Family Reunion in the Sooner State

The blocking resembled the leading edge of a springtime wall cloud roaring across the prairie as Isaiah Sategna III fielded the punt, cut to his right and sprinted for the open field. And in unison, 85,000 rose with the hopeful anticipation of the first big moment of a new season. The souls of Sooner fans soared from all corners of the stadium, from all corners of the state, from across the United States and around the world who have counted down the days with agonizing anticipation of this moment … when they could once again be in the Palace and feel this feeling.

Make no mistake about it, Oklahoma Football is a generational juggernaut gobbling up championships and Heismans and unforgettable moments. But it is so much more than that. It is the tie that binds. It is the great unifier in this great state. For so many, it's the shared memories of past glory and the shared hope of tomorrow.

As I made my way around the stadium Friday afternoon I was reminded of that fact. I met Sooner fan after Sooner fan who had a story to tell, like David Wade, who ventured to Norman from Orlando, and Mike and Dillon Slaven, who came from Kansas, and Max McNutt, a furniture business owner from McAlester.

I met Nancy Howard from Norman on a shady bench outside McCasland Field House, a fantastic silver-haired woman who sparkled when she spoke.

I encountered little Harper Feathers. It was her first-ever Sooner game. She came with the entire Feathers family from Ponca City. Young Jett Johnson from Piedmont and Jansen Butler from Collinsville also seeing this magical place for the very first time and giddy with wide-eyed expectation.

I saw Mr. OU – AKA Antonio Record – a Sooner superfan never shy of energy and always loyal to follow his teams wherever they go in every sport.

I met Jason Wells who has set up his tailgate on Asp Avenue for the last 20 years, fired up four smokers, and filled the air with the smell of barbecue. His father, Ben, played for Bud Wilkinson in the late '50s.

I saw Kevin Causey, a wheelchair-using Sooner fan from Norman determined to not let the heat keep him from seeing his beloved team start a new season.

And I sat by my right-hand man on the Sooner Radio broadcast, Dennis "Stats" Kelly, who attended his first Sooner game in 1967 and can tell you every player who has donned the Crimson and Cream since.

And it's tens of thousands more like them who make the pilgrimage to this hallowed rectangle of emerald green grass to see the ponies run and the Pride play and the boys wearing the interlocking OU on their helmets go to battle for them.

They love the Oklahoma Sooners, but they also love the people they tailgate with, and the people they sit by, and the familiar faces who year after year and generation after generation make Owen Field feel like home. That's what it is … that's exactly what it is. It's our glorious crimson cathedral and it's our home!

So when Sategna turned the corner and rocketed up the sideline and got that one final block from Omarion Robinson, 85,000 rose and roared and remembered that feeling in their guts that keeps them coming back again and again. From first-timers to old-timers. That feeling is what it's all about. And sharing it in the Palace with the Sooner Nation family is what makes it more than just a football game. It's a family reunion.

Players Mentioned

Omarion Robinson

Isaiah Sategna III

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics