'God just made me OU': How Antonio Record became the Marlins Man of Sooner athletics

Antonio Record’s white shorts make an emphatic statement.

On the back of each pant leg, the phrase “Horns Down” is stitched in crimson. An upside-down Texas Longhorns logo is added below the words, once again in crimson instead of burnt orange.

It’s fitting attire for this year’s Women’s College World Series, and it’s exactly what you’d expect from Record, who adopted the nickname Mr. OU and for the past five years has become a mainstay at Sooner sporting events.

He spends pregame taking photos with fans. During the game, he parades around stadiums energizing the crowd. He claps, he cheers and he rarely sits.

On his Twitter account — which has more than 7,000 followers — his bio simply reads, “there’s fans then it’s me.”

“My message is to smile, laugh, be happy, dance, be yourself, open up, be a little kid again,” Record said. “We’re all little kids inside.”

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He did just that during No. 1 Oklahoma’s 16-1 rout of Texas in the first game of the WCWS. But Record’s goals go beyond just pulling for a Sooner win. They’re forged by the hope to be a positive influence.

His OU fandom started early.

“God just made me OU,” Record said. “Some people come out crying. When I came out, God said, ‘Boomer’ and I said, ‘Sooner.’”

Record, originally from Texas before relocating to Norman, grew up rooting for the Sooners. He played basketball, dreaming of playing for OU like Mookie Blaylock before a knee injury derailed Record’s career.

After moving to Oklahoma, Record worked three jobs, an exhausting task he quickly became tired of.

“God just says one day, ‘I want you to follow the team,’” Record said.

He originally only attended football games, but things quickly changed once he understood the impact he had.

“I just started going to all the sports and listening to different stories that people tell me,” he said.

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Record currently works two jobs. He is employed by OU, working in the landscaping department and another at Homeland. His shifts at Homeland begin at 11 p.m. and run through 7 a.m.

The OU gig begins shortly after and concludes at 1 p.m. Then, it’s time to prepare for the games.

As for how much sleep Record got before the first game of the finals: “None,” he said.

Record’s eccentric wardrobe – a staple in Mr. OU’s persona – is a compilation of gifts he’s been given over the years.

He owns several custom Sooners jerseys. On Wednesday night, he donned an OU baseball jersey given to him by head coach Skip Johnson. His jersey number, 31, represents his birthday. "Mr. OU" is stitched in place of a last name.

He also owns a basketball jersey and a hockey sweater with his birth year.

“(Softball coach) Patty (Gasso) says she’s going to get me a jersey,” Record said.

Record wears three necklaces. The shortest, a gold Cuban link with a pendant reading “Mr. OU” hangs near his collarbone. Another longer beaded necklace swings around his chest.

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The largest necklace waves down near his stomach. Hanging from it is a giant OU logo – the age slightly showing on it with several scratches and chips – littered with numerous signatures. It’s connected by a bedazzled strap made from, of course, red and white beads.

The signatures read like a greatest hits album of OU royalty. Adrian Peterson. Kyler Murray. Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. Joe Washington.

“Everything I wear on me, people gave to me,” Record said.

His oversized hat was gifted to him by Noggin Boss, a company who created the large lids for fans and appeared on Shark Tank. Before the hat, Record wore a red mohawk.

“He called me and said, ‘I’m going to send you a hat for free,’” Record said.

His shoes, custom Jordans, are embroidered with Mr. OU near the laces. His socks are always striped and his arms covered in OU branded compression sleeves.

It’s his own personal uniform.

But, his most intimate item is easy to miss. It’s not flashy and it’s not crimson.

A sticker of a cartoon drawing of a man, aptly called “Mr. Potato,” is stuck to Record’s hat. The drawing is meant to help with suicide awareness and mental health.

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“I try to do special things for special people,” Record said. “This is to help people who might be going through depression.”

In a way, he’s the Marlins Man of OU athletics. He’s just always around.

He created an extensive schedule for what games he can attend and how to get there. Occasionally, he hits multiple games a day. A morning at tennis and an evening at softball.

Record said he often draws comparison to the late Cecil Samara, who was known for driving his 1927 Model T Ford, dubbed “The Big Red Rocket” to OU games.

“They say he’s looking down on me,” Record said. “His family came out, everyone told me about him, talking about, ‘You’re the next generation of Cecil.’”

Record wants to use his presence to help others.

“I’ve been to all types of sports that I was never inclined to go see, because of, not being privileged or not having a dad or not having this or something around,” Record said.

His goal for Mr. OU in the next few years is to create a program to showcase kids the value of sports and how it can help less fortunate kids further their education.

“That is my ultimate goal,” Record said. “If I can help people like that.”

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: WCWS 2022: How Sooners softball fan Antonio Record became Mr. OU