SoonerTraveler
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Like a good number of other OU fans, I made all five Tip In Club sponsored bus trips to away games. While I have gone on a few of these bus trips in prior seasons dating back to the Kelvin Sampson days, there are some very loyal fans that appear to make all of these trips almost every year.
The Sooners went 3-2 in these “bus trip” road games, with wins at OSU, Baylor and TCU, and losses at KSU and Texas.
In addition, I drove to the road games in Baton Rouge and Lubbock, where OU won a close one and lost a close one.
A large number of DFW area OU fans attended the TCU game in Fort Worth. Close to half the crowd were Sooner fans. I thought the cheers for OU were louder than the cheers for TCU.
TCU has the smallest basketball pep band in the conference, with 15 musicians, including the drummer.
It was a beautiful spring-like day and TCU has a nice campus. TCU people were very nice and friendly.
After the game, all the OU bus riders and quite a few other OU fans, waited for the players and coaches to return to their bus. The OU fans greeted each player and coach with applause and shout-outs as they returned to bus bus one-by-one. The players and coaches were very appreciative of this, and some went into the crowd to shake hands and give their thanks to the OU fans.
The student managers work hard. These young men and women deserve more recognition.
As each OU player loaded onto their bus, they were handed their individual post-game meal, which consisted of a whole pizza and an order of wings. Big athletic young men burn a lot of calories.
On the return to Norman, the Tip In Club bus followed the OU team bus back up I-35 until Ardmore, where we dropped off some mighty fine Sooner fans. Greg and Tom, I hope to see you again on future road trips. Boomer Sooner!
While the return trips back from Manhattan and Austin were long, I plan to do it all over again next season.
Win or lose, everybody on these bus trips knows they are in for a long day, but their love, support and enthusiasm for the team causes many of them to make these trips, year-after-year. They are much better fans than I ever hope to be.
Some of these bus-riding fans are former OU basketball players. I treasure the discussion I had at one game with Tom McCurdy, who played at OU in 1961 and 1962. His OU team in 1962 beat Kansas three (3) times, each time by one (1) point:
> 61-60 on 12/27/1962 at the Big-8 Holiday Tournament in Kansas City
> 67-66 at Kansas on 2/19/1962
> 63-62 in Norman on 2/28/1962
Tom fondly remembers getting the defensive rebound to seal the victory at Allen Fieldhouse. He bypassed the postgame handshake to carry the game ball into the locker room as a keepsake. Alas, the KU people saw this, and insisted that he return the ball. What a pity, but it is a great story nonetheless. Like many from that era, Tom also served his country in the United States military.
Even though road wins are hard to come by, I encourage folks to make the bus trips next season. You are certain to experience loss and disappointment, but that is a big part of sports. There is room on the bus, as the bus can hold upwards to 50 fans, and most bus trips only had about 25 riders this season.
The Sooners went 3-2 in these “bus trip” road games, with wins at OSU, Baylor and TCU, and losses at KSU and Texas.
In addition, I drove to the road games in Baton Rouge and Lubbock, where OU won a close one and lost a close one.
A large number of DFW area OU fans attended the TCU game in Fort Worth. Close to half the crowd were Sooner fans. I thought the cheers for OU were louder than the cheers for TCU.
TCU has the smallest basketball pep band in the conference, with 15 musicians, including the drummer.
It was a beautiful spring-like day and TCU has a nice campus. TCU people were very nice and friendly.
After the game, all the OU bus riders and quite a few other OU fans, waited for the players and coaches to return to their bus. The OU fans greeted each player and coach with applause and shout-outs as they returned to bus bus one-by-one. The players and coaches were very appreciative of this, and some went into the crowd to shake hands and give their thanks to the OU fans.
The student managers work hard. These young men and women deserve more recognition.
As each OU player loaded onto their bus, they were handed their individual post-game meal, which consisted of a whole pizza and an order of wings. Big athletic young men burn a lot of calories.
On the return to Norman, the Tip In Club bus followed the OU team bus back up I-35 until Ardmore, where we dropped off some mighty fine Sooner fans. Greg and Tom, I hope to see you again on future road trips. Boomer Sooner!
While the return trips back from Manhattan and Austin were long, I plan to do it all over again next season.
Win or lose, everybody on these bus trips knows they are in for a long day, but their love, support and enthusiasm for the team causes many of them to make these trips, year-after-year. They are much better fans than I ever hope to be.
Some of these bus-riding fans are former OU basketball players. I treasure the discussion I had at one game with Tom McCurdy, who played at OU in 1961 and 1962. His OU team in 1962 beat Kansas three (3) times, each time by one (1) point:
> 61-60 on 12/27/1962 at the Big-8 Holiday Tournament in Kansas City
> 67-66 at Kansas on 2/19/1962
> 63-62 in Norman on 2/28/1962
Tom fondly remembers getting the defensive rebound to seal the victory at Allen Fieldhouse. He bypassed the postgame handshake to carry the game ball into the locker room as a keepsake. Alas, the KU people saw this, and insisted that he return the ball. What a pity, but it is a great story nonetheless. Like many from that era, Tom also served his country in the United States military.
Even though road wins are hard to come by, I encourage folks to make the bus trips next season. You are certain to experience loss and disappointment, but that is a big part of sports. There is room on the bus, as the bus can hold upwards to 50 fans, and most bus trips only had about 25 riders this season.
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