after the game.

[TopDawg]

Could somebody explain the Sooner Shockwave? I missed out on that. It sounds awesome.

During an official timeout the jumbotron comes on.

OU fans, get ready to be part of the beginning of a new Sooner tradition that will live on for years...THE SOONER SHOCKWAVE.

They then instructed us to watch the screen and when the OU logo hit the 50 yard line we were supposed to start the wave...BUT HERE'S THE EXCITING CATCH!...instead of going around the stadium, it's going to go up! From row one to the top of the stands.

So they gave us a countdown to try it...3-2-1...

Logo drops.
Nothing happens.
Crickets chirping.

[SeattleOUstudent]

Brando knows this but...

I have a little insight to all of this since in 98 I lived in The Bud. My neighbors were Rocky Calmus, Trent Smith, Frank Romero. I will say that I was pretty good friends with Josh Norman as well. It seemed that most of the loyalty seemed to fall along racial lines. Trent, Frank, and Rocky were just wanting to win. They hated to see Blake go, because they were unsure of what the future held...once they took a step back from the emotion of it all, they saw how tired they were of losing.

And I used to kick Rockys *** at James Bond on the N64.

[SeattleOUstudent]

During an official timeout the jumbotron comes on.

OU fans, get ready to be part of the beginning of a new Sooner tradition that will live on for years...THE SOONER SHOCKWAVE.

They then instructed us to watch the screen and when the OU logo hit the 50 yard line we were supposed to start the wave...BUT HERE'S THE EXCITING CATCH!...instead of going around the stadium, it's going to go up! From row one to the top of the stands.

So they gave us a countdown to try it...3-2-1...

Logo drops.
Nothing happens.
Crickets chirping.

Its called "creating tradition". please see Texas A&M

[Jason White's Third Knee]

My most unfavorite Jumbotron feature was The Red Swarm. It was 1999. Our D sucked. It was when we had that half assed jumbotron but just got a new PA. There was an earsplitting buzzing sound and a pixilated mess that they played on the jumbotron. Jest stupid.


I think they played it every time we held an opponent under an 8yd gain.


I was embarrassed.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

when do we get to the cale mary?

[mojohornfan]

[QUOTE=mojohornfan;2423789]

...how dare a horn fan bring up Blake. Is a loss to an 0-4 OU team the most embarrassing moment in Texas football history? That has to be worse than 63-14 and 65-13...

I'll see your Blake and raise you one Mackovic!!!!

;)

[boomrsoonr]

Hell, I didn't even know that Blake had an "era". ????

[Beano's Fourth Chin]

when do we get to the cale mary?

Just waiting for Pat Jones to call a timeout.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Just waiting for Pat Jones to call a timeout.

:stunned:

[TopDawg]

My most unfavorite Jumbotron feature was The Red Swarm. It was 1999. Our D sucked.

99 was Stoops' first year. You sure about the year? I thought that was during the Blake era.

[TopDawg]

The post-game radio shows with Joe D were always classic.

[BigRedJed]

I remember giving up my season tickets and still never missing a game. I just never had to pay.

I remember going to games with my boy bigredsooner and him literally laying extra tickets on the ground, and announcing "I AM LAYING THESE TICKETS ON THE GROUND...ANYBODY IS WELCOME TO USE THEM" in front of the west side stands, because it was literally IMPOSSIBLE to GIVE them away.

I remember going to the TCU game and being caught up in the euphoria of the win, but still laughing at the idea of Patrick Fletcher as the "QB of the Future," which everyone around appeared to eagerly accept. Don't get me wrong; I loves me some Patrick Fletcher. Just not as the starting OU QB.

I remember meeting John Blake at the donor banquet in the Santee Lounge before the season -- a year after I met Howard in the same situation -- and thinking "yeesh - I had no idea this guy was such a dud." Seriously, he came off as borderline antisocial from day one. Another indication of how bad things were: that I was at the donor banquet at all. I didn't give enough to be there; but my boss at the time who did simply had no interest in going.

I remember pretty much everything else 04 and others have mentioned.

Lastly, I remember my boy bigredsooner calling in to John Blake's radio show to ask him tough questions. Everybody else was calling him with kissass, suckup softball calls, and BRS got so irritated by it that he called in with some venom, using the name he made up on the spot, Big Red Jed. A couple of years later on this very board I was logged in under my old handle, Barry Wilkinson, and noticed bigredsooner was on. I quickly went out and registered BigRedJed to go screw with him in a thread, and just never went back to the old handle. Heck, I never really posted at the time, anyway. You heard it right; the original purpose of my handle was to facilitate an on-air punking of John Blake.

Yeah, I'm pretty happy to have Stoopsie.

But good lord, man... ...let's get going on that next MNC!! ;)

[Jason White's Third Knee]

99 was Stoops' first year. You sure about the year? I thought that was during the Blake era.

Could be 98 but our D was pretty weak in 99. We'd dominate in the first half and get rolled in the second.


So depressing... Regardless, hearing the ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!! Was god awful. I would stare up at that thing and think 'what an idiot.'

[BigRedJed]

I'll also say this: I will bet (and hope) that there will never again be an MNC in Norman that feels as sweet as the one in 2000 did.

[badger]

I'll also say this: I will bet (and hope) that there will never again be an MNC in Norman that feels as sweet as the one in 2000 did.

I bet the one in 1974 felt pretty sweet back then - waiting since '56, or about 18 years is longer than 15 years. You'd think three seasons is a minor difference, but hey, how long does it feel since our January 2005 title appearance?

[BigRedJed]

Not long enough.

[Pricetag]

Didn't a Nebraska player call us "Akron in crimson and creme"?

[MikeInNorman]

On the other hand, I have the Gibbs/Fat Abusive Drunk/Blake trifecta to thank for my current excellent season ticket location.

[Sooner04]

I bet the one in 1974 felt pretty sweet back then - waiting since '56, or about 18 years is longer than 15 years. You'd think three seasons is a minor difference, but hey, how long does it feel since our January 2005 title appearance?
I doubt it. I mean, I'm sure it was incredibly sweet when you consider that the '74 team was #1b on the all-time great Sooner teams ('56 has got to be 1a. Look at the stats, they don't lie).

But remember this, in the three seasons prior to '74, we'd lost two games and tied one. We went 32-2-1 from '71-73. Prior to 2000, we'd gone 4-8, 5-6 and 7-5: that's 16-19. The 2000 season was a lightning bolt from left field. It hit its crescendo against Nebraska and then we all held on for dear life as injuries took their toll.

Think about this: seniors on the 2000 team had an Independence Bowl loss on their resumes. That's it. If they were redshirted, they beat Texas their freshman year, but that's it.

Unless you truly experienced the Blake Era by sitting in Owen Field amongst 55-60,000 fans and watching just how putrid the football was, you just cannot comprehend how sweet 2000 was. The '74 title was a little bit removed from some lean years in the '60s, but the Monster was back and it was VERY well fed. Not so when Stoops arrived.

One of the best non-Norman OU crowds I was ever a part of was the Independence Bowl in '99. We flooded that place, and we rocked it. We were dying for something that resembled success.

We had no idea what awaited us in 2000. Never in our wildest dreams. Never.

[birddog]

I remember Eric Moore's tirade against the media.

that made for some excellent radio.

those were the days that were easy to be a fan because you weren't dissapointed when we lost.

i remember being on an espn college message board in 97 and there was a thread that was titled "Bold Prediction For The Season." there was all this talk about the good teams at the time because it was a national board, not an ou board. i stated that OU would win 8 games in 97. that was considered bold. OU was so irrelevant at that point that not one person responded.

i also was at the 98 tech game and their fans were yelling at us after the game,"good luck in your bowl game" and some OU fan responded, "enjoy probation," and that was as good a zing as we had for them at the time.

i was also there for the cal game when jarrod reese was sent in to save the day with time running out (bear in mind he hadn't seen the field that day at all) and instead took a sack at midfield on 4th down with 1 second on the clock down 9-3 or something. THROW THE GD BALL!!!

good times.

[The Maestro]

One of the best non-Norman OU crowds I was ever a part of was the Independence Bowl in '99. We flooded that place, and we rocked it. We were dying for something that resembled success.

We had no idea what awaited us in 2000. Never in our wildest dreams. Never.

No doubt. Me and my friends tailgated all day and even had a football player pinata hanging from the rearview mirror for OU fans to take a whack at when they walked by. I was so pumped OU was in a bowl game. Now...if we were in the I-Bowl, I would need counseling. On that final field goal by Ole Miss, me and my friends were ready to rush the field, having already climbed over the railing. Especially the way OU rallied from a poor first half.

2000 totally snuck up on all of us. At halftime of OU-Texas is when I believed this could be real special. By halftime of the Nebraska game, I knew it was gonna be.

[fadada1]

No doubt. Me and my friends tailgated all day and even had a football player pinata hanging from the rearview mirror for OU fans to take a whack at when they walked by. I was so pumped OU was in a bowl game. Now...if we were in the I-Bowl, I would need counseling. On that final field goal by Ole Miss, me and my friends were ready to rush the field, having already climbed over the railing. Especially the way OU rallied from a poor first half.

2000 totally snuck up on all of us. At halftime of OU-Texas is when I believed this could be real special. By halftime of the Nebraska game, I knew it was gonna be.

that's a tough feeling to duplicate. 200 was something special, no doubt.

[birddog]

. 200 was something special, no doubt.

ad or bc?:D

[fadada1]

The post-game radio shows with Joe D were always classic.

absolutely, TD. for some reason, i was out and about after another dismal offensive display that apparently resembled football. one caller sounded all serious, had good question, then ended with "was just wondering, joe, when you were going to resign...". in classic JoeD form, he responded with a well thought out and mature answer.;)

[fadada1]

ad or bc?:D

clearly, i was thinking of my past life as a gladiator.:D

[BuckyB]

Thanks for posting this. Great perspective.

[BigRedJed]

I doubt it. I mean, I'm sure it was incredibly sweet when you consider that the '74 team was #1b on the all-time great Sooner teams ('56 has got to be 1a. Look at the stats, they don't lie).

But remember this, in the three seasons prior to '74, we'd lost two games and tied one. We went 32-2-1 from '71-73. Prior to 2000, we'd gone 4-8, 5-6 and 7-5: that's 16-19. The 2000 season was a lightning bolt from left field. It hit its crescendo against Nebraska and then we all held on for dear life as injuries took their toll.

Think about this: seniors on the 2000 team had an Independence Bowl loss on their resumes. That's it. If they were redshirted, they beat Texas their freshman year, but that's it.

Unless you truly experienced the Blake Era by sitting in Owen Field amongst 55-60,000 fans and watching just how putrid the football was, you just cannot comprehend how sweet 2000 was. The '74 title was a little bit removed from some lean years in the '60s, but the Monster was back and it was VERY well fed. Not so when Stoops arrived.

One of the best non-Norman OU crowds I was ever a part of was the Independence Bowl in '99. We flooded that place, and we rocked it. We were dying for something that resembled success.

We had no idea what awaited us in 2000. Never in our wildest dreams. Never.
Thanks for so eloquently making my point. '74 came on the heels of Mildren and Owens. A Heisman. The Game of the Century. A year before '74 the team went undefeated. The two seasons before that they went 11-1. The '74 championship must have felt like a giant relief after being that close for a few years, but there is no way those fans had the same taste of failure still so strongly on their tongues as OU fans did in 2000.

I know the last few seasons under Bud were disappointing, and Gomer Jones had some rough ones, but there is NO FRICKING WAY that the decade+ that preceded the '74 championship (coaches: Jones, Mackenzie, Fairbanks and one year of Switzer) felt as desperate and hopeless as the ones preceeding 2000 (dorm shootings, rape, orange jumpsuits on the cover of SI, Gibbs' mediocrity, Drunky's hatred for Sooner tradition and failure to perform, plus John Blake's spectacular, sullen ineptness, bookended by one promising -- but average, as far as the record books -- year under Stoops).

NO FRICKING WAY. Not even close.

[RacerX]

i was also there for the cal game when jarrod reese was sent in to save the day with time running out (bear in mind he hadn't seen the field that day at all) and instead took a sack at midfield on 4th down with 1 second on the clock down 9-3 or something. THROW THE GD BALL!!!

good times.

I'm sure Jarrod was baked.

[mdklatt]

those were the days that were easy to be a fan because you weren't dissapointed when we lost.


Exactly. Losses were no big deal, wins were ecstatic. I remember invoking "Sooner Magic" with a straight face when we had comeback wins over the likes of Iowa State and Baylor. :O Now, Sooner Magic has been replaced by Sooner Machine. There is no joy in beating TCU, just grumbling about the mistakes that were made. We're spoiled now, and all the post-2000 fans are spoiled rotten.

[LSUdeek]

<sarcasm>

But.. But.... Bob won with Blake's players!!!!!!!

</sarcasm>

[Sooner04]

I remember Brian Shackelford at punter.

I remember John Blake only referring to Patrick Fletcher as "Fletcher".

I remember John Blake facing Nebraska twice as a coach and being outscored 142-28. That's 71-14 on average.

I remember Jake Sills to Gerald Williams in the rain to beat Iowa State. Pandemonium amongst the 60,000 at Owen Field that day.

I remember the Woods Boys, Mike and Pee Wee, neither of whom could cover Janet Reno on a fade route.

I remember De'Mond Parker rushing for a ton of yards despite his O-line being awful and opposing DCs decreeing that he was the one and only guy they had to stop.

I remember the '98 team having 990 yards of penalties in only 11 games.

I remember the '97 team having a turnover margin of (-22). We turned the ball over 35 times that year and only forced 13.

I remember John Blake coaching 34 games, and his teams had at least one turnover in 32 of them.

I remember John Blake coaching 34 games, and his teams had at least THREE turnovers in 15 of them.

I remember John Blake coaching 34 games, and his teams having at least nine penalties in 21 of them.

I remember having 20 first downs against Northwestern in '97 and not scoring a single point.

[badger]

Geezer input...
To me the '74 MNC was indeed terrific (tho not as great as the '71 season). Remember, back then we had to hear how oh so f'in great the late '60s whorns were. I'm sure 2000 was quite a blessing for all, especially those who witnessed Blake games, but, to me, the early '70s was the beginning of SOONER MAGIC.

Ok, geeeezerrrr ;) what did you all think of not being declared champs in 1973? Outrage, or indifference? I know some declared OU champs, but then again, somebody declared USC champs over Texas even though Texas beat them in 2005.

[soonerx]

I was a freshman at OU in '95. At the time they didn't even really offer a degree for what I wanted, but I had always had my heart set on OU from growing up in Oklahoma and being a fan practically from birth. So I attended anyway, passing up a few track and full-ride academic scholarships to several lesser schools. Anyway, back to my point; I suffered through the Blake years as well. But I turned a 4 year degree into 6 years so I could stick it out long enough to not only watch Stoops come along and turn the program around, but also lead us to a national championship. I think I got my money's worth.

[fadada1]

i remember leaving the '97 osu game early in the 4th quarter (only game i ever left early) and cussing (loudly) the entire 10 minute walk back to cate. i'm sure i invented some new 4-letter word combinations that i should've written down. saw some people doing the exact same thing. talked to a buddy of mine i was sitting with a few days later. nobody knew where i went, all of the sudden i was gone. what a horrible feeling.

ahhh, those were the days.

[Sooner04]

Ok, geeeezerrrr ;) what did you all think of not being declared champs in 1973? Outrage, or indifference? I know some declared OU champs, but then again, somebody declared USC champs over Texas even though Texas beat them in 2005.
No reason for outrage. Alabamuh and Notre Dame both went through the regular season undefeated. We had a tie in LA against USC, 7-7, because we missed a bajillion field goals after Switzer failed to take a Brazilian exchange student from Ardmore, Oklahoma, named Tony DiRienzo along for the trip.

Alabmuh was #1 in the UPI poll, but they lost in the Sugar Bowl to ND, who was the AP champ.

We were on probation too because of the whole Kerry Jackson thing, so that didn't help.

[KingBarry]

OK, I am leaving this comment after only reading the first page. I won't read anymore of this. I can't wallow in that crap anymore. I would rather remember 55-17 one-hundred times than rememer the Blake years.

55-17 is embarrassing. I hate that it happened.

But Boo Blake was an unspeakable travesty, something beyond civilized norms.

I'm just not going into that dark past anymore.

[TopDawg]

i remember leaving the '97 osu game early in the 4th quarter (only game i ever left early) and cussing (loudly) the entire 10 minute walk back to cate. i'm sure i invented some new 4-letter word combinations that i should've written down. saw some people doing the exact same thing. talked to a buddy of mine i was sitting with a few days later. nobody knew where i went, all of the sudden i was gone. what a horrible feeling.

ahhh, those were the days.

You and I had high expectations before that '97 season.

Well, expectations for a winning season anyway.

[BigRedJed]

I remember John Blake only referring to Patrick Fletcher as "Fletcher".
Or "Fletch." Or something that sounded like "Fledge."

I remember De'Mond Parker rushing for a ton of yards despite his O-line being awful and opposing DCs decreeing that he was the one and only guy they had to stop.
I've often said that OU would have flirted with the top five in Stoops' first year if only two things had happened: Parker stays for that year (he probably kicks himself these days), and Kelly Gregg had one more year of eligibility (unfortunately impossible). Of course, Leach would have had to use Parker the right way, including burning clock when ahead at the end of the game.

Sorry to deviate from the thread theme.

[fadada1]

You and I had high expectations before that '97 season.

Well, expectations for a winning season anyway.

we were just stupid "keeeds" then.

:D

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Brian "Shank"leford haha Wow I almost forgot about that :P

[fadada1]

I've often said that OU would have flirted with the top five in Stoops' first year if only two things had happened: Parker stays for that year (he probably kicks himself these days), and Kelly Gregg had one more year of eligibility (unfortunately impossible). Of course, Leach would have had to use Parker the right way, including burning clock when ahead at the end of the game.

Sorry to deviate from the thread theme.

despite losing 5 games in '99, we lead in every game. with parker, no way we lose to notre dame, and we may hold onto the lead vs. texas. loved watching him, but hated him for leaving. probably would've been a better pro with a year of decent coaching under his belt. might have learned how to block.

[JohnnyMack]

I remember being surrounded by 40,000 Sooners and 10,000 Aggies when eATMe came to Norman in '97. To quote Lefty, I remember the frozen ground, so cold.

I didn't leave early. Man I wanted to though.

[BigRedJed]

Also -- and again this is more about Stoops' first season than it is the Blake reign of ineptness -- I remember fans coming UNGLUED when Stoops let Ahmed Kabba walk away. "OMFG!! He's the best receiver that ever stepped foot on Owen Field! Let's just fire Stoops now and get it over with!!"

Nothing against Kabba, who was a really nice player, but Stoops' response to the criticism was classic. That moment, in fact, might have been when my mancrush on Bob Stoops began in earnest.

[Sooner04]

Also -- and again this is more about Stoops' first season than it is the Blake reign of ineptness -- I remember fans coming UNGLUED when Stoops let Ahmed Kabba walk away. "OMFG!! He's the best receiver that ever stepped foot on Owen Field! Let's just fire Stoops now and get it over with!!"

Nothing against Kabba, who was a really nice player, but Stoops' response to the criticism was classic. That moment, in fact, might have been when my mancrush on Bob Stoops began in earnest.

I think we can find somebody who can catch eight balls.
---Bob Stoops on Ahmed Kabba.

[fadada1]

Also -- and again this is more about Stoops' first season than it is the Blake reign of ineptness -- I remember fans coming UNGLUED when Stoops let Ahmed Kabba walk away. "OMFG!! He's the best receiver that ever stepped foot on Owen Field! Let's just fire Stoops now and get it over with!!"

Nothing against Kabba, who was a really nice player, but Stoops' response to the criticism was classic. That moment, in fact, might have been when my mancrush on Bob Stoops began in earnest.

kabbas lack of motivation and work ethic was exactly what SOONER fans needed to understand how deep of a hole blake had created. the fact that DBs became better WRs than kabba could've imagined speaks volumes about stoops' coaching ability. stoops probably could've made TOPDAWG all conference.

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Someone should start a great Bob Stoop's quote thread. He has some understated classics.

[tulsaoilerfan]

I doubt it. I mean, I'm sure it was incredibly sweet when you consider that the '74 team was #1b on the all-time great Sooner teams ('56 has got to be 1a. Look at the stats, they don't lie).

But remember this, in the three seasons prior to '74, we'd lost two games and tied one. We went 32-2-1 from '71-73. Prior to 2000, we'd gone 4-8, 5-6 and 7-5: that's 16-19. The 2000 season was a lightning bolt from left field. It hit its crescendo against Nebraska and then we all held on for dear life as injuries took their toll.

Think about this: seniors on the 2000 team had an Independence Bowl loss on their resumes. That's it. If they were redshirted, they beat Texas their freshman year, but that's it.

Unless you truly experienced the Blake Era by sitting in Owen Field amongst 55-60,000 fans and watching just how putrid the football was, you just cannot comprehend how sweet 2000 was. The '74 title was a little bit removed from some lean years in the '60s, but the Monster was back and it was VERY well fed. Not so when Stoops arrived.

One of the best non-Norman OU crowds I was ever a part of was the Independence Bowl in '99. We flooded that place, and we rocked it. We were dying for something that resembled success.

We had no idea what awaited us in 2000. Never in our wildest dreams. Never.


I agree; there will NEVER be another championship as sweet as that one; there isn't a fan on here that even dreamed of winning it all that year when the season started

[MikeInNorman]

I also remember fighting Aggy and Kansas State over Oklahoma recruits (that didn't go to Tennessee or Nebraska), and losing about half of those battles. The Great Ahmad Kabba was one we won, unfortunately.

[virginiasooner]

After reading this entire thread, I'm relieved that I lived far away. My mother gave up her tickets after FORTY YEARS (1995) because she couldn't find anyone who wanted them, my sisters weren't interested, and I lived 1000 miles away. I would have snapped them up in a heartbeat. But the weekend Blake got fired my husband and I had our first date. And he loves OU football. He'd like to see them win a game (in person) though. We've been unlucky on our road trips, other than the Rose Bowl!

[TopDawg]

stoops probably could've made TOPDAWG all conference.

First team Belly-Slider.

[RacerX]

http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/unc/sports/m-footbl/auto_action/1272755.jpeg

[picasso]

don't forget hugs for fumbling kickoffs against NW at Chicago. I drove all the way up there for that crap.

[picasso]

I remember telling those NW fans that we'd win another title before they would.

I also recall being 0-4 and hearing from my golfing buddies. the lone other Sooner golfer would say "let 'em have their fun, we'll be back soon, the regents at OU won't allow us to be this bad for long.":)

[picasso]

I remember not going back to games after half time. mmmm beer.

I'll never forget all of the oSu fans in Norman in '97.:mad:

[Vaevictis]

I bet the one in 1974 felt pretty sweet back then - waiting since '56, or about 18 years is longer than 15 years. You'd think three seasons is a minor difference, but hey, how long does it feel since our January 2005 title appearance?

My father has been a Sooner fan all his life. I was never a football fan before 2000. He tried to get me interested. He's held season tickets since 1994, if I recall correctly. I got hauled to every game.

Here's what I remember: Thinking before every game, "If we're going to win, our defense is going to have to score."

That's it. That's how bad we were. Every game, no matter how bad the opponent, I figured the only way we were going to win is if the defense scored.

On to the 1974 point -- I don't believe it for a moment. From the moment I was born, I was not a football fan. Nothing my father did could move me. Not 1985. Not 50 yard lines at OU-Texas in 1996. Nothing.

But then came 2000. I was living in Fort Lauderdale at the time. My father got four tickets to the National Championship game, and I went with my parents and my wife, just to hang out with my family. My wife had never even really watched a football game.

By this time, I was cheering for the Sooners for my father -- he had gone to every home game from 1994-2000. I remember sitting in the stands with him in drubbing after drubbing, embarrassing humiliating moment after moment. I figured he deserved some wins after sitting through that.

We sat in the end-zone of the Orange Bowl in 2000.

The sheer euphoria of the Sooners around us converted my wife and I, on the spot. I had never experienced anything like it before, nor anything like it since. A fanbase gone from depression and humiliation and just plain beaten, year after year to National Champion almost overnight.

I can't imagine 1974 was anything like it. At all.

[The Maestro]

don't forget hugs for fumbling kickoffs against NW at Chicago. I drove all the way up there for that crap.

TRAVIAN SMITH!! JUST PICK UP THE FUMBLE ALREADY!!!!

Ugh!

[califsooner]

Also living pretty far away my memories aren't as detailed or not as rough as some, but nonetheless definitely makes us appreciate our current situation.

For myself.......

I remember attending the SUC out here in L.A. when Jamelle's knee was just not what it was and Barry allowing him to struggle all day in his hometown and Rodney Peete picking us apart all day.....but obviously still a decent team before the chaos began.

I then remember the frustrating FG fest in the desert vs the U of A and feeling for the team and the fans flying back home after that one.

I remember being in the end zone at the Rose Bowl when C. Gundy and the boys ran the Bruins pretty good, and then a few weeks later attending my first of 5 straight RR games in Dallas and enduring a 1pt loss.

I remember my 2nd RR game and a 10-7 loss and actually continuing my trip to Norman for CU the following week and watching little 5' 7'' Darian Hagan take the Buffs on two 95+ yard drives to put the game away handily.....and the best part before heading back west was my uncle in the athletic dept introducing me to some of the players at the Bud including Aubrey Beavers who I was told was lucky to pass any of his classes.

I remember losing to UT once again and later that year the travesty of losing a football game to KSU, who we all know was near the bottom of Div. 1 forever.

I remember the opening game in Syracuse on the road and Garrick McGee making our offense look like something to get pumped about for the new year and we pull out a nice win, then we go and lose the next game vs A&M the following week on the way to a 6-6 year......then seeing my 4th of 5 losses to the whorns which was my last visit to the Cotton bowl, and then we lose a HOME game to KSU later that year. OUCH!!!

I finally remember making the short trips to San Diego and then to Berkeley watching those teams completely torch our horrid secondary and seeing Stephen Alexander line up at WR and be our biggest threat on offense....and then having to make the long walk back to the car in that hippie town @ Cal and hearing it from drunk Bears fans!!!

My how times have changed......and yes, 2000 was something special at a time we least expected it!!!

[The Maestro]

I find it interesting that it took year ten of Bob Stoops before this thread was started. Everyone is talking about memories like children stripped of their childhood in counseling. Greatness!

[BigRedJed]

I remember defensive players jumping around, chest thumping and high-fiving for getting moderate hits on guys at the end of plays where the opposition gained 4, 5, and more yards.

[BigRedJed]

I find it interesting that it took year ten of Bob Stoops before this thread was started. Everyone is talking about memories like children stripped of their childhood in counseling. Greatness!
Dude, this is probably the twentieth time this thread has been started. It's just more entertaining when 04 does it.

[The Maestro]

Dude, this is probably the twentieth time this thread has been started. It's just more entertaining when 04 does it.

I wake up in a new world everyday!

And to your previous point, I used to get SICK of Martin Chase waving his arms for the fans to get fired up and then he would get driven back on the next play. I seriously would think, "DUDE!! Save your energy telling me to scream and make a freaking play!!!!'

[Outopia]

I remember Dean Blevins telling Eshbach that (in 97 or 98) OU would never return to what they once were. I agreed with him. I'm glad we were both wrong.

[BigRedJed]

Hopefully you're right more often than Dean is.

[Judge Smails]

The Red Swarm


OH MY GOD. I've been trying to remember what that was called. That was the dumbest thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

The guy that thought of that should have been castrated with a plastic spork. :mad: :mad: :mad:

The only good thing about the Blake years is that the first year I got season tickets they were against the south wall on the west side. The next year, they were on the 48 yard line. And that's where they still are today. Without Blake that would have taken me decades to make that move.
.

[ouwasp]

I remember BBS making excuses for OUs poor play at KSU one year...something like "We have to remember these are a bunch of 17-18 yr olds away from home for one of the first times...

Yes... I gnashed my teeth.

[tulsaoilerfan]

Hopefully you're right more often than Dean is.

That wouldn't be too hard :D

[RedRum]

TRAVIAN SMITH!! JUST PICK UP THE FUMBLE ALREADY!!!!

Ugh!

Heh. My dad and I were there too. I remember him yelling "OH, EVERYBODY'S GOTTA BE A F****** HERO! JUST FALL ON THE D*** BALL"

He was prone to fits of rage between 1995 and 1999

[OUstud]

OK, I don't know if this was infantile amnesia or what, but in 98 at Mizzou (I was 9, listening on the radio), did OU punt/kick a FG on third down (or at least try to)? Because I swear that happened, I may have just misunderstood BBS (shocker).

[arenateam]

I remember when Demond Parker blew up against San Diego State in 96.

[MrJimBeam]

Sometimes I envy fans that still have a reason to rush the field after beating a ranked opponent or becoming bowl eligible, y'know?

So you envy [hairGel] :stunned: ?

[tennsooner]

How could this thread go on for so long and no one bring up Blake referring to the point after as fieldgoals?:D :D

[Position Limit]

the calamity of the blake era was just the final stop of one very sad and strange odyssey that was the decade after the king left. it was like living in a parallel universe. john blake, donnie duncan, steve owens, smellsofbourbon, gary gibbs, the new big 12 confrence, k state in the top 5, "cats and dogs living with each other".
sitting in the stands watching stoops lift that crystal ball and claim #7 made it all worth it. the weight of the world had been lifted off this program. what an amazing season. none of this could have been scripted any better.
stoops could never win another game at ou and he would get a pass in my book for having delivered this program from the mismanagement and ineptitude that had plagued us for so long. we are the big swingin' dicks of the big12 and contend every year for national title. this year we erase the the last few bcs loses and hoist the crystal again.
mark it dude.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

I've often said that OU would have flirted with the top five in Stoops' first year if only two things had happened: Parker stays for that year (he probably kicks himself these days), and Kelly Gregg had one more year of eligibility (unfortunately impossible). Of course, Leach would have had to use Parker the right way, including burning clock when ahead at the end of the game.

meh, parker coming back wouldn't have had near the impact on that team as it would have had on the 2003 team (by allowing Q to redshirt).

[BigRedJed]

Probably not, because Leach didn't believe in running the ball. But I think that Parker was a better college running back than Q. I just don't LIKE him as much. How 'bout them apples?

[picasso]

I find it interesting that it took year ten of Bob Stoops before this thread was started. Everyone is talking about memories like children stripped of their childhood in counseling. Greatness!

or it might have been inspired by Brando's sitting with spoiled Sooner fans during the TCU contest. I had to tell a lady behind me like it is, after hearing her complain and complain about our coaches not wanting to score more.

[Big Red Ron]

I remember seemingly bright people saying that we were about to turn the corner and that Boo deserved another year or two. :rolleyes:

I'm glad those fine people weren't listened to.

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

I still think Blake can turn it around




















;)

[Pricetag]

I remember seemingly bright people saying that we were about to turn the corner and that Boo deserved another year or two. :rolleyes:

I'm glad those fine people weren't listened to.
One more would have been all it took. We were danged close against Cal and Colorado. Best two games we ever lost, IMO.

[BigRedJed]

Dude was/is a fine recruiter and a really good position coach. But I think the fact that he has stayed in coaching and yet has not even attained a coordinator position since leaving OU proves the point that he was a little less than qualified to be a head coach.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Dude was/is a fine recruiter.

if this were the case then nebraska would be oozing with talent right now. the myth of john blake is that while he can reel them in, he has no idea if its a marlin or a guppy.

http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121506aab.html

[BigRedJed]

I do not disagree with that assessment. Basically, he's really good at getting certain athletes, and that's about it. I'm guessing that means he's good at talking to momma. I never said he knows what to do with them once he has them, or that he has any track record of turning them into anything. I think we all know the score on that one.

[Big Red Ron]

One more would have been all it took. We were danged close against Cal and Colorado. Best two games we ever lost, IMO.
heh, and don't think people didn't think that way either. Heck, I bet there are still a few around.

[SoonerKnight]

luckily I was overseas during the Blake years and did not have to suffer watching those bad games. I did get to arrive home in time to see Stoops get there and save the day!!! :D

[Leroy Lizard]

I remember when callers to WLS got to call the offense. If the callers in a certain week wanted the I-formation, that's what Blake would install.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

I was a freshman at OU in '97. I remember how "un-cool" it was to wear Sooner gear b/c we sucked so bad. That didn't stop me though, I had grown up a Sooner fan. All these bring back memories and watching the stadium just all of a sudden fill up in '99 to the MNC in 2000. All of a sudden all the students were wearing OU gear. All of a sudden, the student body as a whole was proud to be Sooners. Being a student through Blake and then with Stoops coming on was incredible. I couldn't have asked for a better time to be a student.

[Paperclip]

I do not disagree with that assessment. Basically, he's really good at getting certain athletes, and that's about it. I'm guessing that means he's good at talking to momma. I never said he knows what to do with them once he has them, or that he has any track record of turning them into anything. I think we all know the score on that one.

We had an IT guy at work that bought a bunch of new really good servers and equipment. Problem was he couldn't get the stuff to work right. I called him John Blake.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

I also remember during that time, a buddy and I always snuck in a 5th of rum. So, luckily, I don't remember a lot of the games :D

[TopDawg]

I was a freshman at OU in '97. I remember how "un-cool" it was to wear Sooner gear b/c we sucked so bad. That didn't stop me though, I had grown up a Sooner fan. All these bring back memories and watching the stadium just all of a sudden fill up in '99 to the MNC in 2000. All of a sudden all the students were wearing OU gear. All of a sudden, the student body as a whole was proud to be Sooners. Being a student through Blake and then with Stoops coming on was incredible. I couldn't have asked for a better time to be a student.

I think the Sooner gear thing was a college football phenomenon, not just a Sooner thing. It wasn't until the late 90's that you started to see stadiums full of their school colors everywhere. Check out some of these pictures of the top teams/players of 1997. I tried to find pics that showed a lot of the crowd behind them. Not a lot of school colors being worn.

http://collegeotr.s3.amazonaws.com/images/blogs/0dbe38041ecc11de34c1c5641c051621.jpg

http://www.peytonmanning18.com/PeytonTennesseeProgram.JPG

Well, okay, I'm having a hard time coming across very many more. Suffice it to say that I know that in the televised broadcast of the 1995 OU/Texas game (which was a game between two Top 20 teams), you can tell where the crowd is divided, but only if you know to look for it. It's nothing like it is now where it jumps out at you.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

So, OU has to be a title contender for it to be cool to wear school colors!

[tennsooner]

if this were the case then nebraska would be oozing with talent right now. the myth of john blake is that while he can reel them in, he has no idea if its a marlin or a guppy.

http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121506aab.html

I think the legend of Blake as a great recruiter started by all the great top ten classes he recruited....oh wait ...there were none.:D

[Sooner04]

I remember that, no matter how god awful those '96-98 Oklahoma teams were, John Blake NEVER lost to Baylor. 25% of his total wins and 38% of his conference wins came against that joke of a program in Waco.

[8timechamps]

One thing that sticks out to me was the first game our offense came to the line in the wishbone.

The stadium erupted (sadly, I was among them).

That lasted for about 3 plays...within 20 minutes, folks in my section started yelling "we need to throw the ball more!".

It is funny how far we've come to get back to where we were.

[BigRedJed]

I remember that, no matter how god awful those '96-98 Oklahoma teams were, John Blake NEVER lost to Baylor. 25% of his total wins and 38% of his conference wins came against that joke of a program in Waco.
Baylor Penguin is going to be angry.

[BigRedJed]

One thing that sticks out to me was the first game our offense came to the line in the wishbone.

The stadium erupted (sadly, I was among them).

That lasted for about 3 plays...within 20 minutes, folks in my section started yelling "we need to throw the ball more!".

It is funny how far we've come to get back to where we were.
If the team lined up in the wishbone today, even as a joke/tribute, probably 1/3 of the stadium (or more) wouldn't know what they were looking at.

:(

[stoopified]

Blake?Wasn't he killed off in the 3rd season of M*A*S*H ?

[Sooner04]

It could always be worse, sports fans.

Much, much worse.

[silverwheels]

It could always be worse, sports fans.

Much, much worse.

Yes, it could. I grew up watching OU in the 90s and was still a fan even though we were horrible. Ironically my first solid memory of watching OU was the Copper Bowl against BYU. Now I wish I could forget Saturday night.

But just because it could be worse it doesn't mean we shouldn't expect it to be better than what it was a few days ago. That was inexcusable for us to be prepared that poorly when we had the same amount of time off as BYU.

[Sooner24]

It could always be worse, sports fans.

Much, much worse.

I think a bunch of the morons, that seem to have come out of the woodwork, would like to go back to those glorious days of yesteryear.

[Sooner04]

But just because it could be worse it doesn't mean we shouldn't expect it to be better than what it was a few days ago. That was inexcusable for us to be prepared that poorly when we had the same amount of time off as BYU.
I agree. But when the mob is out and about with their torches and pitchforks wanting to string up coordinators in the night I think back to those dark days in the late 90s when poor preparation and negligible organization produced beatdowns to the tune of 73-21 and 69-7.

[silverwheels]

I can see where they're coming from, though. Pretty much all of our losses over the past several years follow a disturbing pattern that seems to stem from lack of preparation by the coordinators or unwillingness to adjust during the game.

[Jello Biafra]

although i was thinking about this thread at some point saturday night, things could be much worse...we could have had a presser today announcing brody eldridge as the starting QB this weekend...

[Sooner04]

The Idaho State will mark our second game of the season. Landry Jones, presumably, will start at quarterback. That's two different starting quarterbacks in a season, but it's only 40% of the way to the number of starting QBs we used in 1998.

[Partial Qualifier]

I remember the Woods Boys, Mike and Pee Wee, neither of whom could cover Janet Reno on a fade route.



Not that I don't trust your memory, 04. But I remember Mike Woods being a shut-down corner. Like, one of the only real NFL-caliber talents on that team. Pee Wee was the one getting burnt more often than not.


No?

[Jello Biafra]

im not sure which but woods is not a name that creates fear in the minds of northwestern university. lol

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Not that I don't trust your memory, 04. But I remember Mike Woods being a shut-down corner. Like, one of the only real NFL-caliber talents on that team. Pee Wee was the one getting burnt more often than not.


No?

Mike Woods was better but I wouldn't tag him shut-down.

[Sooner04]

Not that I don't trust your memory, 04. But I remember Mike Woods being a shut-down corner. Like, one of the only real NFL-caliber talents on that team. Pee Wee was the one getting burnt more often than not. No?
Anybody, including you and me, would look like a shutdown corner alongside Pee Wee Woods.

[fadada1]

'97 was my first season back after 5 1/2 years away from OU (in the navy). thankfully, i was on deployment during the fall of '96, and saw none of blake's first year. the internet was "nothing big" as yet, and we didn't get anything remotely like that on the ship (didn't even know what e-mail was until i got to OU that summer).

i digress... i remember thinking how crazy it was to think that a win of syracuse was huge - only to get kicked in the nuts for the rest of the season.

i remember talking with TopDawg about our optimism for the '98 season - only to get kicked in the nuts yet again.

i remember having my mom come to the baylor game in '97, and to her amazement she could get on (AND PARK) campus 30 minutes prior to kickoff.

i remember thinking... i hope 10 years from now, we look back on these times and remember how shi**ty our program was run... but those times are gone, and now our optimism is real.

i hope the players that played during the blake era feel a sense of pride and accomplishment for STILL and ALWAYS being SOONERS. i feel bad that many of the players from that era were cheated from becoming champions because of the coaching staff, or cheated from becoming their best.

[tanjou]

You're right, we should not improve anything that is not as bad as it could be.

[Sooner24]

You're right, we should not improve anything that is not as bad as it could be.

Nor should we throw out the baby with the bath water.

[Sooner04]

You're right, we should not improve anything that is not as bad as it could be.
<----------------------------(THE POINT)-----------------------------









you

[stoopified]

We were pretty god in the Blake era,even made the Elite Eight. Shouldn't this thread be on the basketball board?

[En_Fuego]

Thank you all for sharing.

I remember December 29 1994 at the Copper Bowl and looking up in the Sky Box seats and saw our Saviour.......I could not wait for this Man to take over and lead us to Glory......Movies and Books were going to be written about the Glorious One.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s138/persaus_photo/58-1240813_embedded_prod_affiliate_.jpg

[Sooner70]

I remember Schnelly because he dressed well, smoked a pipe & put out one of the classic Press Guides of all time--1995. I still refer to it.

As far as Blake, I remember sitting in my back yard listening to OU games hoping for an offensive series of downs without some type of penalty. (Kinda like it started Sat Nite with BYU).

I remember the pride I felt when we could drive the ball on anybody to the point of attempting a field goal.

I remember the elation of scoring a TD, which were few & far between.

I remember thinking how far OU football had fallen from the Switzer years.

I remember thinking of how does one recruit quality players with a mess like this going on.

I remember a co-worker at work (Tulsa) explaining how good a man John Blake really was.....and to this day I still believe John Blake is a good man.....just not what OU needed. Just like OU not needing the great Steve Owens as AD.

[agoo758]

BUMP!

I remeber being 9 years old and asking Dad if OU was ever good at football. :eek:

[jumperstop]

First started attending games around 95, would have been 8 or 9. Sat through a lot of bad games. Good thing I never experienced the past success or I would have been a lot more pissed during those games.

[picasso]

These were the years where we would go get a beer at halftime and stay there.

[oudavid1]

Since im the youngest, or one of the youngest on this board....
I want to share my very first memory.

The greatest play in Sooner history to me.

http://ktul.images.worldnow.com/images/13590363_SS.jpg

I will never forget. Thanks Curtis.

[oudavid1]

and as an 8 year old kid, i too rushed the field that day. By myself.

[bmjlr]

BUMP!

I remeber being 9 years old and asking Dad if OU was ever good at football. :eek:

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :D

[oklaclarinet]

As bad as the football was, the Blake Era was part of the time when I fell in love with the OU gameday experience.

The first OU football game I remember going to was the Iowa State game in 1994 with my church youth group. (I was at the 1982 West Virginia game, but I definitely don't remember it.) I enjoyed enough that my entire family went to the Nebraska game that year. We ended up getting season tickets starting in 1995. They were part of what was called the "Sooner Saver Section" in the north endzone, a discount program to try get people to come to bad football games.

Three memories stand out to me from that era, all from 1997:

In 1997, my family won two free season tickets from a contest. They were located on the SW corner around the 5 yard line 5 rows up. We kids got to take turns taking friends to the game and sitting in those seats. One time I was down there was the Syracuse game when the field goal was blocked at the end of the game.

A second time I was down there was at the Texas A&M game. I remember how cold it was and how few people were still there in the fourth quarter. When OU scored late, I was jumping up and down and cheering as loud as I could. The camera guy put my picture on the screen with the caption, "Thanks for being a great Sooner fan."

The third memory was of a trip to Stillwater that year. My high school band had a marching contest at Lewis Field. We were the last band to perform that day (sometime around 4:00). Right before we march on, the stadium announcer comes over the PA and gives one and only one score update: Nebraska 62, OU 0 in the 4th. That was not what I wanted to hear right before taking the field for my first ever performance at the state championships. However, later that same day, I was walking around and saw where someone had written 6-0 on the sidewalk in chalk, as that was what OSU had started that season. However, they had lost their first game the weekend before, so I found a white rock nearby and marked a big 1 right through that 0.

[Leroy Lizard]

As bad as the football was, the Blake Era was part of the time when I fell in love with the OU gameday experience.

And so it started.

http://images.sabob.com/products/images/1/Sexy_Adult_Womens_Halloween_Costumes_Black_Wet_Loo k_Madame_Mistress_Dominatrix_Costume_Theme_Party_O utfit.jpeg

[oudavid1]

And so it started.

http://images.sabob.com/products/images/1/Sexy_Adult_Womens_Halloween_Costumes_Black_Wet_Loo k_Madame_Mistress_Dominatrix_Costume_Theme_Party_O utfit.jpeg

time to change your avatar LeRoy!!!

pwease:)))

[VA Sooner]

Re-hashing moments I had suppressed for so many years.... ouch.

Surely make you thankful for these past few years.

God bless the Sooner Nation and a happy new year to all.

[Leroy Lizard]

time to change your avatar LeRoy!!!

pwease:)))

If you saw the pic I have as the replacement, you wouldn't be saying that. :D

[Mazeppa]

I would like to thank John Blake for making it easy for me to purchase season tickets in 1998. I still sit in that seat.
Thank You Boo.

[oudavid1]

If you saw the pic I have as the replacement, you wouldn't be saying that. :D

who is it?

[Leroy Lizard]

who is it?

More like "What?"

[oudavid1]

More like "What?"

ewwwwww

[Dio]

I would like to thank John Blake for making it easy for me to purchase season tickets in 1998. I still sit in that seat.
Thank You Boo.

This. Except it was'97 for me

[basel90]

I've had this discussion before with some friends of mine on this board, and it always brings me some perspective. Sometimes, when I bitch loudly in the upper deck about atrocious special teams play, I think back to a red and white Twister board that we used to get our respective units "on" the field. I use the term "on" loosely because you never really knew if there'd be 10, 12, 9, 11 or 13 men on the field for any given play.

I remember seeing OU give up a 99-yard-run and a 99-yard-pass within 53 weeks of each other. The first was in Norman against Tulsa in '96 and the other was against Kansas a year later in Lawrence.

I remember outgaining Kansas by 170 yards in '96 and losing by 28.

I remember the offense taking the field against Nebraska in the fourth quarter in '96 down 73-0.

I remember the "Rotating Quarterback Wheel of Death" that plagued the '98 season.

I remember Chip Ambres.

I remember my grandfather being furious over winning in Fort Worth in '98 because he was convinced we'd saved Blake's job.

I remember him being even more horrified when we beat Tech later that year.

I remember Dick Winder finally being given the keys to the offense prior to the Tech game in '97 and seeing OU dominate the Red Raiders in Lubbock. Blake promptly fired him two days later.

I remember Brandon Daniels and the Wishbone.

I remember going for two while down nine with a couple of minutes to play against Colorado in '98. We missed, then got the ball back and scored. You guessed it, we lost by two.

I remember being surrounded by 40,000 Sooners and 10,000 Aggies when eATMe came to Norman in '97. To quote Lefty, I remember the frozen ground, so cold.

I remember Justin Fuente playing a pretty good 1st half of football in Lawrence against Kansas in '97. I remember Fuente never stepping onto the field in the second half. I remember us drilling the tying field goal only to be flagged for not having enough men on the line of scrimmage, and I remember the pain moments later when the next attempt was blocked.

I remember Joe Dickinson and his bag of tricks.

I remember the destruction of the recruiting files.

I remember the 46 defense.

I remember Eric Moore running out of bounds at the two-yard-line on 4th and Goal against Tech in '96.

I remember the bags on people's heads.

I remember sprinting to the line from the huddle.

I remember scoring 7-7-7-7 over four straight games in '97.

I remember thinking after the Texas game in '98 that I may not see us win in Dallas again for a VERY long time.

But, most of all, I remember the dread. I remember worrying about what would go wrong this week. I remember worrying about who on Earth was going to play quarterback. I remember thinking that everything I'd grown up loving about OU football was dead, gone, and that it was never coming back.

Now, ten years removed from that walk through the desert, I remind myself sometimes of where we are and what we've come from. It's a good reality check for me every time I berate Reynolds for not covering the TE again.

You know, we're awfully lucky to have what we have.


I recall many on this board were testy when someone criticized Blake , and when i did , i recall some posts calling to ban me... I am glad some of those morons are not on this board anymore.

[Leroy Lizard]

I remember Brandon Daniels and the Wishbone.

I remember calling out "Pitch it! Pitch it!"

[Leroy Lizard]

My contrary nature leads me to find good things to say about Blake, just to **** off everyone. But I just can't think of anything.

And I'm not bull****ting. I really, really can't.

[texaspokieokie]

I would like to thank John Blake for making it easy for me to purchase season tickets in 1998. I still sit in that seat.
Thank You Boo.

we got our tickets in 1989. thanx "mudcat".

[Al Gore]

Didn't we get a penalty for having 14 on the field? Maybe it was the booze?

[101sooner]

I recall many on this board were testy when someone criticized Blake , and when i did , i recall some posts calling to ban me... I am glad some of those morons are not on this board anymore.

Dude? Soonerfans '98 grudge?

[opksooner]

My contrary nature leads me to find good things to say about Blake, just to **** off everyone. But I just can't think of anything.

And I'm not bull****ting. I really, really can't.

Old Chinese proverb is appropriate in this case.

"Everyone brings happiness. Some by coming in....some by leaving."

[JRAM]

I remember John Blake embarrassing all Sooners just by breathing, walking and looking dumb. Blake was nothing more than an obese, braindead, ignorant, moral-less, crap encrusted piece of fecal matter. How he ever was hired by the adm. at OU is beyond mine or anyone else's understanding. He almost dragged the OU program to a level where it couldn't be retrieved. Thank God for CASTIGLIONE and STOOPS.

[jkjsooner]

I recall many on this board were testy when someone criticized Blake , and when i did , i recall some posts calling to ban me... I am glad some of those morons are not on this board anymore.

You've been on this board since '98 and your post count is 79? You must be the anti-Leroy.

I remember posting on the unofficial board and boomersooner.net back then.

[Leroy Lizard]

I remember John Blake embarrassing all Sooners just by breathing, walking and looking dumb. Blake was nothing more than an obese, braindead, ignorant, moral-less, crap encrusted piece of fecal matter. How he ever was hired by the adm. at OU is beyond mine or anyone else's understanding.

It's not hard to understand. We had a former legendary coach afflicted with white guilt who pushed him for the job.* The idea was that Blake, because he was black, would boost OU's recruiting and soothe those overcome with political correctness.

He was better than Gibbs in recruiting, but a little more talent can't make up for general incompetence.

* Yes, he was the King. But it's true.

[birddog]

I remember the Taco Tech game in 98, and being pissed that we won cause i also thought that would save Blake's job; thankfully i was wrong. :)

i was at that game and some of our fans were giving the tceh fans the business when one of them cleverly retorted, "ENJOY PROBATION!" not sure what that was all about at the time:confused:.

i went to that game hoping to see us git blowed up but of course sand aggie goes sand aggie. by the end of the game i was pulling for blake to keep his job. then i sat in traffic for 20 minutes and decided blake should bugger off. what a mess that was. and those were PRIME college years for me. :D

[stoopified]

I would like to thank John Blake for making it easy for me to purchase season tickets in 1998. I still sit in that seat.
Thank You Boo. I had not thought of that.I already had season tickests(got them in '88) but was able to get better seats thanks to Gibbs,Smells-of Bourbon , and of course Boo.

[basel90]

You've been on this board since '98 and your post count is 79? You must be the anti-Leroy.

I remember posting on the unofficial board and boomersooner.net back then.

seriously , i may have used a different user name but i do recall vividly being blasted on the board for criticizing blake.

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

To be fair, back then everyone got blasted for any comment. Those were good times, however, I am trying to recall if this was even around then.

[70sooner]

I doubt it. I mean, I'm sure it was incredibly sweet when you consider that the '74 team was #1b on the all-time great Sooner teams ('56 has got to be 1a. Look at the stats, they don't lie).


1971 Nebbish is considered by some as the best all time CFB team, If that is so, I consider the 71 OU team 1a of all time teams. The only difference was 2 incredibly obvious clips on a punt return by Johnny Freakin Rodgers.

As for the 74 team, if you were lucky enough to have been able to watch the teams from 70 thru 75, you were able to watch some of the best players to ever don the Crimson and Creme.During that time, OU was on probation for 2 years and back then there was this little rule about the number of times you could be on national tv per season (or 2 years, I forget), so even before and after the probabtion, if you weren't at the games, you missed out on a lot of greatness.

[KantoSooner]

Thinking back on that rivalry, I am serious when I say that the CCG victory over Nebs a month ago ranks up there with our all time great wins.

We beat them. Forever.

It may be another generation before they get a shot at redemption. And all that time, they will have to walk the earth knowing that they lost the last game.

<insert maniacal laughter here>

[Cornfed]

I try to claim memory loss when anyone mentions 95-98 OU football.

[SoonerBOkie]

Season Rushing
Demond Parker Fr 1996 1,184 yds 6.58 avg
Demond Parker So 1997 1,143 yds 5.89 avg
Demond Parker Jr 1998 1,076 yds 5.25 avg

1997 Syracuse 36-34

[PLaw]

I paid big bucks (many, many beers) and had the Blake era totally erased from my memory. Talk about the TGOWWDNS - this should be the TCOWWDNS.

BOOMER

[oudivesherpa]

I remember having 50 yard line seats (Section 31, row 23) and not being able to give the seats away. I lived in Houston and just gave up on trying to go to the games--I got Houston Oiler season tickets instead. My son, now has season tickets (four in the upper deck) and I try to see as many games as I can. Moral: Never give up on the Sooners!

And don't bitch about 11 win seasons, that would cover almost 4 years of college during the Blake era.

[reddfoxx]

My favorite memory was actually the coaches show on the sports animal after the games. When callers would bash the pathetic offense scheme, Joe Dickinson would always challenge them to a fist fight.

[DRLSooner]

Our season ticket campaign in 1997 was focused on "Come see the lights" referring to our new permanent lighting. Good God.

The Sooner Shockwave almost made me jump over the wall from my seats on row 72.

"Great Sooner Moments" showing a play against friggin Baylor the week before made me punch my buddy in the throat for no reason.

I still, to this day, cannot believe Stoops got it turned around as fast as he did. Thank God for Bob Stoops. Boomer Sooner.

[OUthunder]

Remembering when Tulsa kicked our ***.

UGGH

[Salt City Sooner]

Remembering when Tulsa kicked our *** with their backup quarterback.

UGGH
FIFY.

[agoo758]

I remember Dad being so mad after a loss to San Diego St. that he called sick to work and went camping for a week.

[OUthunder]

cough> being shut out by Northwestern<cough

[OUstud]

Our season ticket campaign in 1997 was focused on "Come see the lights" referring to our new permanent lighting. Good God.

Oh yeah! I remember those. "Lights...camera...action!" How times have changed.

[Pricetag]

I got Houston Oiler season tickets instead.
How'd that work out for you?

[OUmillenium]

I remember my buddies and I deciding on Sat morn if we should go to the game, sometimes later like 2 hr before gametime. We did this in Weatherford, OK, by the way. So its normally about 1 hr to 1 hr 20 min to Norman in regular traffic. We could make a similar drive and drop $10 for a ticket, then walk down to almost any seat we wanted on the east side. The drunkern anger after most games was not pretty. Yes we jumped out on the field v. Syracuse, thought it might be the only time a "field rush" would ever happen. My buddy was there in 2000 and rushed the field v. Nebraska to make the circle complete.

Texass fans totally feared Demond Parker back in the day and always felt lucky to beat us. They didn't truly understand the incompetence that was John Blake. By the way, he was 1-2 v. TExass!

[MR2-Sooner86]

OLAwicxS7Zs

Heh, 5:14.

[Leroy Lizard]

OLAwicxS7Zs

Heh, 5:14.

How strange.

[badger]

Is this kid describing John Blake?


There was one guy -- I'm not going to mention his name -- and he'd flash his Super Bowl rings and talk about all these NFL players that he coached. Everybody in the industry knew he was a bad egg and took what he said with a grain of salt.

Even if not it's a good read. Check it out here. (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&page=wojciechowski/110105)

[Soonerson1975]

I remember his answer for everything was "I'm doing it 4 da kidz".

[KantoSooner]

There's really no substitute for fundamental quality. And Stoops has that. Successful guy with high degree of honor.
I think there are several programs enjoying on-field success this season who are likely to end up unhappy with the corners they've cut along the way. (I'm looking right at you, Auburn.)

[SpankyNek]

I remember that we hired John Blake in an attempt to "Keep up with the Jones'" as osu had hired Simmons.

Yep, we allowed aggie to set the trend.

Did we also get Rex Ryan for the same reason, or do I have that one backward?

[NMSooner'80]

I could be remembering this incorrectly, but a certain DOK columnist was rather over-impressed with Simmons. And this was to the point that Stoops' hire was received by said columnist with some comment to the effect that OU had hired "the next guy who Simmons would send packing from the state."

Then in '99, Stoops' team whipped the great Simmons' over-hyped team, 44-7. Simmons was gone after the 2000 season, even though their one-game season included a near-miss against OU at Rustoleum Stadium.

[OUmillenium]

Nice!

I like it. "Simmons over-hyped team"

[OUthunder]

The Blake era was a drunken blur for me. Unfortunately, I was sober for a few of the games that we should have won (against lesser opponents) but didn't. The offense during his tenure was terrible.

[Cornfed]

I do remember hearing from pokie fans that it would be a decade til we won again... I guess the decade lasted one year.