I remember when the only boos heard at Owen Field occurred when the band played the visiting team’s fight song.
And that always seemed perfunctory. A half-hearted, we-gotta-do it, buuu…ewe.
Last night during the OU-West Virginia game, boos came when the Sooners were failing to convert third downs in the second quarter.
More disappointing was a chorus of “We want Caleb” — a chant I didn’t hear in the stadium, but apparently was nationally broadcast on prime time ABC from a mic’ed up student section of drunken frat boys. (The reference was to backup quarterback Caleb Williams).
Those booing and chanting apparently didn’t notice a Sooners offensive line that was getting whipped by the Mountaineers and causing QB Spencer Rattler to run for his life all night (until the final drive when it counted the most).
Instead, their ire was directed at second-year QB Rattler.
All the national media is talking about today is the Sooners fans’ new ranking as No. 1 worst in the country.
Rattler completed 14 of his last 15 passes and commanded a drive to set up the game-winning field goal by Gabe Brkic in the final seconds of the game.
Oklahoma fell two spots in the AP poll to No. 6 after the 16-13 win. They dropped one spot to No. 4 in the Coach’s poll.
But, all the national media is talking about today is the Sooners fans’ new ranking as No. 1 worst in the country for booing their own team.
Last night I was serenaded by two angry (and tipsy) fans in my section who began screaming in the first quarter about Rattler being awful.
I have had my seats in Section 11 for 25 years. Over the years I have certainly heard grumblings from fans, most notably toward coaches named Venables, Stoops (Mike) and Long.
Play calling is always second-guessed by the 85,000 seasoned coaches who are season ticket holders. But blaming 19 and 20-year-old players has been icky enough in my section to keep people from doing it.
Frankly, I had never before heard such vitriol directed toward a particular player like occurred last night.
It is true that many OU fans have always believed the quarterback on the bench is better than the quarterback on the field.
Just ask Bobby Warmack, Dean Blevins, Nate Hybl and Landry Jones.
I would have suggested asking one of the greatest Oklahoma quarterbacks to play the game, Steve Davis, but he sadly died in a plane crash a few years ago.
The grandparents of these current fans booed Davis when Oklahoma lost to Kansas in 1975, ending a 31-game win streak. That was a year the Sooners won the national championship.
Or ask Sam Bradford, who heard fans say Keith Nichol should start instead of the eventual Heisman winner.
So, in keeping with tradition (and tradition is a big deal at Oklahoma, even if it’s a horrible one), the current boo birds made their presence known in Saturday night’s game, which parenthetically, the Sooners won.
But last night seemed different. More hostile. More aggravated.
Forget that bogus “Oklahoma standard” baloney people like to talk about how friendly we are around these parts.
Hillary Clinton would have called these boo-ing fans “deplorables” and even Republicans would have agreed.
Why is this occurring now?
The Oklahoma vs West Virginia game Saturday marked the first prime-time night game since beer sales were allowed at Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium (ignore last year’s COVID season when attendance was limited).
Joe Castiglione wanted beer sales so the university could make more money.
OU may be making more money. But what it also got was the bar crowd attending football games.
They’re great when all is going well. But if there is adversity the rowdiness turns ugly. (There was a report of a fight in the south end zone stands that spilled onto the field, but I didn’t see it).
Then, the Name Image Likeness (NIL) ruling came down, and now players can make money from endorsements. It is the first major development that puts college sports into something more resembling a professional “paid” category.
The social media posts from the boo birds this morning are replete with rationales and excuses for the mistreatment of the Sooner players by Sooner fans.
Top of the list is the idea the players are pros now and they are getting that rough-and-tumble treatment when they don’t produce to the fans’ satisfaction — because they say that’s OK since players are now getting a benefit the fans aren’t.
I guess the have nots being upset with the haves has become a societal phenomena not restricted to politics.
At the same time these loud complaining fans feel entitled. They believe they deserve a flawless football team performance (promised them in the pre-season by sports pundits) and if their expectations are not met they are entitled to act like babies in a tantrum.
I was waiting for the man sitting behind me, after yelling how Rattler sucked and couldn’t play quarterback, to fall down and cry, “Why are they doing this to me?”
I had always thought one of the great things about Oklahoma football is that it was the one time when no matter one’s socio-economic or political standing, the fans were all on the same team. In this together.
Boy, was I wrong.
It was evident from Saturday night that some fans have a sort of psychological syndrome from an unreasonable belief their own self worth is determined by being a fan of a perfect college football team.
Last night I heard fans complain they were mad because they felt the team was hurting them and they deserved better.
(I suppose if you felt hurt wouldn’t you lash out with boos too?)
Rattler could take a page out of the Baker Mayfield playbook. Mayfield made perceived disrespect a motivator. Will Spencer Rattler turn real disrespect into a motivator?
The consequence of the unfortunate demonstration of classlessness was an immediate condemnation from national sports media and football fans from around the country, who now put OU fans as No. 1 worst in the country.
We don’t even have to mention the effect this will have on recruiting, which before now has been pretty good.
Another consequence may or may not be an effect on play of the players. How can they separate their performance from the poor performance from the fans, whether it be limited to the student section or not? It has to have an impact.
Rattler was cool in his post-game press interview, stating the boos did not affect him.
“They aren’t on the field,” he said. That was a nice way of saying the fans didn’t know what they were talking about.
Rattler could take a page out of the Baker Mayfield playbook. Mayfield made perceived disrespect a motivator. Will Spencer Rattler turn real disrespect into a motivator?
(He seemed to do just that in his last drive of the game, completing all six of his passes and marching the Sooners down the field for the win).
Meanwhile, the fans have some adjusting to do if they want to have any legitimate claim to having contributed to a championship should one come at season’s end.
The historic University of Oklahoma president George Lynn Cross once said during a budget hearing before the legislature as to why the university needed more money, “I would like to build a University of which the football team could be proud.”
Today, the task for OU may be to build a fan base of which the football team could be proud.
As of last night, it was clear, that does not currently exist.
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