Four decades later, ex-members of the OU band recall ‘the day The Pride triumphed in Bedlam

In commemoration of what might be the final Bedlam game this Saturday, former members of the University of Oklahoma band reflect on an unforgettable match from 40 years ago when they played their hearts out.

The OU marching band, steeped in tradition, holds dear one particular moment proudly displayed in the university’s band director’s office—a game ball from four decades past, symbolizing “the day The Pride won Bedlam.”

“I was down on the field,” recalled Rick Brought, a former drum major and OU regent.

“It was my first Bedlam. It was exciting, despite the fact that we were trailing,” shared Brian Britt, the current director of the Pride of Oklahoma.

At halftime of the 1983 Bedlam showdown, Oklahoma State held a commanding 20-3 lead. However, fortune favored the Sooners when OSU police removed the wrong individual from the game.

“I noticed a commotion on the field, and apparently, our director was informed that the staff didn’t require passes for sideline access,” explained Britt. “Things escalated rapidly. He refused to leave, stating, ‘If you want me off the sideline, you’ll have to physically remove me.’ So, they escorted him and the staff out of the stadium.”

Consequently, anyone associated with the director, including Brought, the drum major at the time, was also obliged to depart.

“We left the stadium. We could still hear the band since we were right behind that end of the stadium,” recounted Brought.

It was then that Gene Thrailkill, the Pride of Oklahoma’s director at the time, imparted a crucial message to the band.

“Start playing. Don’t stop until the team is ahead,” Britt recalled Thrailkill’s words.

Britt, a member of the band that day, sensed a shift in the atmosphere as the strains of “Boomer Sooner” filled the air.

“We weren’t going to stand idly by. We were going to stand up for our director,” asserted Britt.

Outside the stadium, those who had been ejected from the game could only listen to the roars of the crowd.

“We couldn’t see what was happening. This was before smartphones, and we didn’t have access to the radio because we had been inside the stadium,” lamented Brought.