Editor's note: This article was originally published in The Oklahoman on April 20, 1994.

Despite a broken ankle that forced him to cancel some concert dates, Toby Keith said playing in the annual University of Oklahoma alumni football game was worth it.

Keith, a Moore native who is a country and western singer, said he always has been a huge Sooner fan, and getting to don a Sooner uniform and "slap pads" with some of his childhood heroes was like a dream come true.

"I'd do it again," Keith said. "I was in heaven standing there in Sooner Red."

Keith, who once played on a semiprofessional Oklahoma City football team, said he got to replace Jimbo Elrod, a defensive standout on the 1975 national championship football team who went on to play professionally for the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Before suiting up, Keith performed the national anthem. He said he was so excited that he forgot to remove his cap, a mistake he has not made while performing the anthem in front of much larger crowds.

Keith said when he was 10 to 12 years old, he sold refreshments at OU football games just to have the opportunity to attend the games. He compared Saturday's game to fantasy camp.

"It was just a freak accident," Keith said from his home this week. "I never did suffer much pain. As soon as it happened, my ankle went numb."

Keith said he had surgery on the foot Saturday. His ankle is dislocated and fractured and Keith will wear a splint for at least a week before being fitted for a walking cast.

"I'll be out of commission for at least three weeks, but I've got a lot of things I can do," he said. "I've canceled a lot of my Brooks & Dunn performances."

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Keith was scheduled to open for the country and western duo in Tulsa on Saturday.

He said that during the last play of the game, he was near the back of the pile. When the players started to get up, someone rolled on his foot just right, and the bone snapped.

"They (organizers) wanted me to have a good time. I think they felt worse about it than I did," Keith said. "I got top-of-the-line treatment."

While Keith is a big fan of many of the men on the field Saturday, many of the players are big fans of his, he said.

"I get tickled," Keith said. "To me, my job is no big deal. I guess everybody just wants to do what everybody else is doing."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Toby Keith broke ankle in 1994 Oklahoma Sooners football alumni game