WHAT EXACTLY IS A BOOMER SOONER?

The terms "boomer" and "sooner" have a lot to do with the early days of Oklahoma when it was first being settled back in the late 1800's. I won't go into a history lesson but will say that Boomer and Sooner today are the cute little ponies that drag the old conestoga wagon across the field at each Oklahoma game.

Boomer on the left; Sooner on the right. Or maybe it's the reverse.

Not long after Oklahoma was admitted to statehood, a great football conference called the Southwest Conference was formed and became home to some of America's greatest teams including Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Southern Methodist, and Texas A+M.

Growing up on the East Coast and then living in the Southeast for the past 30+ years, I've never experienced first hand the excitement of the SWC or Oklahoma football but would occasionally catch a game or two, especially during bowl season. I clearly remember the 1968 Orange Bowl in which Oklahoma knocked off #2 ranked Tennessee, 26-24.

Through the years Oklahoma has produced legions of top players including five Heisman winners and six runner-ups along with 152 All Americas. Great names like Billy Sims, Spencer Tillman, Joe Washington, Marcus Dupree, and Adrian Peterson all wore the Crimson and Creme.

With this weekend's Notre Dame - Oklahoma game I thought it appropriate to bring in the perspective of someone that has witnessed Oklahoma football firsthand.

Boomhauer Chapman, a true Sooner.

So allow me to introduce Gene 'Boomhauer' Chapman.

Boomhauer grew up on the hard scrabble plains of Oklahoma and was destined to be either an oil rig roughneck or interior designer until he decided to head east to attend law school at the University of Georgia.

He grew up during the Chuck Fairbanks-Barry Switzer era, saw the Red River Rivalry, worshipped the wishbone offense, and often told people he was the fourth Selmon brother to Lee Roy, Lucious, and Dewey.

In Boomhauer's own words....

"Sooner born, Sooner bred, when I die, I’ll be Sooner dead"

I remember the first beating I received as a child.   

OU was the first to experience the SI cover jinx.

November 16, 1957.  I was four months old.  Notre Dame's Dick Lynch raced into the north end zone of Owen Field in the final minutes without a Sooner laying a hand on him.  You can’t spell ouch without OU.  The Fighting Irish's 7-0 win ended Oklahoma's incredible 47 game winning streak that day.

Even though Notre Dame and The University of Oklahoma have two of the richest traditions in all of sports, the two football teams have met on the field only nine times.  Notre Dame has a slight edge in the series, having won eight of the nine games.

 

Growing up in Oklahoma in the 60s and 70s, we had two constants: wind and college football.   

 

George Cross, OU's president from 1943 to 1968, once told the Oklahoma State Senate, "I want a university the football team can be proud of.”  College football was the center of a young boy’s existence in Oklahoma.  People took the measure of another not by the content of one’s character but by whether you wore red or orange (Oklahoma State).

 

My parents took me to the First Baptist Church on Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon and evening, and Wednesday night for prayer meeting or business meeting.  They tried to instill the fear of God in me, but in my young mind, the kingdom of heaven was Memorial Stadium filled with Crimson and Cream, God’s chariot was the Sooner Schooner whipping around the field after every score, the Holy Spirit took the form of Chuck Fairbanks, and the angels had numbers on their backs: Steve Owens, Granville Liggins, Jack Mildren, Greg Pruitt, the Selmon brothers, and on and on and on.  

 

Notre Dame not only defeated OU to snap its win streak, the Irish was the last team to defeat the Sooners before the incredible 47 game run started in 1953.  The Sooners’ one victory over Notre Dame happened in 1956.  The Sooners destroyed Heisman winner Paul Hornung and the Irish 45-0.  I wasn’t born just yet.  The first OU-Notre Dame game I saw was on the old black and white Motorola as the Irish squeaked by 13-7 in 1962.  I couldn’t eat the rest of the day without throwing up.

 

Oklahoma State and the University of Texas are the primary targets of OUr jokes.  For instance, what do you get when you cross an OSU cheerleader with a pig?  Nothing. There's some things a pig's just not gonna do.  What are the seven words guaranteed to break an OSU cheerleader's heart?  "Sorry miss, this is not a buffet."  How can you tell if a Texas football player has a girlfriend?  Tobacco juice on both sides of the pickup truck.

Boomhauer's mentor, the Son of a Bootlegger.

I don’t joke about Notre Dame.  I don’t think you get to joke about somebody until you’ve won a few games.  Notre Dame is #5 in the BCS. The team is talented. It has one of the best uniforms in college football. It has the one of the best fight songs ever.  The Pope cheers for Notre Dame.

The Sooners have not won a game against Notre Dame in my lifetime. The spread on this game notwithstanding, I think it will be an upset if OU beats Notre Dame. I’ll go with the upset. Oklahoma wins.

George the Cat makes his BIG PICK of the WEEK featuring Notre Dame-Oklahoma. Be sure to check back Friday morning to see who George the Cat likes in this historic match-up.