Stillwater-Kristen Strickland (Kristen Strickland) watched her boyfriend try to dance with joy and fear.

Q tips? No, not that.

The prom for Carl Albert High School is coming soon. Just keep the arms close to the body, she thought as they practiced in her bedroom. Move slightly with the beat. Play safe. Nothing crazy.

But for a young and arrogant Mike Gundy, there is only stupidity.

"What can he get from me," Christine, now Gandy's wife 35 years later, said with a smile.

Mike is wearing a black evening dress and a pink bow tie. At Christine's prom, his mission is to bring a bucket of laughter. 

He ran the sprinkler around. He waved his arms and legs frantically. He dropped to the ground. He even burst into break dancing.

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Christine said: "The more I say stop and quit, then he will break out and become a worm." "Oh my God. Even at the prom, he doesn't care.

"And it's not even a good worm."

During his 17 years as the head coach of Oklahoma State University, Mike has displayed his personality in various ways. He cooled the mullet again. He yelled. He took off his shirt in midfield. He even wore a wrestling vest. He has won many games. 

Then, dance.

There is a softer and stupid side. Only those close to him know. 

"I like that people see him on the relaxed side," Christine said.

During the game at Iowa State University on Saturday, Mike's interesting side continued to be demonstrated through his dance in the locker room. After defeating Texas, he resumed his famous moves last week. 

A wave of his arm. Knee twitches. Squat near the floor and dance.

Over time, the dance moves hardly improved. But even at 54 years old, Mike Gundy was not afraid of sabotage.

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"To be honest, I don't know how old he is, but he has been dancing that kind of dance for a while," said Oregon State University security officer Tanner McAllister. "His knees look strong. I hope I can do them when I am his age."

Gandy attributed years of wrestling to his knee support. Perhaps the surgery in his later years was the only way for him to stop dancing.

But he also feels upset after a major victory, being pushed by his players to break it.

"Adrenaline is a beautiful thing," Christine said.

After Oregon State University defeated Texas A&M University in 2011, Mike danced in the locker room for the first time. The video became popular immediately. "Gandhi" was born.

Christine said that the moment was more like a sweet accident. No plan. But Mike's players like it. His three sons thought it was great.

"I have always liked it a bit," said Gage Gundy, the 6-year-old youngest son in the locker room in 2011. "He's really stupid. It's just a small daily matter."

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In 2014, when Christine brought a cake and practiced with Oregon State University's drum line, Gandy became popular again on his birthday. As the drums rang, Gundy was filmed waving and dancing. 

Since the big victory, he has started dancing. As we all know, he moves quickly in the corridors around the players. He is dancing on the stage in the team room.

It relaxes his players.

For those close to him, this is not surprising.

"It's Michael Ray!" Mike's sister Cary said in a text message. "He will do (dance) for a while."

Mike has been enjoying music since he was a child. Every day, when Mike's mother Judy came home from school in the Midwestern city, there was music on her record player.

Elvis. Elton John. Queen. Earth, wind and fire. Barbra Streisand.

"She always tells us that singing and dancing will make you happy," Cary said. "I think Mike listened and realized her dream."

But an artist really stood out to Mike.

"Maybe this gave Michael some ideas," Cary joked about her brother.

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Even with inspiration, Mike's dance is not up to standard at best. Christine knew this before her junior prom.

Mike is a star quarterback in a rival Midwestern city high school and initially sneered about attending a prom. Christine insisted. She later wanted to say that she went to her dance party.

So they went. There is still much room for improvement in his dance.

"To be honest, his real dance ability is, um, a bit weak," Christine said. "Bless his heart."

She still has hope for their prom. This is why she spent so much time trying to teach him how to dance. 

Years later, she returned to those moments when she watched the movie "Hitchhiking". When the character of Kevin James showed his dance moves to the character of Will Smith, Christine found a lot of similarities.

"He might die, I even said that," Christine said. "So, if you play that scene on your phone, Kevin James and I do a lot of actions together. 

"And I just remember to go,'Oh, my goodness. Okay, we will have to solve this problem. I'm Will and he is Kevin."

But Mike Gundy's dance was not repaired. Not then. not now.

Cowboys everywhere are grateful for this.

Jacob Unruh reports on college sports for "Oklahoma." You can send him your story ideas via junruh@oklahoman.com or via @jacobunruh on Twitter. Purchase a digital subscription now to support the work of him and other Oklahoma reporters.

Kick-off: Saturday at 2:30 pm at Jack Trice Stadium (Fox) in Ames, Iowa