The University of Southern California Trojans demolished the Oklahoma University Sooners, 55 to 19, to win the College Football National Championship tonight in the Orange Bowl. While many were confident of a Trojan victory, no one predicted such a margin.
The Sooner fans weren't as mouthy as the Iowa Hawkeye fans going into the Orange Bowl two years ago -- but they were dead silent walking out. A couple managed to grunt "good game" in our direction, but most mainly kept their heads down. By the end of the third quarter the Sooner half of the stands were mostly empty. And what a magnificent sight to see Trojans filling up half of Pro Player Stadium all the way across the country.
The USC mascot, Traveler, is a proud, mighty, strong Andalusian stallion ridden proudly by a Trojan Warrior. The Sooners, on the other hand, have the "Sooner Schooner" which is a miniature covered wagon drawn by two Shitland ponies -- named "Boomer" and "Sooner." It looks like something you might see in the kiddy section at Knott's Berry Farm. Apparently students at OU consider it an honor to drive the wagonette and be a "Ruff/Neck." Apparently the idea is to drive the Sooner Schooner in the endzone each time their team scores a touchdown. So I only got to see it in action once tonight.
The Orange Bowl has strict rules on where the Sooner Schooner can go because a few years ago they drove onto the field when the team hadn't scored and actually drew a penalty for "unhorsemanlike conduct." (I couldn't make this stuff up if I wanted to.)
Tonight by the third quarter (like their fans) the Sooner Schooner was no where to be seen on the sidelines. At one point in the second quarter the Sooner Schooner was parked near the Trojan endzone when the Trojans scored. Out came Traveler to mark the Trojan victory (this happened many times throughout the game). "Boomer" and "Sooner" looked a little spooked at the sight of a real-sized horse and backed up a little bit up against a wall. That was about the extent of the excitement for the Schooner drivers "Ruff" and "Neck" tonight.
Like any red-blooded American I enjoy seeing celebrities crash and burn. So it was with great glee that I joined in the booing of Ashlee Simpson during the half-time show. I think introducing her as a "superstar" only made the crowd hate her even more. She looked dejected after her song and, sadly, didn't do "a little hoe-down" like she did on SNL.
Tomorrow it's back home for me, via Orlando and Washington, DC. Then on Thursday I leave for Shanghai, via Tokyo, arriving Friday night local time. I'll be blogging as internet access allows.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment