University of Tulsa - Kendallabrum (Tulsa, OK)

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he Curse of Skelly Like a valley, the green artificial turf of Skelly Stadium stretches out beneath 40,000 empty seats. The games have finished, the crowds have long since dis- persed, and the stadium sleeps in si- lence. While standing down in that valley, if one's ear and imagination are alert, one can hear the echoes of Professional Franchises Past e the remnant sounds of their athletic battles rising like the strangled cries from a cursed pharoah's tomb. For many years, back when the turf was greener, the Tulsa Roughnecks frolicked across the plastic pasture. Their fans were spirited and fiercely loyal, and their team was among the proudest in the North American Soccer League. But alas, money ran short, and pay- rolls were increasingly difficult to meet. The sale of the Roughnecks to Tulsa Cable Television only delayed the im- minent demise of professional soccer in Tulsa. Vultures eyeing the weakening Roughnecks were already landing on the top rows when, in February of I984, the Tathums, Bill and Bill Jr., brought springtime football to Skelly Stadium. The United States Football League would be a big hit, they were convinced, in Oklahoma where football is king, Be- fore long, the gathering birds were drooling over the possibility of not one, but two pro teams dropping on the fad- ing turf. lt rained on the Outlaws. and crowds dwindled as early victories were washed away by a season-ending 10-game los- ing streak. When it was over, Bill Jr. disbanded his Tulsa organization, gath- ered up what players he had left, and told Oklahoma he was taking his team and leaving, shaking his angry fist at Skelly Stadium as he went. The final blow felling the Rough- necks followed soon after when the team could not gain admittance into an indoor winter league for the 1984-'85 season. The operation folded, and the Skelly scavengers swooped down for the feast. Soccer players of all ages still popu- late Green Country's parks, and foot- ball is still king in Oklahoma, but the prospects of any professional teams re- turning to Tulsa may be buried for a long time under the artificial turf of Skelly Stadium. -- Joe Robertson lulsi ll

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orth Star black and white in there to last at least a hundred Halloween's. Even the light fixtures are shaped like Pistol Pete! And if that isn't enough to make you switch to the Whopper, there's Norman. Cheerful red and white shout Boomer Sooner until you get to the bath- room fat least the ladies', anyway.j Ceramic tiles cover the floor and walls, So what, you say. But the tiles are red and white, and guess how they're arranged? You got it - in a big, screaming OU. It you arenlt sick when you go in, you will be when you come out. The OU in the restroom is a little much, I must admit. But you can't accuse the interior decorator at our McDonald's ofgoing overboard. No sir, straight as an arrow down conventional alley. The decor at our nearest Big Mac palace is a warm, appetizing red, yellow and orange, complete with generic cowboy scenes. I won't push too hard for Hurricanes painted on the walls and bathroom tiles arranged to spell TU, but what would a little blue and gold hurt? The two colors match OK, and McDonald's could kill two birds with one stone. Will Rogers High School is just a few blocks away, and they were smart enough to make their colors blue and gold, LOO. Come to think of it, those are ORU's colors, also, but that's really not important. A few of the two dozen or so eating establish- ments on I lth do cater to TU, and to you guys I say, Here's to the Blue and Gold and all it represents! But what else is on llth Street? Let's not forget Kinko's, the mainstay of profes- sors and students alike. Does anyone know the actu- al address of that place? All I've ever heard is You know, out here on llth. It's easy to find. Sure it is, the fourth or fifth time you drive by it. And what about their parking lot? Am I the only person who buckles up before I go to Kinko's? There are no arrows showing which way is in and out, so people just sort of wing it. If no one's sitting in the drive, they pull in. If no one's trying to get in, they pull out. Kinko's parking lot would be a good place to give drivers' tests. But I lth Street has much more to offer than food, photocopying and happy hours. Car lots, convenience stores, laundromats, record stores and pawn shops compete for the Almighty Dollar whether it comes from students' pockets or someone else's. TU's little strip may not have everything Tulsa has to offer, but the merchants there can say they helped in uThe Making of a Star. - Amber Merchant Eleventh Str L