Before there were IPads, IPhones or IPods, the only thIng there was to do as you were drIvIng down the road was … drIve. Unless you were swatting at children in the back seat while threatening to “pull this car over” or trying to get the road map to fold back into its original shape, concentrating on keeping your automobile between the ditches was your sole mission. Nowadays we have apps for finding restaurants, Google maps, mobile music, Tom-Toms, Garmins and a host of other electronic gadgets that are supposed to make life easier. I thInk. Of course there is the obligatory need to tweet about the guy who just ran the stop sign in front of you while you simultaneously change your Facebook status to “Road-rage.” And many Oklahoma drivers are driving while “intexticated.” Back when the only thing to do on cell phones was talk, I remember seeing an old truck with a bumper sticker that read, “Shut up and drive.”
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To think, kids used to entertain themselves while riding down the highway by looking for out-ofstate car tags. My how the world has changed. Speaking of a changing world, have you looked at the list of bowl games this year? While it is the ESPN proclaimed “most wonderful time of the year,” you may need a literary guide to America’s multiple sponsorship names. For those interested in the primary food groups, there are bowls from: Beef “O” Brady, Little Caesar’s Pizza, Outback and Chick-fil-A. There is a bowl for those interested in social issues of the day (Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl and Humanitarian Bowl), and some for men and women in uniform (the Military Bowl … not to be confused with the Armed Forces Bowl). If you have car problems, you can watch the Maaco or Meineke Car Care Bowls. If all of this is so confusing and you can’t find your way, there is the Compass Bowl. While this is not your dad’s bowl season, there is the GoDaddy.com Bowl. Remember when you watched a few bowl games before New Years Eve? Then New Years Day would go something like this: Wake up and watch the parade of your mother’s choice. Then the Cotton Bowl came first, because somewhere, someone knew there had to be one game with a morning kickoff. Because the Cotton Bowl had participants from our part of the country, it was interesting.
After that came the Rose Bowl. Color and pageantry — check. Exciting football between the Pac 10 and the Big 10 … not so much. While the Rose Bowl wound down and the committee was determining which float had the best ambiance, the Sugar Bowl kicked off. The night would end as you flipped back and forth between the Sugar and Orange Bowls as you rooted for (or against) whoever came from our part of the country. Seems like those were the good old days. Now, everyone and their dog gets a bowl game. We should develop a bowl game in Oklahoma. There are several oil and energy companies with much catchier names and logos than those currently used from back East. If none of them are interested, I’m sure there are some western wear stores or insurance companies that could pick up the slack. The Mock Brother’s Saddlery Bowl would be super! We could all get a new pair of boots (Justin, size 10D, please.). The Oklahoma Farm Bureau could get involved, and everyone who tweeted in the car when they should have been turning it, could get a new policy that covers collision. Regardless of your gadget of choice, while traveling to your favorite bowl game of the season (what I like to call “The Alamo Bowl”), be safe driving. And don’t forget your handy Bowl Game Guide for bowl dates, names and sponsorships. Above all, enjoy the season, the lights and colors … especially Orange. Go Pokes! kyle Wray
December 2010
AssociAte Vice President enrollment mAnAgement & mArketing