It'll never get better than OU-Nebraska '00
Published: 10/31/2008 9:43 AM
Last Modified: 10/31/2008 9:43 AM
I remember the night before Oklahoma at long last reclaimed the nation's No. 1 ranking, climbing on top of the press box at Harve Collins Field at Norman High School.
I was there to cover a prep game for the Norman Transcript, and yet all I could think about was the OU-Nebraska battle for No. 1 the next day. From my perch that Friday night, I peered out across the town and over to the campus, where the stadium lights were on and the electricity was almost too much to take.
Bob Stoops knew the feeling, as he shared this week:
"Probably my fondest memory is just that game and the way our atmosphere was. I don't think to this day I've ever seen as many people outside the stadium, with the big screen set up outside the dorm, people watching it there. The streets were flooded, even if people couldn't get in.
"I remember late at night, I was here a long time, and by the time we were trying to leave, people were still honking horns up and down the street. And also to this day it's the only time since I've been here that we stormed the field. People couldn't hold it back anymore and rushed the field.
"Probably the biggest satisfaction for me was the way it happened. Coming in, everyone wondering, Are we for real? Being down 14-0 right off the bat. They had two huge drives. And it looked like we weren't. And then we settled in and couldn't have played better after that in, really, every part of the game."
Stoops got as excited reliving that day as he did anticipating this weekend's Big Red renewal at Owen Field. And for good reason.
They could play football at OU until the end of time, and it will never feel quite like it did Oct. 28, 2000.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
