Sooner Nation!

On Saturday, Brent and I went to the OU v. Chattanooga football game. It was my first OU game since graduating more than 7 years ago. My mom came to watch B (thanks mom!) so we took the evening to ourselves and enjoyed a college-style date. We parked at the far south end of Lloyd Noble and walked all the way to the north end of the stadium (not sure how far this is for the non-Sooners among you, but maybe 12 blocks). We took our time and reminisced about campus, places we'd lived, things we'd done, and things that had changed since our last visit. We had dinner from the army ROTC stand (Hot Dogs, of course). Then, into the stadium through the throngs of people for the main event. (Note to self- I apparently need some OU gear that has "bling" on it – lots of bedazzling going on this year).

It was fabulous, full and exciting as usual. I'll admit that I actually was a little choked up when the Pride of Oklahoma (OU's Marching Band of which I was once a member) ran onto the field for Pre-Game and the APO crew rolled out the giant Oklahoma flag. Somehow, it felt then like the circle was complete and we were really home.

The game progressed well in the first half with lots of scoring drives and football excitement including using up all the fireworks designated for touchdowns. (half-time score: OU 50- Chattanooga 0). At this point, it had started to get a bit cloudy to the west, but we were just enjoying the cool. I enjoyed the half-time show by the Pride even as the clouds drew closer.

Shortly thereafter, the wind picked up, and the sprinkles started. The announcer asked that everyone clear the stadium as the lightening was getting closer. (I believe this is the first time I experienced the phenomenon—imagine 80,000+ people trying to exit calmly while the rain pours down). We were seated at the tippy top near Sooner Vision (the giant video scoreboard) in the south end zone. Of course, we got completely drenched. I don't know how long it has been since I've been so wet fully dressed. In any case, the good news is we did not get struck by lightning and about an hour and a half later the game went on. The bad news is due to my dead cell phone I couldn't track down Mary, we never did locate Brent's dad, and I was very cold in the wind for the second half. (Yes, we stayed—we're loyal fansJ).

The second half was less exciting with the second string playing, but enjoyable anyway. The final score was OU 57- Chattanooga 2 (safety due to a kicking team error). We did relocate to the area of the stadium where Brent's dad usually sits and ended up with some lovely seats in the now less full stadium. We finished the evening with a walk back to Lloyd Noble by a different route enjoying campus at night (the library and fountain on the South Oval in particular). It was a long walk, but a pleasant time (other than being soaking wet). The entire event brought back so many shared memories and was wonderful fun thunderstorm and all. We're glad to be back in the "Sooner Nation."