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1988's Low Brass Cheer Game

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  • 1988's Low Brass Cheer Game

    The Eagle listed today some headlines from Tulsa games past. Unfortunately, I couldn't link to the stories (to the extent they are on there) but even the headlines brought back great memories from Tulsa games in the mid-80s. One of those games involved one of my fondest Shocker memories.

    This is my recollection of that game; my memories may be embellished by time and fondness...

    As some of you know, former WSU President Warren Armstrong at one time banned the playing of the Low Brass Cheer, which at the time in 1987-88 was hugely popular at WSU games. I believe this came shortly after dropping football, another dark day. It was quite a topic of disagreement with the student body, which at the time camped out to get tickets and set up a loud and rowdy shop on game days immediately behind what is now the visitor's bench. (Reserved seats, too-it was awesome--anyway...)

    But all was not lost. Late in the second half of the Tulsa game, the Golden Hurricane, our hated rival, it of polka dot ties, dirty players, and worse fans, was getting the best of our mighty Shocks. As the crowd settled into a quiet murmer during a timeout, unsure of how to help rally the troops, from the center section of the east side of Levitt Arena came a familiar but outlawed tune. About two thirds of the way up, a quiet, far from perfect, but perfectly recognizable refrain of the Low Brass Cheer sparked and ignited a surprised but ready-to-cheer crowd. It was knocked out with gusto by a renegade bunch of DUs (probably the only good thing they ever did!) who had somehow smuggled in their battered old brass instruments from high school band.

    The crowd went wild. The Shocks rallied and won. Eventually, years later, probably during the doldrums of the Cohen or Thompson years, the cheer returned officially. By that time, not even the cheer could rally the program. But who knows? Maybe if it hadn't gone way....? Anyway, you will never catch me not cheering the Low Brass...when you've lost something precious, you hold it that much dearly...sob, sob.

    Warren Armstrong went on to become a priest. He is now dead.

    But the perpetrators of this amazing act of civil disobedience, who I believe were kicked out of the game, are, so far as I know, alive and well. In fact, at least two of them, ABC and Bloodgold, post on this forum.

    That night, they did as cool a thing as a Shocker fan has ever done at a game. Not bad for a bunch of DUs.

    Go Shocks! And as we said in the 80s, SNORT THE CANES!!!!
    Wear your seatbelt.

  • #2
    I remember that game too. It was great. Too bad the admin didn't realize that banning the cheer was the wrong thing to do.

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    • #3
      I was in the band.
      I recall the Shox were doing terrible. We wanted to play the song, but you only play that song when you get ahead and dunk or something. We started joking amongst ourselves that we would play it if we got a basket. Minutes went by without a basket and we lowered the bar to a rebound. That didn't happen either, so we decided when we go down by 10 points.

      Well, I don't have to tell you that the place erupted and a few minutes later we'd erased Tulsa's lead. The renegade band got a warning from Lew Perkins that we had to let the offical pep band play, and if anybody complained we were done - remember you have to shout a curse word in that song.

      We alternated fight song by pep band / us playing low brass and all of a sudden we were up 10 points.

      There were 3 stories on the sports page about the band's influence on that game, one of the reporters actually followed us all evening, starting with the pre-game pratice / beer drinking session at one of the frat houses.

      The next year they made it illegal to carry noise makers / instruments of any kind into games.

      Good times....
      I had season FOOTBALL tix... did you?

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      • #4
        789 and Shocker in KC.

        Very nice stories. Great actually.

        Thanks mucho.
        "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it is about the future."

        --Niels Bohr







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        • #5
          I remember the low brass cheer as a kid...I loved it. I wish our band was allowed to play it today. The word Hell should not be banned from a cheer. People walk around with shirts like Muck Fizzou or even Creighton Girls love the Shocker...I think that the use of the word hell is slightly below that.

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          • #6
            That was an awesome night !!! :yahoo:

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            • #7
              Bring back the low brass cheer, put MTXE back on the uniforms, always try to be able to wear black and have a black out for big games and be known as a bunch of tough (but clean) hombres.
              In the fast lane

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              • #8
                Bring back the low brass cheer? Isn't it already back?

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by RoyalShock
                  Bring back the low brass cheer? Isn't it already back?
                  Yes.

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                  • #10
                    Thanks for sharing you guys! That's the type of motivating stuff we need!
                    Kung Wu say, man making mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by 1972Shocker
                      Originally posted by RoyalShock
                      Bring back the low brass cheer? Isn't it already back?
                      Yes.
                      It is back, but slightly altered if my memory serves me correctly. The old version did not have "go shocks" in it. And in the old days it seemed more hostile when we chanted it.

                      And what about Tulsa fans chanting t.u. t.u. t.u. Then we started chanting "sucks" after each t.u.
                      Marge: The plant called and said that if you don't come in tomorrow, don't bother coming in Monday.
                      Homer: WOOHOO! Four day weekend.

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                      • #12
                        Fred Mann gave the “Renegade Band” the MVP for that game in the post game column in the Wichita Eagle.

                        At the risk of too many details, the history is kind of interesting.

                        At a fraternity dinner during the 85-86 season, Lew Perkins was our guest speaker (Delta Upsilon). He was asked about Armstrong’s ban of the Low Brass Cheer and he suggested we just sneak in our instruments. Yes, it was Lew Perkins’ idea.

                        So, during one of Gene Smithson’s last games in February 1986 (against Creighton), I and another fraternity brother brought our instruments into Levitt. I played the trombone and he played the sax. Somehow between us we managed to get the drum beat going to start the game.

                        We were absolutely terrible. At that time student seats were behind and over from the Shocker bench. I distinctly remember Henry Carr looking back over his shoulder in horror at the awful sounds coming from the sparsely population student section.

                        The next years, more DUs got together for either or both the KU and K-State games at Levitt. I honestly don’t remember if it was both or just one. The band was rounded out and sounded much better and got a good crowd reaction.

                        I thought that Tom Shupe was the AD the following year, but I could be incorrect.

                        Anyway, the word spread and the for the Tulsa game in 1988, the band grew to members of several fraternities (Beta, Sig Ep, SAE, Pike) and GDIs. We had two or three trumpets, a couple of drummers, baritones, two or three trombones. We actually practiced right before the game.

                        During the game the Pep Band director actually deferred to us during the game.

                        The Eagle had a great article about it. Probably costs you to get it. But I have a yellowed copy of the original in a memory box somewhere.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by capnkirk
                          Originally posted by 1972Shocker
                          Originally posted by RoyalShock
                          Bring back the low brass cheer? Isn't it already back?
                          Yes.
                          It is back, but slightly altered if my memory serves me correctly. The old version did not have "go shocks" in it. And in the old days it seemed more hostile when we chanted it.
                          Actually, I think it's "Hey! Go Shocks" which I think is a nice addition if enough fans would participate. The problemthese days is that fans only get excited during timeouts if they are throwing balls or t-shirts in the crowed or we turn on the dance cam.

                          Also, I don't think that the bands timing as when to play the low-brass cheer is a good as it used to be, but a lot of that may have to do with all the other crap that goes on during time outs giving the band fewer opportunities to do their thing.

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                          • #14
                            Hey ABC!
                            I'm your renegade band alum (one of the non-frat guys), but also was in the SE Buffalo's marching band. Played French Horn / Mellophone.

                            Some of us who didn't own instruments actually 'checked them out' from the WSU music dept library.

                            Yeah, I remember the pep band leader waving at us to play!

                            One suggestion was to call us the "Contra-Band" kind of a pun and play on words during Iran-Contra. But Renegade band stuck.

                            We also did a radio spot on T-95 one morning.
                            Bet that was golden moment for that station!
                            I had season FOOTBALL tix... did you?

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                            • #15
                              It was a great moment in Shocker sports. And I have always maintained it was the LOUDEST our building has ever been. I hated Lew Perkins on that day and hated Warren "Pretty Boy" Armstrong also. That game was one of the last great moments at HLA. Mark Turgeon resumed excellence much later at CKA.

                              I'm hoping we rock the Octagonal tonight!
                              "Two dribbles and a ham sandwich" ~ Gregg Marshall
                              Wichita State, a team long on grit, made everything it shot. ~ Normal, Ill. newspaper 2/19/13

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