OH, BROTHER!
Why Bedlam football is no fun for the sister of the Brothers Gundy
Kari Long visited Boston for a few days last week, but as a lifelong Oklahoman, she suspended the sightseeing and the vacationing on Saturday to watch college football.
She was surprised to see commercials for Bedlam.
“It’s already starting,” she thought. So, too, did her dread. That’s because Long not only has ties to both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State but also has heartstrings attached to this rivalry that are unlike any other.
Mike and Cale Gundy are her brothers.
“It’s not a fun week,” Long said. “Everyone else in the state enjoys it, but my family at least — my parents and I and the people that are close to us — it’s not a week we look forward to.”
Long is the oldest of the three Gundy siblings. She playedsports at Midwest City High School just like her younger brothers; basketball and softball were her things. She went to Oklahoma State along with future husband, Jimmy Long, a baseball player for the Cowboys who went on to play professionally in the Angels’ farm system.
Kari and Jimmy had three daughters, all of whom became standout softball players. Savannah and Karolyne played at OU while Madisyn went to OSU on scholarship but suffered a career-ending shoulder injury before playing a game.
“As soon as their daughters went down there (to Norman), they put OU hats on and were as happy as could be,” brother Mike said earlier this week. “That’s just the way it is in our family.”
Family ties determine Bedlam ties.
But that’s what makes this football game so difficult for Kari. She could handle the rivalry even with her immediate family’s divided loyalties— if only her brothers weren’t coaching on opposite sidelines.
Back when Mike and Cale were playing, Bedlam football was easy. Mike’s career at OSU was done before Cale every played for OU. Even though Mikestayed with the Cowboys asa graduate assistant, then as quarterbacks coach while Cale was playing for the Sooners, Kari always knew who to cheer.
“You went for the one who was playing,” she said.
There were a few years in the mid to late 1990s when Mike and Cale coached out of state. Bedlam during those years was especially great for Kari.
But since 2001, both of the the brothers have coached at their alma maters.
That is fantastic 364 days a year.
“To come back to the schools that they played at and have so much loyalty to and being in state where all of us are close,” Kari said, “you can’t get any better than that.”
The Gundy brothers’ longevity at the schools is unique, too. Caleis in his 19th season as an assistant at OU, and while Mike is in his 13th season as the head coach at OSU. This is his 17th consecutive season there.
That kind of staying power is rare in college coaching.
“We’ve been very lucky,” Kari said. “My parents, I know, have enjoyed it.”
Ray and Judy Gundy have spent many a Saturday driving from Norman to Stillwater or vice versa to catch both of their sons’ games. They bring a change of clothes and put on the appropriate hue en route. Such days are a luxury. So, too, have beenthe opportunities afforded by the Gundy siblings’ proximity to each other. They cando birthdays and holidays together. They cansee each others’ kidsgrow up. They can see their parents or each other easily since they’re within a hour and half’s drive of each other.
(Or as easily as the schedule allows when you’ve got two college football coaches in the family.)
“A lot of things,” Kari said, “have been really nice for our family.”
The day of the Bedlam game isn’t among them.
“It’s hard when you’ve got one on each side,” Kari said. “You want ‘em to win, and with our situation, one of ‘em is always going to
lose.
“It’s hard.”
She sighed.
“You feel like you’re going against one if you’re yellin’ for the other.”
It’s not a win-win situation.
It’s a win-no win. Kari has found that Bedlambrings way more nerves than any other game day. She talks less. She deflects more. Even though she tries to keep a routine and stay busy, she never relaxes.
Never enjoys the game either.
It’s not that she doesn’t want the game to be tough or hard-fought. In reality, that’s what she wants more than anything.
“I would love ... if it was a great ballgame all the way down to the end and one team wins and the next year, the other team wins,” she said. “That’s what we would like.”
Of course, sports doesn’t work that way.
Mike and Cale have told everyone with familial ties that they can handle whatever happens. This is one game. This is their chosen profession. Everything will be OK.
Just because the Brothers Gundy say so doesn’t necessarily make it any easier.
“You still hurt for one because they lost,” their sister said. “That’s what’s hard about it, and it’s not going to change, and you know that. That still doesn’t take that feeling away.
“You just hate for them to lose that game.”