Looking for the Oklahoma State fan’s perspective

Gina, Thanks for asking for input. I understand this is your first year in among the Cowboy nation and I appreciate your desire to try and "get it" about what's so special about this season. Where do I start? I'm 42 years old, I attended Oklahoma State from 1987-1991 (attended...not graduated, sorry to say), and have been in Idaho for nearly six years - Boise State territory! I became an OSU fan after growing up in a household and extended family of crimson-blooded OU fans. When I was a sophomore in high school, I began to tire of the gunshots going off and the stories of crack sales in Norman. Consequently, at the same time, a freshman running back named Thurman Thomas was running up some nice totals in Stillwater. I began to pay attention to the orange and black, and in less than a full season, my allegiances switched. I say all that to let you know that, other than just observing the Terry Miller years, I have been with the Pokes through the modern era's "best of times and the worst of times." I remember the Ice Bowl in '85 when Thurman couldn't be stopped; but, unfortunately, neither could Jamelle Holieway. I remember the breakout game for Barry Sanders when A&M and the Wrecking Crew defense came into Lewis Field and were promptly shredded by #21. Those were good days, fun days. However, there is also the heartbreak of Brent Parker dropping Gundy's pass in the end zone in '88. The cheap last-second field goal by Gary Gibbs team in '92 was another dagger. Alas, there have been too many. However, in my time as a fan, there is nothing to compare to the '88-'92 Probation Years. 1991 was my last year to live in Stillwater - the 0-10-1 year. That was the year we gave the ball to Rafael Denson as often as possible and he was like, 5'6", 160. We sat in the stands in stunned silence when Colorado went for the fake field goal that everyone in the stadium except Pat Jones saw coming. We cheered as a miserable crowd against KU when we got our first 1st down of the game...in the 3rd quarter...on a penalty! Over those four or five seasons, we saw our Pokes get thrashed at Ohio State, crushed at Florida, and humiliated by both Miami and Michigan. And I haven't even addressed the in-conference spankings that came week after week. Then...on November 11th, 1995, there was a glimmer. Our beloved Cowboys strolled into Norman and walked out with a 12-0 shutout. Never mind OU ended the season 5-5-1, it was a sign of things to come...sort of. (By the way, I got married five weeks after that game and my Mom made my Groom's cake - a football field with a big scoreboard reading OU - 0, Visitor - 12! Priceless!) For a while we thought Bob Simmons was AN answer...and he did a nice job for us. Then, the Mad Hatter comes along and steals a couple from Stoops, two great ones mind you: Fields to Woods in the corner in Norman in 2001 and the Rashaun Woods highlight reel in 2002. Then, when Miles basically leaves the program at halftime of the Alamo Bowl in 2004, the hometown kid was hired.

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