OU Softball: How Oklahoma Fans Reflect the Team's Fiery Passion
OKLAHOMA CITY — It’s no secret how passionate Oklahoma’s fanbase is as a whole. The Sooner faithful has taken over the softball community during the rise of OU’s diamond dynasty and the results are evident.
Sooner Nation has packed out Marita Hynes Field since its opening in 1998, and the added outfield bleachers simply aren’t enough anymore. Oklahoma has sold out every home game since 2019, and the line to join the season ticket list is almost as long as the line to get an autograph after the games. The overwhelming influx of support prompted Oklahoma’s campaign to build a brand new stadium that will be one of the best in the country. Love's Field is set to open in 2024.
"They appreciate athleticism, they appreciate hard work, they appreciate great plays — they're cheering when we're doing our warmups, which I've never heard before," head coach Patty Gasso said ahead of the team’s home regional series. "They're into everything. They're paying attention to everything."
Fans flock from everywhere to see the No. 1 seed in the 2023 Women’s College World Series. In Norman, where Gasso’s team hosted a regional, supporters of the team formed massive lines outside the stadium hoping to get a peak at the defending back-to-back National Champions. When the team played Texas in April at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex, a record 8,930 fans showed up to pack the stadium.
And when they play a road game, crowds of followers flock to them like rock stars.
Simply put, the softball community has never seen anything like this before.
"I think when I first started they were learning the game and now I think they understand it," Gasso said. "It's hitting the radio waves, whereas I couldn't even get asked to go on the radio and now radio shows are dedicated to softball, which is blowing my mind. We couldn't even get a sniff back in the day. It's taken by storm, but I think our fans take it by storm."
With the developing prominence of the transfer portal across all college sports, newcomers are in-and-out all the time. For players transferring in, like Oklahoma’s Alex Storako, it’s hard to fully describe the Sooners’ fan base until you’re immersed in it. Storako, who made her way to Norman from Michigan, has seen firsthand just how special the full-court support truly is.
“Oklahoma, as I was getting recruited here even, just seeing that almost different world we have with how our fans follow us and the details that are known and just the excitement that's around us kind of 365,” Storako said. “It's really fun to kind of be able to outwardly express that kind of passion and excitement and emotion because you see that within us and in our team and how we play.
"It's cool to see it kind of reciprocated. Playing last weekend at Marita Hynes and hearing how loud and passionate our fans were, it was kind of a mirror of how we were in the dugout and on the field in every play.”
With Jordy Bahl’s swag, Jayda Coleman’s fire and Kenzie Hansen’s constant heroics, Oklahoma’s softball squad is loaded with different personalities and qualities. They showcase those unique personal aspects through their celebrations and passion on the field — and that’s what makes Oklahoma softball so special. It’s no wonder Storako made the comparison between the team in the dugout and the fans in the stands, as they really do reflect each other.
Gasso has learned how to embrace every character on her team over the years and allow overwhelming spirit to shine through the team’s play.
“I think that's another big thing that's going to grow the game is when you have fans that can buy into your program and buy into the players that are representing that kind of school,” Storako said. “When you have that, and you have softball on the TV all day, that's so exciting for me.
"Because I feel like even in my college career, in the past five years, the difference from my freshman year till now is 0-to-100. So it's been really cool to be a big part of the growth and growing step in the game, which is really, really fun.”
The support of Oklahoma's diehards will surely be on display over the next two weeks, as the Sooners embark Friday on another World Series journey in Oklahoma City.
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