A SIDELINE TRADITION
Noble hasn’t seen a home game without a Murnan
NOBLE — It’s the view that keeps Gary Murnan coming back.
Well, maybe it’s the family tradition. Or it’s his love of football.
For a 67-year-old retiree, the exact reasoning gets lost over the years.
Murnan still finds a way to make sure he’s holding the down box on the visiting sideline for nearly every varsity football game at Noble High School.
“I don’t want to give it up because I enjoy it,” Murnan said. “I’ve been through the bad, the good and the ugly.”
On a night where Oklahoma high schools enters a new season with a fresh start, Murnan returns for his 42nd as a member of Noble’s chain gang Friday when the Bears host Newcastle.
When he steps onto Newcastle’s sideline, that will continue a long-standing family tradition that dates to 1966 when his father, Eugene, started the school’s original chain gang.
A member of the Murnan family has been on the crew every home game since.
“If there wasn’t a Murnan on the sideline doing the chain gang something would be wrong,” said Bobby Hunter, a second-year member of the chain gang.
After Noble did away with football for a period, Eugene Murnan jumped at the opportunity to start the chain gang when the sport was revived in 1966.
Gary, then a junior, served as the team manager before playing his senior season. It wasn’t until 1975 that he joined the visiting sideline alongside his father and older brother, Eldon.
Gary instantly fell in love with being that close to the action.
“I ain’t big enough to really play,” Murnan said. “That makes me enjoy it more, I think. I went out and I didn’t have to work at it. But, I can watch football every day all day long. I don’t even have
If there wasn’t a Murnan on the sideline doing the chain gang something would be wrong.” Bobby Hunter, second-year member of the chain gang
to know the teams. I just like it.”
Throughout the next 42 years, Murnan has become the steward of all things Noble football.
He saw losing seasons. He saw playoff berths. He even saw most of the current Bears coaching staff play and win a 2003 district championship.
“Down here to up here to back down to here,” Murnan says motioning with his hands. “I don’t care how bad they are, I’m still going to run the chains because that’s what I enjoy.”
His father was on the crew until, per Gary’s estimation, the mid-90s when he was forced to sit in the press box due to his inability to move out of the way from a play on the sideline.
Up until his death in 2008, Eugene attended every home game.
By then, Gary had taken over the crew. That allowed him to watch a son play his sophomore year for the Bears. His nephews played as well. He also watched Noble transform from a small town with old facilities to the state-of-the-art complex it now boasts.
During his four-plus decades, Murnan also estimates he missed maybe a handful of games, including one a few years back for his wife’s open-heart surgery.
If he can’t be there, his brother fills in.
“Knowing that he is carrying on a tradition from his daddy is very prideful,” said Trey Amrein, another member of the crew.
That pride has started to spread throughout the family.
Murnan’s youngest son, Kevin, is itching to get his chance on the football sideline.
A 37-year-old nurse, he’s primarily waiting for his two youngest children to be able to run around the stadium unsupervised. He also needs a spot to open.
“It may be that I have to wait for my dad to quit doing it,” Kevin said. “I think it would be neat to keep that tradition going, because there’s not many traditions like that nowadays.”
Perhaps, he’ll get a chance to at least serve on the crew once with his father. Murnan sure doesn’t plan on leaving that sideline anytime soon.
“I’m going to have to give it up one of these days, but I’m in no hurry,” Murnan said. “To me, it’s tradition. We’re very high on tradition.”