Open House shows what Love's Field means to OU, softball
A lot of the conversations about OU and the Southeastern Conference have been about what the SEC is going to add to OU.
That goes without saying. But, obviously, it needs to be a two-way street. OU has to create its own value to the conference.
It didn’t take long for SEC commissioner Greg Sankey to give the shoutout to OU softball. More specifically? Love’s Field.
“If you look at facilities as you drive around, you see the softball stadium that’s been built,” Sankey said. “I think that sets a new standard in some ways.”
And OU welcomed its fans to Love’s Field on Monday evening. An open house of sorts for two hours to give fans a glimpse of what the present and future is like for OU softball. What home feels like.
Even if maybe the SEC is not giving head coach Patty Gasso the warmest of receptions just yet.
“I looked at my phone this morning to see how many ‘Welcome to the SEC’ texts I got and it was a big fat zero,” Gasso joked Monday. “All my friends are right here. I’m good.”
You walk in and see all the national championship trophies. Check out the recruiting lounge and then take the elevator down to ground level.
Welcome to the hype tunnel leading to the dugout, as has been promoted by several of OU transfer additions in their photoshoots.
Fans were able to see the locker rooms and the player lounge and training area and team meeting section. Historians loved seeing OU honoring its history with the softball All-American wall. And yes, plenty of room is there to add more and more names.
It was rough on all involved to have it open March 1. That’s not the case now. OU softball knows Love’s Field is home.
“You drive by it every day. You see it and you’re like, ‘That’s our home.’ But it really took us a long time to feel it as our home,” said Gasso when asked by SoonerScoop in May. “Because we’re still doing things at Marita Hynes, getting on a bus, shuttling over, taking BP, shuttling back to Marita, changing into our uniform, shuttling back to Love’s, game is over, shuttling back to Marita.
“It’s almost comical how we’re having to go back and forth but it is what it is and we’re going to do what we have to do until they’re ready for us. It was an inconvenience. There were times where I was like, ‘Let’s just go back and play at Marita.’ But we’re passed that now and I think they’ve gotten really comfortable with the crowd now.”
Scoop members sound off
It was open to the public, and SoonerScoop members shared their thoughts on what they were able to see.
“Unbelievable facility. OU has a nicer softball facility than most D1 football teams.”
“Literally brought tears to my eyes seeing the insides of that place today. Unreal!”
“As far as I’m concerned, this new facility is appropriate for such a dominant team and the GOAT coach. This team is same as the Sooner football squads under Wilkinson, or the mid-70’s squads under The King, or some of the men’s or women’s dominant gymnastics teams. This is their due. Well-deserved and the envy of the collegiate softball world.”
A full thread of readers chiming in after getting to see behind the scenes for the first time.
