By Althea Peterson
When the University of Oklahoma takes the field at the Fiesta Bowl, one OU alumnus will be cheering for the other side.
In essence, returning to his rivalry's roots.
Casey Cline, 42, a self-proclaimed "die hard" Oklahoma State Cowboy fan and current assistant professor of construction management at Boise State University, once graduated from OU with a master's degree -- after graduating from OSU first with his bachelor's.
Now, BSU, the university where he teaches, will take on the Sooners, and he said he can't wait.
"It's so weird -- it's a small world, I guess," Cline said. "People in Oklahoma probably never heard of Boise State. I didn't know much about it (before teaching there)."
Cline said he and his family -- possibly excluding his sister who currently attends OU -- cheer against the Sooners whenever possible. The fact that Cline ended up at Boise State, which could spoil OU's storybook season by being the Bowl Championship Series Cinderella, is just icing on the cake.
"The University of Oklahoma has close to 100 years of football tradition," Cline said. "Boise State has, like, maybe 20 years of that. Sometimes when we win a big game, it seems like we don't know how to act. We're learning how to be great college football fans."
But the game extends beyond a chance for an OSU fan and BSU professor to renew a rivalry. BSU President Bob Kustra said this is a chance to have Boise State showcased as it never has been before.
"This opportunity allows us to promote not only the athletic program but also the rest of the university," Kustra said. "That's a very large national stage, and there's room for every one of our eight colleges. There's room to promote and highlight the quality of our teaching, the scholarship of our students and the research of our faculty -- people who have made important discoveries in areas such as medicine and health.
"Even though everyone is focused on the few million dollars we will supposedly take home from our appearance in the Fiesta Bowl, we're missing the point... We have been given an advantage that very few universities have. This opportunity for us to showcase our strengths and assets is invaluable."
It may also be a chance for Idaho to learn more about Oklahoma, and vice versa. Sabine Klahr, BSU director of international programs, said she was a German foreign exchange student in Oklahoma in addition to earning her bachelor's and master's degrees in botany from OU.
"It was a great cultural learning experience to participate in some of those activities," Klahr said in a release. "At OU, the students really go crazy (over football), whereas here at BSU it seems to be mostly alumni and community members living in their campers for several days surrounding a game."
While Boise is a larger city than Norman, with 185,787 residents compared to 94,694 according to the 2000 census, OU has a larger enrollment than BSU, with 29,721 enrolled compared with BSU's 18,876, according to a release.
Cline said he plans to cheer for the BSU Broncos and send his family BSU blue and orange gear. A convenient change for an OSU fan, he joked.
"I can just throw a little bit of blue on and I don't have to get rid of that obnoxious orange," he said.
And while he originally did not know much about Boise, he hopes the game brings more awareness to the northern city surrounded by mountains.
"We do more than grow potatoes here," he said.
Althea Peterson 366-3539 apeterson@normantranscript.com
