Cowboys edge Sooners in this Bedlam battle

If the pigskin-tossing Pokes get half the fight Towne got from Sooner fan Daniel Kirn, then we might be looking at overtime this Saturday.

The competitors cooked their hearts out but found plenty of time to get to know each other and forge a bond that transcends the four quarters of football that will be played in Stillwater 48 hours after turkey day.

Kirn brought his handmade, full-size Sooner Schooner to the event but added a Cowboys flag to his usual myriad Sooner effects.

Towne, who showed up with the trailer-sized smoker he made himself, walked away with a new portable Hasty-Bake grill from American Propane and $1,000 in vouchers for beef at Homeland and United stores. Kirn took home $500 in vouchers for his gallant effort.

Each left with new friends and a healthy respect for the passion each side puts into its tailgates.

Towne, a power lineman who grew up in Kingfisher but calls Stillwater home now, said, "I might've won, but those Sooners did an incredible job."

The judges concurred with the eventual champion. Kirn's skill and attitude were impossible not to notice. It would be easy for a man battling inoperable brain cancer that caused the loss of one of his eyes to have anything but a sunny disposition. Kirn competed with enough positive energy to light up a stadium. And he could cook.

"Best ham I ever ate, right there," Towne said of Kirn's signature, slow-cooked version.

But beef was the main course this evening.

Because football and beef are both Oklahoma mainstays, the contestants were tasked to create a dish using Homeland's new Red River Ranch Dry-aged Beef along with their regular tailgating fare.

The evening commenced in the cabana at American Propane. Judges included the Oklahoma Beef Council's Heather Buckmaster; Park Riddle, who brought the meat from Homeland; American Propane owner Jim Grigsby; and me.