In November of 2010 Gene and I were in Oklahoma City, OK checking out the Oklahoma State Capitol and the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. While there we decided to check out the University of Oklahoma and see the field where the Oklahoma Sooners play. Sometimes when you travel you can have some issues or things just don’t go right. Other times you find yourself in a unique situation that you never planned, which makes it only sweeter.
This was this case with our trip to see the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. It happened to be a Saturday, and the Sooners were playing at home that weekend. I was bummed thinking with so many people being around I wouldn’t be able to get any decent pictures. With that in mind, we decided to get there early.
Three to four hours before game time should be enough time right? Wrong. I couldn’t believe the amount of people that were already tailgating or setting up 3+ hours before kickoff. However, these Sooners fans were some of the nicest people you would ever want to meet. They saw me taking pictures and asked where we were from. Some petted our dogs, and even gave them a snack or two. I think we had about four groups of people ask us if we wanted something to drink or a hot dog, chips, etc. They didn’t even know us, but it didn’t matter to them. They were happy to be out in the parking lot getting ready to cheer on their Sooners.
While walking around their matching band started up and got everyone all excited and pumped up. This was still hours before the game and they were just getting started. 
We were there quite a while and I was so disappointed that we didn’t have tickets to see them play. I would have loved to have taken in the game. However we had our dogs with us and had other plans for the day.
Before we left the area we drove around just to see the area and I was surprised again when I saw so many people setting up watching parties out on their front lawns. The kicker, ha-ha, was the person who had a 55+ screen tv on rollers in the middle of his yard, with about 25 chairs set up for his family or friends. Crazy but so much fun.
I was, and still am, so impressed by the kindness of the Sooners fans we met, and how passionate they are about their team. I usually don’t follow much college football, but I do enjoy watching the Sooners play and sharing the excitement with a fellow high school friend. She is a a huge Sooners fan thanks to her dad. Guess you can say it’s a family tradition My only regret was not being able to take in the game. However I will plan better next time and make sure we get to enjoy the whole experience from beginning to end. Hopefully it includes a WIN! Here is a link to their website if you would like more information.
