Thursday, September 6, 2007 | by nathan
The War of Moore
The War of Moore
People from Oklahoma City tend to think of my hometown, Moore, as the white-trash suburb. It’s an apt description, because while there are certainly worse places you could live in the Oklahoma City area, Moore has the special distinction of not only being the most countrified place in the greater metropolitan area, but also it’s the hometown of one Toby Keith. You might’ve heard of him. The jingoist country singer who couldn’t find his asshole with both thumbs and a flashlight? That’s the one. Also, we were the ones who got the worst part of one of history’s worst tornado outbreaks. Amember that?
Moore, the town, is a small suburb of about 50,000 that was birthed during the Land Run of 1889 and grew exponentially during the "white flight" era of the ’50’s and ’60’s. Back then, Oklahoma City wasn’t providing educational access to the people living in the far southern parts of the area as they were, at the time, out of the city limits. So Moore came along and extended its school district to cover basically the entire southern third of the city.
Then, in the 1980’s and 1990’s, south Oklahoma City became a new suburban haven. It’s still one of the most economically expansive regions in the country and the zip code I lived in during high school, 73170, is still, technically, one of the richest zip codes in the state. This does not mean I’m rich; it happened by a miracle of zoning: residential areas went up so quickly that people seemed to forget - oh! Right! Commercial! We need a grocery store! It’s almost ALL HOUSES.
So eventually Oklahoma City wanted that land - and those property taxes - back, and Moore told them to eat it. So now, Moore, a city of 50,000, has a school district of well over 100,000. My high school, Westmoore, is known colloquially as the "rich" high school, though I can assure you that most everyone there is but a generation away from poor white trash themselves. They only have that reputation because most of the houses in their part of the district were built in the last 20 years, and they have no FFA, which, when you think about it, is a shame.
Moore and Westmoore have a vicious rivalry that goes back to 1988, when Westmoore first opened. Their annual season-opener football game, Moore War, is one of the most well-attended and notorious high school games in the nation, with attendance well over 30,000 people every year. We lost it every year I was in high school, and every year my brother (who played on the Westmoore football team) was in high school.
Westmoore and Moore share a stadium, and so every year a different team gets the "home" side. The game always happens on the Friday of Labor Day weekend, though this year marked the first year it was ever played in August.
This was the last real "Moore War." Next year a new high school is opening up in Moore, and the rivalry will be a three-way one. I wanted to go to commemorate the event, to watch that giant crowd gather one last time, split neatly down the line between two schools. In a way I’m really going to miss Moore War.
Brian and I arrived about 30 minutes before game time, off-roading my truck into a field beside the stadium as there was no parking there, or at the Homeland across the street. We stood in line for most of the first quarter; by the time we got in Westmoore was up 13-0.
At Moore War the stands fill up quickly, and people begin to congregate on the hill in the west end zone, so it looks like some kind of freaky Woodstock of high school football. The best part? They had mowed the grass THAT DAY. We stayed as long as we could, but I had to leave in the 3rd quarter because my allergies were going crazy. I’ve been having headaches ever since. Still and all, it was good fun, Westmoore won and apparently the 4th quarter was quite a nail-biter.
I wasn’t one of those people who hated high school. I knew pretty much everything we were doing was stupid, and I figured everyone else knew that, but I also knew that to get into a non-state school like Wake, which was my unhealthy obsession at the time, good grades and lots of extracurriculars were needed. Thing was, as I did all that stuff I grew to enjoy it, and I remember high school as being a mostly happy time. I’m glad we won.
Click the photo at top for more photos @ Flickr.
| Sports, Oklahoma |
Comment by Jonathan
Alright, I’m grabbing on to a very minor point in your post, here, but you need to explain to me why you would choose to live in a place that experiences such ridiculously severe weather at least once every 10 years. Do you not live in constant anxiety that the next twister is big one that will carry you and all of your possessions to Oz or home to Elizabeth???
I was hanging out with a pastor friend the other day, and he told me the story of how his great-great-grandfather got from Mississippi to Texas. You see, his triple-g heard about cheap land in Kansas, so he put all his possessions in a covered mule and walked there. Then his house was destroyed by a tornado. Then he loaded up what was left and moved to Oklahoma, where all of his possessions were destroyed a second time. Then he moved elsewhere in Oklahoma, where his stuff was destroyed YET AGAIN by a huge tornado! This time, his wife nearly died as a result, as she essentially had to outrun the storm and throw herself into a ditch in order to survive. Finally, they moved to Katy, where they were finally safe from those damn twisters. And I’m still even a bit dubious about the weather in central Texas–we still get a ton of hail storms, torrential downpours, and, yep, tornados. I would take a noreaster any day to this shite.
So what is it, man? Do you enjoy the sensation of living on the edge? Is it the rush of knowing that any day might be the day?
6 September 2007 10:47 am
Comment by Carol
DON’T KNOCK TOBY KEITH!!! If it wasn’t for HIM no one would ever hear of Moore or Norman!!! Certainly I am sure he has done MOORE for the City that you have or EVER WILL!!!THANK GOD for people like TOBY KEITH COVEL…One TRUE AMERICAN!!
6 September 2007 10:48 am
Comment by Brian
Jonathan:
For me, it’s the faint glimmer of hope that one day, I’ll be interviewed for the evening news, standing in my front yard in a wife beater and shorts with a can of Old Milwaukee in one hand and a shovel in the other, talking about how the ‘nader picked up my pickup and pleading the viewing public to call me if they find my bird dog.
It may not be that impressive of a dream, but it’s mine, and I’ll thank you not to knock it.
–b
6 September 2007 11:14 am
Comment by Nate
Okay, Carol? Seriously? Do I know you? And, did you notice that 1) you had to put in your e-mail address to be allowed to comment, meaning that I now have your e-mail address, and 2) that I had to approve your comment, which I did? I’m very tempted to subscribe your e-mail address to some gay porn or the Jehovah’s Witnesses Watchtower Online Daily. But I won’t.
What is it? Am I being monitored by some "Protect The Male Country Stars" watchdog group? I won’t even bother with the assertion that no one would’ve heard of Norman without Toby; I’ll let this small website make my point for me.
Now, to the sane people: Jonathan, when you’ve grown up with tornadoes like I, and all my fellow Okies, have, you just learn not to be afraid. You learn the safety rules if there’s a tornado near you, and you do your best to never live in a trailer. Mostly, when there’s severe weather, we all play the Gary England Drinking Game. You & Tish should come up next May and play it with us.
I think of it like people living in California despite the earthquakes or on the Gulf Coast despite the hurricanes. It’s something you learn to live with, because home is home. Sometime I’ll show you the photos I have of the area around my mom’s house and my high school after the May 3, 1999 Moore F-5.
6 September 2007 11:14 am
Comment by Nikki
I grew up in California, and I’d honestly take a tornado over an earthquake any day.
Maybe I’ve been living under a rock, but I just found out that they’re building a new high school. I’m sorry to say it, but I’m almost sad.
I’m also sorry that you’re being stalked by the Redneck Society to Promote the Advancement of Cheesy-As-Hell Country Music. Maybe it will stop.
Nikki,
A TRUE American
PS-I don’t think *all* country music is cheesy..
6 September 2007 1:35 pm
Comment by nina
It will be strange with a third high school in the mix next year. I think my daughter is glad to be the last class of the two schools.
I have been sneezing my head off. I hadn’t even connected the freshly mowed grassy knoll at Moore War as the instigator. That’s got to be it!
6 September 2007 1:49 pm
Comment by Karli
I really hoped that you knew Carol … and I really hoped that she was being sarcastic … but I LOVE that you don’t and I LOVE that she’s not!
6 September 2007 5:47 pm
Comment by Nate
That is pretty great, huh? As for stopping the CMT Flameworthy Awards here on my site, I say, BRING IT ON!
Other country music acts who make my skin crawl, my blood boil, or my stomach surrender its contents and the contents of those around it:
- David Allan Coe
- Sammy Kershaw
- Alan Jackson
- Lee Greenwood
- LeeAnn Womack
- SheDaisy
That’s just a random sampling. I’ve never been a big fan of George Strait’s either, but I’d gladly listen to him over any of this ham-handed crap, or any of Toby Keith’s utter shite.
BRING IT ON, CAROL!
6 September 2007 6:31 pm
Comment by Nikki
Ha Ha ha..you’re awesome! You better watch out;those country folks are a ‘mite crazy.
Can I add to the list? I nominate Brad Paisley and Kenny Chesney..
6 September 2007 7:02 pm
Comment by Ryan
Who knew Toby did more to raise awareness for Norman than say a certain University or National Weather Center…
7 September 2007 1:39 pm
Comment by Nate
I know, right? All those National Championships, all the academics, the number one place for studying meteorology in the ENTIRE WORLD, not to mention the fact that it’s the third largest city in Oklahoma.
Nope. People really come for the asshat country music and the “I Love This Bar.”
My brother and I used to joke about the new high school; we were worried it was going to be christened “Toby Keith’s I Love This High School.”
Nikki, I don’t mind Brad Paisley or Kenny Chesney so much, though I own none of their albums. Though I do take your point.
7 September 2007 4:01 pm
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8 September 2007 9:27 am
Comment by Kevin
I really almost lost my stomach when they had Toby Keith announcing the line up on ABC today. I was like, REALLY!? Miami has their coach do their line up, and we have to get a redneck no-talent hack?? Really!?
8 September 2007 3:38 pm