Sooner Fans

This is another example of some of the custom work that I do. It is a caricature that I did of the sons of a former secretary (great gal). They are obviously big fans of the Oklahoma University Sooners. In Oklahoma, you're either a Sooner (OU), or a Cowboy (OSU).

Some of you may wonder what a Sooner is. Well... when the government decided to open up some of the indian territory to settlement back in the late 1800's, they conducted various land runs. If anybody wanted to get a piece of land FOR FREE all they had to do was line up at the appointed place on the appointed date and when a cannon was fired, they had to run, ride, crawl, skip, to plant their stake on a piece of property. (See the movie "Far And Away" for visual clarity.)

My great grandfather was in the Oklahoma Cherokee Strip Run - 1893. (Many Oklahomans forget that there was more than one land run.) Anyone that participated in the land run was called a Boomer, i.e. Land Boom. BUT, if you cheated and snuck across the line earlier than you were supposed to, you were called a Sooner, because you went across the line "sooner."

So, the Oklahoma University mascot is basically a cheater.

Now, I have MANY friends and relatives that live in Oklahoma (In fact I was BORN in Oklahoma). Those people are fairly passionate about their college sports. So, I'm a bit concerned about the effect that my earlier statement will have on our relationship. But... if there are any hard feelings, I would say that I think it's better to be be named after a cheater than after a water fowl - like a Duck.