The Red River Rumble

This weekend includes one of those college football games that you really have to watch, even if you aren't interested in the teams.  There are a handful of these games (Alabama-Auburn, Notre Dame-USC, Army-Navy, to name a few), but the biggest for me is OU-Texas.  I was born and raised in Oklahoma and Sooner football is almost a religion in Oklahoma.  Growing up, I remember stores closing on Saturday afternoons when OU was playing a big game against Texas or, more often, against Nebraska.  Since the Big XII came into existence, the OU-Texas game has become much more significant since it is a divisional game.  It has become even more so for me personally since I now live in Texas and am generally surrounded by Longhorn fans. 

I love the pagentry of having the game smack dab in the middle of the Texas State Fair.  I love that the stands at the Cotton Bowl are literally divided on each side at the 50 yard line and one half of the stadium is nearly all Crimson and Creme (NOT Red and White) and the other half is nearly all Burnt Orange and White.  I love that both teams have easily recognizable fight songs.  I love the Sooner Schooner and I love that Texas has a live Longhorn at the game (I couldn't bring myself to say that I love Bevo).  Even if you don't like football, it is a spectacle to behold.

Having been a fan of Oklahoma my whole life (the first sporting event I can remember watching was an OU game), it did not surprise me that both teams got upset last weekend.  Both teams scale back their playbooks in the games preceeding The Game.  OU didn't even throw a pass to its potential All-American WR, Malcolm Kelley, in the second half of Saturday's game.  With a game that means as much as the Texas game, you don't want to reveal any of your tricks.  There is no doubt in my mind that both teams were thinking about Dallas in their preparation for last weekend's games. 

Obviously, I sincerely hope that Oklahoma prevails on Saturday, but even if it doesn't happen (and our redshirt Freshman QB will see his first game action in The Game, so it may not happen), I genuinely love getting to experience this game.  When my son gets a little older, I look forward to taking him (cost be damned) to see this game live.  It will be both of our first first-hand experiences with this rivalry.  If you didn't grow up in this area of the country and you haven't experienced this rivalry, you would be doing yourself a huge favor to check it out Saturday afternoon.

BOOMER