Sooner Spirit: The Rise of the Most Fanatical Fandom in College Sports

They call it Sooner Nation because “fanbase” doesn’t even begin to cover it.On any given Saturday in the fall, eighty thousand football fans pack the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium yelling “Boomer Sooner.” In the spring, they rush into Love’s Field softball complex to cheer on back-to-back national champions. Since the University of Oklahoma was founded in 1890, athletics have been an integral part of the institution – and so have the fans. Brimming with humor and little-known facts, Sooner Spirit highlights those who shaped Sooner culture, from the coaches and athletes who carry the hopes of a state on their shoulders, the students who give old traditions new life every Saturday, the tailgates that turn strangers into family, the RUF/NEKS and Lil’ Sis, the Pride of Oklahoma marching band, to the superfans that become legends. Together, they represent generations of Oklahomans who built an identity around athletic excellence and regional pride and show the world what it means to be a fan. In this vivid blend of cultural reportage, archival dives, and electric game‑day drama, Eddie Malone immerses himself in the history of University of Oklahoma sports and its supporters without shying away from the more controversial aspects of Sooner fandom – the university’s history of segregation, the mascot controversies, and how Native fans contend with the school’s iconography. But Sooner Spirit ultimately tells a larger story of audacious achievement and historic, record-breaking victories. From football to softball and more, Malone chronicles how this extraordinary fandom came to be, and what it reveals about the state, the university, and the fans themselves.   Read more