Erik Gransberg hadn't donned the Sooner suit two months before it became apparently clear Oklahoma fans weren't at all fans of the new OU mascot.
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That's when a link to his Facebook page appeared on an OU message board.
And Gransberg began receiving death threats.
"Who was I? Just a kid trying to get his college paid for,” Gransberg said. "There was just a lot of hostility from a small group of fans. It was scary.”
A student-led initiative in early 2004 sought to replace 20-year-old basketball/wrestling mascot Top Daug with a creature more rooted in Sooner tradition. After considering a pioneer and the Seed Sower from the campus' South Oval, a selection committee settled on the Sooner Schooner.
More specifically, the horses that pull it.
"That was the most obvious choice to everybody,” said OU spirit coordinator Lori Kemmet. "They wanted to use them in tandem just like Boomer and Sooner and named them (that way).”
The committee of donors, administrators, students and athletics staff was pleased with the debut of its new, all-sport mascot in August of 2004.
Fans weren't pleased with the change.
Even taking into account the cartoonish nature of mascots, the first incarnations of Boomer and Sooner hardly resembled horses.
The heads featured spiky red hair, enormous eyes, snarling mouths and pudgy snouts. Before long, the horses had earned the nickname "horse-pigs.”
"That first season, I thought they looked a little bit like a cross between Porky Pig and a donkey or something,” Kemmet said. "They did have an image issue that first season.”
Gransberg even found problems inside the suit.
The head was built around a baseball helmet, limiting movement. And the costume was unbearably hot.
"I made immediate changes to mine,” he said. "I pulled off the eyelashes and loosened the helmet. The mascots are a work in progress.”
Dave Raymond remembers the first Boomer/Sooner.
Analyzing mascots is his job.
"Let's discuss the limitations of creating an animated horse,” said Raymond, creator of the Phillie Phanatic and CEO of character-branding company Raymond Entertainment Group. "Well, they've got hooves so they can't sign autographs. Then they've got a really long head and nose. And they snarl.
"Snarling horses scare kids.”
The redemption of the horse-pigs began in 2006 when Gransberg's Sooner was selected to the Capitol One All-America Mascot Team as one of the top 12 mascots in the country.
Gransberg had sent in a highlight video featuring an updated version of his costume.
This one had a longer snout and smaller eyes. The spiky red hair had been replaced by cream-colored locks. The snarl was dialed down.
"I think one of his signature moves was a backflip,” said Capital One Bowl spokesperson Stephen Schooff. "I remember that specifically. (The team) was designed to celebrate the unsung heroes of college football.”
From death threat-garnering horse-pig to unsung hero of college football in two years.
It was a quick transition for Oklahoma's new mascot.
"You're constantly trying to create that perfect costume that's going to give you the best movement and the best crowd interaction,” Kemmet said. "We're still fairly new. Once we have a mascot that's been around a few decades, we might come across the perfect face, the perfect eyes and the perfect nose.”
Even today, Boomer and Sooner are going through a redesign.
Gransberg, who now coaches the OU mascots, is on the committee charged with making the costumed critters even more fan-friendly.
"The decision has been made,” he said. "We're trying out softer foams and lighter weight material. We're trying to tweak and evolve this into a good mascot. That's why I stay involved.”
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For all the MENSA members mocking OU for having a Top Daug, if they bothered to hit Google for more than 3 seconds (you'd have to tear yourself away from poring over scrotal numbers on your favorite show bull), you'd know that OU had a dog mascot from 1915-1923 that came to all the games. Mex wore a red jersey with a white O on it, and used to chase strays and ignorant OSU 1-semester dropouts - er, "alums" - off the field during games.
I am a Sooner fan (and, yes, I root for OSU as well, when it's not Bedlam), but I do not like the "horse-pigs". My wife and I have been calling them that from the beginning. We were fans of Top Daug, and I would say that, like most OU fans, would like to see Top Daug return.
I like the ponies. They are relevant to the university. The only reason we had Top Dog was because of Billy Tubbs. He never had roots in the university.
I was told by a former basketball staff member that "Top Daug" was created because OU wanted to be the "Top Dog" in college basketball. Yeah it didn't have anything to do with Oklahoma, Sooners or Boomers, but I understood why we had the dog mascot when he told me that. A few years back the media asked different Oklahoma tribes about how they felt about Indian names or mascots. Most said they had more important things to worry about and weren't offended in any way but then some said they would be and thought they should be banned. So even if you have 99 tribes out of 100 say yes to bring back Little Red, the 1 that doesn't will prevent it from happening.
Yes, Yes, Yes!!! Eliminate the horse pigs. They are offensive and unbelievably bland. Good for kids, bad for promoting enthusiasm at the stadium.
I recommend a referendum during the general election this fall to ask whether or not Little Red should be brought back. An option would be to ask the tribes to take an official position as regrads Little Red. I would contribute to any attempt to gain political favor to bring him back. His presence made any game a special event.
Geez, Bob, this is a stupid article about our stupid mascot. Next you will be telling us we shouldn't bash on Seattle because good coffee promotes harmony.
Sorry but, I just have to comment on the animosity between OU and OSU. I'm an OU grad and born and raised Oklahoman. I've now been in Tx for the past 20 years due to business reasons so maybe I missed something. Where has all this hate between the two schools come from? Growing up in Okla. City and going to school in Norman, I don't recall all this in the past. Sure, there has always been a rivalry but, most of us always rooted for the other school except for that one day every season we played each other.
To me, anything that helps one school is good for our state. T Boone's generous gift to OSU is fantastic! I'm glad to see him supporting his school. The generous gifts to OU from the Gaylords, among many others, is also wonderful! Everyone in the state should be proud of both schools fortune, it's good for Oklahoma!
As a Chickasaw, I believe Lil Red should be brought back as the most legitimate mascot possible. And, as I recall, when the NCAA came down with their rules against ethnic mascots, one school back east was allowed to keep their Indian mascot, I just can't recall the circumstances.
I say GO SOONERS and GO POKES...except for that one Saturday around Thanksgiving!
And, one last thing, Okie is NOT offensive to me, I'm proud to be an OKIE!
Wow, your mastery of the comedic language is amazing. I’m sorry your sister keeps rejecting you but you don’t have to take it out on the rest of us. I’m surprised you didn’t hit me with the “You, your mom and your sister walk into a bar” joke. It’s not my fault Pick has turned the OSU program into stable of Stillwater hookers. At least there’s one OSU grad that wound up with a job that didn’t include a shovel. Time to get off the teat OSU fan and stop collecting the welfare.
The OSU fighting Pickens. They can keep the Pistol Pete mascot. Just have him wearing a real nice (Stillwater nice that is) tank top outfit with matching ho boots and pink minishirt. Enjoy.
It will be okay Brian. Someday when you grow up you’ll understand that OSU is just inferior and will always be. TB Pimp owns poor little Stillwater and the AD but never fret. When your eyes get tired looking at the fast food screen and you forget how to refill the frosty freeze maker, you will always have you easily offended, insult slinging, college welfare collecting AD to thank.
Michael...you have a room temperature IQ.
See you on the grid iron (that's a football field).
I'll be the one with the $300 Million.
You'll be the one in crimson and cream.
Typical self-righteous OU fans are represented by Michael from Turner Falls. You're scared. You are afraid because for the first time OSU has the type of donors that built the OU program that you love but have no clue about. You probably didn't go to school there, you are a hick that always rides the band wagon, you think OU has always been great and never had to "buy" their program back into the Top 10 and you think that OSU is "buying a championship".
Well, you're probably right. But hey, why not?! We learned from you how to do it!
Hey Michael from Turner Falls. You're a jealous LOSER! Are you for real?! Do you not for a minute think that if anyone with the money of T. Boone Pickens stepped up to the OU plate and offered $165M that Boren and Castiglione wouldn't take it?!!! Are you truly that big of an idiot?! There isn't a University in America (public OR private) that would turn down that type of monetary (that means money) donation! You are REALLY stupid to believe that any college would turn their noses up at that kind of support.
HEY!! MICHAEL IN TURNER FALLS! WAKE THE FREAK UP! MONEY BUILDS GOOD PROGRAMS!
These things need to be scrapped. First of all, we don't NEED them for football games, we have actual horses for those. You can't run a Schooner across a basketball court, so that's why we had Top Daug. I'd like to know who was on this "student-led" initiative that voted to scrap TD four years ago, because it sure as hell wasn't any of my friends.
Does the Native American population of Oklahoma still disdain Lil Red? I barely remember him, but he was great! I like old Boomer and Sooner alright, especially when the one does a back flip...
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OU mascots Boomer and Sooner, right, joke with OSU mascot Pistol Pete. The two Sooner mascots have earned the nickname "horse-pigs." BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
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I recommend a referendum during the general election this fall to ask whether or not Little Red should be brought back. An option would be to ask the tribes to take an official position as regrads Little Red. I would contribute to any attempt to gain political favor to bring him back. His presence made any game a special event.
To me, anything that helps one school is good for our state. T Boone's generous gift to OSU is fantastic! I'm glad to see him supporting his school. The generous gifts to OU from the Gaylords, among many others, is also wonderful! Everyone in the state should be proud of both schools fortune, it's good for Oklahoma!
As a Chickasaw, I believe Lil Red should be brought back as the most legitimate mascot possible. And, as I recall, when the NCAA came down with their rules against ethnic mascots, one school back east was allowed to keep their Indian mascot, I just can't recall the circumstances.
I say GO SOONERS and GO POKES...except for that one Saturday around Thanksgiving!
And, one last thing, Okie is NOT offensive to me, I'm proud to be an OKIE!
See you on the grid iron (that's a football field).
I'll be the one with the $300 Million.
You'll be the one in crimson and cream.
Well, you're probably right. But hey, why not?! We learned from you how to do it!
HEY!! MICHAEL IN TURNER FALLS! WAKE THE FREAK UP! MONEY BUILDS GOOD PROGRAMS!