Football season in Norman will “officially” begin when the new leader in town takes the field.
No, not Lincoln Riley.
Julie Siberts.
The OU band drum major’s strut — you know that balance act with head tossed back and pipestove hat nearly dragging the turf, the white gloved grasp of the sceptre in the air — always marks the beginning of the pre-game show on gameday in Norman.
It is like the opening curtain for the stage of football.
And the 2017 show will begin with the first female drum major to ever take the field for the Sooners on Saturday.
The Pride of Oklahoma band students voted for the junior trumpet player and music major to take the helm after tryouts last January. She is the daughter of former Pride members. Her dad went on to became a percussionist for the heralded United States Army Band.
KTUL story on new OU drum major
“I hope that maybe this will encourage more girls to go out for the position,” Siberts told The Oklahoman newspaper. “I don’t think anybody would ever say, ‘I can’t go out for it, I’m a girl.’ But I’m hoping people will see me in this position and think, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”
When I told two female colleagues of mine that the Pride of Oklahoma had named the first female drum major in more than 100 years, their response wasn’t as hurrah and yippee as I had anticipated.
“Well it’s about time,” was the response. Actually, I’ve edited their response. There was an invective included. An adjective.
And after I recuperated from bleeding like I had just had a bad encounter with Arya Stark I realized that yes, indeed, it is about time.
School officials say there have been previous applicants who were women. They just didn’t get selected by the band.
But that’s in the past.
On Saturday I guarantee every eye in the house will be on Julie, looking to see if she measures up to all the guys that preceded her.
I got a preview of her performance recently on the band practice field. In fact I saw her first practice strut to lead the newly assembled version of the Pride of Oklahoma.
Siberts, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Sansa Stark (have we had enough references to the Game of Thrones yet?), pulled off the strut like it was a stroll in the park.
I have to say the dangling pony tail was kind of cool. Ooops, I didn’t say that. No matter, it will likely be tucked away on Saturday.
What you will see when Oklahoma! is played and the band marches down the field will be the new leader, the new drum major leading the way.
And the crowd will collectively think, “Yes, the tradition continues. The show has begun.”
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