Old school humor from the OU pep band the other night

[NMSooner'80]

I was at the OU-Alcorn State game the other night and heard the band razzing their players when they were at the foul line. It had a familiar ring to it, especially for those in my age group.

“It just doesn’t matter! It just doesn’t matter!” they chanted - which took me back to watching the movie “Meatballs.” That almost seemed appropriate, because the Alcorn State guys didn’t shoot well from the line, at least early on, much like how the campers shot it in the hilarious basketball game in the movie.

Obviously, the other night it really didn’t matter in terms of the other night’s outcome. I enjoyed the memory of the movie from my college days, along with the win the other night.

Speaking of "Meatballs," there was a main character in the movie who was called "Spaz," played by a guy named Jack Blum. Obviously, he couldn't play basketball very well, as was the case with the whole "Camp North Star" team. A few months after the movie came out, in 1979, OU played Midwestern State of Wichita Falls, which had a tough team in the NAIA, in Norman. One of their guards looked a bit like Spaz from a distance.

Anyway, the aforementioned MSU guard was fouled on a shot in the first half and got a big shock to his ears when he stepped up to the line. My senior-year roommate, who had a booming voice (and who also loved the movie "Meatballs") yelled out, "Hey SPAZ!" just before he got ready to shoot his first free throw. I know he had to have heard it. I could have also sworn that most in the student section heard it and laughed, knowing what the Spaz reference meant.

Footnote to those days, when the students were the ones who made all the noise - exactly 43 years ago on Dec. 23, OU hosted Cal State-Bakersfield right after finals week. Their team wore warmup tops with nicknames on the back, and this one guy had "E" on the back of his. This was when Elvin ("E") Hayes was still going strong in the NBA, and he was always serenaded by the Washington fans with "E.......E.....E" when he was getting ready to post someone up for his trademark shot. So the OU student section saw this guy with "E" on his top come out after halftime kind of early and started taking practice shots on his own, and they started doing the "E" chant whenever he'd take a dribble before shooting. Since OU was way ahead (this was the '78-79 league championship team), the students started chanting for "E" to shoot, and pretty much rooted for him to score with the game safely in hand.

"E" finally made a foul shot, and the students celebrated. When he came out of the game, the students booed his replacement and demanded that "E" come back into the game (he didn't).

I had a class with Al Beal that next semester. He was still laughing about that night, a couple of months later.

 

[skyvue]

I was there that night with my father and have always remembered E's name: Ethan Aronie.

I knew nothing of the Elvin Hayes connection (and am not entirely sure I buy it, but who's to say? You could be right). He was kind of a goofy-looking guy at the time (or so I thought -- I'm sure I was much goofier looking) and with just an E on his jersey, he was a natural (and as it turned out, good-natured) target for the students.

Mr. Aronie is now a Logistics Professional, most recently serving as Director, Strategic Accounts, at DHL Global Forwarding in Massachusetts, so it would seem he's done ok for himself.

 

[Darwin]

Nice read!

 

[opsooner]

This thread reminds me of a question I’ve wanted to ask. Anyone else remember when OU students, back when I was at OU in the 80s, did what today would be called a gator chomp? It was, I guess, basically meant to say that the ref “bites” after he made a “bad call”. The students would start to do it and then later the pep band started chiming in with the Jaws theme.

I’ve always wondered if UF got their idea for the gator chomp from OU students (not that they would admit it). I’m not sure when they started it at UF but I don’t recall seeing it before OU students did it and it and it eventually started getting known because we had a lot of nationally televised games.

I could be wrong. But, if it existed beforehand, I don’t think OU students knew it. I think it was a spontaneous thing that started at OU basketball games.


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[NMSooner'80]

This thread reminds me of a question I’ve wanted to ask. Anyone else remember when OU students, back when I was at OU in the 80s, did what today would be called a gator chomp? It was, I guess, basically meant to say that the ref “bites” after he made a “bad call”. The students would start to do it and then later the pep band started chiming in with the Jaws theme.

I’ve always wondered if UF got their idea for the gator chomp from OU students (not that they would admit it). I’m not sure when they started it at UF but I don’t recall seeing it before OU students did it and it and it eventually started getting known because we had a lot of nationally televised games.

I could be wrong. But, if it existed beforehand, I don’t think OU students knew it. I think it was a spontaneous thing that started at OU basketball games.


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I remember seeing it at basketball games in Norman, and it was accompanied by the pep band's instrumental version of "Jaws." I was in my late-20's by the time I saw it done, so I will just assume it meant that "the call bites...."

I also saw it done in Norman at the '84 Bedlam football game, as the Aggy marching band was doing the "Oompah Song." While their small collection of fans was "waving the wheat," the OU students were doing the "bite" in perfect rhythm with the song.

As for Aronie, I always hoped he figured out that he was probably the first visiting player who the OU students were rooting to see score. I doubt the "E" chant would have ever happened had it not been for so many people having seen the "E" chant in action when Elvin Hayes played in the NBA on TV. It's not like it was with various visiting scumbags like Mark Turgeon and other assorted traitorous twerps like Mike Maddox got booed with extreme prejudice.

 

[tooney]

I remember when the students would read a newspaper and shout "who cares?" when the opposing team players were announced.

Lots of newspapers for the custodians to clean up after the game.....

 

[piehole]

I remember when the students would read a newspaper and shout "who cares?" when the opposing team players were announced.

Lots of newspapers for the custodians to clean up after the game.....

Yep, students would hold the paper in front of their face, pretending to read and shaking the paper. And the “who cares!” was in there somewhere. Then when the opposing lineup intro was done we would throw the paper in the air and cheer, probably about the time the announcer began the OU intros with, “AND NOW…”

Also remember the gator chomp for bad calls and “that bites!” harangues. I know zero about the origin.

 

[JBaker]

I remember when the students would read a newspaper and shout "who cares?" when the opposing team players were announced.

Lots of newspapers for the custodians to clean up after the game.....

Do they not do this anymore? I'm pretty sure it was done within the last decade.