Joy or Relief?

[MI Sooner]

As much as I disliked all those recent bowl losses, the thing that still really irritates me about them is that I can't fully enjoy this run. I need us to win so we don't become a joke. I know our accomplishments speak for themselves, even if we lose, but 25 days from kickoff, I don't feel anticipation but rather anxiety. If we win, I'll feel relief, not joy. That's what made the 2000 run so special. It was unexpected, and I savored every minute of it.

Last year, while watching the fourth quarter of the Fiesta Bowl, I said that I wouldn't care about anything besides winning our bowl game this year. Obviously, when the RRS rolls around, it's hard to stick to that promise. And with big games the last three weeks, I can't say that I was able to dispassionately watch my Sooners. But now that we've won another CCG (the fact that they're getting boring is a testament to our greatness), I'm starting to remember the feeling from last year, and that I don't want to have it again.

I don't want to have two dozen neutral friends at my house watch me swear a blue streak at the TV. I don't want to take crap from people at work. I don't care that they went to some DII school that hasn't won a conference championship in two decades, I still hate hearing it.

I can't imagine what it'll be like for people who have to deal with either UT or Florida fans if we lose. How about everyone else? Are you going to be able to enjoy this, or just feel better when it's over? A friend of mine made a vulgar, but apt, analogy. 2000 was like making love to a beautiful woman, one you never thought was attainable, and beating FSU was the climax. This year is like taking a long road trip after eating breakfast at McDonalds and refilling your coffee a few times, but the next stop is 20 miles away. Well, we're approaching that stop. Are we going to feel the relief of a laying a pipe-clogger that coils around the bowl, or are we going to **** our pants?

[iddave]

Well put brother. Living in Boise, I still catch a ration of crap everytime I wear my OU hat around town. Every dillhole I work with is a rabid BSU fan. OU tanking against WV last year didn't ease my suffering I assure you. Another National Championship is the ONLY thing that might make this town bearable for me again.....along with TCU stomping BSU of course. I'd truly rather play in and win the Cottom Bowl than continue to watch my beloved Sooners get their a$$es handed to them every year during a BCS game in the national spotlight.

[Jacie]

You are feeling anxiety because you worry about what others think or say.

You want your allegiance to the Oklahoma Sooners to be a source of pride not embarrassment.

You wear this anxiety like a heavily weighted chain around your neck.

The seeds of your emancipation from these chains can be found in your post.

. . . our accomplishments speak for themselves, even if we lose

You cannot affect what happens on the field.

You can control your attitude about it, win or lose, and it is simple.

Be proud to call your self a Sooner, in victory or defeat.

Those who chide you are either jealous (they would never admit it) or are not worthy of your contempt, let alone your concern.

There is a reason it is a big deal when Oklahoma loses and that is because Oklahoma does not lose very often.

It is always a special case.

That is nothing to be ashamed of but rather, a mark of respect.

Be proud to be an Oklahoma Sooner.

[MyT Oklahoma]

After 37 years of Sooner football here is my best advice.... "Don't worry. Be happy."

Whatever is going to happen is going to happen whether you worry about it or not and trust me, no one will feel worse about losing this game (and I really don't think that we will) than our Coaches and players. If they can live with it, so can I. I'd rather not of course but then that's life.

As for what UT fans or Florida fans would say if we lose, who cares? They are both unwashed infidels anyway. :D

[sooner_brandon]

I know it will be a combination of the two for me. I live in Oklahoma, but I travel to Texas for work on a regular basis. I am attending the game this year with my father (that has never even been to a OU home game So on top of our Sooners being there I get to take my pops. I don't want my dad's first and maybe last live Sooner experience to be a let-down. So in that aspect of it I will feel Joy, but from my personal side of it as a fan it will be mostly relief. On that note, is there a caravan from Norman to Miami being organized?

[BoulderSooner79]

Every year is different as is every team. From the point of view of the freshman students just finishing their 1st semester of college, all this stuff is brand new and exciting. All those negative feelings you feel from past years live inside your own skull (as it does with all us old geezers). So how you take this is up to you. I'll be bummed for a while OU doesn't win, but great reward requires great risk and it doesn't matter about what happened before. I've totally enjoy watching this team regardless of the outcome - I really do just want them to play well.

[oupride]

You are feeling anxiety because you worry about what others think or say.

You want your allegiance to the Oklahoma Sooners to be a source of pride not embarrassment....................Be proud to be an Oklahoma Sooner.
Well done.

[Curly Bill]

One can be proud to be an Oklahoma Sooner and still be nervous as hell about this game in light of our recent bowl showings.

[oupride]

http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/1080064.html

[OUAlumni1990]

I feel the opposite. 2000 came and went so fast I didn't have time to enjoy it much. This year, if we win, it will mean so much more to me. And Sam Bradford winning the Heisman will be something else.

Just a thought: how many other schools can claim 4 heisman winners that were from their own state?

[Crucifax Autumn]

hell, not many can even claim 4 Heisman winners from ANY state!

[AlbqSooner]

Don't tell me it does no good to worry.

[hairGel] THAT"S NOT TRUE [hairGel] !!

You see, in my experience, nearly 98% of the stuff I worry about never happens. ;)

[OUAlumni1990]

hell, not many can even claim 4 Heisman winners from ANY state!


Just more smack I can talk down here in Texas: we got heisman winners from our own little state than you do from your big one!! I'm still an okie at heart...:D

[PLaw]

As much as I disliked all those recent bowl losses, the thing that still really irritates me about them is that I can't fully enjoy this run.

I'm right there with you, brother.

I feel great pride in what the SOONERS accomplished this season and I am glad for them. That said, the anxiety of potentially becoming the first program to lose 3 BCS championship games is not one that I want to see hung on this team or Bob getting "choker" next to his name for losing 5 straight BCS bowl games.

I've always said that you have to hate losing more than you want to win. Hopefully, the team realizes the long term ramifications of the game and I'm sure the coaches do.

BOOMER

[OUAlumni1990]

This is a MUST win. Losing IS NOT an option. Do what it takes to bring it home!!!!

[DallasSooner87]

I am going to have to say joy.

The first game I attended we scored 10 points and lost. Sure we finished with a bowl win over #6 Oregon, but I knew that wasn't real Oklahoma football.

Sure we went on to win the Big 12 the next year with so many questions on the team. We probably witnessed Stoops' best coaching job. We went on to win the Big 12 (thanks to a glorious choke on the part of Saxet :D). I can't help but wonder what if from that year. If we hadn't been robbed in Eugene, what happens?

Then 2007 we have a new QB that answers every question thrown at him. He gets the first win against Tejas since I have been in college. But once again what if? Colorado and Tech?

Now we are in 2008. The chips have fallen just right. We had our rough spots. Injuries, the RRSO and a :texan: and his BS. We became this unstoppable machine on offense. Sure I got bored near the end of the TAMU and Nebraska game, but I sure did understand what was going on and appreciated every second. The computers gave us a little nudge we needed and it felt like a miracle. EDIT: Plus one Heisman winner I will be in Miami, and I will be going crazy in the stands. I want to win so bad, but I wont let a loss ruin the ride here, neither should you.

[IronSooner]

I could've written the same post. And if we don't win the bowl game, yes, I'll be pissed as hell, and will feel about this season like I did the last two. It's not enough to win the B12, go to a bowl game and get stomped or embarassed. I honestly didn't care coming into this season if we went to the title game or the cotton bowl, I just wanted to win it. Now that we're in the title game, I still want to win it. I'm sick and tired of losing bowl games, and with us playing UF, I really don't want to hear about it at work afterward if we lose.

[IronSoonerMan]

Win or lose We will not be a joke. Every year very few teams get to a BCS bowl game. I am proud that We are there so frequently. We are in competition with the best in the country, not many Schools can say that. Either way the Sooners should be proud. I know I am.

[OU341]

I think that we won't be a joke but Bob Stoops will look bad. He will be one for four in MNC games and will have lost in a BCS bowl 3 straight years. People will stop calling him Big Game Bob but a win would remedy all of this.

[daddywarbucks]

We had a game stolen from us by officials in the land of the ducks..I had to quite watching football for a while because it was beginning to effect everything else in my life...SOOO I now have come to terms with the fact that sometimes you just dont win it all...sometimes in order to win you dont have to beat the 11 guys in different colors..but the ones in stripes also...sometimes you cant beat 17 people...in Oklahoma we have to do that quite often..I used to believe that our losses meant so much more than the W..not so my friend...getting beat by 17 people (including refs) just makes the times we win that much better.OU is and has been one of the PREMIER schools in this country for sometime...I can finally say that regardless of a win or a loss I am proud to be a Sooner

[SPuL]

Try having a younger brother who's a Gators fan lol ~_~

if they lose, it'll be a double whammy.

[Jack T.]

Relief.

I, like daddy, had to stop watching for awhile. Watched maybe 10 minutes combined of the Tech OState games. Just couldn't take it.

Unlike daddy, I haven't come to terms with the fact that sometimes you don't win them all. We're Oklahoma. . .we're supposed to win 'em all, whether we're playing 11, 17, or the Dallas Cowboys. Oh, and we'll even run a wide receiver as quarterback. I could discuss this phenomenon at length. . .but that's another show.

Which makes the past *several* BCS games so heart wrenching. You get fans from other schools saying "yeah, but you played in a BCS bowl". Yeah, well whoop-dee-do. . .we *lost* that game.

If we beat Florida, it will be a weight lifted from the shoulders. . .at least until Spring practice.

[aero]

I think most Sooner fans have a bit of anxiety, given the last few bowls. But you can't lose them if you aren't in them. Would we rather not go to a bowl or a lesser bowl just to play some mediocre team to beat up? Would we rather NOT be in the championship game for fear of losing it? Teddy Roosevelt said “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” He also said "It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort." We are The University of Oklahoma. And we come to play. Who is it that wants to compare they're records, awards, history? Another quote, from Mark Twain, "“One mustn't criticize other people on grounds where he can't stand perpendicular himself”. Win or lose, we'll be there and it won't be the last time.

[dog-knee]

I am going to have to say joy.
I will be in Miami, and I will be going crazy in the stands. I want to win so bad, but I wont let a loss ruin the ride here, neither should you.

Those two lines brought back memories --- I was a freshman at OU in 1977. My dad loaned me the "good" car, and gave me money for a ticket to the Orange Bowl. Three buddies joined me in the Miamuh to Miamee run for the big game against Arkansas. The game itself was a miserable loss, but my buddies and I partied our collective a$$es off, and had a great time.

I won't be going this time, but I'm counting on Dallas Sooner and others to keep the tradition going...

[DallasSooner87]

Those two lines brought back memories --- I was a freshman at OU in 1977. My dad loaned me the "good" car, and gave me money for a ticket to the Orange Bowl. Three buddies joined me in the Miamuh to Miamee run for the big game against Arkansas. The game itself was a miserable loss, but my buddies and I partied our collective a$$es off, and had a great time.

I won't be going this time, but I'm counting on Dallas Sooner and others to keep the tradition going...

I'll throw one back for ya.

[olevetonahill]

I cant believe some of you .
I couldnt stand to watch OU this year Because ??????? WTF
Ive been attending and watching for 35 years. I Yelled My throat so raw I couldnt talk for a week only to tear it up again on the next game .
All of Yall that are embarrassed If we lose agin need to figure out Life .
what Is this " ID rather go to a Lessor Bowl and WIN " :rolleyes:
2 Teams out of 119 get to Play for all the Marbles 1 will lose .
that means the Loser is the 2nd best team out of 119 . :D
Now having said that heres This ;)
http://mkeamy.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/08/16/alfred_e_neuman.gif

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

I won't be decimated if we lose, just as long as it's nothing like the WVU game, or TGWWDND. Even if it is, we'll get over it, and not think about firing our coach.

[itsok]

i'd rahter be playing in this game than to win any other freaking bowl...
thats OU football.....

[CatfishSooner]

we will win so no need to worry...[kow]

[iddave]

Although I understand the whole, philisophical, "Better to go and lose than not go at all" theory.....it's a practice much harder to LIVE.....especially when you're in Boise, ID. I'm not saying I'd prefer to win the Cotton Bowl every year, just that I'd like to win at least ONE BCS game sometime in the near future. I grow weary of the "Choklahoma" references, and getting spanked in the limelight of a BCS isn't good for anyone but people that don't like OU. You think big-time recruits are impressed by blowout losses to West Virginia? Or getting beaten by a WAC school? I am proud to be a Sooner, and have wore the crimson with prime since my first hat in the sixth grade (mid 80s). Their recent run has been great. Losing four straight BCS games is a bitter pill to swallow though. Non-Sooner fans aren't intersted in history lesson of what we've done in the past either. For those of you that are completely unaffected by what others think of the Sooners, well I commend you for being a bigger man than me. Of course, if you don't care what others think I can only assume you don't wear any Sooners gear....right?

[olevetonahill]

I couldnt care less what NON OU fans think .
Hell last feb. i went to Cal. wore my OU gear every where I went . I yelled a Few BOOMERs got a Lot of SOONERS in return . ;)

[TheGodfather889]

If we win I will feel both joy and relief. When I was younger I used to get so angry and sad over OU games. But as I've gotten older and even more seasoned from watching games live and on tv and seeing every single scenario in football I've gotten tougher and more able to accept losses. I've been going to games since I was young starting in the mid to late eighties, been to games in the nineties and this decade. Out of all the games that I've been to probably the worst one I've ever seen was the '05 Orange Bowl when USC crushed us. I've seen every type of scenario, when we've won and lost close games and when we've won big and lost big. I've found that just going ahead and watching what's happening makes things easier in the long run, you can handle more. I don't get as upset or bent out of shape as I used to which is good because I used to get very angry. However I'm still nervous about the National Championship and if we lose it will still be humiliating.

[aero]

Although I understand the whole, philisophical, "Better to go and lose than not go at all" theory.....it's a practice much harder to LIVE.....especially when you're in Boise, ID. I'm not saying I'd prefer to win the Cotton Bowl every year, just that I'd like to win at least ONE BCS game sometime in the near future. I grow weary of the "Choklahoma" references, and getting spanked in the limelight of a BCS isn't good for anyone but people that don't like OU. You think big-time recruits are impressed by blowout losses to West Virginia? Or getting beaten by a WAC school? I am proud to be a Sooner, and have wore the crimson with prime since my first hat in the sixth grade (mid 80s). Their recent run has been great. Losing four straight BCS games is a bitter pill to swallow though. Non-Sooner fans aren't intersted in history lesson of what we've done in the past either. For those of you that are completely unaffected by what others think of the Sooners, well I commend you for being a bigger man than me. Of course, if you don't care what others think I can only assume you don't wear any Sooners gear....right?

I'm guessing you don't have kids. If you do, then you realize (or will soon enough) that they are going to disappoint you at some point. They're still your kids and you still love them more than anything. That is the way OU football is. We're not going to win them all, we all know that. Nothing anybody says, no insults, no bringing up stinging losses, nothing, will ever make me ashamed of OU. There is nothing anyone can say that I haven't already heard. It only bothers a bit because we all know they would love to have our situation and the primary reason we get jabbed is because we are so good. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

[fossil]

You are feeling anxiety because you worry about what others think or say.

You want your allegiance to the Oklahoma Sooners to be a source of pride not embarrassment.

You wear this anxiety like a heavily weighted chain around your neck.

The seeds of your emancipation from these chains can be found in your post.

. . . our accomplishments speak for themselves, even if we lose

You cannot affect what happens on the field.

You can control your attitude about it, win or lose, and it is simple.

Be proud to call your self a Sooner, in victory or defeat.

Those who chide you are either jealous (they would never admit it) or are not worthy of your contempt, let alone your concern.

There is a reason it is a big deal when Oklahoma loses and that is because Oklahoma does not lose very often.

It is always a special case.

That is nothing to be ashamed of but rather, a mark of respect.

Be proud to be an Oklahoma Sooner.
:) MI Sooner, you should have to pay Jacie a fee for the above evaluation. This is the kind of thing you hear laying on a shrink's couch. Sounds like Jacie's maybe got a degree in psychology or sumpin'.

[BornandBred]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: anyone that wishes we'd go win the Cotton Bowl over playing in and possibly losing the MNC don't know jack. The losses hurt, I agree. But the fact that we've gotten to this point means we've beaten a bunch of teams earlier in the season, and have been playing some pretty darn good football. Am I scared to lose? Yes. But losing is a part of competition. And if you're so scared to lose that you don't want to play, well, you ain't got no stones.

All I really want is for the REAL OU to show up to play. Not this team that acts like it should just win by default or can't handle the 3-4D or doesn't show up until the final quarter. I want the team that's pissed off, bad-assed, and ready to throw down until the final whistle. If that happens and we're still behind at the end, then so be it. I'll take my loss and continue to be proud of my Sooners.

[A-M]

I've been a sooner since I was a little gal and I am now 63. I remember crying when we were beat by ND to stop the 47 game winning streak. I DO NOT like to lose and think we should win every game no matter who we are playing. It hurts to lose, but life goes on and I continue to wear my OU things and wait for the next game. However, my gut tells me that I won't be hurting come late on the 8th. of next month.
Boomer Sooner!!

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: anyone that wishes we'd go win the Cotton Bowl over playing in and possibly losing the MNC don't know jack. The losses hurt, I agree. But the fact that we've gotten to this point means we've beaten a bunch of teams earlier in the season, and have been playing some pretty darn good football. Am I scared to lose? Yes. But losing is a part of competition. And if you're so scared to lose that you don't want to play, well, you ain't got no stones.

All I really want is for the REAL OU to show up to play. Not this team that acts like it should just win by default or can't handle the 3-4D or doesn't show up until the final quarter. I want the team that's pissed off, bad-assed, and ready to throw down until the final whistle. If that happens and we're still behind at the end, then so be it. I'll take my loss and continue to be proud of my Sooners.Very well said. As long as it's not the Boise St, WVU or TGWWDND type of (non)effort, I'm fine. Otherwise, it's WTF?

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

I've been a sooner since I was a little gal and I am now 63. I remember crying when we were beat by ND to stop the 47 game winning streak. I DO NOT like to lose and think we should win every game no matter who we are playing. It hurts to lose, but life goes on and I continue to wear my OU things and wait for the next game. However, my gut tells me that I won't be hurting come late on the 8th. of next month.
Boomer Sooner!!We're the same age. I still remember being in a sat afternoon matinee flicks at the Lakeside Theater in OKC, and when the movie was over, came out into the lobby to hear the announcement that OU had lost to the domers. I was in shock. I felt violated, somehow. (Yegads, 51 yrs ago)

[BoulderSooner79]

Very well said. As long as it's not the Boise St, WVU or TGWWDND type of (non)effort, I'm fine. Otherwise, it's WTF?

I agree, but (non)effort is in the eye of the beholder and on this board, a non-win means non-effort by definition. In fact, last year against WVU is the only bowl game in the Stoops era where I questioned effort. And only by a few players. I believe this team is hungry and focused and we will see a great effort.

[oupride]

I will be proud to be a Sooner either way, but its a MUST win. Besides the texas fans and others saying we don't belong in the MNC.

[shaun4411]

I am sure that enough current players remember the hurt of the 06 and 07 seasons. they know what they are capable of. they know as well as we do that there is no better team in the land. its just about coming to show up. i hope the naysayers lay it on thick. tell them they cant win, tell them they dont deserve to be there.

its going to be weird watching espn fellate ou come 1/9.

[iddave]

As a matter of fact I do have two young kids. Of course they dissapoint me from time to time. Of course I don't love them any less for doing so. My point is that it hurts more when they (or OU) dissapoint me in front of an audience. My point about wearing OU hats, shirts, coats, etc. was that almost all of us care what others think....which is why we wear that stuff. You/we want others to know that we support OU and we're proud of them. All that I'm saying is that it makes it easier to support them when dealing with NON-OU fans if they're not getting spanked in a BCS game....thus my reference to relief as opposed to joy this year because of the recent BCS games. I'll wear my gear whether they win or lose this year with the same frequency afterwards. It would just be nice if I didn't have to be reminded of another failure while doing so. I know we played well in the regular season. There is a reason they play bowl games though. It matters whether you win or lose that last one. If you believe differently, then you're delusional.