Oklahoma State has had a rough season driven primarily by embarrassing blowout losses. After firing long time head coach Mike Gundy in September, the putrid play has only persisted. However, Cowboy fans have maintained a distinct level of optimism that few fan bases can replicate. Homecoming against Cincinnati reached its eye-popping peak.
Festivities began the night before with the traditional Walk Around, which drew over 80,000 fans on the streets to celebrate blocks of themed house decorations by fraternities and sororities. The Sea of Orange Parade followed the morning after, and the energy around town felt worthy of an undefeated team. The Bearcats cruised into Stillwater riding a 5 game winning streak, and few folks in the packed Boone Pickens Stadium anticipated an upset by the home team. While Oklahoma State put up quite a fight, Cincinnati powered through the Cowboys led by 4 touchdowns from QB Brendan Sorsby.
The top story, however, came from one section of fans. One week earlier as fans drained from the stadium during Oklahoma State’s home loss to Houston, a singular fan entered the vacant section 231 and removed his shirt on a bet. This inspired more of the remaining crowd to join the shirtless crew, which caught the attention the college football world. On this homecoming weekend, the quickly famous half-naked section grew followed by an equally boisterous bunch of banana costume wearers in a nearby section. By game’s end, the bananas joined section 231 and ripped off their peels in support. As the scoreboard grew more bleak for the Cowboys, the support in section 231 continued to swell. Cheering and singing, they made it seem as through their team had the lead. The phenomenon had such an effect that other losing teams across the nation began to form copycat sections to keep spirits up during dismal seasons. The fanaticism in Stillwater became contagious – another special attribute of college football that puts this sport on an elite tier.
