Oklahoma football game

Go straight to the PICTURES (mouse over pics to read the captions)

Hey guys! Well, something really cool happened last Saturday. I didn't start to get interested in football until about a year ago, but after living in Oklahoma it has rubbed off on me--it's hard not to get swept up in the enthusiasm. After 9+ months of trying to get my head wrapped around this ridiculously complicated sport, I finally got to attend my first real college football game.

So, Saturday I headed to the OU campus in Norman, just south of OKC. My work friend Huntur was kind enough to go with me, & answer about a hundred questions that day. The Sooners were playing the Utah State Aggies, which unfortunately was not a great pairing--Oklahoma is a much better team, and Utah was seriously overmatched. OU scored their first touchdown within a minute or two of play, and then continued to pound the bejeezus out of the the Utah team the entire game. OU ended up winning easily by more than 50 points. That makes three home games in a row that they've effortlessly blown away the other team. Who made the schedule this season? However, this Friday night's game against Tulsa is supposed to be GOOD. Tulsa has a strong offense and a grudge to prove, so hopefully it will be a real challenge.

Anyways, it was quite a spectacle--they fire an honest-to-God cannon every time OU kicks off, and blow off fireworks each time they score! A white horse and covered wagon made circles around the field after touchdowns. The OU band was there & played their 5-second fight song, "Boomer Sooner", about TEN THOUSAND TIMES. Being in the same place with 80,000+ other excited and crazy people was quite an experience. Compared to TV, it was definitely MUCH more interesting watching the game in person. Four quarters seemed to go by VERY quickly. I have a few pictures from the game posted here. My camera wouldn't take good pictures of the actual play, but I got some good ones of the fans.

After it was all over, I had ringing in my ears, an awful fight song stuck in my head, a sunburn from sitting in the Okie sun for four hours, & a headache from three hours in traffic trying to get HOME after the game. But, I can't WAIT to go again!!!

Much love--xoxo,
Layla

20 Days Until Kickoff

A funny followup to my post last weekend. One of my neighbors has a mailbox shaped like an oversized, red and white Sooners helmet. The very next morning after my last post, I drove by to find it had been mysteriously bashed to pieces in the middle of the night. It wasn't just knocked off the post, it was knocked off & into the street, where it was clubbed into about 5 pieces. This didn't look like the usual mailbox bashing since every other one in the neighborhood was completely untouched. I guess that makes it a hate crime! :)

This mailbox was so defeated that there was no bringing it back--or so I thought. When I drove home that night I was shocked to see it up again, sitting on the mailpost held together by glue, tape and pride. 20 days left until kickoff, and as they say, it's on!!!