DJ's Sooner Stories: End of the Semester Part 2: The Big XII Championship

Monday, December 18, 2006

End of the Semester Part 2: The Big XII Championship

Saturday November 2, would turn out to be a very long but rewarding day. My friends and I split into two groups, each in a different car. I would be riding in Brandon's car along with Ted and Joe. We left OU a little after 10:30 and cruised north along the interstate through the still mostly snow-covered prairie. Northern Oklahoma offered the sights of wide vistas of nothingness along with a vertical truck as a sign for a truck repair place and our personal favorite, Braman Road (yes, we're very mature). Kansas was about the same until we got past Wichita where we saw a KC-135 flying very low above the Air Force base there, which you may have seen on TV getting torn up by a tornado a while back. We stopped for lunch at a McDonald's thinking our friends were far behind when they walk in a few minutes behind us, having lied about their position in a failed attempt to blow past us on the highway. We ate and left there quickly, so as not to lose our lead. We soon saw the true nature of Kansas: total nothingness. You look left, empty field, right, empty field, behind you, empty road, in front of you empty road. That was our view until we got close to Kansas City, where we navigated the heavy traffic until we arrived at Arrowhead Stadium. We parked far from the stadium but close to the exit and hiked through the throngs of Cornhusker fans until we finally found the OU will call booth and picked up our tickets. We entered the stadium and found our seats with little trouble. The only problem: our seats and the ground were still covered in ice from the storm. The ground was mostly cleared by us, leaving a layer on the seats, but as we were going to be standing the whole game, it wasn't really a problem. As always, OU left us a little welcoming gift in the seats. We got a Chik-Fil-A cow toy and a crimson and cream pom-pom to cheer our team on. After standing around for a couple hours, we finally saw the game begin. On the first play, Nebraska threw an interception, which we turned into a touchdown on the second. Nebraska ran another short drive, then we got the ball back and scored on a really long Malcom Kelly pass. Then the game turned highly defensive as neither side could advance the ball very far. Nebraska scored one touchdown following an interception in the second quarter. The game continued to stay highly defensive to the point where we were pushed back to the 1/2 yard line on a 3rd and 10. Amazingly Paul Thompson managed a 38 yard pass to get us out of a sticky situation and through an incredible series of passes brought us another touchdown. Nebraska had all the wind knocked out of their sails then. Their fans started leaving en masse as our tiny OU delegation overshadowed them in loudness. For comparison, the approximate number of OU fans was 12,000 versus about 68,000 Nebraska fans. All of us were feeling the chill of the 20 degree air. Our only break from the cold came from celebrating our advances and spending time in the heated bathroom. As the final seconds ticked down, a buzz of trimuph filled the air. A band member tossed up Tostitos. We held our signs up proudly. As the clock ran out, the players charged onto the field, hugging each other and running around crazily. Fireworks blasted, camera flashes strobed around the stands, and the team hoisted the Big XII Championship trophy above their heads in celebration. As we left, the band jumped into a happy playing of "Sweet Home Alabama." Go figure. Before we began the long trek back to Norman, we stopped for late dinner/early breakfast at IHOP, told many funny stories, and caffinated up for the drive. As we drove through the darkness, we kept awake to the humorous words of Mike Birbaglia, Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin, and Lewis Black. Our car pulled into OU at 6:20, just in time for the sun to rise and us to finally rest after a long and amazing day of football. Coming next, not-so-dead dead week and finals...