Once upon a time, the Crosstown Clash and all that it meant was the big orange and green elephant in the room.
There it was and nobody wanted to talk about it. Of course, it made perfect sense.
n You can't let the first game of the season define the season.
n It's the district games that really count.
n How can we consider North a rival when it's never won the game?
Of course, the Tiger Nation doesn't say that any more.
But that was how it went.
Not any more.
About 6 p.m. Wednesday, Josh Jordan, a sophomore tight end/defensive back, who, by his own admission, is a longshot to see the field tonight, was nevertheless all too willing to explain the importance of the rivalry as he waited for his ride to arrive.
"This is why I started playing football. Because of this game," he said. "We lost 58-0 and I felt I had to do something."
He felt he had to do something.
How great is that?
"This game kind of makes or breaks all our athletics," he said. "Last year the game destroyed all our athletics. The only team to have a good season was freshman girls basketball."
He's wrong about that.
Matilda Mossman's varsity girls had another fine season and by the end, so did Wes Clark's varsity boys. Even Doug Gillis' baseball Tigers enjoyed their best campaign in some time. Only that's not the point.
The point is the way Jordan remembers it. He remembers 58-0 and a dark cloud over his high school ever since.
So he went out for football.
His coach, Greg Nation, must be taking the reserved route. Because coaches live to take the reserved route. The last time Bob Stoops got really upset, Les Miles was in Stillwater.
So Nation's playing it cool, right?
Wrong.
This is what he remembers telling his Tigers before they left Owen Field for the last time last season, after telling them to take one more long look at the scoreboard.
"I want it to burn in your soul for 365 days," he said.
Nation tried playing it cool his first year in the job. He tried talking about how the season opener may be a lot of things, but it's still the season opener and, anyway, it's the district games that count.
He had assistants on his staff telling him it wouldn't last. It didn't.
"I totally don't look at it that way any more," he said. "It's Jenks-Union. They're not in the same district but it means everything to those kids."
So it is for the Tigers and Timberwolves, too.
Nation could be out on a limb. But if your assistants, players and student body are already on the same limb, what's left to do?
"Football can sort of set the tone for the whole school year," he said.
And the first game can set the tone for the rest of the season.
The only thing Nation won't say is his Tigers must win. But they better compete. They better not get embarrassed, which is exactly what happened last year.
Oh, to be Lance Manning.
The North coach is where Butch Peters used to be, at the helm of the dominant program in town. But he knows how big the Clash loomed when he was losing it, so he's in no hurry to throw cold water on it while he's winning it.
He'll play it cool.
But he knows the score.
"The players and people build it up enough without me having to do anything at all," Manning said.
The Tigers know the score, too.
All, too well.
It's been burned into their soul.
Clay Horning 366-3526 cfhorning@normantranscript.com
