Pride Parents' Day. Pride Parents' Day will take place on September 15 when the Sooners take on Utah State. Parents' Day is an opportunity for all Pride member's parents to take part in a gameday experience with their son or daughter. A schedule and order forms were mailed to the home address we have on file on Thursday, August 16. You may also download the information in PDF format if you did not receive the mailing. Please note that these items are very time sensitive so complete them today! We would like everyone to be able to participate! We look forward to seeing you on the 15th. Boomer Sooner!
Concert Ensemble Auditions Update. The audition schedule for concert ensemble auditions has been finalized and is available for you to view. Students interested in auditioning should sign up for an audition slot on the bulletin board between the band and orchestra rooms prior to auditions next week. Audition Materials for positions in the Wind Symphony, Symphony Band and Orchestra are still available for download. Please contact the band office if you have difficulty downloading the material.
Concert Ensemble Auditions. Audition Materials for positions in the Wind Symphony, Symphony Band and Orchestra are now posted. Follow the link to your instrument to print the .pdf file, which includes audition music and a newsletter with audition and calendar information. The files are approximately 9 MB in size so if you are downloading from a dial-up connection, please be advised that it will take a little while. Auditions are scheduled the first week of classes between August 20-22. Please contact the band office if you have difficulty downloading the material.
2007 Pride of Oklahoma Auditions. Auditions for the 2007 Pride of Oklahoma will begin Monday, August 13 for all members. Audition music is now available on our secure website. In order to access the secure website, prospective members must either be enrolled in marching band (MUTE 1130, sec 900) or - if enrollment is not yet possible - must provide the band office with their 4x4 (we do not need the account password). Upon login, prospective students will fill out an information profile and once the profile is completed and saved, the student will be able to access the audition files. If there is any trouble with the login, please contact the band office and we will return your email as soon as possible. Boomer Sooner!
University of Oklahoma Honors Wind Ensemble and Choir Camp. The University of Oklahoma Honors Wind Ensemble and Choir Camp brings honors music students to the beautiful university setting for professional development with faculty, conductors, and artist teachers. The groups are comprised of outstanding students from Oklahoma and Texas, grades 9-12, who achieve excellence through membership in all-state, all-area, all-region honor groups, or receive superior ratings at solo and ensemble contest. Participants may also be nominated by their director or applied teacher. Students rehearse, attend master classes/sectional rehearsals with University faculty and perform a final concert at Paul F. Sharp Hall in Catlett Music Center on the University of Oklahoma campus. For additional information, please visit our Honors Wind Ensemble and Choir website.
Wind Symphony selected to perform at regional conference. The Wind Symphony has been selected to perform for the 2008 College Band Directors National Association Southwestern Division Conference at the Kansas City Conservatory of Music on Thursday, February 28, at 8:00 p.m. CBDNA is comprised of college band conductors who focus on the advancement of bands through performance, teaching, and scholarly activity. National and regional conferences present the latest ideas and literature for the medium and are held in alternating years at selected sites. The University of Oklahoma hosted the regional conference in 1990 and 2000.
An Evening of Winds and Percussion. Monday, April 23 at 8:00 p.m., the Symphony Band and Concert Band will present their final concerts for this academic year. The Concert Band will perform Golden Point Overture, As Summer Was Just Beginning, Visions of Flight, and Invercargill. Armenian Dances (Part I), Down a Country Lane, Igor Fantasy, and Symphony in B-flat will be performed by the Symphony Band. Admission to the concert is free. Get a printer-friendly poster here. We hope to see you on the 23rd!
The first ever “Pride of Oklahoma Scholarship Golf Tournament will be held at the OU Jimmie Austin Golf Club, Saturday afternoon, June 21, 2008. This event will provide Pride staff and students the opportunity to interact with band alumni, supporters, and friends, while raising funds for the band scholarship endowment. A wide array of participation and sponsorship opportunities are available to fit virtually everyone’s interest and availability. Space is limited so act now to ensure you have a spot for this terrific event. Click here for more information.
Due to the time demands of band membership, as well as ever increasing academic responsibilities, Pride of Oklahoma members find it difficult if not impossible to work outside jobs during fall semester. As a result, scholarships are an essential resource to sustain the quality of the Pride.
Presently, The Pride of Oklahoma is able to offer scholarships to approximately one third of our members each year from existing endowed funds. Our desire is to increase both the number and size of these awards to offset increasing educational costs. Achieving this goal will allow us continue to attract and retain the best collegiate band members in the nation. Your participation in this event as a sponsor, a golfer, or both, makes it possible for us to grow the endowed funds necessary to support the band scholarship program.
Thank you for helping us continue the tradition of excellence for which The Pride of Oklahoma has become known throughout its 104 year history. See you on the course!
Additionally, plans are being made for a “Dance Band Reunion” to be held in the evening following the tournament. OU Band Alumnus Joe Windes, and OU Band Alumnus/OU Jazz Ensemble Director, Jay Wilkinson are heading up this event. Stay tuned for more details!
[From the webmaster: we've also added the event and the registration deadline to our Events calendar, so if you're subscribed to that, you'll see it all in place for June 21. Who can resist the chance to whack the bejeebus out of some golf balls to raise money for the next generation of alumni?? If you play golf at all, sign up today!]
From today's Oklahoman, discussing the OU Board of Regents' approval of the charter airline service for the Sooner football team for the 2008 season:
The Regents also awarded a separate contract to Northwest Airlines in the amount of $148,504 to fly the Pride of Oklahoma marching band to Seattle next fall when the Sooners play Washington.
More details on the trip as we get them, for alums in the Puget Sound area. The game is scheduled for Saturday, September 13, and is now on our Events calendar since we know The Pride is going!
This was announced two weeks ago at the Band Banquet, but since today's Norman Transcript has a nice write-up of Jason and the audition process, delaying doesn't seem to have hurt anything. I didn't know all that stuff.
(Ignore that, for some reason, the article is dated "August 13, 2002." It's current.) Congratulations to Jason! Everyone else, start nagging Chauvin to join OUBAA! (And any other former Pride members you know who aren't haunting these halls, for that matter!)
Our beloved Sooners are now 0-4 in their last four BCS bowl games, including two national championship games and two consecutive Tostitos Fiesta Bowl appearances. All hail to the Mountaineers, who overcame significant turmoil to play a fantastic game. Plus, a 11-3 season is nothing to sneeze at, nor is OU's second consecutive conference championship (#41 in an ongoing series).
We've got a few videos from KOKH-TV (Fox 25 in Oklahoma City) and from the national FOX Broadcasting's coverage of the BCS and the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. First up, from KOKH news reporter Jaime Cerreta—an Arizona State University alumna, who's very familiary with the Fiesta Bowl and its festivities—a segment on The Pride's two-time world champion feature twirler, Meredith Sigler:
Next up is a live interview Jaime Cerreta conducted from the field at University of Phoenix Stadium with Brian Britt (not only one of us but, of course, director of The Pride of Oklahoma) at approximately 6:11 PM CST, or just about 70 minutes before kickoff, when The Pride entered the stadium:
Of course, what we really want to see is The Pride on the field, and FOX's BCS coverage in high definition obliged at both pregame and halftime! And if you can't have John McCormick, George Ryan, or Jeremy Gossett doing the honors on television, who better could you imagine to introduce The Pride of Oklahoma than legendary Sooners coach Barry Switzer?
And finally, nearly two full minutes of the halftime performance itself, featuring Jerry Goldsmith's score to The Wind and the Lion, and Michael Jackson's Thriller. FOX's timing did not include the Thriller dance, to everyone's great disappointment, but what did make the air looked pretty darned good:
The armchair coaches will have plenty to chew over until Pride auditions start in August, but there was no question to anyone watching the broadcast that The Pride was there for all sixty minutes of that game. Long after the TV shots made it clear that most Sooner fans had left the building, the young men and women in the new red uniforms finished strong, never giving up, never flagging.
We're proud to have had them carry on our tradition in this just-completed Oklahoma Centennial Season, one in which band members traveled over 10,000 miles supporting the Sooners and representing our state. Thanks, 2007 Pride of Oklahoma—and for those who have completed your time on the practice field, welcome to our ranks.
It's quite likely that even once you see this, you won't believe it:
It takes seven buses and a tractor-trailer rig to haul the 300-member Pride of Oklahoma marching band halfway across the United States. Is it a long, grueling bus ride? Or, a giant slumber party on wheels?
Three hundred college students equals how many iPods, ringtones, laptops, PSPs, DVDs and MP3s?
How many dead cell phone batteries constitute a crisis?
Inquiring minds and News9.com's INsite Team wanted to know. So, we asked OU band members to chronicle their daily adventures in this blog.
"This blog" features KWTV's "iNSite" crew that's traveling with the band, posting video reports, feature articles, and providing blogs of the trip from six members of The Pride: drum major Chauvin Aaron, pit performer Caitee Boxeur, trombone player Michael Harp, mellophone player Jensen Mecca, trombone player Jason Marshall, and trumpet player Margaret Perry.
This is part of the launch of "news9.com", as KWTV ends its partnership with The Oklahoman in the "newsok.com" Web site. It's brand new, so you have to expect a few things to be messed up. In particular, being TV stations and absolutely obsessed with things like advertising and copy protection, they're using Windows Media for video (ironic, since the entire OU School of Music, much less the band department, as well as this Web site are all Mac-based and have been for pretty much the entire time).
Because of that, Mac users actually have to download Windows Media Player for Mac. The "news9.com" site does not support the more common Flip4Mac Windows Media plug-ins, even though for well over a year, Flip4Mac has been Microsoft's recommended Mac software for viewing Windows Media. The player you have to download has not been updated in over four years, but KWTV can't figure out how to make you sit through the commercials using Flip4Mac, so you have to use the older player if it's supported on your system (it's not universal; it will run on Intel-based Macs, but it's slow). It obviously will not work on iPhone.
I'm not sure why they haven't figured out how to do this, since every other video news site on the planet seems to have it, but there ya go. The non-video parts don't require any special software, so you can read all the reports and the blogs from The Pride members right now. Here's hoping KWTV gets a better clue about online video so we can all see it more easily soon, but either way - YAY! Thanks, channel 9!
We're just a couple of weeks away from the 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, when our beloved Sooners take on the Big East champion #9-ranked Mountaineers of West Virginia in a nationally-televised football showdown on the FOX network. The Fiesta Bowl is the new Orange Bowl, for those who were members during the days of the Big 8 Conference—the bowl that the conference champion always attends unless playing for the national championship—so the Sooners attend by virtue of being repeat Big 12 Conference champions!
For those who went last year, you'll find a similar schedule, with the Fort McDowell Fiesta Bowl Parade being one day earlier so it doesn't fall on Sunday. The men and women of the 2008 Pride of Oklahoma are thought of so well that the bowl and the university took extra care to make sure they'd be in Phoenix a day earlier than planned just so they could participate in the parade! (Sadly, the longer distance for their compatriots in The Pride of West Virginia Mountaineer Marching Band can't make the trip that fast, but will certainly be showing Mountaineer spirit during the block party and the actual Fiesta Bowl! If you have a chance, be sure to stop by the West Virginia University Alumni Band site and say "hi!")
We have updated our Events calendar with all of The Pride of Oklahoma's public rehearsals and performances during the bowl trip. If you subscribe to the calendar in iCal (Mac OS X) or Windows Vista Calendar, you'll automatically get everything, including URLs with maps and other information. A few notes for those planning on making the festive trip:
Our calendar contains time zone information. For example, the game kicks off at 7:00 PM CST, 6:00 PM MST, 8:00 PM EST, etc. If you subscribe to the calendar and view it in iCal or Windows Vista or another similar program, it should display times in your computer's current time zone. If you go to Phoenix, change your time zone to Mountain Standard Time when you get there and all the times should update to match local time.
If you're reading the online version, note that by default, all times are displayed in US Central time. We've hacked in a new version of the calendar software that supports time zones, so if you want to read the page from the bowl site, scroll down to the 'preferences' link and set your time zone to something appropriate (like "America/Phoenix"). If you get errors on setting preferences, delete all cookies in your browser from "static.oubandalumni.org". The only cookies from that domain should be your online calendar preferences. (The cookies from "oubandalumni.org", though, include your login session, so if you delete those, you'll have to log back into the site next time.)
The Fiesta Bowl Committee runs two bowls: the Fiesta Bowl and the Insight Bowl (formerly the Insight.com Bowl, formerly the Copper Bowl). This year's Insight Bowl is on December 31 in the Phoenix area, and features Indiana playing (wait for it) Oklahoma State. In other words, there will be lots of Oklahomans in orange floating around during the days before the Fiesta Bowl, so don't be surprised to see them.
The Pride's planned halftime show ends with a certain number that has, in the past, featured a certain dance. All plans subject to change, your mileage may vary, void where prohibited.
The Fiesta Bowl is a great experience and a fantastic bowl trip to the Valley of the Sun during a time that, as we've seen this week, can be a bit frozen around these parts. They're excited to welcome back the Sooners and The Pride of Oklahoma, and we hope all alumni who can make the trip can support the bands in the various parades, performances, and spirit events. And as alumni, feel free to drop by rehearsal and say "hi" if you want, but don't try to vote for next year's drum major. Let's not get into recounts and hanging chads and the like, thanks!
So BOOMER SOONER and we hope to see you at the Fiesta Bowl! GO SOONERS!
For those who think the Fiesta Bowl is a bit of a letdown, that it's "just" another conference championship, chew on these facts:
With the win over Missouri last night, Oklahoma becomes the first team in Big 12 history to win back-to-back conference titles. Really!
2007 is the Sooners' first conference championship win in an odd-numbered year in 20 years (1987, when the Sooners won the Big 8 title but lost the Orange Bowl and the national championship to Miami).
This is the ninth consecutive year that OU has gone to a bowl game, and that's a school record. The Sooners have gone bowling every year that Bob Stoops has been head coach.
The Sooners are the designated home team for the 2008 Fiesta Bowl, so if either band gets to play the national anthem, it'll be The Pride of Oklahoma! Last night, our boys and girls in very red performed Tonight from West Side Story, and the Gnarls Barkley tune Gone Daddy Gone.
The bowl show and schedule is all to be determined in the next several days, of course; we'll post details of public Pride appearances on our Events calendar as we know about them, as we did last year. Our opponents are the Mountaineers from the University of West Virginia—2007 Big East Conference champions, #9 in the final 2007 BCS rankings, and owners of a similar 10-2 record. This will be the first time OU will play WV outside of Norman, and the first meeting between the two schools since 1982 (when WV won). OU holds a 2-1 edge in the series.
The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl is a great bowl with a strong tradition of all the trappings of college football: band competitions, a good parade, lots of celebrations for both participating schools, and a New Year's Eve block party that, this year, is headlined by Barenaked Ladies. Everyone had a great time last year right up until the end of overtime (grr), and this year can be even better!
We'll post updates as we have them, but for now, congratulations to The Pride of Oklahoma nearing the end of a spectacular Oklahoma Centennial season, and to the Big 12 champion Oklahoma Sooners!
Forget what you read from sportswriters: the Sooners had clinched the Big 12 South division title Friday afternoon with Texas's loss to Texas A&M, a victory that was not enough to save Dennis Franchione's job.
The rules for breaking a Big 12 divisional tie are ambiguous at best (leave it to the Big 12 to write confusing rules intended to clarify a situation), but presuming the first tie-breaking step, "The records of the three teams will be compared against each other," means that they'll compare the overall records of all tied teams, that would have immediately dropped OSU from consideration (had the Aggies Cowboys won yesterday, they would still have been 7-5, while both OU and Texas would be 9-3). By rule, that drops OSU from consideration, leaving a two-way tie between OU and Texas, which OU would win because OU won the Red River Rivalry in October.
If the rule really means that they'd compare the three teams' records in playing each other, that would remain a tie (OU beat Texas, Texas beat OSU, and OSU would have theoretically beat OU or we wouldn't be doing this exercise). It would then stay tied through the fourth tie-breaking rule, "The records of the three teams will be compared against the next highest placed teams in their division in order of finish - 4, 5 and 6." The fourth-place Big 12 South team (had OSU won yesterday) would have been Texas Tech. Texas and OSU both beat Texas Tech, but OU did not. By the same rule cited above, OU would then fall out of consideration, and Texas would win the tie-breaker with OSU. It would not have gotten as far as BCS rankings, the fifth tie-breaker, and no one who reads the tie-breaking procedure can possibly think it would have.
Fortunately, it didn't matter: the Sooners defeated the Cowboys 49-17, returning to the form that had previously kept them in BCS National Championship consideration. The Pride was hot on a cold day as well, providing the home debut of the new bright red uniform coats as seen in the Macy's Parade, and ending halftime by sharing the field with the Cowboy Marching Band in a Centennial-inspired rendition of Dr. Roland Barrett's arrangement of the state song from 1989 (for OU's centennial), You're Doin' Fine. (The OSU band also, wittingly or not, paid a little tribute to The Pride by opening with Roland's 2000 arrangement of Luck Be A Lady, written and performed during Coach's final season.)
NBC really did love feature twirler Meredith Sigler—we learned this weekend that the network's TV coverage people moved her to the position in front of the drumline, which was not the position in which she practiced, so they could feature her more prominently. There's really no question why, either: during the concert feature of Mambo from West Side Story, Meredith wowed the crowd from the north end zone by flawlessly twirling three batons that were each on fire at both ends. FSN may yet regret not showing halftime performances. Meredith repeated the feat during the post-game concert. It's easy to see why she's going for her third world twirling championship in 2008—good luck, Meredith!
The Sooners now travel to San Antonio for next week's Big 12 Championship, kicking off at 7:10 PM from the Alamo Dome on ABC-TV in high definition. This will likely be the toughest game the Sooners have faced in years: their opponent, the Big 12 North champion Missouri Tigers, already played OU hard this year in Norman and came up short. Many of you will remember this, since it was Homecoming 2007.
OU is Missouri's only loss this year, and with the victory over previously undefeated Kansas and LSU's second loss on Friday, Missouri will be at least #2 in this week's BCS rankings, and may be #1 (West Virginia will hold the slot that Missouri does not). Plus, for better or worse, the Sooners have not done well on the road this season.
If OU wins the Big 12 championship, the Sooners are in a BCS bowl—most likely the Fiesta Bowl, where the Big 12 Champion goes by default, but other bowls are possible, especially if Ohio State somehow makes it into the championship game. If the Sooners lose, the team may fall out of BCS at-large consideration. On the other hand, if Missouri wins their first-ever Big 12 championship, they will play for the National Championship. By the media's rules, even though the Sooners are playing for a BCS berth, OU will be cast as the "spoiler" to Missouri's national championship hopes.
There may be an opportunity to support The Pride at a public rehearsal in San Antonio on Saturday, December 1; we'll update our Events calendar if such information becomes available. We've made the Macy's Parade coverage into its own page so you can find the video more easily, too. The post-season destination is on the line Saturday night, and The Pride will do its best to boost the Sooners into the BCS. Cheer like a champion!
The Pride of Oklahoma debuted the new red uniform coats in New York City on Thanksgiving Day in the Macy's® Thanksgiving Day Parade. The previous red coats were retired after Coach's last season in 2000, and this is the first time in seven years that The Pride has appeared in public all in red. The new coats feature an interlocking "OU" logo on the front in white parquet, with "OKLAHOMA" on the sleeves in white embroidery on a black background with gray piping. They sure did look sharp on two national television broadcasts!
First up was the coverage from CBS, called the "CBS Thanksgiving Day Parade" because NBC has the rights to the name "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" and to the performances in Herald Square. The Pride appeared on CBS approximately one hour and 55 minutes after the coverage started, and showed the band playing Fight for OKU in Times Square. Here's the video from the CBS broadcast—you can hear The Pride behind an interview long before you can see them. Be sure to listen to Dave Price and Hannah Storm after the commercial break as they're unable to distinguish between Oklahoma and another Big 12 (heck, Big 8) school.
CBS's position was about 20 minutes ahead of NBC's Herald Square performance platform at the end of the parade. The Pride appeared on NBC approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes into the parade coverage, and while they definitely looked good in high-definition in those new red coats, we do wish NBC had shown more of the band members actually marching. It would have been nice to actually see those shiny new matching trombones!
Congratulations to all Pride members and staff, who should all be back in Norman by now preparing for rehearsals for Bedlam just 36 hours from when we post this. This is certainly a week they'll be talking about for many years—the members traveled over 3600 miles in the past week representing OU and Oklahoma, and those who performed in the Texas Tech band have logged an astonishing 4400 miles in just one week for The Pride. We couldn't be more proud of the way they've carried on our tradition!
My inner hunch that I'd have more fun in Austin than Lubbock grows stronger every other year.
Barring a set of circumstances that can most charitably be described as "mammothly improbable," the Sooners' loss to Texas Tech last night knocks them out of contention for the BCS National Championship. But in a sense, that just makes this Saturday's game hosting Oklahoma A&M State even more important.
The Sooners clinch the Big 12 South division title with either a Texas loss to Texas A&M on Friday, or an OU victory over OSU on Saturday. Texas is currently a strong favorite over A&M, but everyone remembers last year: Texas lost QB Colt McCoy to injury in the next-to-last game, and lost that game and their last game at home to their hated in-state rival. That double loss turned Texas's "sure-thing" division championship into an OU division title, with the Sooners going on to beat Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship to earn a berth in the Fiesta Bowl.
With Sam Bradford injured in last night's loss, OSU is without doubt looking to repeat that pattern north of the Red River. OSU can't win the Big 12 title, but at 6-5, the Aggies Cowboys are barely bowl-eligible, and would improve their chances of a good post-season trip with an upset of the Sooners. If OU wins, they'll face the winner of Saturday night's Kansas-Missouri game for the Big 12 title in San Antonio on December 1.
If Kansas wins that game and the Big 12 championship, they'll play for the national title. If Missouri or OU wins the Big 12 championship, they'll go to the Fiesta Bowl. Interestingly enough, as of this weekend, Jerry Palm of CollegeBCS.com is predicting that OU will win the conference title, and that Kansas will be a BCS at-large team—and that the two will meet in the Fiesta Bowl. I can't tell if he believes Kansas or Missouri will win the Big 12 North title, but I think he think it'd be Kansas, because the Jayhawks wouldn't be an attractive BCS at-large team with two losses. (Palm currently believes OSU will be invited to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio with a loss to the Sooners on Saturday.)
There's a lot at stake in this final home game, made all the more serious for our men and women of The Pride of Oklahoma because they leave tomorrow for New York City and the Macy's® Thanksgiving Day Parade. Keep them in your thoughts on Thursday, as they get the wake-up call for the parade at 1:30 AM on Thanksgiving morning, just the start of a very long day that doesn't end until very late Thursday or early Friday when they arrive back in Norman.
We've got the Events calendar updated with Saturday's tentative schedule. There do not appear to be any public rehearsal or spirit opportunities in NYC before the parade itself (sorry, East coast alumni ), but if any present themselves, we'll update the calendar. The Bedlam game kicks off at 2:30 PM CST and will be televised regionally by FSN on cable and satellite—that's channel 37 for Cox OKC customers, channel 416 on Dish Network, and channel 643 on DirecTV, though some customers can get HD versions on other channels if the game is broadcast in HD).
It's also Senior Day, and The Pride's halftime show not only salutes our seniors, but ends in a spirit of Centennial cooperation that should be a sight to see. We hope to see you at the concert and the game, and if not, we hope you cheering for the Sooners in front of the TV. It's the last and most important game of the regular season! BOOMER SOONER!
Check out this KWTV "News 9" report from Tuesday night showing the new uniforms coming out of the boxes from Fruehuaf, along with interviews with Brian Britt and members Laura Ramsey (uniform manager), Cameron Robinson, and Samantha Coppedge. There's even a little impromptu Thriller dance, if you can handle Gan Matthews' singing.
It also gives a hint of the crazy schedule, which you can also see on our Events calendar.
In case you missed the Oklahoman's recent article on The Pride's three-year feature twirler, Meredith Sigler, it's now available online.
The article doesn't mention Meredith's scholastic achievement, though. Here's some description from the OU Club of Dallas from four years ago, when she won one of the organization's scholarships:
Meredith graduated from Lakeview Centenial High School in Garland, and will major in Microbiology. Her SAT Total was 1040, her ACT total was 22, her GPA was 3.86/4.0, and her rank was 19th in her class of 442. Her mother Judy and father Frank are Teachers.
Of course, Meredith is just one of the latest in a long line of Pride members who received scholarships or help from the OU Club of Dallas, but has distinguished herself in so many ways both in and out of the Pride, including membership in ΤΒΣ—and is going for her third world championship next year. Congratulations and good luck, Meredith!
Last night's 52-21 victory over Baylor puts our Sooners at 9-1 and, with Ohio State's loss, at #4 in the BCS ratings, behind LSU, Oregon, and (yes, I know, but it's true) Kansas. There's a lot yet to be determined as the Sooners travel to Texas Tech on Saturday night, and host the Oklahoma A&M Aggies OSU Cowboys a week later.
The Pride is so busy during that same period that we may have to start a Red Bull Scholarship ("Red and White Bull?"). The entire Pride will be in Guthrie on Friday for the Centennial Statehood Day Parade on, appropriately enough, the 100th anniversay of Oklahoma Statehood. Then a pep band takes off for Lubbock in preparation for the game, which was set this week for a 7:00 PM kickoff and primetime coverage on ABC-TV.
And then it's off to the Big Apple to represent Oklahoma in the Macy's® Thanksgiving Day Parade! Although the parade will be televised on both NBC and CBS television networks, NBC has paid for the rights to the parade, so only NBC can show the performances in Herald Square, where The Pride will perform its show.
The bad news is that, because NBC time-shifts Today to air from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM in all time zones, the network is doing the same for the parade. It starts at 9:00 AM EST (8:00 AM CST), but airs at 9:00 PM in all time zones. That means it's delayed by one hour here in Oklahoma. The CBS broadcast is live in the Central time zone (at least here in the OKC area), but as noted above, will not include The Pride's prepared performance. (We should also note that since most local TV stations around the country still lack the ability to record and rebroadcast HDTV signals, NBC's coverage will be in standard definition, not high definition. CBS's coverage is SD as well.)
The Pride then rushes back to Norman to prepare for Bedlam two days later. Kickoff time is not set yet, but we hope it will be set by Monday—hopefully before we see you all at the Wind Symphony and Symphony Band concert tomorrow night! Our Events calendar is current as of tonight, and we'll update it with more Pride appearances as we know about them.
Update: This news story from last week says that ABC-TV has one "six-day option" left and is using it on the OU-OSU and KU-MU games on November 24. If ABC chooses to air KU-MU in primetime, OU-OSU will air on Fox Sports Net and kickoff at 2:30 PM CST. If ABC chooses to air the OU-OSU game, it will kickoff at 7:00 PM CST. But we won't know until Sunday, November 18. Sorry.
The Sooners kept the Aggies in check all night, leading 21-0 at halftime and 35-0 in the third quarter, on the way to a final OU 42-14 victory in Norman last night in primetime. With two higher-ranked BCS teams (Boston College and Arizona State) posting losses yesterday, the Sooners' BCS chances are definitely improved today—but a lot of things still have to break OU's way for the Sooners to have a chance at a post-new-year's trip to New Orleans, not the least of which is winning the next four games.
There's a book about The Noble Men (and Women) of Kyle—The Pulse of the Spirit of Aggieland Nationally Famous Fightin' Texas Aggie Marching Band, published by Texas A&M Press. Entitled The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band, the book's description begins, "They always win the halftime."
The Austin American-Statesman newspaper (which, by the way, has now figured out that Oklahoma defeated Texas this year) would agree, as one columnist wrote today:
The Aggies were the fourth-best group on the field Saturday, behind the Sooners, the A&M band, and the OU band, which provided a nice little dance rendition of Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
That's neither the only nor the first column to rank the Texas A&M organizations in that order.
However, I'm reasonably certain that if I'd had an applause meter on the field last night, The Pride would have won in a squeaker. The Noble Men (and Women) of Kyle—The Pulse of the Spirit of Aggieland Nationally Famous Fightin' Texas Aggie Marching Band always gets a fantastic reception in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium during their biannual visits, but the 64-count Thriller dance in The Pride's tribute to Halloween easily was one of the most loved performances ever.
If you're lucky, you might get to see some of this Saturday, as the Sooners host the Baylor Bears in home game #6 of the 2007 season. The game, but probably not the dance, will be televised live on Fox Sports Network, with kickoff scheduled for 5:30 PM CST.
Update: Watch the Thriller dance performed during halftime from the view of The Pride seats here, or again during the post-game concert here.
We knew two days early that Saturday's game vs. Texas A&M is scheduled for a 7:00 PM kickoff, because while I was watching ABC, the network scrolled the kickoff time across the bottom of the screen during the Ohio State vs. Penn State game.
Now we also know that the Baylor game will kickoff in Norman at 5:30 PM on November 10.
Our Events calendar has been updated with the gameday schedule for this weekend, and the tentative/standard schedule for next weekend as well. "The Pride performs and entirely new show this week, playing to the East ("Student") side of the stadium at halftime.
Our current members also continue to prepare for the the Macy's® Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City in just over three weeks; we'll keep you updated with any opportunities for Pride and Sooner Spirit in the Big Apple as we get word of them.
Update #2: Now we also know that the Bedlam game on November 24 will kick off at either 2:30 PM or 7:00 PM in Norman, meaning that The Pride won't have to face 6:00 AM rehearsal just two days after the Macy's parade. Something else to be thankful for!
We are delighted to have everyone joining us this weekend. It should be an exciting experience for all of us! Below are some logistical issues that will aid all of us in having as smooth and enjoyable a day as possible. Thanks in advance for helping us make the 2007 Homecoming a success!
If you've never been there before, click here for a satellite view and an opportunity to get directions from Google Maps. (Note that directions are to ETC, not to available parking—see this post for basic gameday information.)
The Pride will rehearse from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM, immediately following the performance for ESPN College Gameday
Please note that no food, drinks, gum, or tobacco products are permitted inside the facility.
Portable restrooms are located immediately west of the facility for our use.
The Alumni Truck will be parked west of Everest and will be open by 10:00 AM for instrument pick-up.
After rehearsal, all alumni instruments will be loaded and locked inside the Alumni Truck.
The truck will then be parked inside the football practice facility at the stadium to facilitate Alumni Band access prior to pregame and during the second quarter.
Game Information
Stadium Entry
Since you will not be carrying an instrument, you will be able to enter any gate you like with your ticket.
Field Access
Your uniform and instrument will allow you access to the field at pregame and halftime.
Please stay out of the team areas at all times.
Keep an eye on the field during pregame warm-ups to avoid any collisions!
Playing during the game
The Alumni Band will be able to play extended tunes during the breaks between the 1st and 2nd quarters, and between the 3rd and 4th quarters.
There will be other, more brief opportunities during the game as well.
Pregame Logistics
Immediately following the teams exiting the field, we (OUBAA) will take our positions and prepare to start.
Brian Britt will be marching with the OUBAA this year and will communicate with the drum majors to ensure a smooth and timely start.
During the Marching Mizzou performance, we will prepare both The Pride and Alumni Bands to enter the field.
Following the Missouri band, the order of performance is:
Field entrance
Fight for OKU Combined Pride and Alumni
Scatter to Pride halftime set (Alumni exit to sidelines)
Pride performance—two selections from West Side Story
Maria
Mambo
Boomer Sooner and exit
Instrument Return
Anyone who is not sitting with the Alumni Band and would like to return their instrument following halftime should meet Russell Pettit at the truck upon exiting the field.
All others should meet Russell following the conclusion of the football game.
My name is Jess Ballard and I'm the secretary for the Delta Chapter of Tau Beta Sigma. We are planning several cool events for the alumni this weekend and I was hoping that you could help me pass that information along. Could you post this on your website?
Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma will be hosting a reception for all band alumni immediately following Friday, October 12's rehearsal. Afterwards there will be a special joint ritual for all Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma alumni. Following the joint ritual there will be a brief special ritual for Tau Beta Sigma alums only. We look forward to seeing you then!
I still don't have the complete schedule for this weekend's OUBAA activities (The Pride's schedule is now updated and complete), but assuming rehearsal ends at 9:00 PM, I've added these to the Events calendar.
Now that's more like it! The river they're crying in Austin may be named "Denial:" click on the thumbnail image to the right for a section of a screen capture from the Austin American-Statesman early Sunday morning and their headline about the game. Click here to download the entire article as a PDF file, for those of you with your own "Dewey Defeats Truman" collections.
(Hint: the final score was OU 28, Texas 21. The Statesman has since fixed the headline on the article, which may be found here, but the first version was priceless. Small problems with reality down there, folks?)
The Pride of Oklahoma entertained the crowd with a 50th anniversary tribute to West Side Story, which opened at Broadway's famed Winter Garden Theatre on September 26, 1957. Bands are alloted less time at halftime than in 1985 when The Pride first wowed with Rod Harkins' version of the show, so this year's edition was closer to the 1997 version: Maria, Mambo (a newer arrangement that I think is rythmically even trickier than the 1985 version!), and Tonight.
And now it gets even harder. Coming up this week for our 4-1 (1-1) Sooners: The surprising, 5-0 (1-0) Missouri Tigers, who spanked Nebraska last night 41-6. This is also Homecoming 2007, as we hope you know, and we promise you that we will post the schedule items just as soon as people start retuning my constant cranky E-mails about it. Subscribe to the Events calendar in iCal or Windows Vista for automatic updates and you'll know when we do!
It's a full week for The Pride, too: in addition to homecoming and activities with alumni, the full band travels north on Sunday, October 14, to participate in the Oklahoma Centennial Parade, following a 1.5-mile route through downtown Oklahoma City. The parade also features the Cowboy Marching Band and several state high school bands, and will be telecast statewide on OETA.
Quite the schedule post-Texas, even as The Pride prepares for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in November in New York City, so we'll do our best to make sure everything goes smoothly. Keep checking the Web site or subscribe to the RSS feeds for updates as we have them!
When people visit our little site from a search engine like Yahoo or Google, their question is usually provided when they click the link from the search engine. Unsurprisingly, we get a lot of people searching for common terms like "Sooners" and "OU Homecoming" and "Oklahoma Band," but some of the questions are topical, and we thought we'd take a minute and try to answer a few of them.
How many people are in the OU Band?
I believe that the 2007 Pride of Oklahoma has 310 members, let's say ±2%. This has been a typical size for the band in the past several years. Every member auditions every year (even section leaders, who audition in the spring semester as part of the leadership determination process).
Where does the OU band sit at the Texas game?
I actually did not know this, because you probably saw all the news stories saying that, "starting in 2007," OU and Texas would alternate end zones each year. But we asked, and after all of the press and confusion, this year the answer is—no change whatsoever. The Pride will sit in bleachers on the stadium surface in the corner of the "South" end zone at the Cotton Bowl, just to your right as you come out of the tunnel. The Show Band of the Southwest occupies similar seats on the same sideline but behind the other ("north") end zone. In other words, it's just like it has been for the past several years. (The seats in the Cotton Bowl stadium were removed this year and replaced with benches, but the bands don't occupy any of them.)
What are the lyrics to O.K. Oklahoma?
The full lyrics to O.K. Oklahoma are found on this page, where you'll also find the story of the song, and a recording of its first-even performance on the NBC Red Radio Network from December 1, 1939.
Where can I find the trumpet part to Boomer Sooner?
Members of OUBAA can find parts to Boomer on this page. We have parts to some of the spirit tunes available here to assist Alumni Band members who want to practice before homecoming. However, these arrangements belong to the University of Oklahoma, and they're not licensed for other uses or performances. If your group is interested in recordings or sheet music of OU-specific spirit songs, contact the OU Band Department for details on what is available.
Where is The Pride performing in Dallas this year?
The full Texas trip schedule has not been announced, but we're told that The Pride will rehearse Friday morning in Pauls Valley, and perform Friday Night at a high school football game in Carrolton, among other pep and OU alumni events. The best way to keep track of public Pride performances (at least, the ones we track) is to check out our Events calendar. You can subscribe to it in iCal (Mac OS X) or Windows (Vista) Calendar and get all the latest updates automatically. Instructions are on the page. We'll update it with details of Texas performances as they're made available.
I don't like the ads.
That's not a question. Either way, the answer is to log in, or join the site by registering (it's free). Logged-in members do not see the ads, and can also comment, access the sheet music, and generally get more free things. Consider it a nudge.
Thanks for visiting the site, and keep your eye on the Homecoming 2007 News.
Last Saturday, in what we can only hope presages any contest between the Sooners and teams informally known as "Aggies," OU defeated Utah State 54-3 in a bright afternoon game, with weather much more amenable to football than the dilapidated hurricane that blew through the previous week. The Sooners, now 3-0 (0-0 in conference play) are ranked #4 in both the AP and USA Today polls. The BCS computer rankings don't treat OU as nicely, but many of them start at a "zero" point and level out only after six or seven games. That's why official BCS rankings don't start until October 14th, the day after Homecoming 2007.
Up next for the Sooners: the season's first road trip, and it's just up the Turner Turnpike! OU plays the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane tomorrow night (yes, Friday night) at "Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium," with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 PM CDT. The game will be broadcast nationally in HDTV on ESPN2. For Cox Cable customers in OKC, regular (standard definition) ESPN2 is on channel 28, and ESPN2 HD for digital customers is on channel 721. For DISH Network subscribers, standard ESPN2 is channel 144, and ESPN2 HD is channel 9425. DIRECTV customers can find ESPN2 standard on channel 209, and ESPN2 HD on channel 73.
The Pride of Oklahoma is travelling to the game—yup, the entire band—but it's a standard "away" game, so the Pride will perform only in the stands and during halftime (sorry, Tulsa-area fans and alums, no on-field pregame this year). Our Events calendar has details of a quick rehearsal in Norman on Friday morning and the times when The Pride will enter Chapman Stadium for those who want to turn out and support our members in red and white. The game is sold out, and Chapman Stadium has a capacity of just 35,542 seats (they actually reduced it in the 1990s by tearing down the North End Zone bleachers to build a new training complex), so ESPN2 may provide the best seats. The Pride will perform both drill and concert tunes at halftime.
Oh, and one week from tonight, the fall semester concert ensembles will perform at Catlett Music Center. We'll have more on that for you this weekend, after the game. Boomer Sooner!
If you were in The Pride in 1973 or 1975, you may have previously experienced the joy of seeing the Sooners beat the Miami Hurricanes. For those of us who marched in the mid-1980s and saw three consecutive losses to the Hurricanes (one that ended Troy Aikman's OU career, one that kept the Sooners from playing for the national championship, and one that was playing for the national championship), yesterday's 51-13 victory felt really good. Even Jerry Palm, a Purdue band alum and propietor of the impressive CollegeBCS.com site, named OU QB Sam Bradford as "player of the week."
As previously announced, The Pride followed the dedication of Jason White's statue in Heisman Park with an Oklahoma Centennial halftime show featuring a fanfare from the centennial anthem Oklahoma Rising and a medley of tunes from the musical Oklahoma!. "The Rocketman" flew over the band as it exited the field to Boomer Sooner, and HOLY COW WAS THAT DISTRESSINGLY LOUD. We'd have warned you if we'd known.
Rain in the first quarter gave way to temperatures in the high 80s with intense sunlight, 2000% humidity, and no breeze. It took a heavy toll on our Pride members, who had not been been able to practice in such conditions, so we wish them all a restful weekend. Photos will be available here within a few days.
Up next for the Sooners: hosting the 0-2 Utah State Aggies at Gaylord Family/Oklahoma Memorial Stadium this Saturday, September 15, with kickoff at 2:30 PM. It's Pride Parents' Day 2007, and if you're a parent who bought tickets, you'll see it live. For everyone else, the game is available only via Fox Sports Net pay-per-view at a price of $29.95, although Fox Sports Southwest intends to rebroadcast the game on Monday, September 17, at 11AM CDT. Other Fox Sports regional networks may show it as well at varying times; check your local listings for details.
We've updated our Events calendar with times for Saturday's festivities, and so far the weather is looking pretty good, with moderate temperatures and a 10% chance of showers. The Pride's show includes an alumni band favorite and other tunes to the East (student) side, too.
Saturday's home debut was great for both the Sooners and the 2007 Pride of Oklahoma. In addition to a record-setting Sooner victory, halftime featured a tribute to Billy Sims and two fine marching bands.
Then came The Pride's show, "Random Acts of Rock," featured Dr. Roland Barrett's arrangements of the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction with new drill, and Chuck Berry's Roll Over, Beethoven in concert with feature twirler Meredith Sigler. The Pride looked and sounded great!
Now onto the national stage as the Miami Hurricanes blow into town for the national game, in HDTV, on ABC Sports ESPN on ABC, Saturday morning at 11:00 AM CDT. It is the national game—no regional coverage, so it should be on every ABC affiliate in the continental United States.
Most of you know what an 11:00 AM CDT kickoff means for the Pride:
Marching in the dark!
With rehearsal at 6:00 AM on campus and the dedication of the fourth and final statue in Heisman Park (for Jason White) at 9:00 AM, it's a busy busy morning. As of last week's polls, the 'Canes were ranked 31st in the writers' poll and 28th in the coaches' poll, but they'll move up this week after their easy victory over Marshall, just as the 8th-ranked Sooners will move up after defeating North Texas (and especially after 4th-ranked Michigan had its unfortunate incident).
The Pride's show is part of the Oklahoma Centennial Celebration, with tunes that should bring smiles to the faces of spectators and band alumni alike. We've already updated the Events calendar with Saturday morning's schedule, and feel free to use the discussion link to ask questions or talk about the season (but you have to log in first!). Boomer Sooner!
We've updated the Events calendar with your opportunities to see and support The Pride of Oklahoma during the first home game, September 1, as the Sooners take on North Texas State University in Norman. See there for details on rehearsal, parade time, pregame time, and the dedication of the Billy Sims statue just east of the stadium.
If you haven't been to a game in a while, click the above link to read all about parking, new concession areas for 2007, new women's restrooms, new scoreboard (video boards over both pregame tunnels!), tailgating policies, and lots more.
And just to make sure you don't miss pre-game:
SOONER FAN FEST
Sooner Fan Fest, presented by The Oklahoman and Cox Communications, is an interactive area located on the grounds directly north of the stadium. The event is free to the public and includes food vendors, games for children, autograph opportunities, radio pre-game shows and Go Vision, a 20 foot video board that will display games from around the country. Sooner Fan Fest opens three hours prior to kickoff and closes when the Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band enters the stadium [f]or [the] start of the game.
And what precedes entering the stadium? The parade!
Band Route: This season, the Pride of Oklahoma's pre-game activities will include a concert on the lawn area just north of Jacobsen Hall, directly across from Campus Corner. The concert will begin one hour and thirty minutes prior to kick off. Additionally, on all home game dates, the Pride will parade to the stadium and will pass through Campus Corner, with the exception of the Homecoming game vs. Missouri on October 13.
Of course, you won't miss it during Homecoming, because you'll be entering the stadium in preparation for playing, right? Of course! See you there!
Fortunately, it didn't matter: the Sooners defeated the Cowboys 49-17, returning to the form that had previously kept them in BCS National Championship consideration. 
), but if any present themselves, we'll update the calendar. The Bedlam game kicks off at 2:30 PM CST and will be televised regionally by FSN on cable and satellite—that's channel 37 for 