Did Classless Act By QB Make Sooners Look Like Pretenders?
The Oklahoma Sooners could have taken the high road but chose not to.
Oklahoma took Ohio State to the woodshed in ‘The Shoe’ last night and the Sooners had every right to celebrate their 31-16 win over the Buckeyes. In fact, I wouldn’t have expected anything less.
But what the Sooners’ QB Baker Mayfield and his teammates did showed a lack of class in my opinion, and should tick off the Ohio State football team enough for them to get their act together. Take a look at what transpired following the game and see if you agree.
After his interview by the TV crew on the field, Mayfield ran to the corner of the stadium where his buddies were celebrating with OU fans. As a college football fan, I totally understood that. Why wouldn’t you, that’s part of the college experience. But then things got interesting.
The players were waiting for Mayfield to get there to unfurl the OU flag, which took some time to do so. Then the Sooners QB took off with it in front of the Oklahoma faithful which I thought was perfectly acceptable. After all, they had just defeated the No. 2 ranked Buckeyes on their own turf.
Then Mayfield crossed the line.
He attempted to plant the flag at midfield in the ‘Block O’ and his teammates were right there with him. But why?
It was widely reported Mayfield wasn’t happy with Buckeye fans chanting O-H-I-O in Oklahoma’s loss to Ohio State last year at Norman. But isn’t that what fans do?
He was also mad that the Ohio State players went in front of Buckeye fans in attendance to sing Carmen Ohio after the game. They do that every game, win or lose.
The flag planting thing should be left to a rivalry game, like maybe when the Sooners play Oklahoma State, and not between two-storied teams who have rarely played each other in the past. I would totally understand if a Michigan player did that if the Wolverines were to ever win another game in ‘The Shoe’.
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However, the Sooners just looked like ‘wannabees’, instead of real players in the college football landscape by doing such a thing. After all, no player on Oklahoma has yet to win a College Football Playoff game, let alone be on a National Championship team. It’s usually better for a team to actually accomplish something significant before they start celebrating.
I wonder what former head coach Bob Stoops, who just stepped down from that position during the off-season, thought about the antics of the Oklahoma players. He was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio so you know he grew up a Buckeye fan.
He was a well-respected coach, and one who also respected others. He was often seen during the game rooting for his Sooners, and understandably so. But I wonder what he thought of his former players after the flag display.
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I think coach Stoops, who has a National title under his belt, may have this message for the players if he were still coaching. Stop acting like pretenders and more like contenders.