‘Memories, like the corners of my mind…misty water-colored memories, of the way we were’
– ‘The Way We Were’ / Barbara Streisand
My Friday night was not spent doing the ‘Hustle’ at a Disco…nor did I dress up and participate in a Rocky Horror Picture Show. I didn’t spend the evening reading ‘Looking for Mr. Goodbar’…and not just because I have already seen the movie.
On Saturday, not once did I consider wearing bell bottom jeans or a rayon shirt to the game. I don’t have a CB radio in my car…probably because I would rather get a speeding ticket than utter the phrases "That's a big 10-4 good buddy.”
No, we didn’t spend the pre-game drinking Schlitz and listening to Jefferson Starship on an 8-track player in the O’Connell’s parking lot. Not once did the focus of our discussions involve: Charlie’s Angels, Jimmy Hoffa or the movie Jaws. While I am sure that somewhere there were discussions about military involvement in a foreign country or the price of gas…I would be surprised if Vietnam and .44 cents a gallon were the main points of contention.
At the stadium…while many chests in the stands were now artificial, the field of play no longer was…Mike Treps and John Brooks were no longer in the Sooners radio booth….and no, you couldn’t re-enter the stadium after leaving for a quick half-time beer. If there were any demonstrations or exhibitions of free love happening in or around the stadium, regrettably I was not involved.
And no…the first play of the game did not go anything like this: Quarterback Steve Davis, the 5’11” senior from Sallisaw, takes the snap, fakes a handoff to the FB Littrell…options right…cuts up field …now he pitches to Ivory. Horace, down the right sideline is finally pushed out of bounds at the 47 yard line. At least not for the Sooners anyway.
Despite these facts, who could blame any OU fan for experiencing a three hour journey back in time last Saturday? When you look down and see Lee Roy Selmon on the sideline while you are witnessing an option offense run up and down Owen Field for 351 yards on 63 carries...well…visions of 1975 are easy to imagine…even if the platform shoes aren’t.
This past weekend the University of Oklahoma held a reunion honoring members of the Oklahoma Sooners 1974 and 1975 back-to-back national championship teams. Lee Roy and Dewey Selmon, Steve Davis, Randy Hughes, Tinker Owens and Elvis Peacock were just a few of the 60+ Sooners and coaches who attended the weekend long celebration. The schedule of events included a party on Friday night followed by a special recognition ceremony that was held during half-time of Saturday’s game.
But the biggest tribute to that past era of Sooner champions may have been one that was unscheduled and unintentional.
It has been said, that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…if that is truly the case…then the performance put on by the Air Force option offense last Saturday…must have had those Sooners of yester-year blushing.
‘One if by land, two if by…land’… Yes, the decade of the 70’s was ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’ for OU fans. During those ‘Happy Days’ and ‘Good Times’ the Sooners combined a dominate defense with an explosive, high powered, high scoring wishbone offense to win more games than any other program in the country.
The times, they are a changing…. In the 1970’s, college football had a run first mentality. Need some proof? From 1972-1983 the only position to win a Heisman Trophy was a running back. Need more? Try this statistic: 58 of 152 for 1,331 yards. That was COMBINED passing totals for the 1974 and 1975 Oklahoma Sooners National Title teams. In 1975 the Sooners completed less passes that entire season (25) than Landry Jones did last Saturday (26).
Baseball has always been, and still is, about pitching and defense. In basketball, Jordan and Kobe proved that you could win a title without having a legitimate star at center. In hockey, it was the belief that you only went as far as your goalie would take you…which was a first round playoff exit once Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux came along….but the adjustment in offensive philosophy necessary to win a championship in college football, is arguably the biggest change seen in all of sports history. (This has been another deep thought brought to you by The OAS).
Today’s college football offense is like an iPhone or a laptop…sleek, modern, multi faceted machines built to produce instant rewards. Like the pet rock, the Magic 8 Ball or the mood ring…the option offense is a fad from an era left way behind. If today’s offenses were a form of communication…the passing game of the spread offense would be a text message, while the wishbone would be the equivalent of the hand written letter.
The Air Force almost took the Sooners back to the future last Saturday. Like me, I would guess that most Sooner fans were nervous and concerned at one point as to what the outcome might be. But, I’m willing to bet that somewhere in heaven former Sooner QB Jack Mildren, ‘The Godfather’ of the wishbone, was smiling…lets just hope he wasn’t wearing a one piece leisure suit when he was.
Just the opinion of one mildly interested guy…
The Overweight Armchair Sooner
Buddy Putty
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