Joshua Peters was born and bred on Oklahoma football. Growing up in Noble, he saw the Sooners battle for national championships, rack up Heisman trophies and fill Memorial Stadium with 85,000 screaming fans.
However, when it was time for Peters to choose a college, he landed at Brigham Young University in Utah where he picked up a degree in American studies.
Peters is back in Oklahoma now, where every fall weekend he can be found rooting for the Sooners just like he did in the old days. Saturday that streak will be interrupted for the first time as two of Peters' passions collide when OU and BYU face off at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas. He'll be in a semi-official capacity as president of the Oklahoma Chapter of the BYU Management Society.
"Well, with the coming game, I am cheering for touchdowns," Peters said. "I grew up five minutes south of the stadium, and so I love OU. I know all about OU's culture and their football history. At the same time, I went to BYU and I love everything about it. I'm going to be rooting for BYU slightly over OU in the coming game."
On Thursday Peters hosted Gary K. Rhoads and Michael J. Swenson, both on the faculty at the Marriott School, Brigham Young University to present their new book, "Boom Start: Super Laws of Super Successful Entrepreneurs."
The event was held at Norman's Interurban Restaurant and Peters was joined by other Cougars faithful who just happen to call Oklahoma their home.
Jaron Harvey was one of the attending Cougar fans. Originally from Utah, Harvey has lived in Norman for three years and is working on his Ph.D. at OU. Despite his allegiance to BYU, Harvey is not allowing it to cloud his mind on what he thinks will take place Saturday.
"I am hoping for a good game, but I think OU is going to come out and beat them," Harvey said. "I just think, first of all, that BYU's offensive line is pretty new this year. And I think OU's defense is going to crush them. I think they will put pressure on Hall and he hasn't performed very well under pressure before. I don't think it will be pretty, actually."
The last time BYU and Oklahoma played each other was in 1994. BYU won 31-6. But since then, while the Sooners have surged to the top of the college football world, the Cougars have languished in the middle.
However, they enter the 2009 season ranked No. 20 in the country, which has fans willing to drive from Utah to Texas to catch the game.
"The professors contacted us," Peters said. "We have had the chapter doing events all year long. But they said they were coming down to the game and they had some new research that they would like to present."
Rhoads and Swenson do not normally come near Oklahoma when they are on the road, but with such a big game on the calendar, they figured this would be the best way to see it in person.
"Saturday's game, I hope we get lucky," Rhoads said. "We decided we would come make presentations at this time so we can go to the game afterward."
During their seminar, the BYU professors told the crowd of 24 entrepreneurs about one of their keys to success, which they call RTB (Reason to Believe). They said it's critical to give potential investors a reason to believe in a product if it's to succeed.
That doesn't seem to have rubbed off on the BYU football team. While Cougar fans are excited to see their team play, they do not seem to be giving their school much of a chance.
Yet, that doesn't stop them from showing off the school pride to the Sooner nation.
"I think people already know I am a BYU fan," Harvey said. "When they come down to TCU, my family and I, we drove to Dallas to watch them play. Since they are not in the same conference as Oklahoma it's never been a problem until now. But I am going to go to the game. I am going to sit in OU section and wear a BYU shirt. I hope the fans will be kind."
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