Tag: OU

The old Double-Reverse Jinx does it again

OU receiver Isaiah Sategna races toward goal line in victory over LSU.


When OU wide receiver Isaiah Sategna blew past LSU defensive backs in busted coverage last week to catch a game-sealing 58-yard TD pass, I missed the moment.

I could say that I was out back on our patio grilling or answering an unexpected knock at the door, but it would not be true.

The truth is that because it was late in a really tight game and I was invested in the outcome as someone who has bought into OU, I found something else to do at that moment.

Why?

Well, turning my back on a close game in which I have a rooting interest goes back many decades. I’m not even sure what to call it. Lack of courage? Can’t face reality?

Call it what you will, but I prefer to call it my double-reverse jinx.

As a pre-teen in the early 1960s, the Arkansas Razorbacks were my team. I lived and died with the Hogs. In those days, you mostly had only radio broadcasts on which to follow college football games.

So, when the Hogs were playing on an autumn afternoon I was tuned in — until I wasn’t. I specifically remember, when, in the second half of a really close game with the Razorbacks in a precarious position, I abandoned the radio, ran out into the back yard and started throwing a football around.

A few minutes later, I went back in and caught a couple minutes of the broadcast, but the outcome was still pending. I went back outside.

When the Hogs won that game with me not listening, I decided that all their success hinged on me not ever listening again when the outcome was on the line. Somehow, I controlled their fate.

My double-reverse jinx helped the Hogs have a great decade of success in the ’60s.

Fast forward to the late ’80s when I worked on the sports desk as a copy editor at The Daily Oklahoman. That meant that my daily working hours were from roughly 3-4 pm until midnight or 1 am.

Those working hours afforded the opportunity to drive out to the then-new Remington Park race track in the early afternoon on almost a daily basis to watch and wager on the horse races.

You know where this is going.

Yep, if I had $2 on a horse and it was among the leaders as they came off the final turn and into the stretch, I would turn my back and only listen to the track announcer’s call. One afternoon, I had maybe $5 on a horse and spent the entire race in the men’s room, safe from ruining the outcome by actually watching my horse.

I took a lot of grief from my newsroom colleagues for not being able to watch the outcome of races on which I had wagered. But that’s how I rolled.

Fast forward to 2025. It’s still how I roll when watching the Sooners, the Razorbacks, even the Thunder. When the game gets tough and the outcome precarious, I bail on the game.

And then it happens. Shai Gilgious-Alexander hits a game clinching 3. Isaiah Sategna makes a game winning catch.

The old double-reverse jinx does it again.

BONUS CONTENT: Don Mecoy, a friend and past contributor to BlogOKC, shared some of his own experience in not jinxing his favorite teams:

“Super Bowl V. Cowboys-Colts. I got on my bike during the game and rode and rode. Didn’t help.

“National Championship game in 2000. Sat in the same spot on the couch throughout the first and second half. Really had to pee by the end of the game. And I was hungry too. Literally didn’t get up once.”

Thanks for this perspective, Don. I am not alone!

Billy Carter and his 15 minutes of fame

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A six-pack of Billy Beer from 1977-’78

For a brief, shining moment back in 1977, the First Brother, Billy Carter, stole the spotlight from his brother, the President of the United States, Jimmy Carter.

While Jimmy Carter was a well educated, military veteran and successful peanut farmer, brother Billy was a good ole boy whose main avocation seemed to be drinking beer.

So, what happened?

A company called Falls City Brewing launched Billy Beer in 1977, and it took the nation by storm.

Billy Beer and brother Billy instantly gained the sort of notoriety that a Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce romance generated in 2023 (and continues today). There were volumes of newspaper articles about the beer and Billy.

Newsweek magazine even devoted a cover story to Billy and his beer. Songs were written about Billy Beer (I’m not kidding, read the story from a publication called Rate Your Music).

Despite all the hoopla surrounding Billy Beer, the brand folded up like a crushed can just one year later in 1978.  Billy Carter died in September 1978 of pancreatic cancer.

Turns out, folks didn’t like the taste of Billy Beer, despite Billy’s quotes printed on the cans themselves about the quality of his brew.

“I had this beer brewed up just for me. I think it’s the best I ever tasted. And I’ve tasted a lot. I think you’ll like it, too.” — Billy Carter

According to an article from the 1977 Milwaukee Journal, Billy admitted that he actually drank Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Here’s a quote from a publication called Collectors Weekly:

“There were MILLIONS of cases sold by 4 different breweries in the late 1970s. One estimate of the number of Billy Beer cans made is 2 BILLION. As a result, it is worth about 25 cents at most and then only if it is in very good shape, and if you can find a collector who actually needs one.”

A check on Billy Beer prices on eBay shows you can by an unopened (empty) six pack for a range from about $10 to $30.  So, Billy’s brew hasn’t appreciated much in value over time.

Sidenote: A North Carolina brewery has begun brewing a Billy Beer that plays off the name and look of the can, but has nothing to do with the brew from the 1970s.

As for me, I never tasted a Billy brew. I’m pretty sure its distribution didn’t reach Arkansas or Texas, although I could be mistaken. A friend of mine who lives in Mena, Ark., had an unopened six pack stashed on a shelf in the late ’70s for what I assume was investment purpose.

But I did come across a couple of guys on Youtube who did a Billy Beer taste test in modern days. Watch for yourself:

So, why am I writing about Billy Beer in 2024?

Well, OKC’s Sundance Brewing recently debuted a beer called “Switzer Light Lager.” It’s named after former OU football coach Barry Switzer, himself something of a good ole boy from Arkansas as well as one of the best football coaches in recorded history.

Tailgating may never be the same before OU games if Switzer beer has longevity. It has some promise, because it’s a craft beer brewed locally, and in Oklahoma Barry Switzer is still the king.

One other note. According to an article in the Norman Transcript, profits from Switzer beer will go to support the Ground Zero Training Center for search and rescue dogs.

From the Transcript:

“Ground Zero Emergency Training Center is a Non-Profit Organization in Oklahoma specializing in exceptionally trained urban search and rescue canines, educational opportunities, and a state-of-the-industry facility in which to hone their technical skills. Ground Zero was founded by Oklahomans, Barry & Becky Switzer in 2017 to meet the needs of a critical shortage in search-and-rescue canines.”

It sounds like a worthy cause. Now, we just have to crack open a cold Switzer Light Lager and determine if it’s a worthy brew or just another Billy Beer.

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