Comments on: Oklahoma football: Second place is no consolation

By: willie

willie — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:43:29 +0000

Second place is no consolation…..It’s reality.

By: G_Houston

G_Houston — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 21:29:40 +0000

Hard to disagree with much of anything Randall you said.

And to Berry, OU’s high expectations were not just built on that 2000 NC season, they were built on decades and decades of championships. Can’t blame fans for the high expectations. I’m sure Lakers, Celtics, Yankees, Alabama football, etc. all have the same problem. It’s a good problem to have.

By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 15:51:20 +0000

Actually, OU is expected to win it all each year based on the tradition it has established and sustained over decades. Okie State on the other hand traditionally is not viewed as a team that is ever expected to win it all. It’s funny how fans pick and choose games that OU has lost, including BCS games, and purports those losses to be Sooner tradition. My comments are not intended to be negative toward OSU. They are realistic in terms of OSU’s identity in college football history.

By: Randall

Randall — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 15:04:47 +0000

OU is not expected to “win it all.” OU is expected to play as if the coaches and players cared enough to prepared for the game, and then to play and coach as well as the guys on the other side of the field, who almost always have less talent and whose coaches are nearly always paid much less.

And OU is expected to show up for its BCS games as if winning THAT GAME is Job One, not an afterthought.

OU is expected to do its best, not quit against Southern Cal, not coast for 3 quarters against Boise State, not show up looking as if it had prepared for Texas Tech rather than West Virginia, not turn stupid in the red zone against Florida.

By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 14:32:06 +0000

It’s clearly easier for Okie State fans to accept mediocrity. A long history of losing represents OSU football tradition, which allows for fans to lower the bar when it comes to expectations. The team’s recent success is great for the school and the fans, but it has not been sustained long enough for it to change the program’s identity on a long term basis. Winning more conference championships is the only way for the identity to change. While the program is better now than it has been, much more must be accomplished.

By: Tony

Tony — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:43:49 +0000

You hit the nail on the head Berry. Winning is expected in Oklahoma sports. Personally, I didn’t really see this article coming…but you make a great point.

That said…I TOTALLY agree with Jefferson…TRUE fans are TRUE fans no matter what. Problem is…that analogy doesn’t alwasy hold true for all fans.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 05:39:11 +0000

In the NBA playoffs you can say the Thunder finished 2nd but in the BCS it is usually the winner of another BCS bowl game that finishes 2nd, not the loser of the championship game. It seems that is the way it works without a playoff.

By: LXXIV

LXXIV — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 00:36:08 +0000

That is interesting! They will “Pack the fences” but can’t consistently sell-out the stadium.

By: Jefferson

Jefferson — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 23:30:03 +0000

All I am going to say is that TRUE fans welcome their team back, regardless of a win or loss. The fences next to the tarmac in Stillwater is always packed, even at 4 am, win, lose or draw. When the Sooners lose, everybody is calling for the coach to be fired the next day.