Jim Ross on OU womens basketball comments from Ruf/Neks

[badger]

I suspect I am one of the only people here that follows wrestling, so I thought I'd share this with you.

First, Cliff's Notes of who Jim Ross is: A longtime WWE wrestling commentator and even longer time OU fan. He's a regular at OU sporting events, including the football sideline and basketball front row. He's the one wearing that black cowboy hat.

He just said this in a radio interview:

I have season tickets to the OU women’s basketball games with Jack Nicholson type seats. You know front row. I’m near the pep squad and the cheerleaders and all that. And what some of the pep team; the men and women, they’re called rough necks. What they chant to the opposing women’s basketball teams sometimes can be uncomfortable. It’s like you’ve got to be kidding me. They’re girls. I’m a grandfather. I’ve got two granddaughters.

Due to recent motherhood, I haven't been to games in a few years. Has it gotten bad? Marcus Smart version bad, or Texas Tech/Orr version bad?

 

[gwydion]

I sit behind the visitors bench so I'm on that end of the court. As a group they do the same thing they do to the men, fundamentals chant on walks, missed shots, air ball and left-right when they foul out. I haven't noticed anything else, but I'm sure individuals have said things I didn't hear.

 

[badger]

I'd say the worst that us student groups would do would be:

-Chanting "Little Bow Wow" for the opposing point guard that had cornrows
- Yelling "She's a baller" to opponents that either looked like boys or tried to do too much themselves

The absolute worst was when the Colorado center, a very large girl, got her feelings hurt. From what I heard from older people, making opponent girls cry was nothing new, but some people were absolutely brutal to her, making beeping noises (similar to large machinery when they back up) and Chewbacca noises at her.

Taunting can also be clever, though. We had a Swedish girl in our band one year and our opening exhibition was... a team from Sweden. For some reason, She told some of the guys how to say "You are a fat cow" (Tu bit fira que or something) at them. They then asked for worse translations to yell, but she was like "NO!"

 

[tycat947]

I suspect I am one of the only people here that follows wrestling, so I thought I'd share this with you.

First, Cliff's Notes of who Jim Ross is: A longtime WWE wrestling commentator and even longer time OU fan. He's a regular at OU sporting events, including the football sideline and basketball front row. He's the one wearing that black cowboy hat.

He just said this in a radio interview:



Due to recent motherhood, I haven't been to games in a few years. Has it gotten bad? Marcus Smart version bad, or Texas Tech/Orr version bad?

I sit close to the middle on 3rd row, behind the PA, near the visitor bench side. I can't hear what they say, if they say anything, but wouldn't surprise me what they said. I do hear older folks around me screaming at officials and at Skeletor. One guy near me yells, "Kim, tell those refs how important you are and that they will never ref another game!" See, he's being truthful!!! I guess JR never wears his hat to games as I don't think I've ever noticed him at the games and I probably wouldn't recognize him without the black hat.

 

[MsProudSooner]

When Courtney Paris was playing, OU fans who traveled to out of town games said the Baylor fans were the most verbally abusive of any of the Big XII teams towards her. Some of the people who travel to out of town games post here so they might add what they would say. To CP's credit, she just laughed at them.

I know some fans get irritated because, in the past, the university has censored signs that students have brought to the games. The Ruf-nex are 'official' representatives of the university. I would be surprised if the university allowed anything too gross.

 

[Mark]

First off if this is true that is unacceptable behavior. Secondly OSU and Baylor has the worst student station in the big 12 in It's not even close. I remember when OSU students yell Burger King to Courtney they also yell that's a man and she has a d**k to Britney Griner

 

[Mark]

My personal opinion is talk to someone child the way you want someone to talk to your child from someone your age.

 

[Soonerbay]

I remember watching a game on TV during the CP days and seeing her get hit with a ball thrown from the home fan section. The tv announcer mentioned how CP laughed it off. The only thing worse than that was watching Baylor players chasing CP when she was not anywhere near the ball and then they'd HIT her with the hope she would miss the FT. She'd take it all in stride when it should have been a flagrant foul. But the best part was when she'd go to the FT line and knock'em down...all net, then get back on defense. Baylor and a few other teams did this stunt when they thought it would help them to win...but it didn't! My point...words have to bounce off like water off a ducks back. But I don't know if I'd been able to take a fan throwing anything at me.

 

[SoonerNorm]

My personal opinion is talk to someone child the way you want someone to talk to your child from someone your age.

+1

 

[rocjunkie]

I've seen Jim at the games several times. He sits on the court seats toward the end by the band. All I can say is that "young adults" can be cruel at times, and I'm all for fun, but hopefully our students show some class.

 

[sperry]

The Ruf-Neks have been a blackeye for the University for a long time. There must be some important alumni using clout to keep them around, because I see them as basically a zero value add who often manage to embarrass the university.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

Makes you long for the days when KU fans threw hot dogs at Curtis Redding and KSU fans threw bananas at Donnie Von Moore(Von Ugly).

 

[Sooner Cal]

We don't need to be like Baylor. Just because others do it is no excuse for being classless. I've seen Sooner fans act poorly. It gets worse every year.

If Ross is right, the Ruf-Neks should be banned from games for a year.

It is time to put civility back in our society. We won't be civilized if we don't.

 

[sybarite]

There have been times that we did ban the Ruf-Neks. I don't remember the circumstances.

 

[MsProudSooner]

There have been times that we did ban the Ruf-Neks. I don't remember the circumstances.

I think the last time they got in trouble was for hazing.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

I think the last time they got in trouble was for hazing.

Do tell.....:ed

 

[badger]

I think the last time they got in trouble was for hazing.

It was 2007. It was at that point that OU said that they were no longer a private organization, but would be under the control of the athletic department.

Link

Investigators found evidence of RUF/NEKS abusing alcohol and hazing pledges in various ways, the news release states, including “sleep deprivation, physical exhaustion, demeaning actions and the potential for physical harm.”

Some stuff the article doesn't mention but I remember was that President Boren asked for alumni Ruf/Neks to return to help finish out the football season, and that the pledges that were hazed but stayed on would not miss out on the chance to drive the Schooner, fire the pop guns, etc. However, the curent Ruf/Nek members were all ousted and told they could audition for the reformed group the next year.

Despite the hazing reports and other reports of badmouthing opponents, they always seemed like loud and supportive front row fans to me at basketball games. Remember when the Nebraska punk plowed the Ruf/Nek into Owen Field's sideline bricks? I saw him only about a month later at a womens basketball game in Ruf/Nek gear cheering for the team (although he had some metal on his teeth after the dumb Husker attack)