There’s this tiny part of me that believes I should find recruiting really interesting, meaningful and only slightly less important than the state of our civil liberties. Because, let’s face it, I’m a sports guy, even a college sports guy, and to win at the collegiate level you’ve got to have the horses. So I should really care.

And still, despite all of that, the idea any Oklahoma fan worth his or her salt should have been rooting for Southern Cal Thursday night in Pasadena is just so many degrees of silly.

In my required seat of objectivity when it comes to the Sooners, I suppose I’m off the hook for rooting home those dastardly Longhorns the other night. Yet the idea that another, one who bleeds crimson and cream, was not being true to his or her school had they felt the same way remains absurd.

For starters, just because you like a team or school more than all others, it’s not required you view everything through that team or school’s prism. If it were, where on earth would it end?

Do you root for airport-shutting thunderstorms every big recruiting weekend in Austin? Do you root for Boone Pickens’ bankruptcy filing, because as long as he’s richer than all get out facilities will continue to improve in Stillwater? In the name of your team, should you root against the economic development of your state?

Those may be beyond-the-curve examples, but they still make a point. Because, frankly, I’d root for all that nutty stuff before ever compromising the reason I’m a sports guy in the first place.

It’s about the story. It’s about the moment. It’s about unexpected greatness and status-quo shattering breakthroughs like, say, 467 yards of total offense from the same guy.

I was rooting for Texas Wednesday night because Southern Cal winning one more football game did nothing for me. The Trojans had won enough. It was time for some balance. It was time for something new.

I rooted for Tiger Woods the week he won his first Masters and I rooted for Rich Beem the day he took Tiger down. I rooted for Boston against the Yankees and the White Sox against the Red Sox.

I rooted for Tom Landry’s Cowboys until I got tired of it, found the Cowboys interesting again when they went 1-15 under Jimmy Johnson, then boring after two Super Bowl victories, and then interesting again under Barry Switzer because, around here, we’re all suckers for Switzer.

Really, the day I have to play some elaborate game of connect-the-dots just to figure out who to root for is the day I quit caring about sports. And that day is a long way away.

Of course, if I’m in the press box, I don’t care who wins. I just want to see something great.

And another thing …

n It appears Chelsi Welch is Chelsi Welch again.

The junior Sooner guard, after almost a season-and-a-half of inconsistency and confidence issues brought about by a torn ACL and reconstructive knee surgery, knocked down 20 points at New Mexico only to follow it up with a career-high-tying 23 at Iowa State Wednesday night. Suddenly, it’s like Sherri Coale has three impact newcomers on her team right now: Courtney Paris, Ashley Paris and Welch.

n The latest example why the Hornets are an odds-on favorite to return to Oklahoma City next season and beyond came Wednesday night. The same night USC and Texas played their humdinger, a Ford Center record 19,326 skipped it to pay good money to watch pro basketball.

n Just trying to come up with single-game performances in the same league as what Vince Young did against the Trojans. After a good minute or two of thought, here’s what I’ve got:

n Jack Morris at the World Series.

n Reggie Jackson at the World Series.

n Don Larsen at the World Series.

n Mark Messier’s victory guarantee hat trick.

n Magic Johnson the night he jumped center as a rookie.

n Dominik Hasek at the Nagano Olympics.

Clay Horning366-3526cfhorning@normantranscript.com