The University of Oklahoma's mascot is the "Sooner". What is a Sooner?
by 
Commander Cool
ANSWERS: 2
-
College sports fans are hard-pressed to find a nickname that is as unique and as tied-in to a state's history as a Sooner. The University of Oklahoma is the only school known as Sooners and those who claim that they are Sooners say it with pride. The Oklahoma territory opened with the Land Run of 1889. Settlers from across the globe, seeking free land, made their way to the prairies of the plains to stake their claim to a new life. One of the few rules to claiming a lot of land was that all participants were to start at the same time, on the boom of a cannon. All settlers who started then were labeled as "Boomers" and the ones who went too soon were called "Sooners." OU athletic teams were called either Rough Riders or Boomers for 10 years before the current Sooner nickname emerged in 1908. The university actually derived their name from a pep club called “The Sooner Rooters.” The success of University of Oklahoma athletic teams over the years have made the nickname synonymous with winning. Reference Link: http://www.college-football--tickets.net/oklahoma/history.htm
-
Before Oklahoma was a state, it was considered Indian Territory, and was occupied by a number of tribes who had been pushed west. However, the expansionist white folks pressured the government to open the area to settlement, which they did in 1889. Land was claimed via the famous Land Runs that you so often see in westerns (or re-enacted if you happen to be in Oklahoma or Kansas). There was a certain start-time after which you were allowed to dart in, find your land, and stake your claim. A Sooner, then, was someone who went in ahead of time, picked their land, and then laid low until they could report their claim. (If you're a fan of the Nicole Kidman-Tom Cruise movie "Far and Away" you might recall that Shannon's father pulled this little trick, hiding under a hill until after the gunshot, then jumping up and planting his flag.) Tricky, not necessarily ethical, but distinctly Oklahoman. If you'd like to read it straight from the fine state of Oklahoma, check out this link (you have to scroll down quite a way) http://www.state.ok.us/osfdocs/history.html
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC