As Oklahoma players celebrated their 23-21 win over Alabama football on Saturday, some familiar songs drifted out of the locker room. While reporters waited to speak with Sooner head coach Brent Venables, Alabama’s “Dixieland Delight” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” sounded loudly through the door.

“I’m going to brag on our guys,” Venables said a few minutes later. “They deserve it. It’s a hard fight. They put a lot into this opportunity, and we’ve created vision for that. So I gotta follow through. I’m like ‘Hey man, this is what victory looks like, this is how we’re gonna do it. And I want to see you guys dancing, carrying on, just having some joy in the moment.’

“I think it’s too easy to go on to the next one and not have an appreciation for this moment and this world. M

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