OU fans headed to Austin may get stuck in a Swamp
Published: 2/19/2009 1:37 PM
Last Modified: 2/19/2009 1:37 PM
You know what was unique about Oklahoma's last Big 12 road game at Baylor Feb. 11? The sight of OU fans, maybe 150-200 of them, making their presence heard inside the Ferrell Center.
It makes me think Kansas' rabid faithful will have a tougher time taking over the Ford Center for the upcoming Big 12 tournament than it did three years ago. The Jayhawks were like the home team in their quarterfinal matchup with OU that year, a bit embarrassing since the site was 25 miles from the Lloyd Noble Center.
It makes me curious about what kind of fan presence the Sooners will have in Texas' Erwin Center Saturday night. At the OU-Longhorns game in Norman Jan. 12, at least one Orangeblood made it inside the LNC. He wrote a really sweet blog about it, too, on Burnt Orange Nation, a Web site I highly recommend regardless of your feelings for the 40 acres.
The visitor gave thumbs up to parking access, the seats' proximity to the court, Legends Court and other displays recognizing OU basketball, the video shown before and during the introduction of the Sooners' starting lineup, and the general hospitality shown by LNC fans.
The visitor was turned off by the student seating location, coach Jeff Capel walking into the arena well after the rest of his team, and Blake Griffin's perceived attempts to stare down officials.
By the way, OU fans who do make the trip for Saturday's game are as likely to think they're in Gainesville as Austin.
"A few 'Texas Sucks' chants were nullified by responding with the Gator Chomp, which was highly entertaining and incredibly effective," the Burnt Orange blogger wrote after returning home. "I cannot give a higher recommendation over using the Gator Chomp in the upcoming months towards obnoxious OU fans."
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
