Remember the Sooner State Games? They’re Still Going Strong

I know we're a whole season past the holidays, but I'm just now getting around to it while spring cleaning. Christmas came and went, and my mom sent a box of my own stuff home with me. She told me, “You probably want this stuff,” which is code for "I’m done storing this for you," and I just now finally went through it.

Inside was a small time capsule from my childhood. My old Pet Monster doll. A sign we grabbed out of a ditch near the Great Salt Plains, because when you grow up in Oklahoma, roadside “trash” is like treasure. A few art projects I made in elementary school, and underneath it all, a medal from the Sooner State Games.

Talk about a blast from the past.

Back then, the Sooner State Games were the Oklahoma Olympics. Opening ceremonies. Crowds in folding chairs. Parents with camcorders the size of microwaves. It was organized chaos in the best possible way.

Holding that medal again made me curious. Are those games even still around?

Turns out, yes, but they've rebranded them.

In 2015, organizers renamed the event to the Oklahoma State Games... but that's the slang name. That'll only bring up search results for OSU Athletics. Technically, they are the State Games of Oklahoma. Same concept, different name, a few different sports. I don’t know if it polls better in marketing meetings, but the goals are still the same.

The games are still held across Oklahoma each year, typically kicking off in May and stretching into early summer. It’s a statewide amateur competition, open to athletes of all ages and skill levels. You’ll still find the traditional staples like track and field, swimming, and golf. But the lineup has evolved a little with the times.

Pickleball is now an official state games sport, which makes sense considering the popularity, especially among the older crowds... Context, the Oklahoma State Games include events for seniors now. There’s also dragon boat racing, which is essentially Oklahoma’s version of rowing crew. Long boats, synchronized paddling, teams working in rhythm on the water. Not exactly what you picture when you think prairie state, but when you consider we are THE state of rivers, that makes sense too.

And then there’s baseball.

Baseball is the anchor. The big one. Teams from all over the state roll into OKC each year for Oklahoma’s largest tournament. Parking lots full of folding chairs and coolers. Hotels booked up. Not just a weekend event, a season marker.

Looking back and ahead at the same time, I'm not surprised the games still go on. I'm surprised they're not more popular. I guess you have to either be an athlete or a parent of an athlete to be in the know of these games. It was probably the same back then. I suppose here's a big good luck to this years Oklahoma State Games athletes. I hope they get a medal that they'll inevitably toss into a box to find again thirty years from now.

button href="https://z94.com/author/kelso/" title="SEE MORE FROM KELSO" align="center" target="_blank"]