Yesterday, June 22, the Oklahoma Sooners celebrated their triumphant NCAA College Baseball World Series win the best way possible— with a little Toby Keith.
Snagging their first national title in over 30 years, and just their third overall, Oklahoma claimed a victorious battle against North Carolina, taking the win in Game three, 13-2. Finishing off 11th in the SEC regular season, OU impressively came back from four consecutive disappointing seasons for fans with a remarkable turnaround, now cementing their 2026 team with a lasting legacy in the school’s history.
Of course, in attendance was Toby Keith’s wife, Tricia Keith, keeping on the legacy of the country music legend’s affinity for the Sooners. Both she and Keith’s daughter cheered from the stands as they watched the monumental win, one that the Oklahoma native had long been waiting for.
In a post-game interview, she reflected on how Keith would’ve reacted if he were there to witness, saying, “My husband would be down here, he’d be in the locker room, he’d be shaking the champagne with everybody else. He wouldn’t miss a beat with that.” As a Norman, Oklahoma native, the “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” singer, who passed away just two years ago on February 5, 2024, after battling stomach cancer, was a lifelong fan of OU sports.
Despite not attending college, he’d been supporting the Sooners since he was a kid, with Tricia sharing, “He sold Cokes in the stadium at OU when he was 13 years old and sold them ’til half time, where he could go up and watch the second half without having to work.” She added that the long-awaited win was something he had always dreamed of, and every other time the team had gotten this far in the championship, he continually had to miss out on the games: “He knew it was gonna come eventually. He would love this.”
As Keith watched down on the Omaha, Nebraska diamond from heaven, the team and his family in attendance were sure to still keep his spirit alive in the stadium. Following their first of three-game wins of the night, Keith’s 1999 hit, “How Do You Like Me Now?!” played across the field’s loudspeakers in celebration, with both his wife and daughter seen proudly singing along.
When asked about hearing the song during the championship, Tricia responded with one of the truest statements of the night, saying, “It’s one of the best songs freaking out there.” Since his passing, another Keith song has become a newly adapted tradition for the Sooner football team as well.
Ahead of the fourth quarter at every home game, they shout out “big dog daddy” by playing “Courtesy Of The Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” alongside a firework show, and the Sooner Schooner wagon being pulled across the field by two white ponies.
Now I’m not one to make alliances when it comes to SEC sports, but I’ve got to say this is a pretty d*mn convincing way to make me want to become an Oklahoma fan.