That Time of Year Again

So its 'BEDLAM' week, the football game played between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State (aka Okie Lite) Universities. But it has been anything but BEDLAM for OU and most of their fans.

The delima for OU, is that this honestly is just another game, while for Okie Lite, this is their Super Bowl. Problem is , that Okie Lite has lost their self proclaimed super bowl 71 times, while only winning 16, with 7 ties. So roughly 80% of the time, Okie Lite comes out on the short end of the stick when it comes to BEDLAM.

But there is something interesting about this lopsided series, and that is, 'strange things seem to happen when this game is played in Stillwater' for some reason.

*From blowing 18 point leads in the final 10 minutes culminating with a 'failed' onside kick in which the kicking team was told the kick was going to be 'normal and deep', but the coaching staff failed to tell the kicker. Who then attempted an onside kick, but miss hit the ball, resulting in a line drive that bounced off an Okie Lite All-Amercian's face mask, and recovered by OU.

* A seemingly perfect game winning Okie Lite pass on the final play, only to be dropped in the end zone.

* Even in the last OU National Championship year, Okie Lite was in the red zone in the final moments only to come up short again.

But perhaps when of the strangest moments in BEDLAM history came in 1904 in the first ever Bedlam game held in Guthrie, Ok (basically half way between the two Universities and at that time, the state's capital) where on a cold, and very windy day with the temperatures well below the freezing mark and a nearby creek, Cottonwood Creek, was nearly frozen. At one moment in the game when the then Okie Lite Aggies were punting, the wind carried the ball backwards behind the kicker. (yes, he actually punted the ball backwards) If the Oklahoma Lite squad recovered the ball it would be a touch back and if the University of Oklahoma squad recovered it, it would be a touchdown. The ball kept going backwards and rolled down a hill into the half-frozen creek. Since a touchdown was at stake, members of both teams dove into the icy waters to recover the ball. A member of the OU team came out with the ball and downed it for a touchdown, eventually winning the game 77-0.

But maybe the most insulting aspect of BEDLAM is that the University of Oklahoma has adapted the state song, 'Oklahoma' by Rodgers and Hammerstein, as their school song with their own special musical arrangement, which has aided their bonding with the people of Oklahoma as the unofficial number one state university. So, for the administration, faculty, fans and the Oklahoma State football team themselves, the week preceding their annual game with the University of Oklahoma is truly a Bedlam Week, their 'super bowl'. But for the administration, faculty, fans and Sooners team, it's usually just another hum-drum day at the office.

BOOMER!

Its off to the Coast for a few days of R&R, but the 'Spotterman' has been voicing some interesting opinions in the past day or so, that needs to be addressed. Until then, have a good Turkey day.