As you are getting ready to nestle down, on what promises to be a brisk, and picturesque early Autumn evening, remember 1830.
As most who are watching tonight's prime-time, marquee, CFB powerhouse game between Oklahoma and Florida State, the historical significance of the game will be lost to most. Matter of fact, they will be oblivious.
The historical ramifications is not, Can Stoops get the Sooners to the BCS title? Hey, didn't Burt Reynolds play at FSU? You remember when Boz was ripping heads off? Do you think Jimbo and Noles can get revenge from last season's blow-out? etc., etc.
The over/under on how many times Bobby Bowden's cancer scare is brought up is enough to make you cringe. The amount of times that this game would be referred to as a huge statement win for the Noles and prove they are back is astronomical. The amount of times I will envision Dr. Death coming to the ring at Starrcade '87 in his OU jersey is probably just as high. And, if we are lucky, we will get to see ol' slobber jaws JR on the sidelines, and maybe Ron Simmons, too.
But, if you think that is covering the bases for everything that could be significant about this years game, you would be wrong.
1830. That is all you need to know. That was the year that Whitey(US Govmnt.), decided that since they couldn't get the job done with STD's and shotguns, they would just move the Reds off their land. Yup, the Trail of Tears friends. The event which saw Seminole,Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, and other indigenous tribes booted off their land to make room for white progress and sub-divisions in the Southeast, and given a chunk of what is now Oklahoma. They even gave it such a classy name during this movement, Indian Territory.
So there you have it, today's history lesson. This time around, the Okies are going to have to take the Trail back to it's start, albeit by luxury plane instead of horseback or just flat out hoofing it. This game might not mean too much for the parent pick-up , PB&J set, but to some Native American out there, this game could bring on thoughts of anger and sorrow. There isn't a bottle of thunder water safe within 300 miles of Tallahassee today.
But, in all fairness it is kind of hard to make this game out to be this culture clash that I tried to paint. Sam Bradford, the Choctaw prince himself, is a former star for the Sooners, and Florida State is comprised of mostly African Americans who have shown a pension for incarceration in recent years.
So, take your pick, root for the name of a proud people who actually dig their likeness being used as a mascot, or you can root for the school who takes it's name from the original mobile homers(this is a reference to 'Sooners' you know, the homesteaders. Nevermind. Class dismissed).
Even sadder, half the players on either team probably have no idea how to connect this event to their schools. Which is why they really shouldn't bitch about getting paid to play college football.
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