For the big game against Texas Tech today, Sooner football fans will be pulling out all the stops, and that includes their attire.
Fans have been coming into Balfour of Norman, 792 Asp Ave., all week to get warm things for today's chilly night game that will still show their school pride, said Jerry Hatter, owner of Balfour.
People aren't satisfied with just wearing a University of Oklahoma shirt under their coat, he said.
"I feel like a lot of them want to have something (Sooner) showing," he said. One man came in this week looking for something to OU-themed to wear over the Sooner sweatshirt he already owned.
"He says, 'I'm gonna have to cover it up,' so he bought a windbreaker in his case," Hatter said.
In addition to warm clothes and accessories, Hatter said game day is traditionally a big sale day for many Sooner products.
Balfour will sell a shirt specifically for the Tech game, too, Hatter said. "Let's end this fair tale once and for all" is proudly displayed on the back of the "Beat Tech" shirts.
"I think we'll sell a lot (today)," the Campus Corner merchant said. "We're expecting record crowds out here."
Traditional OU apparel will probably also sell well, Hatter said. The sideline coaches' shirts are big hits with the men and $9.99 sunglasses sell like hotcakes.
OU merchandise includes practically everything you could imagine on which to stamp an OU logo.
Gone are the days when just an OU hat or T-shirt would do for school spirit; many go out of their way to create a whole OU look.
Charlotte Herbert of Glenpool and Shannon Smith of Edmond were decked out in boutique-y OU shirts and jewelry at the Texas Christian University football game earlier this season.
"We plan all week on what we're gonna wear," Smith said. The women in their group didn't wear the same T-shirt everyone else had.
"It is an event," Herbert said about football games. "I have to get all my jewelry. It's also a fashion event for most women."
The top selling items at local stores reflect that desire to be fashionable on game days.
One product at Balfour that is popular for women of all ages is Glitter Gear apparel. A Norman manufacturer makes high-end attire for women and children that feature real Swarovski Crystals in Sooner themes.
Glitter Gear President Toby Hammer said the company was one of the first to create this type of spirit apparel starting about 10 years ago.
"We're bringing high fashion to the college apparel market," he said. "And women were tired of wearing boxy guy shirts, and we put real Swarovski Crystals on the high-fashion, high-end clothes."
The company started to fill the need for something more fashionable, Hammer said.
"The thought process was to wear something to the game that you can wear to a steak dinner after," he said.
The company has spawned some copy cats, too.
"We're pretty confident we were one of the first to put crystals on shirts," Hammer said. But he said Glitter Gear is the only company he knows of that uses authentic Swarovski Crystals and not imitation sparkles.
Although it started off with OU, the company is licensed to make products featuring 32 schools and colleges across the country, Hammer said.
Glitter Gear products are sold in several local collegiate apparel stores and boutiques. Products retail for about $35-$45.
All official OU spirit gear is required to pay a royalty to OU for use of the logo. That's roughly 10 percent of the wholesale price, Hammer said.
Julianna Parker 366-3541 jparker@normantranscript.com
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