I have been so obsessed with the coaching situation at WVU that I’ve been slow to post the first in a series of Q and A’s with Matt over at The Sooner Schooner. We are interrogating the enemy so to speak to get a better idea of who we are facing in the Fiesta Bowl. Check out our answer to What is a Mountaineer (before the Rich Rod fiasco).
Here is his answer to the harder question in my opinion.
WVMS:
What the hell is a Sooner?
SS:
From Wikipedia:
The term Sooners was used to describe settlers who entered the Unassigned Lands, located in the current state of Oklahoma , before President Benjamin Harrison officially proclaimed them open to settlement with the Indian Appropriation Act of 1889 on March 2, 1889. The name derived from the “sooner clause” of the Indian Appropriation Act, which stated that no one should be allowed to enter and occupy the land prior to the opening time and that such people would be denied rights to illegally-claimed land.[1]
Sooners were often deputy marshals, land surveyors, railroad employees, and others who were able to legally enter the territory early to mark out choice pieces of land for themselves or others.[2] Some sooners crossed into the territory illegally at night and were originally called “moonshiners” because they entered “by the light of the moon.” These sooners would hide in ditches at night and suddenly appear to stake their claim after the land run started, hours ahead of legal settlers.[1]
That all sums it up. Basically, a Sooner was the guy that crossed into the unopened territory early, hid wherever he could, and popped up on the day the territory opened for claims. Pretty smart if you ask me.
One day my friend joked around with me and said, “Oh, ok, so you guys are cheaters then.” I just said, “No, we just used our time and resources wisely.” But today, what it means to be a Sooner is almost unexplainable. It means driving up to Norman to tailgate with your favorite Crimson and Cream-clad family. It means sitting in Oklahoma Memorial and watching your favorite Sooners battle it out on the field. If you’re a player, being a Sooner means donning the Crimson and Cream uniforms that have been cherished for ages. It means getting fired up to the chants of “Boomer! Sooner!” from the crowd. It means running smash-mouth football with quick, hard-hitting defense and a pounding run game. It means playing for history, and extending the great history to the new generations of Sooners.
Check back tomorrow for Part 2: What does Sooner football mean to the state of Okla.?
PS – That’s not Matt in the pic.
