I'm not talking about the day you watched your first game...or the day you got your first jersey as a kid....or the day you went to your first class at OU.......I'm talking about the day you felt the rush and need to know everything Sooners...the feeling of "I can't miss a game"...the feeling of I will kill every balless longhorn out there and make burgers out of them by grilling them on an OU shaped grate before throwing it to my dog...
When i was 6 my parents got divorced and i moved with my dad. I watched a ton of OU games with my dad in the 90s. It was rough watching those guys because they would break my dad's heart every year because of the disappointment that ensued. I never understood the love my dad had for OU until 99. I asked dad LITERALLY while he was watching the Independence bowl "Dad why are you such a big OU fan?"
To which he replied
"Well your grandpa was a big OU fan...and me and my 5 brothers would huddle around the radio and listen to every play from watts to Boz to the selmon brothers to Billy Sims. We would listen until half time and go out and play tackle football in your grandmas sticker covered front yard."
"Your grandfather was a big OU fan!" He said
My dad's dad died when my dad was only 12 from cancer. And my grandma had to raise all 5 of her boys all by herself and I know my dad was increadibly close with gpa JW. My dad said he worked constantly(not weird for that time as all people around that time were hard workers) so the only times my dad and them got to spend really quality time was on Saturdays when the game was on the radio.
That got me that day. I knew I wanted that bond of having your father and being able to have something so engrained in you that it's like blood. I watched the heart break of that independence bowl and I wanted to be an OU fan.
The next year the season came back around and my dad got free tickets give to him for the UTEP game from a friend who had season tickets. He came home from work that evening and said told me and of course I was excited.
When we drove to the game dad told me more stories of how amazing OU football was...that we had 6 national titles and Hundreds of All-Americans ...that it wasn't something that was just known around the state of Oklahoma but that OU was a premiere football program in the country. And still as an 10 year old kid I never knew it was that big of a deal. My dad walked me in from the SE corner of the stadium and when I walked through into the view of Owen field my heart dropped because I never knew something could be so big. My dad saw the joy on my face and said with a big grin "well what do ya think" then laughed. Dad wanted to get our drinks first and some nachos before we sat down and so we did and while walking by a stand I saw a foam finger and dad saw it catch my eye and he said "let's get ya one of them! Ya gotta have a foam finger!" We sat on the south side about midway up. The band came out and played and the crowd was so incredibly loud. We say right above some elderly men and one of which was a big man with a white beard who looked back and asked me "Is this your first OU game son?" To which my dad replied "it sure is!! I'm getting him hooked early!" My face lit up with excitement once they kicked the ball off and the roar of the crowd became so great I couldn't even hear myself yell.
My fondest memory of that day was watching Renaldo Works carry what seemed like the entire UTEP team into the south endzone...
I was hooked. I had a love for something that can only be explained by saying "BOOMER!!!" It is something that has kept me and my dad close even through our own personal issues. And it's something we will always share a love for... So what's your story...what makes you say
BOOOOOMER!!!!
When i was 6 my parents got divorced and i moved with my dad. I watched a ton of OU games with my dad in the 90s. It was rough watching those guys because they would break my dad's heart every year because of the disappointment that ensued. I never understood the love my dad had for OU until 99. I asked dad LITERALLY while he was watching the Independence bowl "Dad why are you such a big OU fan?"
To which he replied
"Well your grandpa was a big OU fan...and me and my 5 brothers would huddle around the radio and listen to every play from watts to Boz to the selmon brothers to Billy Sims. We would listen until half time and go out and play tackle football in your grandmas sticker covered front yard."
"Your grandfather was a big OU fan!" He said
My dad's dad died when my dad was only 12 from cancer. And my grandma had to raise all 5 of her boys all by herself and I know my dad was increadibly close with gpa JW. My dad said he worked constantly(not weird for that time as all people around that time were hard workers) so the only times my dad and them got to spend really quality time was on Saturdays when the game was on the radio.
That got me that day. I knew I wanted that bond of having your father and being able to have something so engrained in you that it's like blood. I watched the heart break of that independence bowl and I wanted to be an OU fan.
The next year the season came back around and my dad got free tickets give to him for the UTEP game from a friend who had season tickets. He came home from work that evening and said told me and of course I was excited.
When we drove to the game dad told me more stories of how amazing OU football was...that we had 6 national titles and Hundreds of All-Americans ...that it wasn't something that was just known around the state of Oklahoma but that OU was a premiere football program in the country. And still as an 10 year old kid I never knew it was that big of a deal. My dad walked me in from the SE corner of the stadium and when I walked through into the view of Owen field my heart dropped because I never knew something could be so big. My dad saw the joy on my face and said with a big grin "well what do ya think" then laughed. Dad wanted to get our drinks first and some nachos before we sat down and so we did and while walking by a stand I saw a foam finger and dad saw it catch my eye and he said "let's get ya one of them! Ya gotta have a foam finger!" We sat on the south side about midway up. The band came out and played and the crowd was so incredibly loud. We say right above some elderly men and one of which was a big man with a white beard who looked back and asked me "Is this your first OU game son?" To which my dad replied "it sure is!! I'm getting him hooked early!" My face lit up with excitement once they kicked the ball off and the roar of the crowd became so great I couldn't even hear myself yell.
My fondest memory of that day was watching Renaldo Works carry what seemed like the entire UTEP team into the south endzone...
I was hooked. I had a love for something that can only be explained by saying "BOOMER!!!" It is something that has kept me and my dad close even through our own personal issues. And it's something we will always share a love for... So what's your story...what makes you say
BOOOOOMER!!!!
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