Opinion: It’s time to truly be “Loyal and True”

There’s a line in the Oklahoma State Alma Mater that’s sang at the end of every football victory that’s been on my mind the past few days.

“Loyal and True.”

Sure, it’s intended to mean loyal to Oklahoma State. Loyal to the University that millions of people have graduated from.

But it’s more than that.

It’s a loyalty to those we spend our Saturdays with both in person and in fandom.

What it isn’t and shouldn’t be is just standing alongside Oklahoma State athletes when they score a touchdown or finish a game or match with the winning score.

It means loyal and true once you leave Stillwater. It means loyal and true even after you put your orange in the drawer. It means loyal and true when someone you say you cheer for and stand with says there is injustice in the world. It means loyal and true even when you can’t understand their experiences, can’t comprehend their fear. It means loyal and true when you don’t like what they’re saying to you, when it’s inconvenient, when it’s not how you hoped to spend your day.

It means reading every word of what Amen Ogbongbemiga wrote and posted to his Twitter account and taking every single letter to heart.

It means not ignoring Chuba Hubbard now, then pretending like you care about him when the season starts or when his name is called in the 2021 NFL Draft.

It means following Coach Boynton’s lead when he offers advice on how we can all change, all be better, and not just when he lands a five-star recruit.

It means caring more about Justice Hill’s thoughts on this situation than you do about his success in the NFL.

If the only time you can care about these men is when they’re doing something for you, then you don’t really care about them at all.

So often in life, many of us feel that our cares and concerns go unheard. We have all felt marginalized. Yet when the opportunity to listen to someone else’s rises up, we forget and cast their words aside.

This is an opportunity. A real one where the words aren’t being said, they’re being screamed, cried out, and thrown in your face. To claim you didn’t hear them now means you chose not to listen.

So the next time the Oklahoma State football team leaves the field with a “W” and us fans lock arms together, begin to sway, and sing the song, maybe think beyond the field. Beyond the stadium and beyond the orange.

Ever You’ll Find Us. Loyal and True.