Being born and raised in Norman, or at least spending a lot of your life in Norman is something unique and definitely special. Living in the heart of the Sooner Nation in a town that is part big city part small town influences the person you are and who you are gonna be. As a Norman Kid, here are fifteen things I guarantee you can relate to.
1. Gamedays
I think we would all be lying to ourselves if we did not say that the whole town seems to shut down, or at least slow down on game days. From parts of Campus Corner being blocked off hours before Game time to seeing OU shirts all over town every day of the year to OU memorabilia or Crimson and Cream in every store and gas station, you have grown up surrounded by the Sooners. Let us be real, if you grew up here, you probably planned on going to OU, or if not, you were probably the minority.
2. North/High, or High/North
Being a Norman kid myself, you can probably tell that even the picture above is somewhat biased. But if you grew up here, you know it. North/ High, or High/North. The crosstown rivalry of Green and Orange. In high school, it seemed to be one of the best days of the year, with pep rally's, the first game of the season, and Taste Of Norman. I think we could all say there is nothing like sitting at the OU stadium in the student section cheering for your school. Even after High School you never forget how magical it felt!
3. Pizza Shuttle
It may not be everyone's favorite, but even if it is not your favorite, but if you are from Norman you can probably say you have eaten it, or at least the Cheesy bread at least once. Chances are if you are a college kid, you have probably eaten it on the floor of your dorm room or on your couch in front of the TV. Personally, I cannot ever find any pizza I like better than the Shuttle, maybe it is the best tasting or just because it is the cheapest price, who knows?
4. Eskimo Sno
Eskimo Sno, the place where everyone seems to flock to in the summer. Chances are this is one of the places you went to after a baseball game at Griffin Park or a snow cone run with your family. Let us be real, Eskimo Sno is a hot date spot for High School and college kids alike. I have always loved the snow cones, but there is definitely something about being able to suck all the snow cone juice out of a sour punch straw. Jumbo Toxic Wastes anyone?!
5. Norman Music Festival
It is the time of year when us Okies try and channel our inner flower children and our wishes to be at Bonnaroo. It is the time of year when Downtown shuts down and every food truck, garage band, and carnival ride seems to appear on one street. Chances are if you were a Norman kid and participated in the arts either at a Dance Studio or at Sooner Theater you stood on a stage behind McNellies or The Garage and sang or danced on a microscopic area. If you have lived here your whole life, this is the place to run into everyone you went to high school with and more.
6. Calvin The Newspaper Man
Calvin Steves, the legendary man who has been selling The Norman Transcript in town for over thirty really is a Norman Treasure. Chances are if you have lived in Norman and have been to a business on Campus Corner you have been offered a newspaper by Calvin himself. An article from News9 that was written in 2014 says that Calvin sells over 125 newspapers a day to Norman Residents and even has a bike rack on Boyd Street modeled after him. Norman loves Calvin!
7. The Hollywood Theater
Chances are if you went to Junior High in Norman you probably hung out with your friends in this movie theater. The "Regal Spotlight Stadium 14" or the Hollywood Theater as Norman locals call it was the place to be if you went to Elementary or Junior High in the early to mid-2000's. The number of people who ran around this theater seemed to dwindle slightly when the Moore Warren opened in 2008 but has maintained a steady line of business, especially for everyone who does not want to drive to Moore or has small kids who could distract others at the Warren. A few years back this was "the" place to hang out with your friends. Most of us probably saw the early Harry Potter movies, or "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" in this theater back in the good ole' days.
8. O'Connells
This Irish Pub in the middle of Campus Corner has been a popular place amongst Norman Locals and college kids alike for years. It is the place where green beer reigns supreme on St. Patrick's Day and where some might say that the "Ranch Hand" hamburger is the next best thing since sliced bread. O'Connell's is usually hopping on game days before the game starts, and during, while the game is going on. If you are from Norman you have probably been here a time or two!
9. Westwood
Westwood Water Park is currently a field of bulldozers and dirt since it is being completely redone to be bigger and better than before, but for the sake of Nostalgia let us reminisce by looking at what the old, well-loved Westwood used to look like! If you were a kid in Norman in the summer you probably went to a party, took swim lessons and went down that big blue slide 5,000 times over the years. It was the place where everyone went for "Swim Socials" in junior high when we all took the time to make sure our tankini's from Limited Too looked just right to impress those boys on the football team. One thing no one every questioned: how old the complex itself actually was, or how wobbly the slide actually was.
10. La Baguette
Let us be real, we all think we sound fancy when you tell your friends you are going to get desserts from La Baguette. Open since 1984 in Norman, La Baguette is one of "the" places to get some of the best sweets ever. Some of us love the Chocolate Mice, some of us love the Cheesecake; it's all about preference. Nowadays, La Baguette has multiple locations in town where people can come for Breakfast, Brunch, and everything in between. Some people even get chocolate "Yule Logs" around Christmas time. Eat like the locals!
11. Sooner Mall
You probably felt like you ran this place in seventh grade. If you have grown up in Norman, the Sooner Mall has seen you change from tiny outfits from Gymboree to monkey shirts and glitter jeans at Limited Too, to Graphic Tees at Aeropostale, all the way to more grown-up outfits at Old Navy or Pac-Sun. Chances are you sat around the fountain with your friends, munching on a cookie from All American Cookies, or shared a pretzel from Aunt Annie's with your best friend. It's a place where the kids all hung out, even nowadays.
12. Star Skate (or Skate Land)
Ah Star Skate, or "Skate Land" as we all knew it. The place where you ate numerous pieces of pizza and slices of birthday cake and skated around in a circle on roller skates over and over again for hours. If you were a kid in Norman you probably hung out at Star Skate on many Friday or Saturday nights. It seems to be a place that gets older and older and does not seem to change, but no one questions it! It is a Norman tradition. How many of you out there were Limbo or Wipe Out Champs?!
13. The Norman Public Library
The library in every town seems to be very popular for kids all over, and Norman is definitely no exception. The Children's Department at the Norman Public Library, with its cages of gerbils, turtles, fish, and whatever else has been in those cages has been the place to be for years and years for Norman Kids. You probably played on those computers too, because for some reason those computers were better than the one your parents let you play on. Most of us could probably say we read many Dr. Seuss books with our parents on those chairs too!
14. The Sooner Theatre
Sooner Theatre, the theater that has been in Norman since 1929 and is still one of the biggest places in town for kids and the arts. Chances are if you are from Norman you have probably been to, or been invited to a show or musical at Sooner Theater. If you did not go to a show to see a particular show, you probably went because your little cousin or your mom's coworker's four-year-old granddaughter was a walk on for an arts camp. Sooner Theater is known in town as cranking out some of the best musical theater actors and actresses in the OKC Metro Area.
15. Jazz In June
Jazz In June, the part of June when half of Norman congregates in Brookhaven Square to listen to Jazz Bands from all over Norman. As a kid, you probably came out with your parents while they sat in lawn chairs and you ran around and found your friends because just like your parents they were doing the same thing. It really is one of the highlights of the summer, and something that every Norman kid has probably been to at some point in their life.
Being raised in Norman is truly like living in a little piece of heaven. I think I can speak for all of us Norman Kids when I say that a lot of us dream about leaving, but when we do, we always miss it and want to come back, at least for a short visit. We miss the back roads through neighborhoods to get anywhere, and we miss how easy it is to get everywhere. Being a Norman Kid rocks, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!
