There’s no doubting that Oklahoma has one of the most passionate fanbases in college football.
But following the news that Cayden Green is transferring to Missouri, some Sooners fans took their dedication to the program to the next level, spamming the insurance agency owned by the offensive lineman’s father with one-star ratings on Google.
As captured by the Message Board Geniuses’ X account, Reginald Green responded to a number of the reviews, which appear to have since been removed.
“Stop it!” he wrote. “Don’t do this because my son chose to enter the transfer portal in football. You live in OK and have never done business with my office. This is a really bad look for the Oklahoma fan base. Be better.”
#Oklahoma fans are leaving one-star reviews for the business owned by a parent of a player who recently transferred to #Mizzou. pic.twitter.com/s1IFa4Aepo
— Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) December 21, 2023
As evidenced by the mere existence of the Message Board Geniuses account, every fanbase has its own lunatic fringe and that’s especially the case at big time programs like Oklahoma. Not every Sooners fan is crazy enough to target the business of a player who transferred, just like not every Michigan fan is unhinged enough to threaten Pete Thamel. But if you go looking for this type of behavior among college football fans on the internet, it’s fairly easy to find.
The Oklahoma fanbase, in particular, has seemed especially sensitive ever since Lincoln Riley’s departure for USC following the 2021 season. Perhaps the idea of a highly touted offensive lineman departing for a perceived lesser program opened old wounds. Or maybe Sooners fans are just gearing up for their arrival in the SEC next fall.
Regardless of the motivation, this story actually has a relatively heartwarming ending. In addition to the posts from Sooners fans having been deleted, the Google reviews of Reginald Green’s business have now been flooded with 5-star ratings, many of which appear to have been left by Missouri fans.
So in the end, this wound up being a positive for the Green family — even if both sides seem to be abusing the spirit of Google reviews.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.