It's been just one day at the Women's College World Series, and losers are already trying to blame the Oklahoma City crowd.
The No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners needed a walk-off three-run home run from Ella Parker to get past the No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers on Thursday in their first game of the WCWS at Devon Park. After the game, as if it's a nervous tick from victim coaches of OU in OKC, Tennessee coach Karen Weekly mentioned the crowd that apparently helped propel Parker's ball over the fence.
At the end of her postgame press conference, Weekly was asked what made the four-time defending national champions Sooners so good beyond just talent.
"Well, there’s a lot of talent out there," Weekly said. "They have some of the absolute best players in the country. Patty Gasso is a phenomenal coach. You don’t win that many national championships without being an exceptional coach.
"And you also have 9,900 people on your side. It’s an environment that you have to fight through, but I thought our kids did a really good job of that today."
A classic Karen.
Weekly contradicted herself, though. Her Vols beat OU in a three-game series earlier this season at Love's Field, the Sooners' actual home stadium. So maybe the crowd wasn't too big, but the moment.
She also said this earlier in her press conference, saying the crowd didn't matter but also proving this was an excuse they made even before the first pitch: "I’m really proud how they showed up here. They weren’t fazed. The environment didn’t faze them. They knew — I don’t know how many people this place holds, 10,000 — that there were going to be 9,900 against them. That didn’t bother them at all."
It seems OU was just better in a clutch situation. However, I'd be thinking of excuses too if I decided to pitch to an All-American that already had one homer on the day with a base open and two outs.
Tennessee coach Karen Weekly gives tired crowd excuse after loss
The lights get too bright and the crowd grows too big for those who lose to OU in the WCWS. National championships should apparently be played in environments with less people on smaller stages.
Obviously having a championship in the same location creates dynasties. I mean, just look at the college baseball dynasty Nebraska has with all zero national titles while playing the Men's College World Series down the road in Omaha.
It's worth noting that Oklahoma State is also down the road from OKC, but has never won a national championship in softball even after making the WCWS five years in a row.
Texas coach Mike White has infamously used this sorry excuse and fans of losing teams surely always do too. It even started before teams got to OKC this time.
This excuse apparently isn't going away, especially as the Sooners continue to rule the sport. It's not that Patty Gasso is the greatest coach in the sport's history or that OU has more talent. It's the people sitting in the stands wearing the same color.
Sooner Nation is tired of this excuse. You don't want to play the Sooners in OKC? Then beat them before they get there. You don't want fans celebrating a walk-off? Then don't pitch to an All-American in a clutch situation. Basically, get better and you won't need an excuse.
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