Oklahoma Sooners Beat Alabama Crimson Tide in Classic Match-up in the Sugar Bowl

When I was thinking about what I was going to post for my first post of the New Year, I decided to go with the Sooners.  It seems a lot of us fans are still giddy from the win over Alabama Thursday night and that Sooner Magic is definitely back with Sooner football after winning the last two games where the Sooners were the under dog -- OSU and Alabama (17 points).   Have ordered these shirts for the family which you will see us wearing in the months ahead.

The win over Alabama was against who most sports people considered the #1 team in the Country who had won the National Championship that last three out of four years and would be in the Championship game except for one little missed field goal at the end of regulation in the Iron Bowl against Auburn which Auburn ran back for a touchdown with no time left on the clock.  Dumb call since they could have played for a tie and won in overtime but arrogance won out which contributed to the missed very long field goal by Alabama.

That led to the Sugar Bowl match-up of the two storied programs -- The University of Oklahoma Sooners of Norman, OK, and the University of Alabama Crimson Tide from Tuscaloosa, AL.  These two programs combined had the most bowl wins of any match-up in a bowl game.  Oklahoma under Bob Stoops has now won all four BCS Bowls and a National Championship -- the only program in College Football to do so which is a record that will stand forever as the BCS is going away next year. Prior to the Sugar Bowl, Coach Bob Stoops was 2-0 against Alabama in the regular season and Thursday night he made it 3-0.  No one can downplay that OU was a 17-point underdog to Alabama but some of us crazy Sooner fans still picked the Sooners to win!  No crow being eaten in this home!

Sooners with Sugar Bowl Trophy after Win Over Alabama on Thursday Night

Was Alabama disappointed to be in the Sugar Bowl?  Yes but it is not like they got a lesser bowl like the Cotton Bowl where the payout is a little less then $3.5M versus the $17M a university makes for their Conference in a BCS Bowl like the Sugar.  Were the Sooners ecstatic to be in the Sugar Bowl after being beat out for the BCS by Northern Illinois last year for Sugar?  Absolutely!

You could hear and feel the excitement with the players, coaches, and fans on on talk radio, message boards and here in Norman in the stores.  We had been the underdog to OSU in Stillwater on the 5th of December on a miserable, cold icy Saturday but Sooner Magic showed up as our back-up quarterback Blake Bell led us to Bedlam Victory in regulation which led to the talk of OU not having one quarterback for next weeks between Bedlam and the Sugar Bowl.

BTW, I am sitting here in my dominance shirt from the Bedlam game -- first time we have bought Bedlam shirts but it was too good to pass up the dominance ones when your university was the underdog on the road in a hostile environment.  The shirts tell the story of just how dominant the Sooners have been over OSU -- 84-17-7.  Sooner Magic made its return in Stillwater and stayed with the Sooners through the Sugar Bowl and into Saturday's win of our Men's Basketball at University Texas for the first time in eight years.  Are we giddy as Sooner fans?  You betcha as we continue to watch the replays of the game on ESPN, buy our Sooner Magic Bowl gear, and start counting the days until our first game in the fall.  In between we will be following recruiting, spring practice, the Spring Red White Game, and the NFL draft.

When word started leaking out Saturday night on the 5th of December, that OU had accepted an invite from the Sugar Bowl Committee, the message boards blew up.  The negative nellies came out in force saying we had no chance again just like before beldlam -- media wasn't any better.  OU Thursday night was serving up crow in the French Quarter after the game led by our football alumni from the game. Sooners Adrian Peterson of the Vikings celebrates the victory with the fans.

In the Bowl Pick em's I participated in I placed the confidence points high for the Sooners only putting Florida State confidence points higher.  One of my good friends is Seminole fan so we pull for each other's teams except when we meet.  OU is 3-0 against FSU under Stoops.   On Thursday afternoon I picked the Sooners to win on one of our pay sites.  Hope the people who called me an idiot liked the taste of crow!

Barry Trammel of The Oklahoman started off their coverage after the win with "Oh What a Knight!" as Trevor Knight who had won the quarterback competition in the summer came back from injuries to lead the Sooners to victory.  There are so many heroes of the night but #1 for me was the Mike Stoops defense who played lights out.  OU sacked their quarterback seven times versus 11 all year.  Close behind was the Sooner Offense and Special teams -- come to think of it -- all three working together as a team gave the Sooners the victory.  They were determined to prove a lot of people wrong and they did just that by being a 17 point underdog and winning by 14 a swing of 31 points.  Great night to be a Sooner!   Bourbon Street was alive after the game with BOOMER answered by SOONER from Sooner fans celebrating.  

The Sooner senior class gave it their all this year putting everything on the field game after game but Thursday, they were the leaders and were encouraging the team the whole game.  This senior class bought the Sugar Bowl Trophy back to Norman.   Millard who was hurt during one of the games this season was one of Captains who made the call for the coin flip -- he won the toss for the Sooners and the rest is history.

Boomer Sooner!