Keep the Oklahoma-Texas game in the Cotton Bowl
Guest columnist: Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman
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Published: October 16, 2009
NORMAN — Trent Williams savors every minute at the place.
The OU-Texas game has been played continuously at the Cotton Bowl since 1929. PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN
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Every minute and every precious moment. Even after a loss, which should tell you something about this rivalry.
"Last year it got crazy,” the Oklahoma senior offensive tackle said Tuesday. "Last year was the marquee game of my career.”
You can imagine how he would have felt if his
Sooners hadn’t been on the short end of a 45-35 score. That, of course, is the powerful allure of this game in one of the most treasured venues in all of college football.
The
Cotton Bowl.
The place where
Adrian Peterson ran wild. The place where
Peter Gardere never knew defeat. Where
Stonie Clark stonewalled OU, where
Darrell Royal puked after a last-meeting tie and where
Brian Bosworth and
Jamelle Holieway made their names. Where
Edwin Simmons and
Marcus Dupree starred as freshmen and
Cedric Benson couldn’t get on the field. Where one
Roy Williams flew and another Roy Williams was grounded.
They all could have played their legendary roles in
Austin and Norman just as easily, but they didn’t. Lincoln could have spoken just as succinctly in
Washington, but he chose to do it at
Gettysburg. History shouldn’t be cheated. It should be cherished.
Which is why the
Texas-OU game should absolutely, unequivocally stay in Dallas. Even if the
Dallas Cowboys play in
Arlington.
"The tunnel feels like it’s a mile long,” Trent Williams said. "You’re so excited, you can’t get to the field quick enough. You hear the rumbling outside. I love the Cotton Bowl. It’s just historic.
"I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
His coach might.
In an almost off-hand manner,
Bob Stoops mentioned at his Tuesday news conference that he wouldn’t be opposed to changing the annual Texas-OU grudge match at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas to a home-and-home rotation "once in a while.”
The 11th-year Sooners head coach wasn’t truly pushing the idea. He didn’t demand the two schools forsake a tradition borne in 1929 and yank it off the State Fairgrounds immediately.
After all, Texas and OU are obligated contractually to the Cotton Bowl through 2015. The two sides each clear about $5 million for playing the game at the neutral site. The State Fair grosses $10 million a year, and the city of Dallas receives an economic bump of more than $20 million.
"I think it’d be kind of neat to play it home-and-home once in a while,” Stoops said after stating up front the decision should be left to the schools’ administrations. "It’s OK with me wherever we play, but say they’re renovating the (Cotton Bowl) stadium and we traded off, it wouldn’t be bad.”
No, it would be horrendous.
The $57 million in Cotton Bowl renovations that increased the seating capacity to 92,000 have been completed already. The upper decks wrapping around the 77-year-old relic have been built, the concourses enlarged. There are no longer cramped, dank restrooms. And even though the seats are just big enough to fit your average anemic 90-pound fan, they won’t have any trouble selling all the $95 tickets.
Maybe Stoops meant it more whimsically. Maybe he’s grown weary of losing to Texas three of the past four years and thinks playing the game in Norman would give him a better chance to win.
Maybe he’s wrong.
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In respect to what he also said during his press conference, this is NOT another game. It is NOT simply a stepping stone to the goal of winning the South. 1996 was John Blake's first year. It was the beginning of the worst 3-year run in our program's history. We went 3-8. But, we beat Texass and there's something there that makes that year palpable.
Someone said moving it to the Arlington Fieldhouse (JerryWorld) would be like "having your gold medal bronzed." That is a perfect description of this whole discussion. The morons in Stillwater would love to be a part of something this special. So would a Penn State fan or an LSU fan. There's just nothing else like it in the entire world and we get to be a part of it. The rivalry is what it is because of where it's been played for 80 years. Move it to home and home and 20 years from now the rivalry will be more like OU/Texas A&M is.
The series might be lopsided due to having the better team of Texans 18 more times.....
As a lifetime Sooner who attended OU in the late-seventies and whose Dad attended in the fifties; even kept stats for KNOR in the height of the winning streak, I give Coach Bob a pass. Certainly, there are aspects of this historic rivalry that someone from Ohio couldn’t possibly fathom.
It would be one thing if the Cotton Bowl refused to renovate their dilapidated stadium, but that is not the case. They have done everything short of sky-boxes to accommodate this, one of college football's greatest match-ups.
The aroma of fried everything wafting across the fairgrounds and ‘ole Big Tex shouting out his welcome is like Christmas morning and your sixth birthday all rolled into one.
To move it to the Taj-MaJones would be like having your gold medal bronzed! Let them play an opening season salvo in Arlington or the Big 12 Championship, but for all that is special in college football, leave the game at the fair!
For fans of both institutions, it’s more than a game, it’s an EVENT. The drive north or south with horns honking and signs hung from overpasses is beyond exciting, it’s intoxicating. Even those not blessed with tickets gather in homes, church basements or rent out ballrooms to watch this game with people they only see once a year.
Home and home? Say it ain’t so, Joe!