By John Shinn
Bedlam week means different things to different people. For those reared in the state, it’s the time of year when their true allegiances are exposed.
It’s the one football game where a side must be chosen.
Players like Oklahoma linebacker Curtis Lofton know it well. He grew up in Kingfisher, just an hour drive from Stillwater.
He admits to once having a closet sprinkled with orange and black.
“I was an Oklahoma State fan,” he said, “so I kind of cheered for the orange and black.”
Many thought he would wear the same colors in college. He was the prize in a contentious recruiting battle throughout the fall of 2004 and winter of 2005. He even admitted to taking some heat from friends and coaches after choosing the Sooners.
“It was a big ordeal that went on over a couple months,” he said. “I’m kind of glad I got it over with. Once I committed, I kind of got some heat from coaches and friends. But they got over it, and they’re Curtis Lofton fans now.”
But they won’t be at 1:30 p.m. Saturday when the 13th-ranked Sooners (9-2, 6-1 Big 12) face the Cowboys (6-5, 3-3) at Boone Pickens Stadium.
For one day a year, the rivalry puts friendships on the shelf.
Players from the state know it well. OU safety Reggie Smith grew up in Edmond and will see friends in the seats rooting against him.
“It’s going to be big, going up there and playing in front of them to show them we’re the better team,” he said.
For them, Bedlam is the biggest Saturday of the year. Players from the Sooner State have always understood this about Bedlam. It’s about bragging rights.
OU coach Bob Stoops doesn’t put one rivalry or game ahead of the other. To him, they’re all big.
“We’ve got a bunch of rivalries,” he said. “We’ve got Texas, we’ve got Nebraska, we’ve got Oklahoma State. Heck, when we play Kansas State everyone talks about that for the longest time. It’s like every game we’ve got is a rivalry, darn near. (Texas) A&M; can’t wait to play us down there.
“So, again, I don’t know how to quantify them. Everyone wants you to do that, but that’s not for me to do.”
OU’s roster is filled with players from beyond the state border. Most are from Texas and were well-versed in the Red River Rivalry prior to signing day.
Bedlam was something they had to experience first-hand to understand. Year by year, they became better educated. The insults they’ll be hearing Saturday won’t come as a shock.
“I think for the players, it’s a lot of chaos,” defensive end Alonzo Dotson said. “Being an out-of-state player, I had to learn about this rivalry. Being from Texas, I knew all about the Red River Rivalry. Learning about it, experiencing it and going up there with the fans right on top of you, it’s pretty big — it’s the in-state rivalry. Everyone is at each other’s throats.”
Some will be experiencing it for the first time Saturday.
Center Jon Cooper missed last year’s game with a broken leg. The sophomore from Fort Collins, Colo., doesn’t know where Bedlam ranks in terms of importance. It may be bigger for the guys from Oklahoma than everyone else. Or maybe not.
He only knows one thing for sure.
“Everyone that comes here learns to hate the color orange,” he said.
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
