Nebraska, Oklahoma.
These two words provoke countless memories of College Football Saturdays gone by.
There’s no question the rivalry between the two schools needs to return on a yearly basis. The current reality is the Huskers and Sooners only square-off twice in a four-year span.
This season has shown the Big 12 isn’t a lock as one of the nation’s top-tier conferences. If the conference wants to remain nationally relevant, as one of the best in the NCAA, then the powers to be should bring back the classic OU-NU series.
Nebraska and Oklahoma is the best rivalry in all of college football. Now don’t confuse the best with the biggest. These days there may be more interest (numbers wise) in a few other rivalries nationally, but there’s nothing like a game between the Big Reds of the North and South.
There are several other conferences around the country that feature cross-divisional rivalries each year. For example, Alabama and Tennessee play every year even though the Crimson Tide are in the SEC West and the Vols in the SEC East. Honestly, I didn’t even know these two teams were that “big” of rivals. I can think of five games without hesitation that are bigger. If the SEC can keep a “rivalry” there’s no reason the Big 12 can’t, especially when it’s on the level of Nebraska and Oklahoma.
For as long as I can remember following Nebraska, Oklahoma was the game. It was November (usually Thanksgiving) and there were conference and national title implications whenever the teams collided.
Seeing those games year after year and waiting for the inevitable “Sooner Magic” turned me sour towards our Big 8 neighbors to the South. I didn’t like anything about them from their uniforms to the dreaded blaring of Boomer Sooner. I was pretty sure I “hated” Oklahoma!
I’ve been to many Husker games in the past, including in 2005 when Oklahoma visited Lincoln last. But it just wasn’t like it was back then. This was during the dark days (the Bill Callahan Era). Tradition and history were not a big concern for Callahan and his regime. So while I had been to a Nebraska-Oklahoma game, nothing about it felt like the rivalry it once was.
I, like many, have wondered if it would ever return. That wonder was erased when Tom Osborne returned to be Nebraska’s Athletic Director. From that day forward, it was again my goal to somehow, some way get to another Husker-Sooner slobber-knocker.
November 7 was the day I was fortunate enough to make the goal a reality. And not only would I be attending the game, I had the opportunity to take photos from the sideline.
So there I was in the midst of it all. Husker and Sooner greats flanking each sideline. As soon as I hit the field and began soaking in the atmosphere, I experienced the greatness that is this rivalry. The interaction between the former players and coaches was something you don’t find in other rivalries. The amount of respect for one another and their university is unmatched.
Prime example was former OU coach Barry Switzer. In the time I was near him I didn’t see him turn away one picture seeker. Switzer even went as far as tapping on a few photog’s shoulders to turn around as he posed with Billy Sims.
One of those happened to be me, not for a photo, but to inquire who I was working for. I took the opportunity to shoot the breeze with Barry (he told me to call him that), telling him about my feelings I had about him growing up. He responded with a smile and an anecdote or two, saying he understood.
In what other rivalry would this happen?
There isn’t one, and that’s why Oklahoma and Nebraska are the best.
So while I may never be able to say that I “like” the Sooners, I know I don’t “hate” them and I now, more than ever respect them.
There will supposedly be some discussion regarding a return of the rivalry on a yearly basis at the conference meetings. But what really needs to be said other than Nebraska and Oklahoma?
It’s a no-brainer!
