'We're the heartbeat': OU, Oklahoma State superfans help bring energy to games
Where would Oklahoma's teams be without their fans?
Where would Oklahoma's teams be without their fans?
Where would Oklahoma's teams be without their fans?
Where would Oklahoma's teams be without their fans? While both OU and Oklahoma State boast large fandoms, only a select few have earned "superfan" status.
Football is an emotional sport on and off the field. You can hear it at Boone Pickens Stadium.
"We're the heartbeat of the stadium, and it just gets everybody ready for the game," Haley Bollinger, a member of the OSU Paddle People, said.
And feel it at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
"And I just heard God speak to me and say, 'Hey, I want you to follow this team,'" said Antonio Record, who's better known as "Mr. OU."
Thousands of fans make up the Cowboy and Sooner faithful in the stadium on gamedays. When the television cameras are on, some just stick out and are hard to miss.
"It's a vibe that I get, and I feel that I change into a whole other person. I can't describe it," Record said.
Record has been draping himself in crimson and cream for several years.
"About four years ago, five years. It's been a little bit, I think," he said.
After one game, Record knew he had to get back.
"To hear that 'Boomer Sooner' go back and forth, to see them coming out the tunnel, just the crowd, everything about it is amazing. And you feel that atmosphere," he said.
"Mr. OU" became a household name among Sooner fans pretty quickly. You can credit that to Record's enthusiasm and his outfit, which is set to get an upgrade this season.
"We have 'Boomer Sooner' on the back. We have the national championships on it, all the years, OU, everything on there," Record said. "And then on the pants, we have the signature 'Boomer Sooner,' and it's fitted to me."
While it's hard not to see "Mr. OU," 80 miles north in Stillwater, it's hard not to hear the Paddle People. It's a student organization that had humble beginnings.
"A couple guys actually snuck paddles into the first game in 1999, and that's kind of how it was discovered," said Allison Gekeler, a member of the OSU Paddle People.
The Paddle People now boasts more than 100 members.
"It's all game. It starts the minute we step in and have paddles in our hands," Gekeler said.
So many Pokes want to get involved that it's hard to even find a space on the wall. Gekeler, who is a graduate student, and Bollinger, a senior, serve as president and vice president of the OSU Paddle People.
"We're having to switch off quarters, halves, however individuals decide to do that with each other," Gekeler said. "But a lot if it's we're having to switch off because we're getting so big."
The group calls itself the "Heartbeat of the Stadium" for a reason, as visiting fans take notice.
"We're so loud it's hard to block out, I feel like," Gekeler said.
"Sometimes, we get in their head. We've got a few yelling at us from the field. I think we definitely get to them," Bollinger added.
Like any fan, "Mr. OU" and the Paddle People got involved to cheer on their favorite team and watch a game of football, but they've come to learn their presence at games is more than that.
"Getting those freshmen involved now just helps build them as characters and get them outside of their comfort zone and letting them enjoy something for themselves," Gekeler said.
"I tell people, 'If I made you smile, made you laugh, made you dance, made you cry, I did my job," Record added.