What Texas-OU Means For a Foreigner

I grew up in New York, which means one thing: you don’t root for a college football team.

The state university system is divided into about 30 four-year universities, with no main campus. So that means no Austin or Norman or Lawrence or Baton Rouge. It means Buffalo and Delhi and Oneonta and Stony Brook. Some folks root for Syracuse, but the majority of people just watch the Jets or the Giants.

Since I’ve moved here, though, I’ve come to the conclusion I need to find a team. Saturdays are fun, but they would be a lot more fun if I had a vested interest in a squad, instead of just biding my time until the Jets took the field the next day.

I’ve considered Texas, SMU, TCU, and A&M, with SMU garnering the most logic in my mind (I’m Methodist). But a lot of my friends are OU fans; should I stick with them out of loyalty?

It’s a slippery slope, and one I’ll take out of my own hands.

So, denizens of the Park Cities, make your case. Who should I root for?

By Bradford Pearson Oct. 7, 2011 | 12:16 pm | 11 Comments | Comments RSS
11 comments to "What Texas-OU Means For a Foreigner"
  1. A. B. @ October 7, 2011 at 1:49 pm
    I think you misspelled that. It should be ‘fur-ner’.

  2. Charles @ October 7, 2011 at 2:20 pm
    Friends don’t let friends root for OU. Go Horns.

  3. Jen @ October 7, 2011 at 2:24 pm
    Well, watching a game with friends a beer should weigh heavily here, I think. But it want to make new friends, then SMU would be a goodie – particularly with their tailgate traditions. And of course, one of the big schools like Texas or A&M would be a good pick too (but not both, you have to choose one or the other).

  4. Claire St. Amant @ October 7, 2011 at 2:30 pm
    If most of your friends are for OU, I say go for Texas to spice things up.

  5. Bradford Pearson @ October 7, 2011 at 2:38 pm
    I’m sorry Baylor wasn’t in the mix, Claire.

  6. Roll tide! @ October 7, 2011 at 2:52 pm
    If you are just picking out of the blue, at least pick a good team with deep traditions. RTR!

  7. Claire St. Amant @ October 7, 2011 at 2:54 pm
    I wasn’t going to bring it up, but now that you have…Baylor is an excellent third candidate. We’re scrappy, on the rise, and just 90 miles away. Think about it, Pearson.

  8. sls @ October 7, 2011 at 3:24 pm
    Location, location, location. Go with SMU. There’s a history of greatness, they are on their way back up, tickets are affordable and Boulevarding is good fun.

  9. XT @ October 7, 2011 at 5:16 pm
    @ AB, actually, the proper term is “them”. As in “us” and “them”, or “one of them”, as in “not one of us”.

    Bradford, I would recommend SMU as well. Nice story about the long awaited comeback from the Death Penalty, up and coming, and you do work for a paper in the Park Cities, you know, the home of SMU.

  10. Scooter @ October 8, 2011 at 7:43 pm
    Speaking as an SMU alum (during the pony express period), I would pick TCU. They just got picked up by that “other” conference and should play some good teams. Too bad SMU beat them this year.

  11. Steve @ October 9, 2011 at 11:04 pm
    SMU! Local school and much better academically than OU.

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