I WAS HERE WHEN: The Sooners Jumped Around

Oklahoma football fans had plenty of reasons to jump around on that chilly fall evening in 2008.

When No. 2 Texas Tech came to Norman on Nov. 22, the Sooners were looking to declare that they were still contenders, both in the Big 12 and on a national level. The Red Raiders entered the contest with an unblemished 10-0 record, while the Sooners were No. 5 and sat at 9-1 overall.

And, boy, did the Sooners ever make a statement.

By halftime, OU had stormed to a 42-7 lead. Before the break, “Jump Around” was already blaring through the stadium, with the Sooner faithful moving along with the music.

The final score was 65-21 in favor of the Sooners, and the party inside Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium continued.

Stephen Carter poses with former OU quarterback Jason White after the Sooners defeated Texas Tech on Nov. 22, 2008

The win catapulted the Sooners back into the national championship picture and raised quarterback Sam Bradford's Heisman stock. With the victory, OU found itself in a three-way tie atop the Big 12 South with just one week left in the regular season.

The Sooners went on to defeat Oklahoma State the next week and played in the Big 12 Championship game due to a tiebreaker. After beating Missouri in the conference title contest, OU secured a spot in the BCS National Championship Game.

Stephen Carter was one of 85,646 fans at Owen Field that night the Sooners dismantled Tech. The game, which was his first OU one to attend, left him with life-long memories.

Carter, who first deployed to Afghanistan in March 2008 with the 101st ABN 1-506 Battalion, decided to take his rest and recuperation trip home from the infantry in the fall of that year.

He had told his dad, Russell, that he would like to attend a football game while back in Oklahoma, so his dad reached out the university and ended up interacting with Matt McMillen, the football program's director of operations. Stephen and Russell were given sideline passes, complete with a personal tour of the Switzer Center and head coach Bob Stoops' office.

The Carters drove to Norman from their home in Tulsa the morning of the game, arriving just in time for the second half of ESPN's College Gameday and seeing analyst Lee Corso don the OU mascot headgear while picking the Sooners to win. After that, the duo walked around campus and later watched the team arrive.

"Seeing everybody, all the players and everything, jumping around and getting crazy, that was just really cool to be down there and to be able to party with them. It was just a big deal."
— Stephen Carter

“It was just kind of one of those 'we want to make the best out of everything' (situations), so I was that crazy person that wanted to be an hour early to everything just to make sure I had the best spot to see everything because I didn't know when it was ever going to happen again,” Stephen explains.

Most of the day is still a blur and like a dream that he would have never thought possible, Stephen says.

“It was a dream come true,” Stephen shares of attending the game. “And, even going back through it, if I didn't have pictures or stuff, I wouldn't believe that it actually happened. It's just one of those, 'I couldn't even imagine that ever happening' (situations), and it happened. It was just really surreal. Even now, it's kind of fuzzy if you will, but I still remember it.”

Stephen recalls the energy in the stadium that night, beginning in the pregame and running throughout the game. He also remembers when “Jump Around” first started playing over the speakers right before the end of the second quarter.

“Ever since then, it was very iconic, that was really something that got related to (the game),” Stephen says. “Seeing everybody, all the players and everything, jumping around and getting crazy, that was just really cool to be down there and to be able to party with them. It was just a big deal.”

Stephen admits that he joined in with the jumping because it was hard to not get into.

“Regardless of if it makes you look silly or feel silly, you get into it,” Stephen says. “If you've got all these guys getting into it, you might as well get into it. You're down on the sideline, you better get into it with them. The energy was great. It was just great, very spontaneous and just excellent.”

While in Afghanistan, Stephen did his best to keep up with the Sooners. Being in an area without Internet access, he depended on his dad to give updates whenever they got to speak. As the time drew closer for his visit to Oklahoma, Stephen started to realize how big the game could be.

"It was the greatest moment of my life really, and I got to share that with my dad. I made it home alive, and I got to see one of the greatest games ever played."
— Stephen Carter

He took a piece of the game back with him to Afghanistan in the form of a Sports Illustrated magazine. It got torn up being carried around with his gear, but since that game was one of the “happiest moments” of his life, he has kept it with him and plans to never throw it away.

While the game will always stick with Stephen, the importance of that night runs much deeper than just the final score. Stephen says his deployment was hard, due in part to an injury he suffered early in October. Thus, getting to visit home was a big deal. On top of that, he and his dad had just recently rekindled their relationship, and the trip to the OU/Texas Tech game provided a bonding opportunity for them.

“It was my first deployment. I was in the infantry, so I knew what was going to be required of me, but until you get over there, you really don't know,” Stephen explains. “To come home from everything that I've dealt with and my father being able to do this for me, it's just a big deal. The reason why I don't brag about it (having sideline passes) to people is because people don't understand, they won't understand because there's so much more surrounding this game than just the game. Yeah, the game was great, but it was everything that was around this game that made it so memorable for me.”

Sure, Sooner fans will always remember the “Jump Around” game and the night OU blew out Texas Tech, but for Stephen, it was also about so much more.

“It was a moment with my dad,” Stephen shares. “It was the greatest moment of my life really, and I got to share that with my dad. I made it home alive, and I got to see one of the greatest games ever played.”

University of Oklahoma Athletics

I WAS HERE WHEN: The Sooners Jumped Around

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