Ain't even trippin': Dominating the Cotton Bowl means reviving Malcolm Kelly's epic freestyle
An old Sooner fan favorite made its triumphant return to the team during Oklahoma’s Cotton Bowl celebration.
Lincoln Riley picked up his first bowl win as a head coach in Wednesday’s dismantling of the seventh-ranked Florida Gators. The Sooners were in control the entire second half holding Dan Mullen’s team to just one garbage time touchdown to seal the 55-20 rout.
The celebration started early for the boys in crimson but reached heights previously unthought of just before the presentation of the Cotton Bowl trophy.
With the team gathered around the stage celebrating, a chant broke out among a few in the middle. As more players joined in the chant became instantly recognizable as one of the great victory anthems in Oklahoma history: the Malcolm Kelly Freestyle.
For those unfamiliar with this iconic piece of Sooner and freestyle history, the Malcolm Kelly Freestyle is a famous rap performed by the former Oklahoma receiver. Following a 21-7 win over Nebraska in the 2006 Big 12 Championship Game, Kelly produced the instant classic rap referencing teammates and coaches such as Adrian Peterson and Bob Stoops.
The rap has always been a favorite among diehard Sooners but its popularity has exploded in recent years with the video being practically impossible to avoid on social media on a Sooner game day. The verse has been remixed, edited and memed but this time, on national television, as the specter of 2020 was finally washed away with unbridled joy, the Cotton Bowl champions took it to a new level.
“It's a breath of fresh air,” said quarterback Spencer Rattler. “2020 is out of the way. We ended up on top. This is what we worked for. So we had to have fun with it. And there's no better feeling than having fun with your brothers. That was probably the most fun game I've been a part of.”
“Just to come out the way we did,” said wide receiver Marvin Mims, “and just finish the season off the way we did, standing on that stage, having fun with our brothers, our family, there's nothing better than that. It just felt really good.”
Seeing this group share a moment like that will be something many Sooner fans will never forget and shows how deep the OUDNA they talk about truly runs. Absent from the celebration was Riley, but make no mistake; had the microphone come his way he would have been ready.
“I know just about every word to that as well,” said Riley. “I don’t know if I can do it a capella right now, but it’s certainly not the first time I’ve heard it, let’s put it that way.”
The fan favorite is clearly beloved by more than just the fans and may have been certified Wednesday as a staple of Sooner culture.
