Pack is good to go.

[NickZepp]

 

[skyvue]

 

[BoulderSooner]

was expected but still GREAT news

 

[TSSR]

More pumped for basketball over football. Never thought I would say those words again.

 

[hoopsaustin]

More pumped for basketball over football. Never thought I would say those words again.

It could become more and more frequent

 

[WichitaSooner]

More pumped for basketball over football. Never thought I would say those words again.

I’ve always been more passionate about the basketball program, but (to state the obvious) most years the football program has been much better positioned to make noise on a national level. Brent has now made us much less relevant nationally. Was just reading an article yesterday in The Athletic about programs that have lots of ground to make up in the 2026 recruiting class, and as I expected, we were on the list. I will say that I’m optimistic about Nagy, at least as far as his ability to identify and get the right fits in the portal. I hope he sticks around if/when Brent is gone.

 

[CoachTalk]

More pumped for basketball over football. Never thought I would say those words again.

I’d trade a natty for hoops for Ou football never winning a game again.

 

[hoopsaustin]

I’d trade a natty for hoops for Ou football never winning a game again.

Man I've offered up 1-3 Football nattys to get an bball natty.. but this is even next level. Idk if even I could say your statement

 

[CoachTalk]

Man I've offered up 1-3 Football nattys to get an bball natty.. but this is even next level. Idk if even I could say your statement

Some love it more than others. I see why other fan bases get Sooners so much crap. Some of the biggest idiots out there. Front runners.

 

[MJSooner]

Some love it more than others. I see why other fan bases get Sooners so much crap. Some of the biggest idiots out there. Front runners.

yep, and as much as I enjoy seeing the success, class, and quality of the softball program, I promise you, if our program falls off, even to the level of our baseball team, the bandwagoners will jump ship fast and will be back to 4-500 fans a game. It's basically the same fans, and you'll see them on some hoops game threads on TOS. Cheer when they win, bitch and moan, and quit on the team when they lose. The same people/crowd that walks up the steps of the LNC with 4 minutes left in a tied game to "beat traffic".

Most of the folks here on this board, I believe, are in your boat @CoachTalk. Give me #1 before #8 any day of the week. If it meant never getting #8, I would make that trade.

As a college kid, April 4, 1988 was the most painful sports memory of my life, although sitting at NRG against Nova didn't feel very good either. Should have had one in 1988. Probably would have had one in 2002 if not for a turned ankle. Thought 2016 was going to be it. Add in 1984, 1989, 2003, and 2009, and the pain of getting close still lingers.

Just one. Please basketball gods, just one.

 

[CoachTalk]

yep, and as much as I enjoy seeing the success, class, and quality of the softball program, I promise you, if our program falls off, even to the level of our baseball team, the bandwagoners will jump ship fast and will be back to 4-500 fans a game. It's basically the same fans, and you'll see them on some hoops game threads on TOS. Cheer when they win, bitch and moan, and quit on the team when they lose. The same people/crowd that walks up the steps of the LNC with 4 minutes left in a tied game to "beat traffic".

Most of the folks here on this board, I believe, are in your boat @CoachTalk. Give me #1 before #8 any day of the week. If it meant never getting #8, I would make that trade.

As a college kid, April 4, 1988 was the most painful sports memory of my life, although sitting at NRG against Nova didn't feel very good either. Should have had one in 1988. Probably would have had one in 2002 if not for a turned ankle. Thought 2016 was going to be it. Add in 1984, 1989, 2003, and 2009, and the pain of getting close still lingers.

Just one. Please basketball gods, just one.

Just 1.

 

[skyvue]

yep, and as much as I enjoy seeing the success, class, and quality of the softball program, I promise you, if our program falls off, even to the level of our baseball team, the bandwagoners will jump ship fast and will be back to 4-500 fans a game.

If I had a buck for every time I've seen a prediction along these lines, I could buy myself a decent burger and a beer. Are there fairweather softball fans? Sure, just as there are in every other sport at every school and in pro sports too.

But you're basically suggesting that roughly 90% of Sooner softball fans are bandwagon fans, and that's both silly and a bit insulting.

 

[Eielson]

Football still has a much better chance at competing for a title than basketball, but I do think this team has the talent to make a legitimate Sweet 16 run. For a long time, I was in agreement with the overall sentiment here, but man...it's been 25 years in football. It feels like a lifetime. When we won in 2000, most were acting like it had been forever since we won, but this is a whole decade longer.

 

[CoachTalk]

Football still has a much better chance at competing for a title than basketball, but I do think this team has the talent to make a legitimate Sweet 16 run. For a long time, I was in agreement with the overall sentiment here, but man...it's been 25 years in football. It feels like a lifetime. When we won in 2000, most were acting like it had been forever since we won, but this is a whole decade longer.

You say that. If we make a sweet 16 and chips fall right. Elite 8 is possible. That’s better than footballs been

 

[WichitaSooner]

Football still has a much better chance at competing for a title than basketball, but I do think this team has the talent to make a legitimate Sweet 16 run. For a long time, I was in agreement with the overall sentiment here, but man...it's been 25 years in football. It feels like a lifetime. When we won in 2000, most were acting like it had been forever since we won, but this is a whole decade longer.

I’d normally agree but I see zero chance this football team competes for any title other than the champion of a third tier bowl played on a weekday morning in December.

 

[MJSooner]

If I had a buck for every time I've seen a prediction along these lines, I could buy myself a decent burger and a beer. Are there fairweather softball fans? Sure, just as there are in every other sport at every school and in pro sports too.

But you're basically suggesting that roughly 90% of Sooner softball fans are bandwagon fans, and that's both silly and a bit insulting.

All I know is basketball has a core fanbase of 3-4 or 5K, more in conference, who show up every game, even during a year like 2017. Or Capel's last year.

Football was still drawing 65K in 1998 after 4 or 5 disastrous years.

This past season, softball drew 3400 fans per game. Patty talked several times about the ridiculous expectations of OU fans. If Patty were to retire and the program had 2-3 years of .500 play, if you don't think fans wouldn't be jumping off the bandwagon and crowds under 1,000 would be more normal, like baseball, I don't know what to tell you.

Bottom line- basketball and football have a core group of fanatics who will get on a message board and passionately debate the team, and still support them regardless of their success. This board is proof of that. Softball gets the amount of support and love primarily because they are winning. And there's nothing wrong with that, but to think there is a mad, passionate, huge fanbase for softball regardless of success and record is just naivety.

I love OU softball. But I would also trade those nattys for one basketball NC any day and every day.

 

[skyvue]

All I know is basketball has a core fanbase of 3-4 or 5K, more in conference, who show up every game, even during a year like 2017. Or Capel's last year.

Football was still drawing 65K in 1998 after 4 or 5 disastrous years.

This past season, softball drew 3400 fans per game. Patty talked several times about the ridiculous expectations of OU fans. If Patty were to retire and the program had 2-3 years of .500 play, if you don't think fans wouldn't be jumping off the bandwagon and crowds under 1,000 would be more normal, like baseball, I don't know what to tell you.

Bottom line- basketball and football have a core group of fanatics who will get on a message board and passionately debate the team, and still support them regardless of their success. This board is proof of that. Softball gets the amount of support and love primarily because they are winning. And there's nothing wrong with that, but to think there is a mad, passionate, huge fanbase for softball regardless of success and record is just naivety.

I love OU softball. But I would also trade those nattys for one basketball NC any day and every day.

Basketball is an established sport across the board and at OU, men's basketball had a nearly 70-year head start on softball. It's like comparing professional tennis to professional pickleball (if such a thing exists).

I don't know where you got your figure of 3,400 per game but according to SoonerStats, softball's average regular-season home attendance last season was 4,108 (attendance was missing on that site for three home games, so perhaps the average would be a tick lower). It's worth remembering that many of the softball games were played outside in frigid weather.

A drop in attendance to 500 per game would be pretty much as I stated before: an 89% drop. So though you're not saying it in so many words, you're insisting that virtually all of OU's softballs are bandwagon fans who will disappear if and when the team's success falls off.

You're right that OU football fans hung in there during the tough times in the '90s. Why are you so certain OU softball fans wouldn't hang in under similar circumstances?

Of course there will be some drop-off if they're playing .500, but I would question why you think that's a likelihood. OU football almost never goes .500, neither does men's basketball. OU has established itself as the best softball program in the country--and it's not close--and has the best facilities in the country. It would take a disastrously bad head coach for the program to suffer that precipitous a fall. Such a hire could happen, of course, but how likely is it? Not very.

And if you think there aren't big numbers of passionate OU softball fans discussing the program year-round online, you haven't looked very hard.

 

[Eielson]

I’d normally agree but I see zero chance this football team competes for any title other than the champion of a third tier bowl played on a weekday morning in December.

I wouldn't consider the football team a title contender, but the defense was elite last year, and if Mateer were to be the second coming of Baker, there's a world where we compete for it.

Nijel Pack could win the Naismith and I still don't see a title happening in basketball. It's Moser's most talented group by far, but the talent is closer to the middle of our conference than the top.

 

[NickZepp]

I wouldn't consider the football team a title contender, but the defense was elite last year, and if Mateer were to be the second coming of Baker, there's a world where we compete for it.

Nijel Pack could win the Naismith and I still don't see a title happening in basketball. It's Moser's most talented group by far, but the talent is closer to the middle of our conference than the top.

Basically near Ole Miss, Texas A&M. Arkansas type level is still a top 15-20 type team.

 

[CoachTalk]

I wouldn't consider the football team a title contender, but the defense was elite last year, and if Mateer were to be the second coming of Baker, there's a world where we compete for it.

Nijel Pack could win the Naismith and I still don't see a title happening in basketball. It's Moser's most talented group by far, but the talent is closer to the middle of our conference than the top.

SEC hoops conf returns 3 of the top 25 scorers from last year. We have shot to be top 3rd.