Alright, so the other day I was trying to find the 2017 Oklahoma Sooners football roster. It’s kinda tricky sometimes to dig up these older rosters, so I figured I’d document how I went about it, in case anyone else is having the same problem.
Start with the Obvious (But it Failed)
First, I just went straight to Google. I typed in “oklahoma sooners 2017 roster”. Figured that’d be the quickest way. I got a bunch of links, some to articles talking about the team, some to news stories, but nothing that just had the straight-up roster.
Getting a Little More Specific
Then, I got a little more specific with my search. I added “official team website” to my search terms. I thought maybe the official Sooners site would have an archive. Still no luck. It seems like those sites only keep the current roster readily available. Makes sense, I guess, but still frustrating.
Time for Some Brainstorming
I started thinking, “Where else would people talk about college football rosters?” Then it hit me: fan forums and dedicated sports websites! And of course, all-sports channels,too.
Finding That Sweet, Sweet Roster
I ended up being able to find a good, reliable, and detailed roster by a famous sports website. It was a basic HTML-formatted web page
My Takeaways
- Start simple: A basic search is always the best starting point.
- Get specific: If the simple search fails, try adding more keywords.
- Think outside the box: Consider where else this information might live. Fan sites, forums, and dedicated sports websites are your friends!
Hope this helps someone else out there in internet land! Finding old sports info can be a pain, but with a little persistence, you can usually track it down.
