Some OSU fans say they are mistreated in Norman
When OSU football fan Dave Beall sat in his seat overlooking Owen Field for the 2009 Bedlam game, things were fine for an infidel in Sooner territory. His Cowboys were smoked 27-0 that day, but the OU fans sitting around Beall generally treated him well.
But the walk into and out of the stadium, and from and to his car, was not so fine.
“It’s like being in a bar, and knowing there’s going to be a fight, even if you’re not going to be in it,” said Beall, who lives in Mannford.
The 37-year-old Beall is 6-foot-1 and weighs 240 pounds. He’s not a small guy. Yet he said he was confronted several times leaving Owen Field that day seven years ago.
“I know not all OU fans are bad,” Beall said. “But they (others) attempt to get you irate. Smack talk is one thing. I’m cool with that. It’s almost like they try to get personal and make you mad. It’s a nervousness. I can’t imagine being down there and watching OSU win, how tense I would be walking out. I’m kind of uncomfortable just thinking about it.”
That’s why Beall says he’ll never go to a game in Norman again. And he’s not alone.
A few weeks ago, OSU returned about 1,000 Bedlam tickets, out of its allotment of 1,800. Which is about normal. The Cowboys rarely sell all their tickets to Bedlam football in Norman, despite the convenience of travel and the game being played for huge stakes most of the last decade.
The Sooners and Cowboys play Saturday for the Big 12 championship, with an 11:30 a.m. kickoff at Owen Field. And OSU fans are not clamoring to get in, despite playing well in Norman this decade (an overtime loss as a heavy underdog in 2012, an upset victory in 2014).
“We attended two (Bedlam) games with small children in Norman several years ago and were verbally assaulted,” said Ellen Lyons, an OSU graduate from Tulsa who now lives in Edmond. “It was a very long walk to the car. My kids are all grown up, but I will never attend a Bedlam game down there.”
The frustrating thing is, OU has cultivated a solid reputation for football hospitality in recent years. Fans from schools like Alabama and Tennessee have raved about their treatment in Norman. A Baylor student’s recent internet post went viral, talking about how welcoming Sooner fans were, even to the point of showing genuine concern when star quarterback Seth Russell suffered a gruesome broken ankle.
Before each game, OU plays a video message from president David Boren and athletic director Joe Castiglione, urging Sooner fans to treat visitors with respect. And since 2001, the Pride of Oklahoma’s pregame show has included a rendition of the opponent’s fight song, either from the Pride itself or the visiting band.
Even in Bedlam, no doubt the vast majority of OU fans behave well. But a vocal minority can change an environment.
OSU graduate and season-ticket holder Robert Dennis, 28, of Tulsa estimates he’s attended 40 OU games over the years and said he’s had mostly “terrific” experiences. Except for Bedlam.
“I’ve been to several Bedlam games in Norman and had terrible fan experiences each time,” Dennis said. “I will not go back wearing orange. My mom got ice cream in her hair and down her back in 2003 from the people sitting behind us. One game I had someone slide nachos under my butt as I sat down. I have been spit on twice in my entire life, and both have been Bedlam games in Norman, inside the stadium.
“Maybe I was just unlucky in where my seats were each of those years, but I won’t be going back. Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, three times is a trend. No thanks, I’ll pass on Bedlam in Norman.”
When the game is played in Stillwater, OU always sells out its allotment, according to OSU’s Andy Sumrall, assistant athletic director for ticket operations. Much of that can be attributed to the Sooners having a bigger fan base — OU averages about 30,000 more fans per home game than does OSU — and the Sooners’ success in Bedlam. Despite OSU’s climb up the college football ladder, OU leads the series 85-18-7.
“I’ve been to Norman 10 or more times for Bedlam and it’s getting worse,” said OSU booster Paul Baker, 73 of Enid. “So, I’ll just watch it on TV from now on.
“I was on the OSU sidelines in Norman in 2003 after OSU defeated OU the two previous years and had an obnoxious OU fan spit on me as I was walking to the locker room area. I have a lot of good friends who went to OU and we have lots of fun bantering about Bedlam, but it appears to be fans who probably didn’t even go to OU and maybe not even college who are the rudest.
“I heard from some of my (OU) people they get mistreated in Stillwater, too. I don’t know why people do that. Some people just can’t handle it. They live their life vicariously through their football team.” Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman. com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/ berrytramel