I never thought I’d say that, but there it is.  For the longest time, my impression of Oklahoma State football is that the only thing they care about is beating Oklahoma.  If they go 1-10, they’re happy as long as that 1 is Oklahoma.  In fact, a few years ago, after Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma, I overheard a Cowboys fan at a wedding say “At least we knocked Oklahoma out of the national title game.”  You stay classy, Stillwater!

Things seem to be changing up the highway, though.  Or maybe the obnoxious vocal side is getting drowned out by the more level-headed.  Either way, I like what I’m seeing.  In the run up to the Bedlam game, an OSU player was shown on TV lamenting how Oklahoma State is often treated as a “step-child” to the state’s big football powerhouse, and that they (Oklahoma State) are aiming to be more than that.  And they appear to be succeeding.  They’ve done exceptionally well this year, and good on ’em for that.

The second good sign is the closing two paragraphs from this article:

“The good thing,” Oklahoma State defensive back Andre Sexton said, “is that the Big 12 South is going to be represented well. I think we’ll have a team in the [national] championship game, and whichever team it is, they will be good.

“I’ll cheer for either one of them. Everyone should.”

Rather than cheering against OU out of spite (and I’ll confess I’m guilty of the reverse on occasion), he comports himself in a very sportman-like manner.  And he’s right.  The Big 12 South, or at least most of it, has been well represented in Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, and, yes, Oklahoma State.  While painfully aware that OU fans aren’t free from being spiteful (I sit by some of those week after week each fall), it’s good to see the non-spiteful, aiming-for-something-bigger-than-a-Bedlam-win contingent getting louder and more visible.  If we can silence the annoying on our side a bit more, Bedlam will be a lot more enoyable all around. 🙂