Scrimmages: Open or closed?
OU scrimmaged Saturday in front of 7,000 fans. OSU scrimmaged Saturday in front of classified personnel only.
Two ways to conduct business. Each has costs, each has benefits.
I side with Bob Stoops, naturally, because I’d rather watch a scrimmage than be told about it. But I understand both approaches. Mike Gundy wants to keep the wraps on his team. Probably more defense, since new coordinator Tim Beckman is trotting out a new look and new attitude, and
Georgia spies are curious. If it’s offense Gundy wants to keep secret, that’s goofy. We’re talking about an offense that’s supposed to be unpredictable and never know what’s coming, so what does it matter if someone sees a scrimmage?
The cost? The Cowboys missed an opportunity to connect with fans. The chance to bring some die-hards to campus and give them a sneak peak, reward some very loyal fans. State football always seems to be a little slow in public relations, not so much with media as its own fans. Sort of the opposite in
Norman, where an August scrimmage is an event.
Heat soared Saturday in
Norman, even with an 11 a.m. tipoff, and yet the crowd was strong. Better yet, that gave OU’s coaches a chance to see their quarterbacks play before a crowd. It wasn’t 80,000 and national TV, but still, completions brought cheers and incompletions brought groans, a wave of emotion that can affect a player’s performance.
Bottom line, scrimmages should be open. It’s good for the fans, and fans often are forgotten in 21st-century sports.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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I can understand why Gundy would want a closed scrimmage. Why it’s so hard for Tramel to understand…and take the Bob Stoops side is easy to understand.
With a big game with UGA coming up and the opportunity to be on national TV, Mike Gundy does NOT want to give Georgia any help at all.
If by having a slight edge of mistery going into the UGA game gets OSU a big win, then it’s worth it for OSU and it’s fans.
Scrimmaging in public at OSU, which doesn’t account for anything, isn’t going to do fan squat compared to a win on the schedule against a #13 ranked opponent.
Jeez, Tramel….are you such an idiot you can’t see that?!
Just go watch your Sooners scrimmage. That’s all you really care about.
Leave OSU to those that actually care.