Pride Of Oklahoma To Socially Distance On Game Day

The booming sounds of the Sooners' band are in their own right an iconic image.

Since 1904 The Pride of Oklahoma has been a part of The University of Oklahoma. 

Normally they are over 300 members strong when they take the main stage at the palace on the prairie.

But the pandemic has transformed this tradition too.

The Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial stadium normally holds over 80,000 people, but come game day just over 21,000 will be allowed in.

That means less fans, and a smaller band.

This season, the Pride will have about 80 members in the stands.

“We are kind of relearning how to do band, first of all. We have got masks on and bell covers on our instruments. We are working much longer intervals,” said Director Brian Britt. 

The Pride won't be marching through or near campus.

Rather than take the field during a halftime performance, they will showcase a virtual show.

For seniors like Emily Perkins it’s a season with mixed emotions. 

“I think it’s close to being my last time. I never thought something like this could happen, we are going to push through and make it work. It’s still going to be as exciting as it was last time,” said Perkins.

“There is a light at the end of the tunnel. We have to do everything right, right now. We have to be sure we take all the proper precautions so we can have a football season,” said Paxton Leaf, the Drum Major.

While the cloud of COVID-19 has made our world dramatically darker. This September the bright spot in Norman, Oklahoma will still ring through as the Pride of Oklahoma.

“So much of what we do on a game day is designed to bring people together, and that’s the opposite of what you want to do when you’re trying to work your way through a pandemic,” said Britt.

Class will resume next week. So far, there have been 62 positive cases reported on campus. That’s just over one percent of the population that has tested positive.