University of Oklahoma Sooners Greatest Games

This is a magnificent DVD release of 5 of the greatest games in Oklahoma Sooners history. I purchased it because, albeit I am not a Sooners fan, my interest in college football and other sports of the past is generally of an aesthetic variety (which means that my interest regards how it was presented on television). What I mean is: whereas now there are all kinds of graphics and visual clutter on the screen in today's 500-channel HD universe, back at the time these games were played and broadcast, only the pertinent graphics appeared on the screen, and only when needed (score graphic, down and distance, starting lineups, etc.). I am using as an example the fourth disc in this release, that of the Red River Rivalry vs. Texas @ the Cotton Bowl in Dallas in 1987. The part of it that I would like to spotlight is those intervals (5 in total) where Jim Nantz updated other games (and whereas Jim's stock-in-trade now is the NFL and golf, back in 1987 he was the college gridiron studio presenter for CBS). I rented this 4th disc from Netflix to try out the set. At the 36:12 mark of this disc, game announcer Brent Musburger threw it to Jim @ Studio 43 of the CBS Broadcast Center in New York for an update. What's interesting about this release as compared to Warner Bros.' Chicago Bears 12-game NFL release is that, while ordinarily such moments would be excised from the NFL releases, this A&E Sooners release kept that gamebreak, and several more (and, very delightfully, at two of those intervals, I actually saw Jim in the NYC studio going over the scores of other games). To tell you the truth, such is one of the major reasons why I purchased this release: because the gamebreaks on this Sooners release added value that was missing in the Bears release (don't get me wrong: while the Bears NFL release was a great one, as I said in my review of that one, the lack of gamebreaks left something to be desired there, at least in my opinion). Another excellent feature of this game is that the sponsor bumper and full opening were kept as well (the sponsor bumper featured renowned CBS Sports announcer Don Robertson).The Red River Rivalry game vs. Texas is just one of the games in this release, though. The others consist of three Orange Bowls that Oklahoma was in ('76, '86, and '87, with Michigan, PSU, and Arkansas, respectively, and one more 1987 regular season game, the "Game of the Century II" vs. Nebraska).There is only one bonus, which I have not seen: it's a vintage coaches' show with Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer; the full title of it was "Sooner Illustrated Presents: The Best of the Switzer Show." This feature is located on the 1976 Orange Bowl disc.All in all, as I explained earlier, the gamebreaks on the Texas game disc, I strongly believe, are one of the major reasons to purchase this release (that and the sponsor bumper from Don Robertson). You might purchase it for other reasons, but this, I think, is a great rationale for the purchase of this release.

Each game dvd has a chapter at the start of each quarter & sometimes if any pregame/postgame coverage.1976 OB- 134 minutes long. An additional 35 minute video called "Sooner Illustrated's The best of the Switzer Shows is included on the dvd. The single sold dvd of this game has more related to this game than what was provided in the dvd set. There is additional 14 minutes of pregame, 25 minutes of halftime & 28 minute highlight film included in the singly sold dvd. The singly sold dvd does not have the "Best of Switzer Shows" video. Both dvd versions of the game have the best color, picture & sound I've seen of this game.1986 OB- 142 minutes long. The single sold dvd of this game has a little more related to this game than what was provided in the dvd set. There is an additional 6 minutes of pregame, 6 minutes of halftime analysis & 2 minutes of postgame that is provided in the singly sold dvd. Both dvd versions of the game have the best color, picture & sound I've seen of this game.1987 OB- 125 minutes long. The dvd is missing 6 minutes of NBC's pregame coverage. Overall this dvd has the best the color, picture & sound I've seen of this game compared to privately recorded versions.1987 Texas- 154 minutes long. Includes CBS' original pregame & postgame coverage. Overall this dvd has the best the color, picture & sound I've seen of this game compared to privately recorded versions with the exception that the picture is jittery in some areas.1987 Nebraska- 136 minutes long. Missing the 1 minute or so of the CBS opening where they ask Oklahoma & Nebraska people their thoughts on the rivalry. Footage ends with the sideline reporter talking to Switzer. Missing about 1 minute of footage of the broadcast (the signoff) at the end. Overall this dvd has the best the color, picture & sound I've seen of this game compared to privately recorded versions with the exception that the picture is jittery in some areas.

I gave this to my son as he is an advid OU fan.

Great collection for college football fans.

The product was exactly what i was hoping it would be. It was DVDs of 5 of the greatest triumphs of the University of Oklahoma football program during the Barry Switzer era in the 1980's. I would highly recommend it to any Sooners football fan. These were the original TV broadcasts of the game on DVD and will last me a lifetime. I will watch them over and over through the coming years and it will help me to avoid the "off-season withdrawal" I experience between football seasons.

I'm 31 so I was only alive for a handful of these games and I remember none of them. That was part of the reason why I bought the collection. It is a fun cherry picked package. The film of the games is clean and clear. If you are buying this for you or for a fellow Sooner you really can't go wrong.

Love OU football, and really enjoyed seeing the wishbone again. Just wish I could have seen more of the high scoring games where the wishbone was actually working as opposed to low scoring games.Quality of the video is low. Sound quality suffers here and there.If you are an OU fan and miss the bone... You can't beat these for a trip down memory lane.

If you are a Boomer Sooner fan than this is a must! These dvd's bring back great memories of some of the best Sooner teams. If you are a Sooners fan and don't have or are not going to buy this item than you are not a real Sooners fan!