Opinion: The 12 Year Transformation

12 years ago, I was probably around 11 and was obviously a big Oklahoma State fan because of one sport.

No it's not football, for those of you who came around 2010, it was basketball, as it is with a large majority of Poke fans.

When I was a kid at that time, Cowboy Basketball was the king of all sports at OSU and football was just mediocre with that rusty Lewis Field. No Mike Gundy or Boone Pickens Stadium (yet). Tickets to go to a basketball game were sometimes impossible to grab and there never was an empty seat inside Gallagher-Iba Arena, if there was it was rare. Getting tickets was such a difficult task, sometimes I would be lucky to get to at least one and it would always be anon-conference game during the winter break. However, I could just walk into a football game for a decent price and the most expensive ticket price would be around $80 or $100.

Okay...except Bedlam, which was probably the only time it was full.

During basketball season, it was an every night task to sit and eat dinner as a family then watch Cowboy Basketball on TV after dinner. One of my favorite moments was watching John Lucas III make the winning shot to head to the Final Four. Let's not forget, the man who changed it all, Eddie Sutton. Growing up, I told myself I will come to OSU because of Cowboy basketball.

Then 12 years later, everything I thought changed.

It's 2016, a basketball game was going on one night recently and instead of 13,000-plus people inside there were only about 4,000 inside, eating of what is left of the historic Gallagher-Iba Arena soul. Tickets were less than $20 per person, but the arena was still not full. Meanwhile a new stadium next door as football takes over the throne, Boone Pickens Stadium and Cowboy Football. Ever since Coach Ford took over, Cowboy Football has been on the rise with sellout games, a lot of $$$, a Big 12 Champions trophy and appearances in big-time bowl games like the Fiesta, Cotton and Sugar Bowl - but only winning one.

Now, the first thing you can think of when you hear Oklahoma State is football, no longer a basketball school. The transition from an all-basketball school to a football school is complete. Change needs to be made to put Oklahoma State back to contention instead of misery.