OU Band Alumni Association

Letter from Nick Nicholson

Rita Heath — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:20:57 +0000

The following is a letter from Nick Nicholson about a book he is writing about Gene “Coach” Thrailkill. He is still in the process of gathering letters/anecdotes so it is NOT TOO LATE to send yours to him. Please send it to PrideAlumBook@gmail.com ASAP! (See the new link in the left margin of this website?)

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Dear Pride Alum,
I am writing Coach’s biography. The first half of the book will by the typical biographical story and materials. The second half of the book will feature letters and stories from former students. Ideally, I would like to receive a letter from you that is a “Dear Coach” letter. Something that is a letter from you to him that outlines what he has meant to you. Some people are writing about a single incident (the time you took me for my emergency appendectomy) and others are focusing on how he was a father figure away from home. Either way, most of the letters are unbelievably heartfelt and very personal. The letters I have received thus far will definitely make him feel appreciated and will bring him to tears. EXACTLY what we need!
It isn’t just letters to Coach that I need. I am also in dire need of funny stories and/or real Pride events that took place. For instance, I would love to have some people submit stories on the Ice Bowl. I have nothing from the 1981 trip to USC that was so incredibly hard to believe, but have heard so much about. How about the 1983 game against OSU…didn’t Coach get kicked out of that game? What happened?? Did Barry Switzer really drive out to a Pride practice and present Coach with a game ball? What was it like playing Miami for the national championship in Miami and did Coach have anything interesting to say about it? What was Coach’s reaction to the kid that dressed as the pregnant nun in that halloween show so many years ago? How about the tuba player with the bell cover that suggested we “Take Cuba” ?? I am sure Coach had something interesting to say about that.
The point is that we all have stories about Coach that people would love to hear – namely, he and his family. Frankly, it doesn’t matter how many people sit down and write about that horrendous trip to USC in 1981 – all that matters is that you do it. Don’t assume that someone else will tell the story, because they most likely will not. I will take anything and everything I can get and will work to create the best possible book for Coach, his family and all of his former students. Your submissions are critical to this effort! We have very few contributions from Pride members from the 70′s and early to mid eighties. (I believe letters from these eras are up to a total of six.)
Something else we need you to do is spread the word to the alumni you keep in touch with. The publisher won’t touch the book unless we have 1000 entries. Right now, I’m at about 150, with the vast majority of those coming from his teaching days at Ohio University and Dixie High School. The non OU letters are coming in at a ratio of 10 to one, which is sickening, seeing how he spent 75% of his teaching time at OU.
I am also accepting photos (that include Coach) – they must be high resolution. Also, am needing funny stories such as “remember the time coach did or said….” sort of thing.
I would say we need to set a deadline on these of ~~December 31st, 2011~~, however the sooner I can get them, the better. Please don’t wait!
Everything should be sent to PrideAlumBook@gmail.com.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Regards,
Nick
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Things people want to know, part 3

Webmaster — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:15:15 +0000

I know I was going to share search engine queries more often—terms that people enter in Google or Bing or Yahoo or whatever that leads them to our side—but then people stopped asking interesting things. The vast majority of search engine queries revolve around three topics:

OU Alumni Band information (hey, that’s us!)
Information on present and past twirlers
People looking for rah-rah sheet music (sorry, folks, but the arrangements used by The Pride of Oklahoma are their own, protected by copyright, and not freely available. Contact University Bands for licensing information.)

Nonetheless, looking back 30 days, I find a few interesting things, with the caveat that my definition of “interesting” is perhaps wider than a normal person’s. Here’s a few:

Dig in and fight for the Red and White of Oklahoma

We march down the field with our heads held high, determined to win every battle we’re in

O.K. Oklahoma fight song lyrics

Most of you know that the first two requests are partially an answer to the third: those are the lyrics to O.K. Oklahoma, the 1939 spirit song written by Fred Waring for OU. You can find the lyrics and more of the story on the page I wrote in 2004 for the song’s 65th anniversary, O.K. Oklahoma at 65.

Pride of Oklahoma Insight Bowl performances

[several other similar ones]

Some queries correctly looked for “Horton Productions” for this, run by fellow Pride alums Matt and Pat Horton (or perhaps the other way around). They segregate their several business ventures into many different URLs, and this is the one you want for 2011 Pride of Oklahoma performances on video. That includes the Insight Bowl, homecoming pregame and halftime (including OUBAA pregame), and all the rest of the 2011 season’s halftime performances. You also get instructions on how to buy the DVD, which you should do to conserve the Internet for everyone else.

Kyle Wiemar on Wheel of Fortune

Someone was really looking for this last month, as people were led to our site under several similar queries. On March 17, 2006, outgoing Pride drum major Kyle Wiemar appeared on the syndicated TV game show Wheel of Fortune and won, going to the bonus round and winning again. In addition to the above link from us, there was a story in the Norman Transcript about it (a page I’ve edited because I had Kyle’s name misspelled—sorry, Kyle!)

Trivia: Kyle’s friend in the audience for the bonus round was incoming Pride drum major Eric Shannon, who created (I believe) the “Boomer 5″ arrangement the Pride still uses on first downs! I have video of this on an old disconnected DVR in a room somewhere, but if it’s already on YouTube somewhere, I’d be happy to link to it.

Where can I purchase a rain poncho like the OU Band wears?

A nice lady asked me this in E-mail because she couldn’t find an answer anywhere, and I didn’t have on either. After asking Mr. Britt, I’ve learned that the band’s current ponchos, the ones carried on the back in poncho packs, are a custom-made band uniform item and are not for sale to the general public. Sorry—they are cool, so maybe the manufacturers will make them available someday.

That’s about it for the search engines. What’s been on your mind?

What did you think of “Band Bedlam?”

Webmaster — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:52:01 +0000

Update 28 December: Be sure to click through and read comments from OETA’s Bill Perry about Band Bedlam DVDs, rebroadcasts, and the use of previously unbroadcast footage in OETA’s Gallery in January 2012!

Consider this an open thread for your thoughts on the OETA show or other issues of this BEDLAM week. Comment away! (No registration required.)

Merry Christmas from OUBAA!

Webmaster — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 18:21:13 +0000

The timing of the season usually doesn’t give The Pride opportunity to play Christmas (or even holiday) tunes, but a rare 1989 concert in Tulsa late in the season provided just such a chance. From that concert, introduced by none other than George Ryan, here’s Leroy Anderson’s classic. Please enjoy with the warmest wishes of the season from all your friends at OUBAA—we’ll be back tomorrow with news of the Insight Bowl trip and where to see the 2011 Pride of Oklahoma!

Pride Sleigh Ride (1989)

“Band Bedlam”

Webmaster — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 08:19:02 +0000

OETA, The Oklahoma Network, presents an original 30-minute production about the marching bands at the state’s two largest universities: The Pride of Oklahoma, and the OSU Cowboy Marching Band.

Band Bedlam premieres Thursday, December 1, at 7:00 PM (CST) on the stations of OETA. It will be rebroadcast Saturday, December 3 (Bedlam Day!) at 6:30 AM. If you get OETA’s digital sub channels (like KETA-DT 13-2 in Oklahoma City, available over Cox Cable HD service and via antenna), you can also see it on Friday, December 2 at 8:30 AM or 4:00 PM, or Saturday, December 3 at 1:00 PM or 4:30 PM. Dish Network and DirecTV subscribers without antennas do not receive the subchannels, plus you really want to watch it Thursday night anyway.

Don’t believe me? Look at the embedded video below, which is the first minute of the program. If you donated to OETA, you should have received December’s Odyssey program guide by now, which includes a cover story about the program, too. A lot of the scenes in this video should look verrrrry familiar to you, and now the rest of the state gets a chance to see what you saw. Here’s a preview:

“Band Bedlam” Preview Clip

Marching Band: The Video Game!

Webmaster — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:46:20 +0000

OK, not really; it was in the opening act of last Sunday’s episode of The Simpsons on Fox. You can watch it online now! The segment in question starts at about 1:38 and lasts for about 30 seconds:

Calendar updated

Webmaster — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:04:16 +0000

Our events calendar has been updated with the times of the final three games of the season. Games at Baylor and at OSU kickoff at 7:00 PM CST; the final home game (against Iowa State) kicks off at 11:00 AM CDT. The gameday schedule for Iowa State is also online, including the 5:30 AM rehearsal—yikes!

All three games will be telecast by ESPN on ABC. I’m sure the OSU game will be nationally televised, given the BCS implications, but you can check here after Thursday of each week to see how ESPN/ABC plan to handle national and regional coverage in your area.

Coming later this week: more on “Band Bedlam,” notes about Monday’s final symphonic wind concert of the semester, and whatever else comes up that we find and you might want to know. BCS expert Jerry Palm now predicts, on his subscription site CollegeBCS.com, that the BCS National Championship game will be LSU vs. Oklahoma. In New Orleans. Talk about a classic case of good news-bad news!

That deserves more good news, so here’s another poster for “Band Bedlam:”

Coming soon…

Webmaster — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:12:13 +0000

Texas A&M gameday schedule is up

Webmaster — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 09:12:26 +0000

You can find it in your calendar program if you subscribe to our events calendar, or find it on the Web here.

Kickoff is at 2:30 PM. The game will either be on your local ABC station (as it will here in Oklahoma), or on ESPN2. Check here later this week for ESPN’s full coverage map and exact Dish Network/DIRECTV channel numbers. (Satellite customers get several “ESPN Alternate” channels because, unlike local cable companies, the satellite providers can’t switch what you seen on “ESPN” or “ESPN2″ based on your region. In those cases, you can usually at least see the game in standard definition on one of the “alternate” channels. If not, you’ll have to use ESPN3 or the pay-per-view ESPN GamePlan.)

Passages, October 30 2011

Webmaster — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 18:44:18 +0000

Good news: today is “Coach” Gene Thrailkill’s birthday, though if I tell you which one, I’m going to hear about it for a long time.

Bad news: Long-time Oklahoma sportscaster Bob Barry Sr. has died.