www.soonertimes.com

Its same thing peole were saying about UConn basketball when no one could beat them. I read where they get place in NCAA tournament they have to barely travel. I get so tired of these other teams crying about OUs portal gets. All teams get players from the portal and some of them perform very well for the teams they go to. What teams cry ory about is they get the All American / All conference type players to go with the All Americans they recruited. I think Tennesee and Florida State against OU didnt throw their aces againt OU in the first meeting because they didnt they could beat OU with Jordy Bahl on the mound.

I may have to crack open a beverage to get the taste of sour grapes out of my mouth after reading that article. I'm not sure if this writer has been in a comma and just woke up but this is the reality of sports in the NIL era. Yes, it was going on before NIL in some sports and maybe softball wasn't one of them but what was written here is not unique to softball. It's the reality of every sport in this era now. You can look back at what used to be and miss the good old days, but the genie is out of the bottle and ain't going back in. Is it good for parity in the sport? Of course not; but it's the new normal and no one seems to be willing to try to get a handle on it. College fans have beat this issue to death over the last couple of years. Apparently, this writer has been in denial during that period of time. The Sooner Softball program happened to be in a great position to take advantage of the changes, but blaming the Sooners for the situation that currently exists is like clinging to your horse and buggy complaining about automobiles. Quit crying like a victim and change with the times.

The author of that article, Patrick Pinak, has the following statement for his bio...

Patrick covered the Florida Gators during the forgettable Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain eras before spending two seasons writing for Major League Baseball. He's an SEC homer and a baseball junkie who spends his days defending the Miami Marlins. When he's not glued to a TV, you can find him at the park with his dog. He's a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and currently lives in Austin, Texas.

That tells me all I need to know about that article! White River...I think "sour grapes" is being too kind! It tastes of something a lot worse!

AllSooner wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 9:13 pm The author of that article, Patrick Pinak, has the following statement for his bio...

Patrick covered the Florida Gators during the forgettable Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain eras before spending two seasons writing for Major League Baseball. He's an SEC homer and a baseball junkie who spends his days defending the Miami Marlins. When he's not glued to a TV, you can find him at the park with his dog. He's a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and currently lives in Austin, Texas*.

That tells me all I need to know about that article! White River...I think "sour grapes" is being too kind! It tastes of something a lot worse!

Thanks for the insight. I think I better understand what the objective may have been here.

Bottom line. If dynasties killed a sport then why when UCLA and Arizona ruled softball was OU able to build one decades later. All while TV is setting viewer records.

Its all just sour grapes. Patty took over 28 years ago when OU played at a local park before they buil the current field. And now OU is building a second new field.

And Patty built this “dynasty” over those 28 uears brick by brick. She has taken the time to build from within not some quick fix build.

No matter what there are always people who want to tear down greatness.

What I wander is how the other SEC teams feel abot OU joining the SEC knowing the way OU has dominated them in games. It would be like Alabama or Georgia joining the Big 12, it would make it real tough to win conference championships

No.

Does this look like OU is killikg the sport

For perspective

The 2022 Men's CWS increased, in fact doubled, that of 2021. I wonder if the fact that OU was in the finals of that CWS had anything to do with it?