Column:
Sooners must come together after injury
Published Sept. 11, 2009
There is nothing quite like college football. Nothing compares to that first weekend, all the hope and excitement in the air. When every school has just as good a record as Florida, when Saturday has again cemented its position as a weekly holiday, when our schedules begin to revolve around the timing of football games — nothing compares.
While Missouri was busy ringing in the new season the only way it knows how, another Big 12 team was not as sharp. The previously No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners were upset in their opener against Brigham Young University, losing junior quarterback Sam Bradford to a shoulder injury in the process.
Anyone who has ever donned a helmet knows accidents happen in football. That's just the nature of the game. The 300-pound gladiators hurling themselves at each other with reckless abandon, often for a greater motive than personal glory, is an incredible pull for some viewers. But it does get dangerous and does eventually have its effect on the athletes and their bodies. Boise State's sophomore defensive end Byron Hout can now attest, courtesy of Oregon's senior running back LeGarrette Blount.
Even if the injured player is the quarterback of a conference rival, it's always hard to see a man go down. This could easily be a defining moment for Oklahoma, a turning point already in a nascent season and a serious blow to title and Heisman hopes. But could it perhaps be a positive defining moment for Oklahoma as well?
When any team loses its star player, the weight of the team is immediately shifted to the backup — an incredible pressure, but also a golden opportunity. Also, oftentimes a team will rely greatly on a star to carry it through games. An injury could serve as a wake-up call, urging players to now pull their own weight. This is when they need their teammates more than ever. Without a doubt, Oklahoma is worse off without Bradford but, if they do band together, imagine how much better the Sooners will be when he does return.
To see someone who wants to help his team, who would do almost anything for his group to pull through, but is physically unable, is the most frustrating event for a fan to observe. But if the team can make it, when all odds are against it, when no one expects it to succeed, that would be truly remarkable, a true feat for the ages and something every fan would enjoy.
Now, Sam Bradford won't be out forever. He is unquestionably an incredibly accomplished athlete and an integral part of the Sooners, but he is not, by any means, their only good player.
A byproduct of being in a conference as competitive and football-minded as the Big 12, Oklahoma has capable players in almost every position and certainly will be able to function without their starting quarterback. How well they will be able to function is another question.
Oklahoma's next test will be on Oct. 3 against Miami. (The Sooners have two games before that, but if they lose to Idaho State or Tulsa, they have bigger problems than a sprained AC joint in the quarterback's throwing shoulder.)
Who knows, the defending Heisman Trophy winner could be back by then. We'll have to wait and see. Will Oklahoma throw up the white flag and call it a season? Or will they come together, stronger than ever before and do something truly spectacular?
Only time will tell. There is nothing quite like college football.