Six feet tall, 185 pounds of stampeding fury, Boomer and Sooner have been entertaining fans at school and athletic events since the University of Oklahoma first opened its doors, which was ‘sooner’ than any other university in Oklahoma. CHS 2005 graduate Skyler Fike recently joined the OU tradition.
“A lot of my friends [are mascots] and they’ve done it for a few years,” Fike said. “They had always asked me to do it, so I tried it and I love it. I love going to sports and watching sports and it’s really cool to get to be around all the people like the cheerleaders and the pom squad.”
Because of the numerous events on campus, there are eight different mascots who cover every game and do occasional appearances at birthday parties and other affairs for the university.
At tryouts, the contenders danced and entertain the judges for five minutes like they would at a game, complete an obstacle course on a Segway, and finally prove their flexibility and gymnastics skills by doing a back-flip in the mascot suit.
“Being a mascot isn’t meant for everyone,” OU senior and third year mascot Justin Rutherford said. “You can’t practice it, there’s got to be a certain personality for it and Skyler definitely has that. He’s comfortable with being uncomfortable.”
It might look like all fun and games from in the stands, but the mascots go through extensive workouts during the week to prepare for their biggest job – spending four hours of non-stop movement in a hot suit every Saturday during OU football games.
“When you get in the suit and run around, you try to make as many kids laugh and take as many pictures as you can,” Fike said. “It’s more than just ‘Skyler in the mascot suit’, [I’m] representing OU and if people see you and they see that you’re having a good time, it makes a positive impact on the crowd.”
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, mascots roll out of bed and meet at 7 a.m. for workouts, which consist of a two mile run and conditioning, with an occasional trip to Owen Field to run the stadium stairs.
The students in the huge horse heads are more than just football aficionados. They’re also die-hard Sooner fans and dedicate their time and energy to instilling pride in their school.
“Without the mascots the games wouldn’t be as much fun,” OU class of 2014 student Katie Stanford said. “I love seeing them stand on the ledges and sleep in the middle of the field during the other team’s fight song.”
They flip around like cheerleaders, make extreme dunks at basketball games and embarrass opponents’ mascots.
“We mess with the cheerleaders and the band and no one hate’s it, it’s just fun,” Fike said. “That sets us apart from other schools because a lot of other mascots are static. There’s just a whole lot of versatility and we aren’t afraid to cross the lines to entertain people.”
The OU mascots are currently in the ultimate battle of mascots as they are part of Capital One’s 2009 Mascot Challenge. Mascots from colleges across the country are in a competition to win $20,000 and the title of being the nation’s best mascot. The current standings can be found online at www.capitalonebowl.com.
Even though it gets hard to balance class work, a hectic social life and attending various sporting events a week, being an OU mascot has its perks, including getting in to all sporting events for free.
Boomer and Sooner are perhaps the spirit of the University of Oklahoma. Fike was Sooner born, is Sooner bred and when he dies, he’ll be Sooner dead.
