Texas *: Who cares?
There seems to be much wailing and gnashing of teeth over the sign that put up, then taken down, in the University of Texas football complex. Under Big 12 championships, it read: 2008*.
To which I say, at least they put up the asterisk.
I don’t understand this whole notion of OU fans wanting Texas fans to relax and accept what happened in 2008, that the Longhorns came out on the short end of the three-way tie. The Sooners advanced fair and square; they went on to win the Big 12 title, sans asterisk, and could have settled the whole thing with a victory over Florida, but that didn’t happen.
If the roles were reversed, OU fans would be revolting in the streets, too. We wouldn’t hear the end of how the Sooners beat Texas, but Texas got to play in the Big 12 title game.
One difference, I think, is there probably would have been no sign up in the OU locker room. And I’m hard-pressed to believe that Mack Brown didn’t know about the sign going up. If he didn’t, there are a lot of poor decision-makers walking around that complex. Bad Decision 1: Thinking up the goofy thing in the first place. Bad Decision 2: Don’t ask Mack about it.
But before Soonerville cackles too loudly, remember that OU is the school where the coach suspended his no-excuses policy after the Oregon debacle and where the president asked for the game to be declared no-contest. Yes, it was a series of bad calls in Eugene, but welcome to what Blackie Sherrod called the world of perspiring arts. The University of Texas knows the feeling well.
The truth is, you make Texans shut up about it by winning the game next autumn. If OU doesn’t win, the amplification of the 2008 controversy only multiplies.
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.
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Comments
I think Berry Tramel is dead wrong in his conclusion that there would have been “revolting in the streets” in December had the roles been reversed. There likely would have been a few on the irrational fringe in Oklahoma who would have cried and complained like Mack Brown but most of us would have accepted the consequences from an agreed upon process and result from an admittedly imperfect system.
Brown, in particular, as the Texas head coach, in my opinion, made a fool of himself. He never gave an explanation as to his rationale for dismissing Texas Tech’s equally legitimate claim in this case of circular won/loss records between OU, Texas Tech and Texas. He might have argued the small margin of loss to Texas Tech and the hostile environment but that opens the issue of the margin of victory when we played TT (yes, on our home field; let the circular arguments begin).
I think Tramel is right when he says Stoops would have handled it differently. I know him a little and I know his “no excuses” mentality. I’m confident he would have said OU should have put Texas Tech away and avoided the controversy even though the game was in Lubbock, had the circumstances been reversed.
Dude, this is funny, and true. OU would have freaked out if it was the other way around…would they have flown banners over other games, probably not, but they woudl have freaked out nonetheless.
As for Mack not knowing? Who knows. I do know that head football coaches are in a thousand places at once and don’t know even a small percentage of what little things happen on a day to day basis, but maybe he did.
Texass is like France, Oklahoma is the U.S. and Berry Tramel is the apologetic American journalist thinking he is taking the moral high-ground by pointing out what he perceives as hypocrisy in order to gain favor in the eyes of foreigners when all he does is illustrate spineless vanity and insure nobody likes him. PAC10 officials were guilty of either total ineptitude or they blatantly cheated. BIGXII officials established a premeditated, agreed to by all parties, formal procedure. It would have sucked if the shoe were on the other foot, but it wasn’t. You might as well have stated that the moon put on his pants and got in his car but couldn’t find his keys and so he went back in and watched TV….it would have been as relevant an analogy as the one you used.
Actually, my thoughts immediately went all the way back to 1984 when Texas “tied” OU when Stanberry was “out of bounds” and Texas kicked a last second field, and I sat in the upper deck in disbelief.
I think The Mont still has that score listed as 15-12…
But you are right. I don’t think the OU locker room has it anywhere.
What could OU have settled by beating Florida? Florida obviously has nothing to do with the Big XII Championship– which was settled a month prior to the National Championship. Berry, that’s just illogical. This sentence makes my head explode:
“The Sooners advanced fair and square; they went on to win the Big 12 title, sans asterisk, and could have settled the whole thing with a victory over Florida, but that didn’t happen.”
What makes you think that Texas wouldn’t claim that they were the true National Champions in the case of an OU victory over Florida, thus producing yet another asterisk? A victory over Florida wouldn’t have settled anything in the eyes of Texas– no pun intended.
Oh, and Todd @ 2:22, you’re a moron.
Oregon went beyond ridiculous. The refs ruled the ball went ten yards then awarded the ball to Oregon when Oregon did not even recover the ball, ten yards or not. The 1984 OU-Texas game was played before instant replay, but an eight yard skid visible through the endzone physically showed evidence that Stanberry was not out of bounds. This year, Texas threw an interception that was overturned though the TV announcers could see that the replay should have gone OU’s way, which might have affected the outcome of the game. Another play that should have been overturned in a decent world was when Travis Lewis attempted to hold up Colt McCoy, but instead was called for a personal foul, leading to a continuation of a drive. Fair has nothing to do with football, but the Oregon rip-off was the most blatant WWE type of officiating act that I have ever witnessed. OU’s player was the only player to touch the and hold the ball and the officials gave the ball to a team that never once touched the ball.
Hey Berry – OU beat Texas in 2001 but failed to play in the title game… It happens when it is a tie someone gets left out. It is worse when there are 3 to muddy the waters.
Three teams tying left each team with a black mark on its record. Tech had the worst loss of the three. The Sooners had the best win of the three. Texas’ win over OU was relatively close in total yards, so it was by no means a Texas rout. Tech dominated UT most of its game in Lubbock. If OU had beaten Tech by only 3 points in Norman, Tech would have deserved the slot in KC. As it is, OU’s domination over a good Tech team turned the ratings upside down. OU was two plays on two first half drives from winning the national championship in Florida against Florida, but it did not work out. That’s the breaks.
Ridiculous analogy by Tramel. The Big XII Championship controversy has absolutley nothing to do with the failure of officiating in Oregon; no relation whatsoever; no way to associate the two. This is a totally nonsenical blog.
Besides Stoops bitching and belly-aching(right fully so) about the calls, and
Pres. Boren calling it a “No-Contest” The God Father and Athletic Dir. Joe C.
said “If OU can’t take a Big 12 Officiating crew to Washington in 2008, like
most all other away games are, except for the PAC. 10, then we(OU) will
cancel the game in Seattle”! What happened? Some more BS from the left!
Riiiiight. Bob and the Administration still have Egg on there face for that
game. Listen to the pre-game if you are bitching about officials that call
OU games. 75% are from Texas and the other are from the Big 12 North.
Thats a mixed crew, Lubbock, Austin, Dallas, K.C., Ames, & Boulder.
By the way, how old are you all writing in on this article. Hope your young, if not ya’ll have some issues. Do your mom’s, dad’s or wives know your wrting this stuff?
Unosooner shouldn’t be writing at all until he learns grammar. Let me help you, uno. (Don’t call yourself sooner because most Sooners are educated.) Corrections will be in parentheses: “By the way, how old are you all writing in on this article.(?) (I) hope your(you’re) young,(.) If not ya’ll(y’all) have some issues. Do your mom’s(moms), dad’s (dads) or wives know your wrting(writing) this stuff?” Seven errors in a thirty-three words post. Uno, remedial courses in the English language are available at OCCC.
hmmmm and all this time i have always spelt it as *ya’ll*…..i have to go along with uno on this one ya’ll.
hey Tramel, tell me something…..does it kinda hurt your *you’re* feelings when peaple put your *you’re* collums down so bad? Just curious.
Barton, y’all is a contraction of ‘you all’. I normally wouldn’t make such a big deal of grammar but uno’s hypocrisy prompted my harsh reaction. In his first post he comments on Tramel’s blog and then (4 minutes later) in his second post he ridicules others for posting comments on the very same blog. Maybe he’s schizophrenic.
Barry – Nice try at stirring the pot, but the analogy is not apt – the Sooners did not put an asterisk by that Oregon score. Did they complain? Yes. Did Texas complain ad nauseum about not getting the South title? Yes. But are the Sooners STILL complaining about Oregon? No. Is Texas STILL complaining about the South title? Yes.
Getting cheated out of a win in Oregon when the whole nation agreed is a little different than Texas’ situation where all Big XII coaches agreed who the Big XII Champs were. Apples and peanuts. Heck, their refs were suspended. No suspensions for this Texas gripe.
Also, I read the message boards when they were talking about possibly revoking USC’s title due to Reggie Bush-gate, that they might award the MNC to OU. Not a single poster thought OU should accept it if they did. Not one. And that was for a national title, not a south division crown…
Nice try…
OU still shows a loss at Oregon and your comparisons are as shallow as the Red River in August. What’s this about Texas coaches being paid for the Big 12 Championship? those people need therapy.
As a fan from another Big XII school, I dislike both of these schools intensely. Yet like pretty much every college football fan not affiliated with OU, I think Texas got jobbed and have no problem with the asterisk whatsoever…even in the locker room. OU got the spot on a technicality. Yes it was the rule in place, but it’s a bad rule.
Tramel should be fired and given a bus ticket on an old scoop bus to Austin, tx. He’s definitely dumb enough to be a horn…maybe evev a horn toad!!!
haha. dumb enough to be a horn. need i remind you that ou is a third tier school. texas is a tier 1 school.
jo adams- I have unfortunately read a comment or 2 of yours before and you would not know class if it came up and bit you on your arss. YOU ARE AN INBREAD IDIOT. I know who you are and where you live in Edmond,OK. You might want to go ahead and move to Texas. I think it would save you a lot of embarrasement. Really !
Todd, Texas has 1 s, learn to spell. Also, I’m pretty sure France has not come out on top 3 of their last 4 wars with the United States. Nice try.
IF YOU’RE PLAYING TEXAS OR IN THE BCS
SOONERS=LOSERS
I don’t see any problem with it, I got an oscar with an asterisk for Best Actor in the game against Texas last year!
ps PLEASE LEAVE ME OUT OF NEXT YEARS CONTEST I MIGHT “HURT” MYSELF AGAIN
Gene, keep dreaming. “…but most of us would have accepted the consequences from an agreed upon process and result from an admittedly imperfect system.” Give me a break. You’re just like everyone else in the country.
The asterisk shouldn’t have went up, but so many OU fans whining about it makes OU look bad. I think fans need to light a fire (even a little) under Bob Stoops because OU has lost their last 5 BCS (not horrible until Boise St and WVU are thrown in) and lost 3 out of 4 to UT.
From kbs: “haha. dumb enough to be a horn. need i remind you that ou is a third tier school. texas is a tier 1 school.”
Yet another lie from a UT fan or someone related to that university.
U.S. News and World Report – Best Colleges: University of Oklahoma’ Tier 1, College Category, National Universities.
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/items/3184
The funny think is everyone says that OU would have reacted differently about the Three way Tie.. Yet you guys are still crying about Oregon and a game in 1984?????? You would have been just as upset as Texas fans were.
wow. this is crazy. its a damn fake trophy that was up for a few days.ou fans would cry just as much. osu would cry. baylor would cry. any damn team who cares would cry if that had happened. (yes the plane was too much)but in the end, TX BEAT OU, so u guys can shutup til next year. tech fans go ahead. have fun in austin btw. P.S. texas is gona beat ou then lose to OK.St and ou will be voted in again.. and ill probly kill myself
Barry next time your in Austin let me know drinks are on me.
Hey ROBMGIL if “spooners” are educated then you need to teach your fellow “spooner” Barton how to spell.
HOOKEM HORNS!!!!
Barry please kick Trabors butt and get him out. Hes a gambeling addict and thats about all he talks about and everyones an idiot but him that diagrees with him. I”ve enjoyed talking with you on the radio and your articles in the paper.
Berry:
Your analogy breaks down on this one point. The conference just followed rules, agreed to by everyone, to determine the representative in the Big 12 title game.
The debacle in Oregon was a mockery of rule following.