ADVOCARE KICK-OFF CLASSIC: NORMAN WE HAVE A PROBLEM (PART 1)

#3 OKLAHOMA 22 #15 HOUSTON 33

I told anyone and everyone who asked, and some that didn’t – that I was worried about this game against Houston. The Cougars have a dual threat (which never bodes well for us), Heisman candidate in Greg Ward...one of 15 returning starters  from a team that finished 13-1 and ranked # 8 after dismantling Florida State in the Peach Bowl.  They have a Head Coach in Tom Herman who is considered to be the next big thing, if not that already - and recently added to the mix, the best recruiting class in Houston Cougar history, headlined by 5-star defensive tackle, Ed Oliver.  Oklahoma an 11.5 point favorite?  Hmm, somebody must know something I don't, cause that seems way high. 

The Sooners have done a lot of things well in the Stoops era, but turning in impressive season opening performances, is not one of them.  To many bad teams have hung around to make things more difficult than seemingly necessary over the years - games like: OU 31 Utah State 24 (@ home) in 2010, OU 24 UAB 17 (@ home) in 2006 and OU 24 UTEP 7 in El Paso back in 2012, a game the Sooners only led by 6 late in the 4th quarter.

           I also painfully recall the last time the Sooners opened the season playing in a NFL Stadium...against a team ranked in the top 20.  The year was 2009 - BYU the opponent - and the Sooners were favored by double digits. When the game started, the Sooners were ranked #4 and their starting QB had a Heisman Trophy sitting in his dorm room back in Norman.  When the night was over - OU was 0-1, ranked #16 - and their starting QB was a religious, red-shirt freshman with a porn-mustache from Artesia, New Mexico. 

WELL, AT LEAST THINGS STARTED OFF WELL –

Saturday, September 3rd

After a plate of Migas and a breakfast beer at a place called Goode & Co Taqueira (www.goodecompany.com) we headed over to NRG Stadium, arriving at Lot C about 9:20.  After Styx gave a squalid man in a Dan Pastorini Oilers jersey $30.00, we drove to the front of the lot and settled into a parking spot that couldn’t have been more than two OU personal foul penalties away from the stadium entrance.

Next, we needed tickets.  We’d decided to pass on StubHub, where lower level tickets between the 20’s were going for $200+, and instead, take our chances with scalpers.  I hadn't even had my arm raised and two fingers extended for a full minute - when an older gentleman and fellow Sooner fan asked me if I needed tickets.  When I say old, I mean history book, dog years, first car was a horse, kinda old.  I decided to pass on being a smart ass, since rarely do octogenarians understand or appreciate my smart ass brand of humor, and instead went with: “Yes, sir – I do.” Good call by me...Thanks to Father Time, we we’re now sitting 27 rows up on the 30-yard line for $90.00 each – some $30.00 below face value.  

NRG STADIUM -
HAS BECOME HOUSE OF HORROR
FOR SOONER NATION

Just when I didn’t think things could get any better – they actually did. The retractable NRG Stadium roof? – It was closed. The air-conditioning? – On full blast….and best of all – if you walked up to a kiosk in the concourse area and handed $10.75 to a person wearing a blue and red bib - they’d hand you back a luke-warm beer of your choice. Yes, at 10:42 AM – Life in the Sooner Nation was Nirvana. But as the saying goes – “all good things (like early 7-0 leads) must come to an end.”

Game Recap Next

JUST THE OPINION OF ONE MILDLY INTERESTED GUY

BUDDY PUTTY - 

THE OVERWEIGHT ARMCHAIR SOONER