Thoughts About the NCG From A Game Attendee

[noobalicious]

Finally getting back to a computer, so here goes. In no particular order or importance:

* As soon as we stepped out of our car and walked through the parking lots, you could tell this was going to be a Gator home game. They were EVERYWHERE. And during the game, you could tell it helped. It definitely affected our offense's ability to drive the ball. More importantly, it made their momentum shifts more significant, IMO.

* That being said, Gator fans were in general very nice before and after the game. Generally those that weren't had way more booze than they should have. Lots of "that was a great game and you guys played great and you should be proud of your team" type stuff after the game. A confident, but generally classy fan base. Every fan base will have the loony tunes.

* Offensive playcalling and Jimmy Stevens were the reason we lost. Jimmy Stevens got his FG blocked (Hartley and even Tress Way probably could make that 48 yarder or whatever it was). 3 pts right there. And on their goalline stand, we had the ball inside the 3 yard line on 2nd, 3rd and 4th down. Why not sneak it? Why? Especially on 3rd and 4th when it was on the 1 yard line?? Even Gator fans near me were wondering this aloud...

* Tim Tebow gets touted as this really great guy, but he acts like a complete tool on the field. Gator chomping in our guys faces. Running 10-20 yards away from his teammates to act all fired up and beg for more noise from his fans. Getting way too worked up over 3 or 4 yard runs for first downs. Biggest example was right in front of our end zone. Harvin ran it in (or someone, can't remember who, just that it wasn't Tebow). Florida's offense celebrated in the corner of the end zone closer to our bench. Where was Tebow? In the OTHER corner of the end zone POSING FOR CAMERAS. Unbelievable. I effing hate that guy.

* Chris Brown was solid, but not having DeMarco hurt us. Murray split out wide gives us much more versatility and I think he's the home run threat that we missed. That being said, I'd still put this loss on Kevin Wilson and Jimmy Stevens.

* Reason for hope: our defense played awesome. Sure they gave up that 7 minute drive in the 4th quarter, but that will happen when the offense can't sustain a respectable drive. We picked off Tebow about as much as he had been all season. Our guys looked fast and physical. And pretty much our entire defense will be back next season. I would count it as 10 starters when you consider Quinton Carter had a ton of playing time this year (he even started one of the games when Nic Harris was playing MLB). Returning that entire defense along with Venables (who is, I think, underrated) will make us at the very least competitive in every game. If Bradford comes back, the offense will be pretty solid as well and I think we have another good season to look forward to.

* The officiating was terrible. Just from being at the game and watching the crew operate, they didn't look like they knew what they were doing. Like guys just taken from the streets and dressed in ref outfits. So many common sense problems in addition to missed calls. They seemed unwilling to call pass interference at all (should have had about 3). Tebow should have been flagged for unsportsmanlike on at least 2 or 3 occasions. The officiating wasn't the reason we lost, but it was bad.

So bottom lines: Kevin Wilson needs to grow a pair and use some common sense near the goalline, DeMarco is more valuable than we think, our defense gives us hope for next year, and Florida fans are alright, other than the rare few (some of which appear to have made their way on to this board).

Oh, and the love affair with Tebow needs to end. Seriously. He's an excellent player who will excel more in college than the pros, but he's turning into a complete di**. I don't care what he does in his personal life, the ESPN Tebow lovefest is spilling over in what he does on the field. You can really tell.

[Flagstaffsooner]

At least you missed the announcers on TV slobbering over The Right Reverend Tim T. Messiah.

[MojoRisen]

The Florida fans were fine and pretty classy, they were extremely nervous at halftime. If we had scored on at least one of those red zone attemps we would have maybe blown them out.

[HungaryGator]

My take:

I got a little worried when I saw how many people at the airport were wearing Crimson vs how many in Orange and Blue. Sat next to an OU fan from Oklahoma City on the flight down to Miami and we talked about the game, what we expected to happen, etc. Nice guy. I spent most of my time in Coconut Grove rather than Ft. Lauderdale where Joe Robbie stadium is so I can't say what it was like up there but I noticed a lot more Gators than Sooners out partying in the Grove. I'd say the crowd at the stadium was about 75% Gators and 25% Sooners.

Went to the game. Traffic SUCKED-took 2 freakin' hours to get there. Tailgating was an absolute blast. They had a fairgrounds with Smashmouth giving a concert, lots of food, folks milling around, etc. I was not aware of the fashion for Sooner girls of wearing boots with skirts or shorts. Y'all have some major "talent" as far as wimmins. :) At the fairgrounds I had the chance to talk to several more Gators and Sooners. I didn't perceive any trash talk from either side. I'd say the overwhelming majority on both sides were nice, good folks.

About the game...y'all's D played a helluva game. I thought our playcalling sucked. We insisted on running the inside read option trap on first down every single time when y'all were throwing everything including the kitchen sink at it. It was obvious. Even from high in the stands you could see the Sooner safeties cheating up and then sprinting toward the line without hesitation at the snap. It was the 2nd drive of the 2nd half before we finally realized Hey....maybe it might be a good idea to actually try throwing a pass on first down. Ugh. Oh, and Nic Harris is a dirty trash talking cheap shot punk who should have been kicked out of the friggin' game for deliberately trying to injure Percy Harvin's hurt ankle, kneeing our QB in the head in a pile in the first half, etc etc. What an utter scumbag.

Bradford played well I thought. The two picks weren't really his fault as much as good plays by the DB's. The guy I was most worried about was Gresham. He's a beast-just extremely hard to contain. I was impressed by y'all's Tailback. I wouldn't say we were overpowering vs the run this year but we were pretty good. He ran on us as well as anybody has all year and we've shut down some very good backs. Y'all gave a very good account of yourselves on the field I thought. It was one of those games that could have gone either way and we just happened to come up with a couple key plays that turned it in our favor.

Again, after the game I didn't notice any real trash talk/taunting or disrespect between the two fanbases. In fact, the ones who seemed to be the most bitter, PO'd A-holes with utterly nothing intelligent to say were the local scUM fans. They clearly were not happy with the outcome. Then again, they're just a bitter lot anyway. Good game, Congrats on an outstanding season, and I hope we can play y'all again in Pasadena next season.

[rainiersooner]

The Florida fans were fine and pretty classy, they were extremely nervous at halftime. If we had scored on at least one of those red zone attemps we would have maybe blown them out.

Yup - the Florida fans sitting behind me kept telling me at half time that they were afraid they were going to get blown out in the second half - that our offense was unstoppable, that Bradford was too accurate....oh well.

[Sooner in Tampa]

Attended the game as well...I agree about the Gator Fan base...very good...except for two real dooshrockets...Sad that it ended it that way, but I wouldn't give up the experience for anything.

[oupride]

I wanted to say thanks for the post. My best friend attended the game and game back with approx the same analysis from the FL fans to play calling. He said he feels like OU was the better team.

[Eddie Adams]

My experience compares with that posted above, except one thing: I must have parked in a different part of the parking lot. In the stadium, Gator fans were ok, no problem at all, but in the parking lot we encountered a bunch of drunk tailgaters that never made it into the stadium. I had several get in my face and yell everything from "Gator bait!", to "Leave our state!". The parking lot looked like a war zone, broken glass was everywhere. We had to watch where we walked, never mind where we drove. I had a good time overall, but the drunken animals in the parking lot almost ruined the experience for me.

[GG84]

My experience compares with that posted above, except one thing: I must have parked in a different part of the parking lot. In the stadium, Gator fans were ok, no problem at all, but in the parking lot we encountered a bunch of drunk tailgaters that never made it into the stadium. I had several get in my face and yell everything from "Gator bait!", to "Leave our state!". The parking lot looked like a war zone, broken glass was everywhere. We had to watch where we walked, never mind where we drove. I had a good time overall, but the drunken animals in the parking lot almost ruined the experience for me.

Hmm, that sounds more like Cane fans than Gator fans. They were probably some guys that have jumped off the Cane bandwagon and on to ours. Altho most Cane fans probably can't afford the $40 it cost for parking... maybe 10-15 of them bundled up into an El Camino or something and pooled their money.

[Partial Qualifier]

Good write-ups, guys.


the ones who seemed to be the most bitter, PO'd A-holes with utterly nothing intelligent to say were the local scUM fans.

We pretty much hate Miami :) but I can see why their fans are bitter -- they went from being the the most consistently dominant program for a really long stretch (> 20 years) to... well.... relative suckage. **** 'em! :)

[OUDizzle]

Picture of me leaving Florida:

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/1557/floridafunoz7.jpg

[Partial Qualifier]

Oh crap... Pitfall spek.

I bought that game when it came out on the Atari and played it for hours... and hours... thinking there may some ending or at least an easter egg of some sort. Yeah umm... no.

[batonrougesooner]

My experience compares with that posted above, except one thing: I must have parked in a different part of the parking lot. In the stadium, Gator fans were ok, no problem at all, but in the parking lot we encountered a bunch of drunk tailgaters that never made it into the stadium. I had several get in my face and yell everything from "Gator bait!", to "Leave our state!". The parking lot looked like a war zone, broken glass was everywhere. We had to watch where we walked, never mind where we drove. I had a good time overall, but the drunken animals in the parking lot almost ruined the experience for me.

I think you and I encountered the same group.

[Jason White's Third Knee]

I think you and I encountered the same group.



Were they LSU fans?

[OUMedMan]

Reason for hope: our defense played awesome.

If you think holding Florida to 35 yards more total offense than their season average was "awesome", then you are delusional.

Florida averaged 445 yards of offense a game this year. Against the Sooners they got 480 yards. That's not even good defense.

What would you call giving up 525 yards -- as against USC? Stellar?

How about 600 yards -- as against Kansas State? Inspiring?

Even Florida's D, which held OU to 200 yards below their season average, would not rate the "awesome" description.

"Awesome" would have been holding Florida to 100 yards offense.
"Stellar" would have been holding Florida to 200 yards offense.
"Great" would have been holding Florida to 300 yards offense.
"Good" would have been holding Florida to 400 yards offense.

"Sad" is the description give to allowing Florida nearly 500 yards total offense.

[BoomerSooner, esq.]

I agree. Like many other fans, I went without tickets and after talking to a few people selling, realized that I was not going to be in the stadium. Instead my girlfriend and I found a nice spot at the bar right outside the stadium and had a great time watching the game with dozens of other sooner fans.

The Florida fans (for the most part) were very gracious and fun to be around. As others have said, there were definitely the dooshnozzles that I would have liked to knock out.

What was it with the Florida women getting dressed up like they were going to a freaking wedding? Its a football game, not prom.

Overall, a great experience. Cant wait till next year (fingers crossed)

[Partial Qualifier]

If you think holding Florida to 35 yards more total offense than their season average was "awesome", then you are delusional.

Florida averaged 445 yards of offense a game this year. Against the Sooners they got 480 yards. That's not even good defense.

What would you call giving up 525 yards -- as against USC? Stellar?

How about 600 yards -- as against Kansas State? Inspiring?

Even Florida's D, which held OU to 200 yards below their season average, would not rate the "awesome" description.

"Awesome" would have been holding Florida to 100 yards offense.
"Stellar" would have been holding Florida to 200 yards offense.
"Great" would have been holding Florida to 300 yards offense.
"Good" would have been holding Florida to 400 yards offense.

"Sad" is the description give to allowing Florida nearly 500 yards total offense.

OMG you n00b, STILL with this?? :rolleyes:

I'll keep it short & sweet for ya: The contest is about POINTS, not YARDS.

For example: Florida scored more POINTS than OU, so they WON the GAME. Nobody give a CRAP about YARDS because the game is about POINTS.

How many POINTS did we allow Florida? What was their season average?? H-E-L-L-O.

Learn something about the game before you start posting & calling people delusional.

[OUMallen]

Their fans were 95% awesome. SEriously. Very friendly, talkative, gracious. There was one jerkbag after the game while we were sitting in traffic. That's about it.

[G8RB8]

Glad most of you had a good experience here in Florida. I was definitely impressed with your football team and Bradford is one of the most accurate passers I have ever seen. OU fans I encountered were great as well (played beer pong with a few). Good luck next season

[BoulderSooner79]

Glad most of you had a good experience here in Florida. I was definitely impressed with your football team and Bradford is one of the most accurate passers I have ever seen. OU fans I encountered were great as well (played beer pong with a few). Good luck next season

I'm guessing you won the beer pong with your SEC speed.

:D :D :D :D :D :D

[soonerspudman]

Oh, and Nic Harris is a dirty trash talking cheap shot punk who should have been kicked out of the friggin' game for deliberately trying to injure Percy Harvin's hurt ankle,

Watch the replay, all Harris did was flip Harvin's foot up after the tackle, no grab, twist, anything close, Harvin was hurt on the tackle.

And it wasn't Harris who got the unsportsmanlike conduct call while making a total a** of himself on national TV.

[MojoRisen]

Look Harris doesn't have to apologize for tackling someone like he wanted to let them know he was tackling them.

Nothing dirty just intense...

[footballfanatic]

I wanted to say thanks for the post. My best friend attended the game and game back with approx the same analysis from the FL fans to play calling. He said he feels like OU was the better team.

How can anyone in their right mind watch that game and think OU was the better team? Florida COMPLETELY dominated half of the third quarter and all of the fourth. Towards the end, it looked like a scrimmage between the JV and the varsity. OU could do nothing to stop Florida's offense, which could have scored more points at the end, but chose to play very conservatively. The OU offense couldn't get a first down with three minutes left. In fact, the game was strangely similar to the UT game, with Texas dominating the lines of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. There is nothing to suggest OU was the better team.

[josh09]

Tim Tebow.....he isnt a bad guy, just the flippin announcers.

[josh09]

Yes the name change worked! Sorry I just hadnt tried it out yet.... :)

[SoonerSnareMom]

My experience compares with that posted above, except one thing: I must have parked in a different part of the parking lot. In the stadium, Gator fans were ok, no problem at all, but in the parking lot we encountered a bunch of drunk tailgaters that never made it into the stadium. I had several get in my face and yell everything from "Gator bait!", to "Leave our state!". The parking lot looked like a war zone, broken glass was everywhere. We had to watch where we walked, never mind where we drove. I had a good time overall, but the drunken animals in the parking lot almost ruined the experience for me.

Our experience was even worse.

As we're pulling into the parking lot at Dolphin Stadium, a little girl who couldn't have been any more than five years old yells, "OU Sux" at us. Hello? Parenting classes, anyone? I commented to our group that in Oklahoma, her mama would be washing her mouth out with soap, not standing there laughing at her little darling.

Before pregame, my husband, a friend (another Pride parent) and I went down to the Pride's section to take pictures of our kids and their friends. As we were walking back to our seats, we realized that half of the Pride was running through the concourse, which by now was filled with Gator fans, to get to "their" side of the field for pregame. One problem -- some very drunk Gator fans started pushing our biggest bass drummer around -- hitting his drum, shoving him and yelling obscenities in his face. Now if you've ever carried a bass drum, you know that you can't see over the top of it. We assisted him in getting through the crowd and onto the ramp leading down to the field. Security was nowhere to be seen.

Then with about a minute and a half left in the fourth quarter, we decided to go to the Pride's section again, to see if the kids needed help getting out of the stadium. As the three of us were walking down the ramp from our upper deck seats, two very drunk Gator fans started harassing us, pushing, shoving and yelling obscenities. One grabbed my arm. I told him to take his hands off of me. Next thing I know, some unknown Sooner fan comes from behind us and crashes into the dude who grabbed me, sending him flying. (Thank you, sir, whoever you are. You're my hero and if you're a student at OU, you should seriously consider a walk-on tryout with the football team this spring. That was one awesome block you made!)

I later learned that the Pride's 18-wheeler was vandalized. Apparently one of these Gator idiots thought it would be a good idea to spray paint "Go Gators" on it.

Our overall opinion: You will never convince us that Gator fans are anything but drunken thugs. And we found ourselves wondering -- what are like when they LOSE? Do the guns, knives and baseball bats come out?

[SoonerSnareMom]

My experience compares with that posted above, except one thing: I must have parked in a different part of the parking lot. In the stadium, Gator fans were ok, no problem at all, but in the parking lot we encountered a bunch of drunk tailgaters that never made it into the stadium. I had several get in my face and yell everything from "Gator bait!", to "Leave our state!". The parking lot looked like a war zone, broken glass was everywhere. We had to watch where we walked, never mind where we drove. I had a good time overall, but the drunken animals in the parking lot almost ruined the experience for me.

Our experience was even worse.

As we're pulling into the parking lot at Dolphin Stadium, a little girl who couldn't have been any more than five years old yells, "OU Sux" at us. Hello? Parenting classes, anyone? I commented to our group that in Oklahoma, her mama would be washing her mouth out with soap, not standing there laughing at her little darling.

Before pregame, my husband, a friend (another Pride parent) and I went down to the Pride's section to take pictures of our kids and their friends. As we were walking back to our seats, we realized that half of the Pride was running through the concourse, which by now was filled with Gator fans, to get to "their" side of the field for pregame. One problem -- some very drunk Gator fans started pushing our biggest bass drummer around -- hitting his drum, shoving him and yelling obscenities in his face. Now if you've ever carried a bass drum, you know that you can't see over the top of it. We assisted him in getting through the crowd and onto the ramp leading down to the field. Security was nowhere to be seen.

Then with about a minute and a half left in the fourth quarter, we decided to go to the Pride's section again, to see if the kids needed help getting out of the stadium. As the three of us were walking down the ramp from our upper deck seats, two very drunk Gator fans started harassing us, pushing, shoving and yelling obscenities. One grabbed my arm. I told him to take his hands off of me. Next thing I know, some unknown Sooner fan comes from behind us and crashes into the dude who grabbed me, sending him flying. (Thank you, sir, whoever you are. You're my hero and if you're a student at OU, you should seriously consider a walk-on tryout with the football team this spring. That was one awesome block you made!)

I later learned that the Pride's 18-wheeler was vandalized. Apparently one of these Gator idiots thought it would be a good idea to spray paint "Go Gators" on it.

Our overall opinion: You will never convince us that Gator fans are anything but drunken thugs. And we found ourselves wondering -- what are like when they LOSE? Do the guns, knives and baseball bats come out?

[sooneron]

How can anyone in their right mind watch that game and think OU was the better team? Florida COMPLETELY dominated half of the third quarter and all of the fourth.

It's official, you are retarded and a ut fan. Of course, only the last quarter and a half matter in judging a game.


Someone should have bought your old man a pack of condoms at some point in the past...

[sooneron]

I think blaming a kicker that missed ONE field goal from 48 freaking yards out for a loss is weak sauce.

Yeah, he kicked it low. If he had missed PATs that would be another thing. You're dead wrong here.

Go back and watch tcu at utah, THAT is a kicker losing a football game with an OC.

[sooneron]

My take:

Oh, and Nic Harris is a dirty trash talking cheap shot punk who should have been kicked out of the friggin' game for deliberately trying to injure Percy Harvin's hurt ankle, kneeing our QB in the head in a pile in the first half, etc etc. What an utter scumbag.



YOu may want to change this or face being flushed.

Cuz Nic is a real scumbag...

:rolleyes:

By Scott Wright
Published: September 27, 2007

NORMAN — When Nic Harris speaks, it's not rare to hear him quote an inspirational saying or well-known catchphrase.
Featured Video
Advertisement

He uses many, but personifies only one.

"You've heard the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a kid?'” Harris asked. "Well, I was that kid.”

Harris, Oklahoma's junior starting free safety from Alexandria, La., was born in 1986 to a 17-year-old father and 16-year-old mother.

At their young ages, they could not provide a conventional home life, so Harris found himself shuttled from house to house among his family and friends.

"Neither of them would step up to the plate to take care of their son,” Harris said. "I was bounced around enough that it wasn't really steady or stable.

"In and out of schools every year. I didn't have a bed to really call my own for a good part of my life.”

He was never technically in foster care — "my family was too strong to let that happen,” he said — but he didn't have one place that was home, either.

Eventually, he was raised by LaQuanda Harrell, a woman he calls his stepmother. She was never married to his father, but did give birth to one of Harris' eight siblings.

Harris admits growing up the way he did seemed tough at times.

"But I never asked the question, ‘why me?'” he said. "Why not me? Who am I? Why am I so special that this shouldn't be happening to me?

"I always thought about how there were people on the other side of the world who didn't have food to eat. At least I had food to eat, clothes on my back and a roof over my head.”

Outwardly, Harris doesn't show animosity toward his parents, but he knows how their actions deprived him.

"There's nothing you can really have — something I didn't experience — like a mother's love or a father's love,” he said. "Or someone to tell you everything's gonna be alright.”

Yet he never paid attention to what he didn't have. Instead, he enjoyed what he did have, soaking up the unconditional love his grandparents — Shirley and Emanuel Hayes on his father's side, Charlie and Hattie Harris on his mother's side — gave him.

"Going back and forth from house to house, seeing different ways of life — in the end, it made me out to be a better person,” he said. "I thank my grandparents to the utmost for being there for me when they didn't have to be. I wasn't technically their child, but they chose to treat me like I was.”

‘If not me, then who?'
While Harris credits his grandparents for keeping him focused in his early years, he deserves a lot of the credit himself.

"Being the oldest of nine, it helps you grow up extremely fast,” he said. "You have to mature extremely fast.

"You've got to lead by example. Talking can only go so far. Having them come to the games and look at you as a role model, as a positive example, it's a lot of pressure.

"But if not me, then who? And if not now, then when?”

Sayings like that are the fabric of his thoughts and his speech. He often quotes Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali, his two favorite athletes.

"The greatest of the great,” he calls them. "In order for you to be great, you've got to believe that you're great. It doesn't happen overnight.”

The phrases serve to keep him grounded, to keep him focused. And most of all, to keep him motivated.

"I feel if you don't have motivation, you don't live. You just merely exist,” he said. "You have to be motivated toward something.”

His favorite saying?

"If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything,” he said.

Standing for something
Shirley Hayes says her grandson was an exceptional child.

He hasn't changed much in that regard.

A talented football player, one of OU's defensive stars.

A strong student, majoring in physical therapy. He's on pace to graduate in May 2009.

And a giving heart.

Earlier this month, he was selected as one of 11 NCAA Division I-A players on the American Football Coaches' Association Good Works Team, which chooses its honorees based solely on work in the community.

Harris is the president of the BridgeBuilders, a group of OU student-athletes who reach out to African-American children. He's been involved with Toys for Tots and other programs that focus on gathering food or raising money for children and families.

He mentors the children, spends time with them — "because an idle mind is the worst thing a child can have,” he said.

"I feel as easy as the Lord gave it to you, he'll take it away. You should always give back to the community. I'm not personally able to give back to the community of Alexandria, La., but I'm just gonna try to make an impact in the area which I'm in.”

Because of his experiences, Harris understands the needs of underprivileged children better than some. His work with BridgeBuilders provides children with some of the things he never had.

"For a while, I really didn't have positive role models that I saw on a daily basis,” Harris said. "I was academically sound, but I didn't have that base, that foundation to come home to after school. I couldn't say, ‘Grandma, help me with some derivatives.' My grandmother didn't know what derivatives were.”

Harris also knows what it's like to have someone do something special for you.

[footballfanatic]

It's official, you are retarded and a ut fan. Of course, only the last quarter and a half matter in judging a game.


Someone should have bought your old man a pack of condoms at some point in the past...

You scored 14 points. They scored 24, and sat on the ball near your goal line for the last three minutes. And you know why so many teams do that tiresome thing where they hold up four fingers when the fourth quarter starts? Cause the fourth quarter really matters. And in reviewing the fourth quarter, it was a woodshed-level beat-down.

[BetterSoonerThanLater]

You scored 14 points. They scored 24, and sat on the ball near your goal line for the last three minutes. And you know why so many teams do that tiresome thing where they hold up four fingers when the fourth quarter starts? Cause the fourth quarter really matters. And in reviewing the fourth quarter, it was a woodshed-level beat-down.

we're all glad that you were able to postulate such an amazing hypothesis while watching the game from your couch, whorn fan. maybe next year you can refrain from crying about being the bastard stepchildren you are and have a chance at playing in the big game. i wouldn't hold my breath though, cause after all the UT idiocy this year, the schooner is going to rain down a path of destruction on you..i'm talking scorched earth muther F*****!

take your weak sauce and spread it around somewhere else. we're done with your kind round here!


thanks for playing.

[sooneron]

You scored 14 points. They scored 24, and sat on the ball near your goal line for the last three minutes. And you know why so many teams do that tiresome thing where they hold up four fingers when the fourth quarter starts? Cause the fourth quarter really matters. And in reviewing the fourth quarter, it was a woodshed-level beat-down.

10 points in the fourth quarter is a woodshed beatdown? Ok. Thanks, got it.

Good news folks, some people only count the last 20 or so minutes of a game. It's official, we won the Sugar Bowl in 04!!!!! woot

srsly, birth control for your parents.

[sooner518]

YOu may want to change this or face being flushed.

Cuz Nic is a real scumbag...

:rolleyes:

By Scott Wright
Published: September 27, 2007

NORMAN — When Nic Harris speaks, it's not rare to hear him quote an inspirational saying or well-known catchphrase.
Featured Video
Advertisement

He uses many, but personifies only one.

"You've heard the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a kid?'” Harris asked. "Well, I was that kid.”

Harris, Oklahoma's junior starting free safety from Alexandria, La., was born in 1986 to a 17-year-old father and 16-year-old mother.

At their young ages, they could not provide a conventional home life, so Harris found himself shuttled from house to house among his family and friends.

"Neither of them would step up to the plate to take care of their son,” Harris said. "I was bounced around enough that it wasn't really steady or stable.

"In and out of schools every year. I didn't have a bed to really call my own for a good part of my life.”

He was never technically in foster care — "my family was too strong to let that happen,” he said — but he didn't have one place that was home, either.

Eventually, he was raised by LaQuanda Harrell, a woman he calls his stepmother. She was never married to his father, but did give birth to one of Harris' eight siblings.

Harris admits growing up the way he did seemed tough at times.

"But I never asked the question, ‘why me?'” he said. "Why not me? Who am I? Why am I so special that this shouldn't be happening to me?

"I always thought about how there were people on the other side of the world who didn't have food to eat. At least I had food to eat, clothes on my back and a roof over my head.”

Outwardly, Harris doesn't show animosity toward his parents, but he knows how their actions deprived him.

"There's nothing you can really have — something I didn't experience — like a mother's love or a father's love,” he said. "Or someone to tell you everything's gonna be alright.”

Yet he never paid attention to what he didn't have. Instead, he enjoyed what he did have, soaking up the unconditional love his grandparents — Shirley and Emanuel Hayes on his father's side, Charlie and Hattie Harris on his mother's side — gave him.

"Going back and forth from house to house, seeing different ways of life — in the end, it made me out to be a better person,” he said. "I thank my grandparents to the utmost for being there for me when they didn't have to be. I wasn't technically their child, but they chose to treat me like I was.”

‘If not me, then who?'
While Harris credits his grandparents for keeping him focused in his early years, he deserves a lot of the credit himself.

"Being the oldest of nine, it helps you grow up extremely fast,” he said. "You have to mature extremely fast.

"You've got to lead by example. Talking can only go so far. Having them come to the games and look at you as a role model, as a positive example, it's a lot of pressure.

"But if not me, then who? And if not now, then when?”

Sayings like that are the fabric of his thoughts and his speech. He often quotes Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali, his two favorite athletes.

"The greatest of the great,” he calls them. "In order for you to be great, you've got to believe that you're great. It doesn't happen overnight.”

The phrases serve to keep him grounded, to keep him focused. And most of all, to keep him motivated.

"I feel if you don't have motivation, you don't live. You just merely exist,” he said. "You have to be motivated toward something.”

His favorite saying?

"If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything,” he said.

Standing for something
Shirley Hayes says her grandson was an exceptional child.

He hasn't changed much in that regard.

A talented football player, one of OU's defensive stars.

A strong student, majoring in physical therapy. He's on pace to graduate in May 2009.

And a giving heart.

Earlier this month, he was selected as one of 11 NCAA Division I-A players on the American Football Coaches' Association Good Works Team, which chooses its honorees based solely on work in the community.

Harris is the president of the BridgeBuilders, a group of OU student-athletes who reach out to African-American children. He's been involved with Toys for Tots and other programs that focus on gathering food or raising money for children and families.

He mentors the children, spends time with them — "because an idle mind is the worst thing a child can have,” he said.

"I feel as easy as the Lord gave it to you, he'll take it away. You should always give back to the community. I'm not personally able to give back to the community of Alexandria, La., but I'm just gonna try to make an impact in the area which I'm in.”

Because of his experiences, Harris understands the needs of underprivileged children better than some. His work with BridgeBuilders provides children with some of the things he never had.

"For a while, I really didn't have positive role models that I saw on a daily basis,” Harris said. "I was academically sound, but I didn't have that base, that foundation to come home to after school. I couldn't say, ‘Grandma, help me with some derivatives.' My grandmother didn't know what derivatives were.”

Harris also knows what it's like to have someone do something special for you.

"ESPN montage or it didnt happen"
- Tim Tebow

:D

[footballfanatic]

we're all glad that you were able to postulate such an amazing hypothesis while watching the game from your couch, whorn fan. maybe next year you can refrain from crying about being the bastard stepchildren you are and have a chance at playing in the big game. i wouldn't hold my breath though, cause after all the UT idiocy this year, the schooner is going to rain down a path of destruction on you..i'm talking scorched earth muther F*****!

take your weak sauce and spread it around somewhere else. we're done with your kind round here!


thanks for playing.

Without an experienced offensive line, you may find your path of destruction somewhat muted, but we'll see, I suppose.

And what we witnessed is five bowls smokejobs in six seasons.

[footballfanatic]

10 points in the fourth quarter is a woodshed beatdown? Ok. Thanks, got it.

Good news folks, some people only count the last 20 or so minutes of a game. It's official, we won the Sugar Bowl in 04!!!!! woot

srsly, birth control for your parents.

I was merely responding to the usual, "we were clearly the better team" logic that, like clockwork, follows OU bowl disasters. (which, needless to say, happen with mind-numbing regularity)

Kisses, darling.

[bonkuba]

Hey darling.....**** you and go away.

Damn you have to be the dumbest mother ****er I have seen on here in a while (well other than P3or whatever the hell pee wees name was).

Again....**** you.

Peace out darling (man you really are a goofy ****er).

[OUAlumni1990]

Without an experienced offensive line, you may find your path of destruction somewhat muted, but we'll see, I suppose.

And what we witnessed is five bowls smokejobs in six seasons.

Whats the matter, does someone have alittle sand in their /|o|\ from last nights double digit beatdown?? Awwww....

[Crucifax Autumn]

It's official, you are retarded and a ut fan.

Now you're just being redundant!

[Jmorales22]

Good news folks, some people only count the last 20 or so minutes of a game. It's official, we won the Sugar Bowl in 04!!!!! woot



Sweet! Let's get rings made up stat!

[ZookSucks]

Picture of me leaving Florida:

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/1557/floridafunoz7.jpglolz. lolz, i say. spek to youse.

[Tampa Sooner]

Who wants to join me in Orlando and celebrate the Gators win - what a joke! Received this e-mail from Universal Studios today proclaming 17 Jan as Gator's Day. Would they've done this for OU had we won - DOUBT it! Here's hoping we make it next yrs champ game, to exact some revenge on them.


Come celebrate as Universal Orlando Resort salutes the University of Florida Gators with appearances by special Gator guests, a victory parade, photo opportunities by the Florida Gator Cheerleaders and Gator mascots, free Gator face painting, replays of last week's electrifying BCS National Championship game, and much more!*

The Gator Celebration is included with your Universal Orlando Annual Pass**.

Click here to find out more details on the Gator Celebration at Universal Orlando Resort!
It's Great to be a Florida Gator at Universal Orlando® Resort!