Names are back...on OUr backs

[boomersooner28]

Linkage (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2959329)

[boomersooner28]

Oklahoma's jerseys to feature names again, coach says
Associated Press


OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops provided the answer to the No. 2 question on the minds of Sooners fans Thursday night.


Sooners coach Bob Stoops, preparing his players for the Sugar Bowl against LSU in 2004, has reinstated names to players' jerseys after going a year without.
While he provided no clarity on who would emerge from a three-way competition to become the team's next starting quarterback, Stoops revealed that Oklahoma would return players' names to the back of their jerseys after going a year without.


"Bud Wilkinson's guys, they never had names on their jerseys. You know who was No. 35? Billy Vessels,'' Stoops said, citing one of Oklahoma's four Heisman Trophy winners and creating suspense. "No, we're putting them back.''


Even after he'd already told the crowd only that the next quarterback would be the one who performed the best in practice, that was still the first question he received from the audience at the Sooners' caravan event at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.


The second inquiry was was about the jerseys, and his response brought cheers from the audience.



Still, Stoops told the crowd that he didn't understand why it had become such a hot topic among fans.



"Why did they put numbers on the jerseys? So you could identify the players, right?'' Stoops asked.



Stoops also reassured the crowd that the defending Big 12 champions would be able to carry on without tailback Adrian Peterson, who was the No. 7 overall pick in the NFL draft after three sensational seasons at Oklahoma.



We've played eight games the last two years without Adrian, and we're 8-0. So, we're just fine without him. I'd love to have him in those eight games, though.
-- Oklahoma's Bob Stoops,
on losing running back
Adrian Peterson to the NFL
"We've played eight games the last two years without Adrian, and we're 8-0. So, we're just fine without him,'' Stoops said. "I'd love to have him in those eight games, though.''


During the caravan, former Oklahoma defensive end Carl Pendleton received the Bobby Bowden Award from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Pendleton, who graduated in December, is skipping his senior season of football to take care of his 11-year-old stepbrother while going through graduate school.



"Carl Pendleton's the absolute best,'' Stoops said."He's everything you want in a student-athlete.''



Stoops said he was pleased with Oklahoma's first practice, which wrapped up before he came to the caravan.



"It was fabulous really. It was really exciting to see,'' Stoops said. "The guys, I just sense more confidence.''

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

[Zing]

Stoops said he was pleased with Oklahoma's first practice, which wrapped up before he came to the caravan.

"It was fabulous really. It was really exciting to see,'' Stoops said. "The guys, I just sense more confidence.''

To me, that's more important than the names, and right up there with the quarterback decision. What made our past squads so successful was the swagger with which they took the field and played.

[goingoneight]

^^^ yeah... but it also led to two agroid losses in Bed-dumb and 19-55 in the game which we do not speak of. Thing about confidence is you never know when you've gone too far.

[swardboy]

I'll take Stoop's assessment of confidence, thank you.

[OKLA21FAN]

names???? we don neeeed no stinkin names!


(but it is a nice touch)

[jk the sooner fan]

it amazes me that Coach Stoops doesnt understand why the fans (most of them anyway) want the names on the jerseys....

[colleyvillesooner]

it amazes me that Coach Stoops doesnt understand why the fans (most of them anyway) want the names on the jerseys....

He probably does. But saying things like that doesn't make his decision to take them off look so bad, since alot of people will just take whatever Stoops spits out as gospel.

[85Sooner]

8 Games without AD and were 8-0 with 6 Games with AD for a 3-3 (course that included the duckling fiasco)

I AM looking forward to this year.

[jk the sooner fan]

were those 8 games played with a freshman quarterback?

[colleyvillesooner]

were those 8 games played with a freshman quarterback?

Prepare your self for the onslaught of :les:"We played a receiver at Quaterback last year!!!!"

I love that argument. People that use that tend to forget that Paul was a QB in our system for three years.

Some people act like we turned Malcolm Kelly into a QB.

[jk the sooner fan]

exactly, he did start the first game the previous year at QB too

[TheUnnamedSooner]

I, for one, am glad the names are back on the jersey's. not for identifying purposes, just looks better imo.

Also, I'm really excited to see the secondary in action, hopefully that will be a huge strength this year.



Sooners coach Bob Stoops, preparing his players for the Sugar Bowl against LSU in 2004, has reinstated names to players' jerseys after going a year without.


:confused:

[The_Red_Patriot]

Stoops knows. He also knows that our fanbase consist of some total pole smokers which is why he toys with them........ and the media

[colleyvillesooner]

Sooners coach Bob Stoops, preparing his players for the Sugar Bowl against LSU in 2004, has reinstated names to players' jerseys after going a year without.





:confused:


The quote is describing what's going on in the picture directly above it.

[ouflak]

Well it will certainly make it easier for those of us who might get to listen to the games and but rarely get to see them.

[reddfoxx]

Putting the names on the jerseys should really help Bob Berry's performance.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

The quote is describing what's going on in the picture directly above it.

Well, that makes a lot more sense.

[hookem31]

Quick question. Do y'all have an overabundance of duplicate numbers, like we do?

[jk the sooner fan]

yes!

[hookem31]

Thank you.

[StuIsTheMan]

Carl Pendleton received the Bobby Bowden Award from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

heh...Bobby Bowden....christian....heh?

[goingoneight]

People do cry too much about the names on the jerseys. If you're truly a fan, and you want to be in the know... grab a roster for free at the gate. Or actually pay attention when the name is called out instead of ripping on the opponents' fans when we make a big play or get beat on something. Otherwise, just put your gas station OU shades on and STFU. I for one like the names on, but it's not a big deal... period. If it was, Notre Dame fans and USC fans would be foaming at the mouth and bitching about it all the time to Carroll and Weiss.

[Edmond Sooner]

I'll like it better just because I tend to get tanked up during the games and by the fourth quarter my vision is starting to get a little blurry. But that's just me...:D

[soonerloyal]

People do cry too much about the names on the jerseys...Otherwise, just put your gas station OU shades on and STFU. I for one like the names on, but it's not a big deal... period.

I don't care one way or the other about the names. I just enjoy the hella out of watching my boys.

But don't go ripping on my gas station OU shades. I'm a long way from home, and I wear 'em proudly down here in FL, along with every other Sooner item I can get my hands on. Don't you judge me. :D

[SteelClip49]

Names back on the jersies should be off. The vintage look is the best, just the numbers. If you want to know who the players are just print off a roster sheet. What OU should do is have miniature roster cards at the gate or in the ticket office like they do with the mini schedules.

[SteelClip49]

It's never good to neg spek I, the enlightened one.

[SouthFortySooner]

Case in point. Last year at the beginning of the season a linebacker comes around and straight up punks a guy on the corner. I jumping around foaming at the mouth but the name is "right on the tip of my tongue". I knew he was young, from Kingston, was an early OSU commit, had lots of potential but just couldn't think of his name even after he had turned and headed back to the huddle. Replay still no name. I've lost my mojo now because of that overwhelming tip of the tongue thingy we get. A simple Loftin would have helped.

[Frozen Sooner]

Curtus Lofton is from Kingfisher, and to the best of my knowledge (which admittedly may be flawed) never committed to OSU, though at one point he was considered a lean.

So I guess the name probably wouldn't have helped that much. ;)

I, for one, plan to write multiple letters to the editor and the AD threatening to withhold my support from the athletic department until the names are taken off the backs of the jersey. After all, it's THAT important an issue!

[goingoneight]

I don't care one way or the other about the names. I just enjoy the hella out of watching my boys.

But don't go ripping on my gas station OU shades. I'm a long way from home, and I wear 'em proudly down here in FL, along with every other Sooner item I can get my hands on. Don't you judge me. :D
That's just a reference to all the folks who are only Sooner fans because we're winning. They proudly display their Sooner gear wherever they can get it from and wherever they go... but one loss or one thing goes the way they don't want it to and all of a sudden it's a Sooner hate-fest.
Why aren't you running the wishbone- here? Why are the names on the jerseys gone- there? Why did we lose game X- here? Why is coach X still here- there?
I dislike whiny and fickle fans almost as much as I despise rival fans.

[hookem31]

Is it September yet?

[PLaw]

Oklahoma's jerseys to feature names again, coach says
Associated Press


OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops provided the answer to the No. 2 question on the minds of Sooners fans Thursday night.

During the caravan, former Oklahoma defensive end Carl Pendleton received the Bobby Bowden Award from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Pendleton, who graduated in December, is skipping his senior season of football to take care of his 11-year-old stepbrother while going through graduate school.

"Carl Pendleton's the absolute best,'' Stoops said."He's everything you want in a student-athlete.''



It's great to have kids like Carl in the program. I really wish he could have found a way to play this season, but it's clear he sees a bigger picture. To Carl, I say BOOMER SOONER!

PLaw

[Tear Down This Wall]

Hooray...our experiment of following inane "motivational" stunts like crappy schools do is over.

[Pricetag]

Hooray...our experiment of following inane "motivational" stunts like crappy schools do is over.
Yeah, that, and I've been used to seeing names on the back of the jerseys in the NFL and college for so long that nameless jerseys look like high school jerseys to me, like the players have to turn them back in to the equipment manager when the season is over.