NORMAN, Okla. — In a scary moment, the Sooner Schooner tipped over while making a sharp turn on the field following an Oklahoma touchdown Saturday, sending two spirit squad members sprawling to the turf.
There appears to be no major injuries, but an Oklahoma team spokesman said a team camera person — who was taking video from inside the schooner that was airing on the team’s video board — was “being checked out” by medical staff.
The crash happened after the Sooners’ fourth touchdown of the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers. During the break in the second quarter, the Sooner Schooner — a covered wagon driven by two ponies named “Boomer” and “Sooner” — tipped over near the 15-yard line.
The schooner was taking a sharp turn to head toward a stadium tunnel, but the wagon leaned hard to the right with the left-side wheels coming off the ground. The wagon crashed hard, with the two spirit squad members being ejected from the driver’s bench and contents from inside the wagon spilling out onto the field.
The wagon separated from the base as the ponies pulled away from the wreckage.
The sellout crowd gasped at the scene, but the rest of the spirit squad quickly came to assist and the field was cleared in a matter of minutes, including those who were involved in the crash.
The schooner traverses across the field at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium after every Sooners score. It is said to be reminiscent of the travel method used by pioneers who settled the Oklahoma Territory around the time of the 1889 Land Run.
The Sooner Schooner was introduced at the school in 1964 and became an official mascot in 1980.