"Is this Heaven?"

When I was in Sunday School before fifth grade - I'm not sure when exactly, but know it was before confirmation classes started - our class was asked to draw what we thought heaven would be like. Some of us drew a picture of our family in a big house. Others drew streets with gold bricks. And one boy drew a picture of a really large pizza. I don't remember what I drew, but I know now my picture would be vastly different today than whatever it was then.

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Every Saturday, except one, I will make a point to be in front of a television for about four hours no matter what I'm doing. When I lived in DC, that meant driving to Mackey's in Crystal City, Virginia (a part of Arlington,) and joining fellow alumni from the University of Oklahoma in watching the Sooners play. In Chicago, it's a plethora of options because I live so far from the alumni association's locale. Once last year, because of the campaign, I watched the game on ESPN360 in the campaign office before a tele-town hall conference with voters. But I rarely, if ever, miss a Sooners game.

There are a rare exceptions where I have not been able to watch Oklahoma play online or on television. The first was in 2004 when I was in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, running a phone bank for a campaign, where no television in miles carried the game. The second was the week after watching the Kansas game on ESPN360 last year when the Kansas State game wasn't online while I sat in the office running another town hall conference. The fourth was while I was in Liberia, but this is a technicality because my dad recorded the game and I watched the game after my return (and after I watched the Bedlam Series against Oklahoma State.) But the last time was the most magical one.

Last weekend, instead of going to the bar in Chicago to watch the Pay-Per-View game, instead of going online in hopes of catching it, I drove to Norman and went to the game. For the first time since I was a college student I handed my ticket to a gate official and walked into Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (technically, it is the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, but most of my time in school it was just OMU. From now on I'm just calling it Owen Field, which is the playing field's name.)

This was the most amazing experience I could remember. The lights, the sounds, the upgrades! Never have I seen so many students spoiled over the toys they get to enjoy now versus what I had just six short years ago. The upper deck is complete. The north scoreboard is not a color screen (it was a yellow-light LED display before and just a clock with the score when I was a freshman.) The south scoreboard, which is the main one, now is one large HD television - and how amazing of a television!

But what doesn't change is the tradition. The band still performs the same opening rituals; the intro to Oklahoma! (the state song) their rendition of You're a Grand Old Flag, the band outlining OU on the field, the national anthem. The fans still energize with the drum major bending backwards to where his British Guard-like hat barely grazes the grass as he marches from one end zone to the next. The team's intro video still electrify the entire city before the team takes the field, which is never complete without James Garner proclaiming "This is Oklahoma Football!" at the end of the video as he has done for years now (my favorite part, really.) And for me, this is what I wanted more than anything.

Watching the game on television gives me the perfect view almost every time. I can see the replay without worry and can have a beer during the game, which is not possible when you are at most college football games. But I don't get the pregame traditions. I don't get to set with 85,000 of my closest friends as we scream bloody murder at the opponent's offense.

Yes, it is always perfect weather when you're watching the game inside, and yes it saves a lot of money. But you can never experience the thrill of a game like you do when you are sitting in the stands staring at Owen Field, hoping your quarterback will make the next big play or screaming your face beet red to help the defense stop the drive on Fourth and Inches. And for me, that was what had been missing since my last game at Owen Field in 2003. If this was my heaven, I'd take it and never look back.

I just hope it isn't another six years before I go back.