Before I check out for Labor Day weekend and start prepping my pork butt for my new pellet smoker, I figured I might as well acknowledge that my beloved University of Oklahoma Sooners kick off their 2024 football season tomorrow against Temple.
From about the age of 10 to 30, nothing in the world was more important to me than OU football. It’s still pretty high up there—I do plan my autumn weekends around their schedule—but the consume-every-newspaper-article, name-every-player-on-the-depth-chart, and write-Mike-Lupica-a-mean-email level fanaticism I once had is gone.
Getting old sucks, huh?
That being said, I still watch every game and try my best to keep tabs on the team. Since I can no longer have an Athletic beat writer come on my podcast to preview the team, answer my pressing questions, and defend Brendan Radley-Hines, I unfortunately have to depend on the OU Homer Media to keep me informed and updated.
Although there are some exceptions, this homer media can be broken down into four quadrants:
1. The Pre-Internet Old Guard: This includes folks who covered OU football before the Internet leveled the playing field. You know, people like Al Eschbach, Berry Tramel, Regular Jim Traber, Dean “The Stream” Blevins, etc.