Concerning Civil War (ok, really Oklahoma football)

It happens once a year.  I don't know when it started.  Was it when Oklahoma State was Oklahoma A&M?  I really don't….know.



What I do know is, that this Kansas farm kid had never seen anything like the wild and crazy bedlam game that takes place annually in the place  where the wind comes sweeping gently down the plain.  KU and KSU had (and still has) the typical, "the Jayhawks are better than the Wildcats" talk.  It never came close to what happens in the Sooner (BOOMER!) state.  Maybe I tip my hand a bit.



License plates and bumper stickers bearing both Sooner and Cowboy logos advertise the fact that families are divided.  People are 'de-friended' on Facebook.  Crimson flags and orange banners fly all around the state.  Radio  and news stations go on and on….and on and on about the game.  Facebook profile pictures get posted (some aren't even mean).   Conversations inevitably turn that direction, parties are planned,  soft drinks and snacks are purchased, and billions of gallons of Bud Light are stored to chill.  And as the calendar draws close to the Big Day, the Bedlam Game (I capitalize in respect so I can continue to live in this state), the smack talk begins.  I cannot say (for the sake of possible young readers) what Okies say that one team is going to do to the other team…for how long….with what.  It can get pretty ugly.



Even at my office today, we had Bedlam Day (again caps out of respect).  Each person wore the attire promoting their particular team (one of the guys didn’t quite get it and wore a Miami shirt…duh).  The reward…a free 'jeans day'.  Woohoo.  I mean WOOHOO!!  No pressure, the boss is a 'dyed in the wool' Oklahoma State University going, Pistol Pete packing, orange and black wearing, flag waving Cowboy fan.  Apparently he was gracious enough to allow those who chose to bear OU logos to come back to work on Monday, full pay with benefits intact.  He's a good guy that way.  We'll see what happens on Monday.



Our Dallas office was missing all the fun.  Witty banter flying back and forth,  each teams' school fight songs periodically playing over the sound system on Pandora (how they did it, I don't know).  An 'Office Divided' picture was taken, crimson on the left and orange on the right,  and sent to Channel 6 news to hopefully be aired on the 6:00 news.  I don't think the picture made the news, but it gave us a cool shot to post on the company Facebook page.  Oh, and did I mention smack talk?  There was smack talk.  And then some more.



The amazing thing about all of this is…it's all in fun.  It really is civil.  Oh yeah, there are going to be those fringe lunatic Cowboy fans, and maybe a Sooner fan that gets out of hand.  But the families divided and offices divided, and a state divided actually have a bunch of fun with this Bedlam stuff.  This really is one of those times where a thing that people disagree about unites them…pretty much.  Pretty incredible, huh? 

BOOMER!!


News on 6 Bedlam Story

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