When in Oklahoma, do as the Sooners do

I've never been a big fan of Big 12 football, but from a distance I've respected their craft and the devoted fandom. I really thought the loss of Nebraska to the Big 10 last year would have really hit the poor Sooner fans hard, as they have been one of the two chief rivals in Norman for the past decade along with the Texas Longhorns. Turns out, they're very good at redirecting their anger.

I caught a game last year while in Oklahoma, an early season throw away game against someone I can't even recall, and I got to ask a few fans about the rivalry, and it was almost unanimous amongst those rocking Sooners apparel (of which there were many).

They hate Texas. More than before.

So they've got that going for them...which is nice (channeling my inner Bill Murray on that one).

Now, for some QB motivation:

Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots, is highly considered as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. He and quarterback Peyton Manning are compared to each other and are considered two of the top quarterbacks in the NFL today. Brady was a 6th round draft pick in the 2000 NFL draft. He came from Michigan, one of the top football colleges today. He was not expected to be as good as he is today. It’s quite ironic though how Tom, a 6th round draft pick and Peyton, a first round draft pick, are very similar in their stats and both come from very different backgrounds. Peyton of course came from a very advantageous background, having his father, a former NFL quarterback, as a mentor. Peyton was also the first pick of his draft class.

Two men. Different backgrounds. Similar stats.

It goes to show you that anyone can accomplish anything they put their mind to. There are a lot of underdogs in the NFL today. Who knows when the next Tom Brady or Tony Romo will come out of the shadows and get a chance to take what they were never given. Tony Romo wasn’t even drafted. In the end, it doesn’t matter where you came from, whether or not you were a first round draft pick. It just matters if you can play the game. If you have a passion to play the sport you are good at and you don’t give up, you will succeed.

You can look at any sport and you can see a true under dog story. The most common story today would be the 2007-2008 New York Giants football team. They won against all odds. You can win against all odds too. It just depends on how bad you want to achieve it.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45928872@N08/4224618540/sizes/m/in/photostream/