I'll Admit It. I Was Wrong ...

 

“I was dreamin' when I wrote this, Forgive me if it goes astray. But when I woke up this mornin', Could've sworn it was judgment day”

We took pictures with a camera. We got directions from a map and rented movies from a Blockbuster … please be kind and rewind. 

We still had home phones, we checked for a dial tone, and we left each other messages on a separate machine … and those long distance calls we made, well back then those were far from free.

 "The sky was all purple, there were people running everywhere. Tryin’ to run from the destruction, you know I didn’t even care."

For $5.00 you could see Spacey in American Beauty, Keanu in The Matrix or Brad Pitt in the Fight Club. On TV people tuned into Friends, the teenage drama of Beverly Hills 90210, and listen to Regis constantly asking us if we wanted to be a millionaire.

We listened to music on the radio (a device you could turn on to hear music you didn’t get to choose), a Walkman, or a CD player … playing CD’s we stole from Columbia House, not the internet.

"Lemme tell ya something, If you didn't come to party, Don't bother knockin' on my door. I got a lion in my pocket And baby he's ready to roar"

The Euro had just been established.  The twin towers were still standing, and the country’s biggest concern was Y2K.

I was 34 yrs. old, had been married to Plaintiff #1 for 6-months, and was standing in Section 4, Row 56 …

Say say … Two-thousand-zero-zero party over … Oops out of time. So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999 – Prince – Lyrics from 1999

Bob Stoops was in his first year as head coach of the Sooners. Lincoln Riley was 17-yrs. old and the starting QB for the Muleshoe Mules … and Spencer Rattler was still 6-days away from being born.

The year, as you may have gathered from the late great artist sometimes known as Prince – was 1999 … and it was the last time the Oklahoma Sooners lost back-to-back regular season games … that is until last Saturday night.

 Oklahoma 30  Iowa State 37

 “This defense sucks like nothing has ever sucked in the history of sucking” – Bevis & Butthead. 

I’ll admit it, I was wrong. Shocking, I know, but it happens. In fact, as crazy as this may sound, I’m wrong all the time, about a lot of things, and I have references that will back this claim should you need them. But as it pertains to the Sooners, after 3-games and two losses, all I can say is, what a fool am I.

I drank the cool-aide. I was a homer. I was a fool because I truly felt that the defense would be improved in year two under Alex Grinch. Look, I wasn’t being naïve in thinking that losing middle linebacker and leading tackler Kenneth Murry, top defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, and top cover-corner Parnell Motley wouldn’t hurt … I was being a crimson-colored glasses moron.

In my defense – pun intended - I thought that top recruit Josh Ellison from the junior college ranks would help plug the hole left by Gallimore’s departure.  In fairness, he’s been ok, but I guess I just didn’t expect this d-line to suffer more leaks than a game-day urinal. I'll admit it. I was wrong.

At linebacker, the Sooners had some guys returning who seemed on the verge of being quality players … White, Bonitto, Asamoah &  Ugweoghbu Ugewoebu - f*** it ... David U. But, I had no idea that they were such horrible tacklers or that they would get run over like they were standing between Kirsti Alley and an all-you-can-eat buffet, giving up enough yards after contact to make you want to YAC (YAC ...see what I did there :). I also thought Starbucks was a horrible idea ... coffee all day, no f-in' way. I'll admit it. I was wrong. 

As for the defensive backfield, surely they couldn’t be any worse than they’ve been the last couple years, right? In 2018, this defense was #130^th in the nation against the pass. The only reason they weren't #131, was because there wasn't one. In 2019, although you wouldn’t know it from watching the LSU game, there was some marked improvement by the Sooners defense against the pass, at least enough to give you hope for more improvement in 2020.  But then again, in 7^th grade I was absolutely certain that the line in the Queen song We Will Rock You was, “Kicking your cat all over the place…” I'll admit it. I was wrong.

Last year, the Sooners defense came up with only 11-turnovers ... or what I refer to as ‘A Sooners Dozen.’ Hell, a defense featuring Stevie Wonder, Ronnie Milsap, Ray Charles, & Helen Keller, could come up with more than 11. But then again, Stevie did write the Songs to the Key of Life … so of course they would. But 11? No way it would be that low again. Right?

The Sooners got their first turnover of the year Saturday night (no, the INT against Missouri State does not count damn it), which puts the Sooner defense on pace to get FOUR turnovers this season. FOUR! Four is the number of Beatles, suits of cards, cardinal directions, and deadly horseman there are – it shouldn’t be the number of turnovers your defense comes up with all season. But then again, I didn't think we'd drop out of the top 20 like we were a .com stock either. I'll admit it. I was wrong.

20-years ago, I was in the stands in South Bend, Indiana when the Sooners lost to Notre Dame … and again a week later in the Cotton Bowl when the Sooners lost their second consecutive game, this time to Texas. If our defense plays like it has so far this season, the Sooners streak will be extended to 3-in a row…

I thought the Sooners defense would be improved this season. I thought OU would win the Big 12 for the 6^th consecutive year, and that we'd be undefeated when we made the annual trek to Dallas. With that kind of thinking, it’s a minor miracle that I don’t believe the world to be flat, the internet a fad, and that my actions over the last 54-years wouldn’t be an issue if I were to run for public office. I'll admit it. I was wrong.

But, I guess there is hope for the Sooner Nation ... I think that after playing Texas this weekend, the Sooners will find themselves at 1-3. Which has me hoping .... #Pleaseletmebewrongagain. 

Just the Opinion Of One Mildly Interested Guy

Buddy Putty - The Overweight Armchair Sooner