The Oklahoma Sooners returned the field on Friday night (Aug. 30) in a home game against the Temple Owls, and the night’s festivities included a powerful tribute to Toby Keith that had fans singing along.

The Sooners suited up against the Owls to open their season at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla.

According to USA Today, Keith was a “lifelong OU fan,” and the team honored the late Oklahoma-born superstar by playing one of his signature patriotic anthems, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” over the stadium’s loudspeaker after the third quarter of the game.

In the video below, the fans in the stadium are singing along to every word of the song, honoring Keith as one of the state’s most important exports:

RELATED: Toby Keith’s Top 20 Songs Prove He’s a Country Icon

The fans on hand at the opening game were not the only ones who loved the gesture. Football fans and Keith fans on X also shared strong reactions to the tribute.

Not everyone was a huge fan of the song selection, however:

The Oklahoman newspaper reports that the Sooners trounced the Owls 51-3 in the season-opening game.

Keith made no secret of the fact that he was a diehard Sooners fan; he was one of the team’s most prominent supporters, and OU even awarded him an honorary posthumous degree in April, just months after he died in February of 2024 after battling stomach cancer for two years.

The University of Oklahoma Sooners have announced that they plan to honor Keith at every home game of the season, using both music and video elements for a series of tributes.

An NBC tribute concert titled Toby Keith: American Icon also honored Keith’s life and legacy this week, featuring performances from Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson and many more.

Sterling Whitaker is a Senior Writer and Senior Editor for Taste of Country. He focuses on celebrity real estate, as well as coverage of Yellowstone and related shows like 1883 and 1923. He’s interviewed cast members including Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, Sam Elliott and Harrison Ford, and Whitaker is also known for his in-depth interviews with country legends including Don Henley, Rodney Crowell, Trace Adkins, Ronnie Milsap, Ricky Skaggs and more.