What is a Boomer Sooner? Do you care?

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Wesley

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Apr 12, 2006
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To uncover the origins of this Oklahoma appellation, travel to the front page of Yahoo! and typed "what is a sooner" (using the quotation marks) into the Yahoo! search box. Soon enough, you have an answer. Here's what you learn...

In the 1800s before Oklahoma was a state, it was officially designated Indian Territory and was settled by the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole tribes who had been forced to give up their lands and move west. :dull8ay: Giving in to pressure from eager expansionists, the U.S. government opened up 2 million acres of the land to homesteaders in 1889.
To claim a lot of land, prospective settlers had to participate in a land run. They lined up and waited for the blast of a shotgun to signal the beginning of the run, at which point they would race eagerly to claim a homestead. A "Sooner" was someone who snuck past the territory markers ahead of the gunshot to get an early start. :frown3qg: Today Oklahoma is known as the Sooner State, and the various athletic teams of the University of Oklahoma are called the Sooners. The official mascot of the University of Oklahoma is the Sooner Schooner, a covered wagon drawn by two horses named Sooner and Boomer, and the school fight song is "Boomer Sooner." So what is a Boomer, you ask? According to the school's web site, "Boomers where those who by constant agitation tried to bring about the opening of Oklahoma to settlers before 1889." :growl5cj: Let's agitate those Boomer Sooners this weekend.:yes4lo:
 

colocy

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Apr 11, 2006
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Haven't you seen Far and Away, they have an example of one of those "Sooner" runs.
 

Wesley

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Apr 12, 2006
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I thought Boomer and Sooner as the two horse names was a little risque. Watch out, gal horses.
 

Soonernation

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Oct 10, 2006
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Land Thieves is another popular term for us. Sorry to see all of those ref troubles this weekend. As you might know we have had quite a few in the past as well so maby we will both luck out and get some fair officiating this weekend. See you in Norman!! BOOMER!
 

Soonernation

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Oct 10, 2006
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I do have a question for you guys. If you guys are the cyclones whats up with the cardnal mascot?? I mean, I know that a giant stuffed tornado would look kida dumb running up and down the sidelines but why the bird??
 

guitarchitect7

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Oct 8, 2006
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Frist off during this time period "tornadoes" were referred to as cyclones. So if it wasnt for that we might be called the Tornadoes instead. But here is the story.

The year 1895. We played Northwestern who had a 30-0 halftime lead. At the presant time the "ISU Cardinals" came back with a 36-0 route. The nickname came from a headline in a newspaper that read something like "Struck by a Cyclone". Then in time it become our official name as opposed to just a nickname. So our mascot stands tall as the Cardinal, but the name says Cyclones. Hope it helps.
 

Soonernation

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Oct 10, 2006
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Oh thats cool. Makes perfect sense.

p.s. A friend of mine is wondering if the reffs can screw both of our teams over on the same call???
 

Wesley

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The year 1895. We played Northwestern who had a 30-0 halftime lead. At the presant time the "ISU Cardinals" came back with a 36-0 route. The nickname came from a headline in a newspaper that read something like "Struck by a Cyclone". Then in time it become our official name as opposed to just a nickname. So our mascot stands tall as the Cardinal, but the name says Cyclones. Hope it helps.


Yes that was our last major comeback win in 1895 when Pop Warner was our coach. The good old days.
 

flander1649

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Apr 20, 2006
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Here is the whole story mostly right just missing a few things Northwestern was ranked 3rd at the time

In the summer and early fall of 1895, an unusually large number of what were then referred to as “cyclones” wreaked havoc upon the state of Iowa. Had the United States Weather Service known a little bit more about climatology at that time, Iowa State might today be known as the “Tornadoes.”

That fall, however, an underdog Iowa State 11 played at Northwestern. After building a commanding 30-0 halftime lead, the Cardinals, as ISU’s teams were then named, went on to post a shocking 36-0 rout of the Wildcats.

The game story headline in the next morning’s Chicago Tribune read “Iowa Cyclone Devastates Evanstontown,” and since that famous moment in Iowa State gridiron history, the athletic teams have been known as the “Cyclones.”
 

shildreth

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Mar 28, 2006
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Frist off during this time period "tornadoes" were referred to as cyclones. So if it wasnt for that we might be called the Tornadoes instead. But here is the story.

The year 1895. We played Northwestern who had a 30-0 halftime lead. At the presant time the "ISU Cardinals" came back with a 36-0 route. The nickname came from a headline in a newspaper that read something like "Struck by a Cyclone". Then in time it become our official name as opposed to just a nickname. So our mascot stands tall as the Cardinal, but the name says Cyclones. Hope it helps.


I heard the same story but I have also heard another version. It followed the same path as the cyclone but after the "cyclone" hit some university officials came out of a shelter and after the storm there was a cardinal pirched on a tree that had been ripped out of the ground. It was supposedly a vivid site of the cardinal oulasting the storm and so came the cardinal mascot.

The other story seems more logical but always thought this was a neat story.
 

guitarchitect7

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Oct 8, 2006
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Well since i get asked this question once every couple years, i dont always remember the details. So i had to refer back to the media guide released this year to make sure i got my details correct. With that being said, nothing was talked about of your story, but that never means it didnt happen, it just wasnt mentioned.

I dont care to, but that would be a neat thing to investigate and find out.