It’s time Pete put his guns away

Somewhere between Michael Irvin‘s days as a Hurricane andAtlas holding the world on his shoulders was Rashaun Woods’performance on Saturday.

I would call him the second coming of Jesus, but the way heabused my beloved Mustangs was absolutely sinful.

I don’t know of many records that have been broken at FordStadium. I can count on one hand the number of times I’veseen SMU on ESPN.

But while Woods was pushing off and Josh Fields was sitting inthe pocket hardly trying to hide where the ball was going,Saturday’s game held one surprise.

At some point in the second quarter, a shot rang out in thestadium.

The electric fervor of football fans and a beautifully still,crisp night air of summer’s twilight were shattered by asudden, violent ring of gunfire.

I had never seen Pistol Pete, Oklahoma State University’smascot, before Saturday evening.

Frankly, I don’t ever want to see him again.

In a very sensitive era, it perplexes me how OSU has been ableto get away with this representative for so long. I know a lot ofbackcountry good ol’ boy activity still lives and breathes inStillwater. Hell, it ain’t New York down here.

However, no matter where you are or how behind the times you maybe, there are some things that should not be allowed tocontinue.

How is this mascot able to carry around two authentic lookingand sounding guns when so many other things have been prohibitedfrom stadiums across the country?

For example, only a few seasons ago, the NBA’s WashingtonBullets dropped their nickname because they thought it promotedviolence. They promptly became the Wizards (and haven’t beento the playoffs since).

Both the NFL and NBA have banned the throat slash and chokinggestures that players had become so prone to doing in the mostopportune times, i.e. when the cameras are on.

Several times Saturday night, Pistol Pete pretended to”shoot” Peruna, and OSU fans mimicking guns with theirhands, shot at Pete, and he dramatically grasped his chest and fellto the field.

Granted, my MENSA card is still in the mail, but feignedshooting and dying seems a little bit more extreme than a throatslash.

Other sporting events have traditions, also. The TampaBuccaneers fire a cannon from a pirate ship whenever the Bucs scorea touchdown.

The Texas Longhorns have “Old Smoky,” a cannon thatis fired for the same reason. There’s not a lot of fault thatcan be found in these traditions.

In all seriousness, how many times in the past decade haveparents been told to keep their cannons out of theirchildren’s reach?

I searched the New York Times archives and there were no reportsof accidental cannonball deaths.

The core of this issue is the fact that these are handguns: arifle and a pistol, which are still attainable and have acontroversial presence in American society.

There are kids at these sporting events. How long will it bebefore one of them decides to pick up Pappy’s rifle (this isOklahoma, everybody has a gun – like everyone in Texas raisescattle) and shoots his best friend in an attempt to “be likePistol Pete?”

History teaches us that it may be only a matter of time before akid in Stillwater picks up a gun and shoots.

Besides children, there is the issue of genuine sensitivity tocontemporary societal conditions.

Gun control is a raging debate, and it seems that every day anAmerican soldier abroad is killed. Hearing the blasts from amascot’s “guns” not only sickens me as a fan, butalso as an American.

Nothing – especially life and death and the values thereof -should be taken so lightly and so … liberally.

Maybe I’m being a little too sensitive since SMU was sobadly outplayed. I can’t find anyone to blame that on becauseOSU is a really good football team.

I applaud the fight on our sidelines. In all honesty, who gaveus a chance, anyway?

I prayed we would play well like last season against Texas Tech,and at least put ourselves in position to make some plays. But itdidn’t happen, so the only game circled on my calendar is thenext one.

I know there were no bullets and it was physically harmless, butI don’t know that I can ever get over the shock of hearing agunshot in Ford Stadium.

It reminded me of high school, except you can bet the bulletswere as real as the reactions.

The Big 12 and Oklahoma State University administration shouldseriously examine what conspires every Saturday at its sportingevents.

Is it ethical? Do you really want your child to be the one shotby his youthfully ignorant classmate?

It’s 2003 and I think it’s time Pistol Pete put hisguns away.

With Rashaun Woods catching seven touchdowns in a single game,don’t they already have enough firepower?

Brandon Hampton is a senior advertising major the graphicseditor of The Daily Campus.