Last Saturday our Sooner football team and many thousands of Sooner fans made the drive down to the Dallas Cotton Bowl. The big arena has been expanded through the years and they say it can seat 96,100 Oklahoma-Texas football fans. Pat and I made the trip down with many of our family members again this year but the big walk in and out of the stadium has become a little tough so we stayed in a B&B and like most of you watched the big annual event on TV. And it was truly something to watch as OU managed in the last ticks of the clock to wham our Texas friends, 34-30.

The big (and a little surprising win) gave me a whole different view, at least for me, on who the 2023 Sooner Football team is and just how good they really are. And I guess it did the same for the rest of the fans. Driving back from Dallas Sunday, listening to sports radio, I learned this victory shook up much of the college football world’s expectations of our prospects too. But safely back here in my den, pecking out this weekly article on my computer I have a lot of thoughts about this game and the game of football in general. Especially as it concerns the conduct of its players.

I am speaking about the postgame hullabaloo and after watching what happened and what was said after the big game caused me to have some thoughts about a sport I love watching and here are a few of these thoughts. I think players need to relax a little bit. Perhaps, after a good play which results in good things you should let your fans do more of the celebrating. Yes, and perhaps you, the athlete, cool your endzone antics a bit. After all, many fans fantasize themselves as being the actual you. Celebrating is just one of the ways they get such a kick out of the game and your success. I remember back not so long ago that a true sports star refrained from excess celebration of their feat and allowed the fans and public to do the heaping of praise on them. Yeah, I know that sounds a little old fashioned but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Yeah, you guessed it. I’m referring to the impromptu endzone celebration a few of our pro-athletes like to engage in. I wonder as I watch, “what are you--9 years old?” I suppose this even embarrasses some of their teammates. This brings me back to this past weekend of the Texas/OU Football game. We not only were treated to a great sports contest, but we watched two very good football teams played their hearts out seeking the victory.

Toward the end we got to watch our great defense stop Texas in their tracks. Texas had a 1st and goal on the one. The time had about run out. Our defense stopped them cold. Not an inch! We took over on the one. We watched as our quarterback, Dillon Gabriel, took the football. Under two minutes and 99 yards for the win. Little hope for us as Texas fans went into a convulsive-like unwarranted winner’s celebration spasm. But wait! Gabriel is doing the impossible. In several plays in this fateful minute Gabriel led his team down the field to a game winning touchdown. OU won the thing 34 to 30.

After the game was over, OU quarterback Gabriel was interviewed by an ABC-TV Newsperson. I liked what I heard and saw. He spoke well. Asked how he felt, Gabriel didn’t gush about a bunch of nonsense. Instead, he told America this: “I represent 3 things. The name on the front of this jersey, the name on the back, and the State of Hawaii. I came to the University of Oklahoma to play this very game, and thanks to them I was able to.” Dillon also had the grace to mention and congratulate the University of Texas football team and say that they had played well. I hope the spotlight remains on Gabriel as he continues his education at OU and about the way he played and conducted himself in the game and the way he spoke after the game. I hope this will be a positive influence on other players, both on the University level and in the NFL on how they conduct themselves. I’m tired of being embarrassed by my heroes.

Have a good weekend and be sure and go to church on Sunday.

Wayne Bullard, DPh cwaynebullard@gmail.com