DJ's Sooner Stories

Week 2: Football and Fun

Another week has passed at OU. Classes became a little harder, but so far I have been handling them without any serious problems. Dr. Kloesel, the speaker at my Intro to Professional Meteorology class this week, gave an informative and humorous discussion on the job of a meteorologist, comparing it to that of a doctor. Both use temperature and pressure to diagnose their patient, and if they get their diagnosis wrong, people die. The main difference is that if doctors misdiagnose, their patients sue them, but if a meteorologist does the same they get paid. Of course, the meteorologist also has a much tougher job as the doctor only has to taking one temperature and pressure reading while a meteorologist has to take millions and deal with the fact that its patient is constantly moving over great distances at the same time. That is what makes accurately predicting the weather so difficult. Outside of classes, I joined up with the OU Academic Team, the school's College Bowl organization. At the first few practices I performed quite well, along with my friend Ted whom I met in Orlando last summer.

This weekend was also OU's first football game, against the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB). That morning Dr. Carr, my mentor, took the rest of our group and me around the campus on a walking tour. We ventured by many of the fountains, into the library with its great reading room, the music hall with its huge organ that a student was playing when we walked in, the art museum which holds a huge collection of French Impressionist paintings donated to the school six years ago, and the performing arts center which had a long mural of many famous people including William Jennings Bryan and William Howard Taft. We had lunch at Louie's, a restaurant on Campus Corner owned by OU football coach Bob Stoops. Before the game I walked around the festivities with a couple of my friends. People had set up crimson and white tents along all the roads around stadium and stocked them with the usual assortment of food, beer, TVs, and folding chairs. Throngs of OU fans crowded the streets with the occassional UAB fan slipping through them.

At 4 o'clock, my friends and I rushed into the stadium along with thousands of other students. We got seats near the field on the 10 yard line, close to the action. After two hours of pregame festivities, the game began. The mood went up and down with the score, with lots of festivities and hat throwing when we scored a touchdown and curses and silence when UAB scored. The most celebrating came when star runningback Adrien Peterson received a swing pass and ran 69 yards for a touchdown that tipped the game in our favor, which ended with us on top 24-17. It was closer than any of us wanted, but at least we won. Tomorrow is Labor Day, so no classes until Tuesday. It should be a much needed day of relaxation for me. Hasta luego!

posted by DJ @ 1:58 PM