One year later, Oklahoma is back at home
The cardboard cutouts were cute. They served their purpose. But their time has passed.
When Oklahoma reconvenes today at Marita Hynes Stadium for the Courtyard Marriott Tournament, the Sooners will see actual live, human beings in the seats.
“To be at home, I’m real excited,” said OU coach Patty Gasso. “I can’t tell you how excited we are. Because there’s been so much uncertainty and so much unknown. To watch our guys out there power cleaning and hosing everything off, everything has been like final touches— it’s a really awesome feeling. Really.
“We have cardboard cutouts. Everywhere. From babies to animals to alumni. There’s all kinds of different figures out there. But to see a real person in OU gear cheering for us is gonna be an absolute celebration on our side.”
OU takes on Sam Houston State at 6:30 p.m. Friday, then plays a doubleheader Saturday, with Missouri at 12:30 p.m. and Louisiana-Monroe at 5:30 p.m., and then plays two more Sunday against Missouri (12:30) and Sam Houston (5:30).
Oklahoma’s last home game was exactly 363 days ago — March 7, 2020.
The team is off to a 12-0 start and has climbed to No. 1 in the polls this week. But for the newcomers — even though this weekend’s action is limited to friends and family only — this will be their first home game, and their first exposure to OU fans.
“I mean, playing with no fans is a lot less fun than playing with fans,” said third baseman Jana Johns, who transferred from South Carolina. “I mean, home field advantage, for sure. I’ve heard that the Sooner fans are crazy and they’re loud and they’re all for the Sooners. So I’m really excited to see what that’s all about.”
Freshman pitcher Nicole May is a freshman from California, but she got to experience OU home crowds on her visits and she’s been waiting a long time to feel it for herself.
“I loved the environment here,” May said. “That was something I remembered even after my visits and stuff, was the home environment and the supportive fans and all that. So I’m really looking forward to being able to play in front of our fans and our stadium. I kind of felt that vibe before when I was in the stands, and now I’ll be on the field. So I feel like that’ll be really exciting.”
Gasso keeps things in proper perspective and has a profound appreciation for what all the student-athletes have been through over the past year, but she also values this weekend as an opportunity for her softball team to get better.
To that end, she wants to see better defense all around, and she wants to see her pitchers and others finally get tested by having to play seven innings. Of OU’s 12 games so far, 10 have been run-rule victories.
“There’s certain people that I’m like, ‘I’ve got to use them, I’ve got to,’ ” Gasso said. “I think we’re doing a pretty good job of that. We just need to play longer games. … I want to play seven innings.
“If you’ve got seven pitchers and you’re playing 5-inning games, it’s just hard to extend some of these arms the way we need to. So in a weird way, it’s hurt us. I’m not complaining — but we’re extending their arms at practice. We have to, because they need to get those innings.”