Not long ago, a pack of sharks were gathering together just off the shore of an island called Humanland. They were swimming together and eating together when all of the sudden a boat of humans floated by. Some of the humans, along with the ruler, Michael, hunted them for dinner that night. The sharks were petrified!! The leader, the Great Alexander, the biggest shark in the pack, spoke up and said, "We need to avenge our friends! They cannot attack us like this and get away with it." So the Great Alexander concocted a plan to use their friend, Daphne the dolphin, to lure the humans into the water and then they would finish the job... On the first day, Daphne swam close to the shore, showed off her majestic features, and sang many songs, but not a single human noticed her beauty. On the second day, Daphne jumped out of the water in an attempt to get the humans to notice her, but still, nobody paid attention to her. Finally, on the third day, Daphne swam as cl...
I loved your intro! I thought that it was really creative how you turned an OU football game into a mythological battle. I really liked how you used so many adjectives when you described the atmosphere at the games, I was almost picturing it at the Colosseum or something in Rome (but in football format and at our stadium lol). Did you ever consider giving it a backstory? Obviously all OU students know that Texas is one of our greatest rivals, but I think it would be super interesting if you added a modern-mythological take on how that rivalry came to be! Like a prequel about the “Red River Rivalry.” You also did a really good job at making your intro a cliff-hanger, because now I want to know what’s going to happen.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I thought that your site was very easy to navigate. The only things that confused me a little was that your name was no where on the home page (which is something that I added to my portfolio site too because I realized it might be confusing to people) and maybe clarifying what the “OU Football Player” link is. I thought maybe it was a story so I clicked on that first and then realized it was just the link to your header photo.
Hello! I just read the introduction of your storybook. You did a great job at providing details for why each player or cheerleader was given a specific comparison to a mythological god or goddess, it helped me truly understand why they were seen in that light. As for Lincoln Riley, I think you gave him the best description you could when you related his similarities to that of Zeus. First off, I was draw to the title of your book just because we live in Norman and I was interested to see what it was all about. I would be curious to know more about the friendships between the cheerleaders and the players, or if they knew they resembled greek mythology gods and goddesses or not. Also, your conclusion was the perfect cliff hanger to make me wanting to read more, I instantly wanted to know what the mistake was that he made. Overall, great job, and I cannot wait to keep up with your posts!
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlin! First of all, as huge OU football fan, I really enjoyed reading your introduction! I think it is interesting how you are setting up the OU/TX game to be a battle between the Greek gods and titans! Perhaps you could introduce some direct comparisons to the players and cheerleaders, so that the reader knows before the story who is which god. For example, Ceedee could be Apollo or one of the cheerleaders could be Aphrodite! Also, since Jalen Hurts is so quick witted, he could be Hermes! I think there are so many comparisons you can make with the Greek gods since they all have different qualities. Also, maybe Sam could be Kronos since he is the leader of the Longhorns and Kronos is the leader of the Titans! I am interested in what stories you choose between the gods and titans. There are many ways you can go with this!
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteBefore I even started reading, I have to ask: did you ever go on the OU Ghost Tour? I’ve heard that they tell a lot of local myths and tales, and I wonder if you could incorporate any of those into your storybook…
Using the martial terms in which football games are already so often described and taking it to another level is a fun stylistic device. Just a guess, but are we basically retelling the Trojan war with OU and Texas? (Horns down, of course.)
I think it might help if you take your concept and run with it: right now you compare, for example, Lincoln Riley to Zeus, but maybe it’s more interesting, and less straining to a reader’s sense of disbelief, if you just have him play that role in the story. Anther option would be to endow your cast of characters from real life with supernatural powers. (Instead of just comparing these real-world people to the gods.)
Looking forward to seeing what you do with this!
Best,
A.M.
Hi Caitlyn!
ReplyDeleteI really like how you painted the scene in the first paragraph about what it's like to be at an OU football game. I appreciate how Lincoln Riley, in the story, sees the cheerleaders as just as important as the football players by including them in the meeting at the stadium. You also did a really good job at making the end very suspenseful.
Once suggestion I have would be, since you listed specific qualities that Harlee and Tierra have, you could also list specific stand-out qualities that Katie might have that fall in with being a good leader. Another thing you could do is say specifically which god or goddess that each cheerleader and football player in the story is compared to, just like how you compared Lincoln Riley directly to Zeus. For example, I'm assuming that Harlee would be like Aphrodite.
I can't wait to read what happens next, and see what trouble the longh... I mean Titans get themselves into!
Hi Caitlin!
ReplyDeleteI love the concept of comparing OU athletes to gods and goddesses. It is funny but also has some validity in terms of how much attention they get. Your introduction was really interesting. I really liked how you used the end to set up some OU - Texas drama. The gods versus titans set-up is a nice metaphor for the Red River Rivalry. It really made me want to dive into your stories and know more. One thing that might make your introduction even stronger is if you went back and varied your sentence structure a little more. You have a lot of really long sentences that can make it difficult as a reader to follow your point. A number of your sentences might read better if they were separated into shorter, more compact statements. I think you have a really great story developing in your introduction and I am excited to see how your storybook develops.
Hello Caitlin!
ReplyDeleteI found the concept of your blog introduction to be very interesting and original. I love some good rivalry stories, especially if they involve OU. I think this idea of a storybook is really good and allows you to build on top of it anyway you want. I would say maybe you would want to consider expanding on the characters you chose to follow because not everyone reading this blog is going to know a lot about football. So maybe introducing characters with their first and last name and what position they play and then relating it to a god or goddess will help people that do not follow football understand this story better. Overall, I found your introduction to a be a really good starting place and foundation for your storybook. I think there are just a couple of things you could tweak over time to make your stories flow better.
-Sam
Hi Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteYour introduction is pretty funny! I really like how you decided to do an OU football themed storybook and compared the football players and Lincoln Riley to Greek Gods. That's pretty smart on why you made Lincoln Riley the Zeus. One question that I had was how did you compare the other Greek gods to the other football players? Are there certain qualities that these Greek Gods have that would make them comparable to the Football Players? Or rather are there something that those guys possess that make them seem like certain gods? Maybe one thing that could be really funny with the introduction is looking up certain character traits of some of the Greek gods or maybe there is a buzzfeed quiz somewhere and then you could compare why certain people are like certain gods. Then maybe if that is going pretty well you could add some really good imagery to your stories with how the players or Lincoln Riley did a certain thing "like how Zeus... etc." idk Anyways, great intro though I think that's hilarious.
Hi Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I want to say that I am a huge OU football fan and knew I would love your story as soon as I saw the image on your header! I especially loved how you characterized the OU football players and cheerleaders, comparing them to the Gods. Sometimes we do indeed get so caught up in the happenings of OU football that we begin to see these players as superhuman. Additionally, I thought your creativity was evident in making OU/Texas be a rivalry similar to that between the Gods of Olympus and the Titans.
Did you ever think to include heroes in the story? This could maybe include walk-on players or even transfers. I am also a huge Percy Jackson fan and the concept of a demi-god is one that I think is very interesting and would fit very well with the rest of your story. Overall, I think you did a fantastic job and I cannot wait to read it!
Hello!
ReplyDeleteThis was easily one of the most creative blog introductions I have seen so far. I loved that you took something that is so well known, and so well loved, and decided to transform it into a story. Along with that, you combined elements of mythology which add a special dynamic to your project. I was really impressed with how strong this opener was.
I wonder if the cheerleaders, players, and coaches had abilities that were beyond regular humans. You mentioned potential qualities like this for players (super speed, super strength, all wisdom) but I missed some of these for the cheerleaders and coaches. I wonder what this story would look like if these different characters had these unnatural abilities.
What if each of the characters had special qualities that made them super-human? Or maybe they could be the "god of speed", "god of strength", etc. I love the idea of comparing them to gods, but what if they really were more than just human?
I think this is going to be fantastic, great work!!
Hello Caitlin! Being a huge OU football fan, I knew as soon as I saw the title of your blog that I would love it. You have such a unique and creative idea combining Greek mythology and modern-day people that we know to create a whole new story of your own. The introduction page on your website explained what type of stories you would be telling and I enjoyed the humor and jokes added throughout. The first story on your page has a good cliffhanger at the end and makes me want to continue reading to find out what the OU boys decide to do! I think that giving the Sooners a name similar to one like "Titans of Texas" would really tie in the Greek mythology part as well rather than just keeping their real-life name in the story. Otherwise I found your stories well-written and humorous and I am excited to read the next two stories in your project to find out what happens!
ReplyDeleteHello Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteBeing a fan of Greek Mythology and Sooner football, this storybook is very interesting to me. I really enjoyed how you took these legendary Sooners and translated them into the gods and goddesses of ancient times. Something that I would work on if I were you would be to give more detail in describing the setting of these places. The ancient stories that you are depicting have so much rich detail within them and if you can find a way to translate more of that into Sooner football it would greatly improve your storytelling. Dont get me wrong, this is a great story but it would be even better if you could introduce ancient monsters like Cerberus or the Hydra as Tom Herman or Matthew McConaughey into the storyline. Any way that you can translate some of that ancient detail into a new story would be very captivating to read. Nonetheless this is a great concept and i cant wait to follow this story and see where it goes!
Hi Caitlin!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I think this idea is super intriguing! Using the OU/TX rivalry as the base for a gods vs titans showdown is so fun, definitely can't wait to see where this ends up! I have to say, I'm not the most familiar with OU football, so some extra background on the football players and their positions would probably helpful to an uneducated reader such as myself. Other than that, I think your intro's in great shape!
For your first story, I think if you're changing the Texas team name, you should also change the OU team name to keep it consistent with the greek storyline. I also think you've got a great base for your first story but I'd love more detail, such as settings, emotion, backstory, etc. I think the action and dialogue is there but if you flesh out some additional elements it'll really help build this world! I think it'd be a fun opportunity to tie it more directly to the greek myths as well.
A quick formatting note: The link to the introduction didn't work on your homepage, bu the link at the top of the page did! Both links worked for your first story so you should be good there. Overall, I love this idea and I can't wait to see where it goes!
I came back to read the stories! You did a great job comparing the beginning of the Iliad with the OU v. Houston game! That truly was a turning point in many people's lives. I remember when I found out we lost I was so confused because Houston was terrible! Although the pain is done the trauma still remains. One thing that I was wondering about is how the story could be better. I personally really enjoy pictures! I think having some images from the OU v. Houston game would sort of bring the story to life! Perhaps you could add some images so that people who aren't familiar or weren't around for that catastrophe could relive the wounds! Great story and I'm looking forward to reading more!
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlin! Of course, it was only right for me to read your story on the week of the famed "OU/Texas" battle. I'm so excited to get to read the actual battle in your story (hopefully we win this weekend, so it'll be more fun to read!). The layout of your website looks really great- your banners fit in well with your stories, and so do your illustrations throughout your story! I'm glad you included such a descriptive author's note in your first story, because I wasn't sure that you were relating OU/TX to the Trojan war until I read that. Afterwards though, I could see what story you were trying to tell. After reading that your story will be based on the Trojan war.... does that make Jalen Hurts Achilles? Or were you planning to pick another character? I wonder who from the Texas team you'll pick to be Hector. I'm really interested to read the rest of your story!
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I just want to say that I really like the dark theme layout of your blog. It's pleasant on the eyes. Second of all I think it's hilarious and great that you're combining greek stories with OU football. I read OU v. Texas Part 1 and here are my thoughts.
This story is great. It only makes sense that Ceedee, Jalen, and Kenneth are the main characters for the Sooners. I like how you combine elements of football, such as a huddle with the "1, 2, 3, BREAK" part, and Lincoln giving a speech. I do wonder how Harlee felt about all of this? Was she concerned at all with being captured by the Titan leader Sam Ehlinger? How did the Sooners feel about Harlee going to investigate instead of one of them? I think it would also be good to connect the Titans getting beat all the time with getting desperate and resorting to kidnapping Harlee. It would also be good to add more detail about Ceedee, Jalen, Kenneth, Lincoln, and Sam. Good job!
Hi Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the concept of combining modern day OU football with Greek mythology. It's always entertaining to see how Greek myths would be interpreted in modern day. I love how fun your storybook is and would love to see what all you do with ti.
There are a couple of observations I have regarding the writing of your introduction and first story:
- In both, you have a couple of capitalization/punctuation issues. I would recommend having someone from the OU Writing Center glance through to see what all could be fixed.
- Some of your wording is redundant. You mention that twice Sam knew if that Harlee was sent, he was on the right track.
- You explain all the gods in detail except for Katie. What leadership qualities does she have?
- I understand that you're replicating the Trojan War. I think you've done well here. But in modern day, wouldn't the players call the police if one of their cheerleaders was kidnapped? I hate to be That Person, but consider finding a creative way around this predicament.
All in all, I think you have a great setup here and look forward to seeing what else you produce. Good luck this semester!
- Cate
Hi Caitlyn!
ReplyDeleteI was really excited to read the first part of your story after reading your introduction! (And especially after we've just won OU/TX) I love all the humor in your story; "...such an ugly wardrobe choice" hahaha. I also like how you included a picture of a fake text message between Sam and Lincoln. This fits in perfect with the story.
I can just imagine the look on Sam's face as he reads Lincoln's text and types the word, "Perfect."
What were Tierra and Katie's reactions to Harlee being captured by the Titans? Are they also going to play a part in the plan to get Harlee back? If so, I think it would be a good idea to include them in the plan making with Lincoln and the footbal players.
If you want to, I think it would look better visually if you put the image information at the bottom of the page next to the bibliography. It's a little distracting to have it in the middle of the text because it interrupts the story when you read it.
I can't wait to read part 2 and see what plan the players come up with!
Hi Caitlin!
ReplyDeleteI loved your story about the OU/Saxet game. I love the idea of including Sam Ehlinger in your story and putting into a villain role! I loved the idea of intertwining the story of the Odyssey and OU football and create a new story. You have a really great voice and really interesting ideas and I think your stories are heading in a really good direction! I think after some revision and brainstorming, you have a set of really good stories on your hands. Your second paragraph was really insightful about the plot development in the thickening of the plot. The way that you included other OU football players was really cool and I wish they could read these stories! Okay! Great job! I can't wait to read the rest of your stories.
Boomer Sooner!!
Hi Caitlin! I really enjoyed reading your first story! The concept you have for your storybook is super creative and I think you will be able to do a lot with it this semester! When I first clicked on your page I wasn't exactly sure how you were going to use OU athlete in place of figures in Greek Mythology, but after reading this story, I really enjoyed how it turned out and am excited to come back and read more of your stories. I loved the fake conversation screenshot you added to your post! It made the conflict between Sam and Lincoln seem more real and added to the development of the plot. The one thing I would say is I wanted a little more information about who Harlee is, why Sam is capturing her, and why everyone is so upset about it. Adding in this piece of background info would be helpful in making the story just a little clearer. Great job!!
ReplyDeleteHey there Caitlin! I have to admit that I was really drawn in to your story by the title. You chose such a great topic to write about as it is a story that many people are familiar with. I was happy to see that you chose to make the images of your site more focused on the OU side of things as opposed to the Troy version, because it made the story a little more interesting to the eye and modern as well. As for your introduction page, I think everything was really well written, but I do suggest maybe changing one of the words from country to nation instead... just to change things up! As for your first story, I really enjoyed reading how you were able to make some specific connections between the two stories. With that said, I think if you added a little more background information on the battle, it would help your story reach the next level. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlin! First of all, a great overall idea for your storybook. Anything involving the Sooners is sure to lure people in. I loved your introduction it made me want to read the first story immediately. I appreciated that you used OU to retell the start of the Trojan War. I think that sometimes stories can be hard to follow because they were written in a way that is not common anymore and can be difficult to understand. When you use real people such as Lincoln Riley and the team, it made the Trojan War way more interesting. Did you consider giving more insight into how Harlee was feeling other than wearing the ugly orange? I think that it would be interesting to see what al her thoughts were as she was with Sam. I think you should also add something about her time with the other team if she found any useful information to help the Sooners continue to take down the Titans. I loved your first story I cannot wait to see what's next!
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlin!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I was so excited to read your project based off the title! I was even more excited once I read your introduction. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but you did an amazing job. Even though it is difficult to get a sense of what other students are like in an online class, I can tell that you have a humorous and fun personality! Your introduction truly got me hooked. I love that you took a common interest to all of us, OU Football, and combined it with this class. I really enjoyed how you included the cheerleaders into the mix, because it shows that football isn’t just about the players or coach! Your creativity is beyond impressive. I thought it was so cool how you compared the players to different mythological Gods. I look forward to coming back to your story in the future. I am eager to see what you do with the cheerleaders and how you make them into different mythological creatures. Overall, I love your humor, theme and layout! Good work!
Hi Caitlyn!
ReplyDeleteEveryone that attends OU knows the raw excitement and passion of students, players, and alumni when attending a football game. There are so many unique moving parts in these sports games, and I love how this is the source of your storybook idea. This will connect to all of your students. Although I loved the alliteration of the "Texas Titans" idea, you might consider changing this to a mascot that doesn't contradict with other nationally known teams. Perhaps, you could play on the longhorn, Bevo mascot in a satirical or ironic type of way. Also, I loved your great usage of visuals. It was so creative to use a text thread picture. This is something often done on modern-day autobiographical blogs, and it really made me excited to read more. The scale of the OU-TX rivalry is worthy of comparison to the original story of The Trojan War. You not only paid attention to the players-- you also developed characters, such as the cheerleader, to play on sneaky rebels. Fantastic job! I cannot wait to read more.
Hello Caitlyn! I love the idea that you had to do Norman mythology and use sports for some of the stories. I love the introduction and the way you set the seen for a battle with Texas. I wish would have used this idea since I work for the team and it would be right up my alley to tell stories like the ones on your website. The website itself is a masterpiece. I love the pictures you used throughout the website and the fact that we beat Texas makes the website and stories just that much better. The website is a grand stage for awesome content and great color schemes. The comparisons that are made between the gods and the OU football players is awesome and they are pretty solid comparisons. Overall the website is easy to navigate and the content that is within the website creates an even better environment for those who come upon the website. I hope your semester is going well and BOOMER SOONER!!
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the concept of the storybook you're doing for this class! The stories were interesting, and I liked reading through them. I am excited to see what the next chapter will bring for the Sooners, will they get Harlee back? Also, I liked that you centered the conflict around the Sooners and the longhorns. It helps us as students relate more to the story and cheer on the main characters even more! I also liked that you give each character a personality and bring them to life in your story. I've always considered that an important element to the reading experience.
I also enjoyed how you broke each story text out into different sections. This helps a lot with the reading and the flow of the story. The banner photos you used in the storybook also help tie the story elements together. Great work and I'm looking forward to your upcoming story!
Hi Caitlin!
ReplyDeleteSo far, I have really enjoyed your storybook. I really like how your storybook reads like an actual story! For example, every entry seems to end on a cliffhanger. One has to read the next story entry in order to find out how the cliffhanger ends. That is a great strategy to use because it keeps the readers on the tip of their toes and engaged in the storybook as a whole, as opposed to only being interested in one particular story.
Another strong point in your storybook is your author's note. As weird as this may sound, you have really good author's notes because they explain how your story relates to the original story. I really appreciate how you take the time to go into detail about the original story and relate it back to the characters in your own story. You make sure that everything is abundantly clear and that there is no room for confusion.
As far as design goes, you design is very clean and neat. It is very straightforward and easy to navigate, which is a good thing. I am looking forward to reading more of your stories!
Hi Caitlin!
ReplyDeleteI love some Sooner football. This story is absolutely awesome. I am shocked that Lincoln sent Harlee. If I was Lincoln I would send my scariest looking friend. I also had a question. Why is Katie feared by many? When I think of a leader, they lead by support not by fear. Will we ever find this out? You have created two awesome stories, but only included Harlee. I wonder if the next story will include the other two. If not, I suggest definitely adding them in. Concerning the story layout, it is great! The pictures you included go along very well with the story and capture the magic of Sooner football. The layout is also very easy to navigate and read. I cannot wait to finish this story and see how it ends! I hope it ends just like OU TX this year, with a win! Boomer Sooner!
Hi Caitlin! I really like the concept of your storybook! It's so cool how you combined Sooner football and the Trojan War. I think that's very creative. The Red River Rivalry is such a big deal so I like how you equated that to the level of the Trojan War. Also, I like how you've incorporated Greek elements such as "Titans" and "Atlas" into your stories as well. I was able to connect the players to the Greek characters counterparts which is really cool. One thing I noticed after reading your introduction and the first story was that you end on cliffhangers which I think is smart because it keeps the readers engaged and wanting to read more of your storybook. I'm excited to read the next part of your story and to see if the Sooners can get Harlee! Overall, you're doing an awesome job on this storybook! I can't wait to read more.
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteI am excited to get the chance to read your storybook one last time! Yours was one of the first I read this semester. I read your second and third story this time through. First, I loved the way you set up the second one. Your story flowed very well all the way throughout. I actually laughed when they had a weight lifted competition. That added great humor and it was very easy to picture this actually happening. I also thought that ending the story at half-time was a great idea. I clicked to the third story immediately.
The Sooner Schooner was the perfect title for this story. Especially with the fall that happened, it has been the talk of the town. I thought that this story was very well developed. The way you split your paragraphs helped keep me interested because I knew the story was changing a little bit at every break. I laughed when I pictured the three players crouched in the small Schooner hiding. What a great storybook so far! I am glad I could check in on your most recent stories!
Hi Caitlyn! Me again!
ReplyDeleteI love the ending to your story and how incorporated the "fallen" Sooner Schooner. It's very creative how each story of your storybook represents a different stage the Trojan. Your author's notes did a great job at making that clear and pointing out the similarities between your stories and the Trojan war, like the "battle" between Kenneth and Altas. I really like the similarity between the Greek warriors not being able to penetrate the Trojan wall and the Sooners not being able to penetrate the Titans defense. I also love the connection between the Trojan horse and the Sooner Schooner. Although it had to fall behind, it played a vital part in their plan (and they're building a new one so it's okay).
I've really enjoyed reading your storybook and I hope you've had a lot of fun writing it!
Hello Caitlyn!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing story! I love the story of the trojan horse already but pairing that with the Sooner Schooner just adds a whole other level of excitement to the story. I really would like to commend your writing ability in how you are able to take these well known individuals like Sam Ellinger and Jalen Hurts and personify them in a whole new way through developing these stories around them. The was you are able to take these classic old tales and give them new life through telling them with a Sooner flare makes them so much more interesting to read. I am always looking forward to the next story you come up with!