Published: October 12, 2008 10:56 am      

OU pride visits

Band stops in Duncan on its way to Dallas, for the OU/Texas game

DUNCAN — Familiar tunes mixed with the energy of the crowd when the University of Oklahoma’s Pride of Oklahoma band visited the Duncan High School Friday.

While the OU band’s arrival was much anticipated, it was the band members who graduated from DHS that became the celebrities of the day. Those four students, Rocio Garcia, Marc Sutton, Toni Rodgers and Callie Yeager took center stage.

The band stopped in Duncan on its way to Dallas, for the OU/Texas game. Every time the band drives toward Dallas, a high school is selected to host the band’s practice and for its pre-game and half-time shows in the Cotton Bowl.

Duncan band student and Duncan fifth-graders were among the many people filling the stands at Halliburton Stadium. Duncan Superintendent Sherry Labyer invited fifth-graders from around the district to experience the band’s program.

Yeager said the last time the Pride of Oklahoma visited Duncan, Rodgers and she, both of whom graduated in 2005, were in fifth-grade. This time, they returned as OU seniors.

“It’s come full circle,” she said.

One thing three of the band students noticed when they performed on their high school field was how different it is from performing in Norman and at universities throughout the region.

Sutton, a 2007 DHS graduate, said it was odd returning to Halliburton Field and took some getting used to.

“It was a very strange experience,” he said.

Rodgers and Yeager agreed.

For Garcia, a 2008 graduate, she said it wasn’t that odd to her because she isn’t that far removed from her high school days.

“It wasn’t weird,” she said.

Even with how strange returning to their alma mater might be, all said they enjoyed the experience. The group said they liked getting to show their hometown what they’ve been up to since they’ve graduated.

Sutton said he liked getting to perform for Duncan residents, along with students and community members from various other towns.

“It was really exciting,” he said.

With the traditions of DHS still in mind, the four have also taken on the traditions of OU. Much of that culture comes from the Pride of Oklahoma.

Yeager said this heritage have impacted the lives of all the band students, including her fellow Duncan graduates.

“It’s a really big tradition school,” she said.

Rodgers said being a part of the band has opened up opportunities for her. The band visiting Duncan is only part of that.

“It’s kind of a big deal,” she said.