Game Day Experience 2023

[4th&Five 41506]

I went to the Kentucky/FL game in Lexington on Saturday and it was definitely noticeable and more pleasant not being beat over the head with music and ads the entire game.

[gmr548 16576]

The fucking DJ today was great.
Volume was fine.
No complaints.

Glad to… hear it

[texasdago 7562]

There were some ads that seemed extra loud and the "TEXAS" dude is a beating but y'all... who is the camera guy who keeps showing the same Hellraisers or whatever they're called these days.  Can we not find someone else to consistently represent the Texas fanbase on that giant screen?  

That and it was indeed hot as balls.

[MAUFRAIS 6615]

We need to get Andy Sidaris in that gig.

[Ghost of Stevie Ray 1584]

On 9/28/2023 at 11:55 PM, Hagbard Celine said:

SRV (a different song each game) should be played before the band gets center stage (no speakertron!) for player entrance

and just once and awhile, a bit of creativity would be nice.....  they don't have to play something like the below song during the game.... how about after Eyes?.... the exit song on the way out, like the closing credits?  just a little creativity.....

+++

Warm winds blowing
Heat'n blue sky

And a road that goes .... forever

Been thinking 'bout it lately
Been watching some TV
Been looking all around me
And what has come to me
Been talking to my neighbour
And he agrees with me

It's all gone crazy

Well my wife returns from taking
My little girl to school
She got beads of perspiration
As she tries to keep her cool

She says that mess it don't get no better
There's gonna come a day
Someone gonna get killed out there
And I turn to her and say

Texas

she says what?

 

I said Texas

she says what?

They got big long roads out there

Warm winds blowing
Heat'n blue sky
And a road that goes .... forever

I'm going to Texas
We gotta get out of here
We gotta get out of here

Well I got a little brother
Several metres high
Yeah he's built just like a quarterback
And he swears he'll testify

He says he's been to Texas
And that's the only place to be
Big stakes, big girls, no trouble here
That's the place for me

I'm going to Texas
Yeah Yeah

I'm going to Texas
Yeah Yeah

I'm going to Texas

Watch me walking
Watch me walking
Watch me walking
Yeah Yeah

 

I approve this message. 

[WBT 20559]

The speaker seemed just as loud to me.  I seriously don’t think it would pass OSHA monitoring.  The Texas mic guy has to go.

The camera guys did a much worse job finding hot women in the crowd than during the Wyoming game.

Edited October 2, 2023 by WBT

[Red Five 40823]

I wonder if there is an intentional difference between the volume level at day games vs night games. Sort of seems like it. 

Edited October 2, 2023 by Red Five

[TX Wing Fan 132]

Music volume was great in the first half. It was still loud, but not as skull-splitting as it was in the first 2 games. However, it's almost like CDC noticed this and told the DJ to crank that shit back up, because the second half was definitely closer to the level it had been at previously. I will say that the crowd seemed more active in the second half than the first. Not sure if there's a correlation there, but it was something I observed.

The on-field mic guy is significantly more annoying than Bob Cole IMO. He's been around for a few years, but it's almost like this season the gameday staff decided to make him the star of the show. PA volume (both him and BC) is still too loud.

First down chant is annoying, but I do think that it helped keep the crowd engaged. Seemed like the student section especially would do it every time, and it got louder as the game went on. I know Baylor does this at their games to, so maybe that's where we stole it from? I'm not a fan of it, but it's something I'm willing to go to war over like the volume.

[Lat22 4010]

On 10/1/2023 at 11:08 AM, Ghost of LL said:

You think?

 

Amanda Atwell.  Former TV sports reporter and Texas alum.  Wide open Insta.  Or so I've heard.

[BurntOrange&White 39930]

[MrBig 5369]

Is the gameday survey link the same one that was posted last week in the thread? It seems like our bitching got to CDC with the last one, so we need to do it again this week to get rid of the Texas Mic Guy. Drives me fucking nuts how he keeps screaming “Texas” during Texas Fight. I heard it on TV watching a replay during a review and it pissed me off.

And I’m not even talking about the First Down Texas shit either. Using the mic during a Texas Fight chant should be grounds for termination.

#11. Thou Shalt Not Use Microphone During Texas Fight

[Captainant 27620]

On 10/3/2023 at 11:42 AM, MrBig said:

Is the gameday survey link the same one that was posted last week in the thread? It seems like our bitching got to CDC with the last one, so we need to do it again this week to get rid of the Texas Mic Guy. Drives me fucking nuts how he keeps screaming “Texas” during Texas Fight. I heard it on TV watching a replay during a review and it pissed me off.

And I’m not even talking about the First Down Texas shit either. Using the mic during a Texas Fight chant should be grounds for termination.

#11. Thou Shalt Not Use Microphone During Texas Fight

There's a weird compulsion in some of these corporate stadium emcee's to try and control everything - including the organic stadium chants. I don't understand why a football game needs a hype man.

[Wilcox Cummingtonite 2935]

On 10/2/2023 at 4:21 PM, Lat22 said:

Amanda Atwell.  Former TV sports reporter and Texas alum.  Wide open Insta.  Or so I've heard.

Spoiler

 

Edited October 4, 2023 by Wilcox Cummingtonite

[cabowabo 4484]

Who is the dumbfuck who thought it would be a good idea to set off a shitload of orange smoke in the Texas end zone when the team came out today? People are fucking stupid. 

[ITHorn 800]

14 hours ago, cabowabo said:

Who is the dumbfuck who thought it would be a good idea to set off a shitload of orange smoke in the Texas end zone when the team came out today? People are fucking stupid. 

Yeah that shit was absolutely horrendous. I can’t imagine it looked very good either. 

[UTexasFight 9427]

Bevo was not happy:

 

but outside of that, the gameday experience is so much better in the cotton bowl than at home (Although the only speakers being in the scoreboard on the south end and a north breeze blowing the sound away from the UT end made it hard to hear anything….why is it so damn hard to find a reasonable audible level!)

 

but very little piped in music, no P.A./shitty sideline hype man yelling to do stuff. Just good old fashioned cheering and yelling and reliance on the band/cheerleaders for cues.  Probably helps that the audience for that game tends to be more of a knowledgeable/ diehard fan, I would imagine.

With as many injuries, video reviews, and normal TV timeouts as there were yesterday I don’t think I could have handled a home game-style entertainment     approach. I prefer my deafness from 45k+ of my closest friends yelling at Sooners in our half of the field for half the game than shitty pop music blaring away every 3 minute commercial break.

[Hookem2147 21188]

That was the worse gameday experience at the Cotton Bowl I could remember. You couldn’t hear the PA guy, the ref or anything on the video board. Getting in and out of the stadium was the usual pain considering the lack of entrances and exits. The smoke bomb idea was awful.

Aren't they supposed to be making upgrades to the Cotton Bowl soon?

Edited October 8, 2023 by Hookem2147

[mdmost 42997]

2 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

That was the worse gameday experience at the Cotton Bowl I could remember. You couldn’t hear the PA guy, the ref or anything on the video board. Getting in and out of the stadium was the usual pain considering the lack of entrances and exits. The smoke bomb idea was awful.

Aren't they supposed to be making upgrades to the Cotton Bowl soon?

Yes. The renovations begins as soon as the Fair ends. It won't be fully done until the 2025 game. We were in north end in the older part and it took forever to get in and out. The other side is a lot easier since there's two long staircases that go down through the very end part of the old front. It was easy getting out at halftime but a lot harder after the game because no one left early. 

I think complaints about the Cotton Bowl tend to increase after a tough loss. It's a lot easier to be good with things when we win. They really need to add more ways to exit from the upper level straight out to the outside and not by merging with the lower bowl. I believe there will be some of that with the renovations but I'm not fully sure. 

[Hookem2147 21188]

3 minutes ago, mdmost said:

Yes. The renovations begins as soon as the Fair ends. It won't be fully done until the 2025 game. We were in north end in the older part and it took forever to get in and out. The other side is a lot easier since there's two long staircases that go down through the very end part of the old front. It was easy getting out at halftime but a lot harder after the game because no one left early. 

I think complaints about the Cotton Bowl tend to increase after a tough loss. It's a lot easier to be good with things when we win. They really need to add more ways to exit from the upper level straight out to the outside and not by merging with the lower bowl. I believe there will be some of that with the renovations but I'm not fully sure. 

The sound issue was something I don’t remember in previous years and was most frustrating. Feels like if I attend a football game it’s kinda important to be able to hear the ref and PA guy (except Bob Cole).

Edited October 8, 2023 by Hookem2147

[mdmost 42997]

4 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

The sound issue was something I don’t remember in previous years and was most frustrating. Feels like if I attend a football game it’s kinda important to be able to hear the ref and PA guy (except Bob Cole).

Yes, the sound sucked in our area (30 yard line). I feel like something was off with the UT end's sound. It's usually not that terrible and it only was coming from the OU end. 

[Surly Bevo 24908]

The Fair is always crowded that day.  It was super crowded yesterday accounting for it only being a week into the run and it being fucking perfect weather after the blast furnace finally got shut off.  

[hornbri 1391]

2 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

The Fair is always crowded that day.  It was super crowded yesterday accounting for it only being a week into the run and it being fucking perfect weather after the blast furnace finally got shut off.  

I mean thats true, by why does anyone go to the fair that day that is NOT going to the game? It seems like any other day would be a much better experience. 

[Surly Bevo 24908]

2 minutes ago, hornbri said:

I mean thats true, by why does anyone go to the fair that day that is NOT going to the game? It seems like any other day would be a much better experience. 

Beats me, I always wonder the same thing but I guess one's gotta realize there are a lot of people who pay no attention to sports, football etc and may not even know shit like that is going on.  "Hey Pa, weather is great today let's go get us a corny dog and ride the Crazy Mouse"

[Skipper 6127]

27 minutes ago, mdmost said:

Yes. The renovations begins as soon as the Fair ends. It won't be fully done until the 2025 game. We were in north end in the older part and it took forever to get in and out. The other side is a lot easier since there's two long staircases that go down through the very end part of the old front. It was easy getting out at halftime but a lot harder after the game because no one left early. 

I think complaints about the Cotton Bowl tend to increase after a tough loss. It's a lot easier to be good with things when we win. They really need to add more ways to exit from the upper level straight out to the outside and not by merging with the lower bowl. I believe there will be some of that with the renovations but I'm not fully sure. 

Yeah, getting in and out seemed even worse than normal (and it's always bad).  I do think the amount of people that didn't go to the game was probably higher than most years given ticket prices.  I also heard TONS of people without tickets came in right after half when the "pass out ticket" or whatever became a clusterfuck and employees just started letting people in.  There were lots of people just watching game from the concourse and I bet a bunch didn't have seats.

[UTexasFight 9427]

I don’t ever remember it being that bad getting out before

not out of the stadium. Out of the fair

 

this took over 25 minutes to get through 

 

[LonghornSean 3989]

2 hours ago, mdmost said:

Yes. The renovations begins as soon as the Fair ends. It won't be fully done until the 2025 game. We were in north end in the older part and it took forever to get in and out. The other side is a lot easier since there's two long staircases that go down through the very end part of the old front. It was easy getting out at halftime but a lot harder after the game because no one left early. 

I think complaints about the Cotton Bowl tend to increase after a tough loss. It's a lot easier to be good with things when we win. They really need to add more ways to exit from the upper level straight out to the outside and not by merging with the lower bowl. I believe there will be some of that with the renovations but I'm not fully sure. 

From the DMN article, it’s my understanding that in addition to enlarging the concourses, access to the upper bowl sections without going through the lower concourse is part of the plans. I’ve always sat in the lower bowl but my friends in the upper deck were complaining about it a lot yesterday.

Avoiding the main Gate A stadium entrance was a positive for us this year after waiting and sweating for at least 30 minutes to get in there last year. Much quicker entry through Gate B, about 25 minutes before kickoff.

Edited October 9, 2023 by LonghornSean

[CowboyFred 1151]

My firm got me tickets in the student section which was pretty badass for atmosphere because I also yell and stand all game. Only shitty part was students kept telling peeps “sorry this is student section it’s GA sorry” which I thought maybe but if I paid $5-600+ I’m sitting in my fucking seat.

thankfully I didn’t have issues with that but the row behind us were non-student Texas fans that said y’all can fuck right off and got security to kick them all out.

 

Couldn’t hear the PA all game or the ref (section 21)

[LonghornSean 3989]

3 minutes ago, CowboyFred said:

My firm got me tickets in the student section which was pretty badass for atmosphere because I also yell and stand all game. Only shitty part was students kept telling peeps “sorry this is student section it’s GA sorry” which I thought maybe but if I paid $5-600+ I’m sitting in my fucking seat.

thankfully I didn’t have issues with that but the row behind us were non-student Texas fans that said y’all can fuck right off and got security to kick them all out.

 

Couldn’t hear the PA all game or the ref (section 21)

Every section stands the whole game at Texas/OU.

Is it really GA for students at this game? I know it is at home games but I figured they had assigned seats in this one. If so, what a clusterfuck.

[CowboyFred 1151]

6 minutes ago, LonghornSean said:

Every section stands the whole game at Texas/OU.

Is it really GA for students at this game? I know it is at home games but I figured they had assigned seats in this one. If so, what a clusterfuck.

I don’t think it is. I think they’re used to DKR that I believe is GA in student section  

[Cap33 384]

2 hours ago, Skipper said:

I also heard TONS of people without tickets came in right after half when the "pass out ticket" or whatever became a clusterfuck and employees just started letting people in.  There were lots of people just watching game from the concourse and I bet a bunch didn't have seats.

This was true in our area. The guy didn't even want to see my pass out ticket to get back in Gate C. I'm always amazed at the number of people who sneak in and make the concourses SRO viewing, but yesterday there seemed to be more of this than usual.

[The_highest_of_fives 608]

2 hours ago, Surly Bevo said:

The Fair is always crowded that day.  It was super crowded yesterday accounting for it only being a week into the run and it being fucking perfect weather after the blast furnace finally got shut off.  

In past years, while me and my son go to game my wife uses that time to walk around and hit all her favorite Fair spots because the crowd thins out.   Yesterday she said there were so many people not at the game she couldn’t get anywhere and just decided to sit in the shaded area by car show and people watch. 

[ITHorn 800]

32 minutes ago, CowboyFred said:

My firm got me tickets in the student section which was pretty badass for atmosphere because I also yell and stand all game. Only shitty part was students kept telling peeps “sorry this is student section it’s GA sorry” which I thought maybe but if I paid $5-600+ I’m sitting in my fucking seat.

thankfully I didn’t have issues with that but the row behind us were non-student Texas fans that said y’all can fuck right off and got security to kick them all out.

 

Couldn’t hear the PA all game or the ref (section 21)

Similar experience in section 19. I didn’t mind because I prefer standing anyway but the aisles were filled from top to bottom with students jammed in with cops trying to clear them twice a quarter with little success. 

[Eskimohorn 5629]

Think it started at the Fair Ground gate. We just walked in. So you dont need a ticket.

I assume plenty of bum rushes in the Cotton Bowl. Just a cluster. We arrived 50 min before kick and used the corner gate no probs but we were amazed how many people were already there.

By far a better experience at Texas OU than at DKR. The PA not working was a blessing. Felt like a college football game.

Epilogue:

>Hopefully this will be our last 11am kick. It blows for so many reasons. You morning people can still enjoy your sunrise bloody mary no matter the time.

>Hate the troughs in the pisser. Some kid had a geyser going and my leg caught the ricochet.

[KingBobo81 534]

Putting the game aside, that was the most miserable experience I ever recall having at the fair/getting in and out of the Cotton Bowl. Talk about a sea of humanity.

[Tex Pete 20326]

11 hours ago, LonghornSean said:

Every section stands the whole game at Texas/OU.

Is it really GA for students at this game? I know it is at home games but I figured they had assigned seats in this one. If so, what a clusterfuck.

It isn’t. They’re assholes who want to jam all their friends in with them instead of sitting in the seats they paid for. 

[Tex Pete 20326]

22 minutes ago, KingBobo81 said:

Putting the game aside, that was the most miserable experience I ever recall having at the fair/getting in and out of the Cotton Bowl. Talk about a sea of humanity.

DART was utter shit. It’s a wonder people don’t get killed standing body to body for hours on end. One train sat in front of the Fair Park station loaded for about 20 minutes after the game. Obviously, not a single other train was moving passengers away to the north while it sat there. 
 

“Hey, come ride DART. We can’t adequately move that many passengers,  but yea for public transit!”

[Mitch Cumsteen 18547]

It’s always bad but Saturday was the worst ever. They had the north side of the stadium where the team buses are blocked off so far back this year. I learned my lesson the hard way a few years back about trying to get through the main gate, so we go in through the sooner side now. But fuck if we had to double back towards the midway, got deeked into a dead end, and still had go around a whole bunch more shit to find an entrance to the stadium.

And getting out and going to the fair? Fucking forget about. I was with a someone and it was their first time at the game and they were like, “Fuck the fair. Let’s get out of here and find a bar. I’m not waiting an hour in a sea of unwashed humanity for a corn dog.”

Oh and the student bum rush is fucking bullshit. We’re on the 25 yard line 15 rows up and they tried to cram into the row in front of us so they were two deep. And then stood on the bleacher so they could all fit and were blocking our view. And then basically told us to fuck off when we asked them to move. Bring back those awful folding chairs if that’s the alternative. Or mix in an usher. It’s a free for all once you get into the stadium.

It’s still my favorite day of the year. I’ve only missed 3 of them since 1988. But for the first time, and I’m sure it’s partly because I’m getting older, I thought to myself “how many more of these do I have left before I don’t want to put up with the bullshit any more?”

[Tex Pete 20326]

Gameday’s setup also completely fucked the Midway before the game. A bunch of mouthbreathing fucktards were just standing there blocking thousands of people from being able to move toward the main entrance to the stadium. 

[Tex Pete 20326]

I would have been posting about all the bullshit live on Saturday, but I couldn’t even get a text to go out for about 4.5 hours while at the stadium/Fair. 🤬

[MissingInAction 25002]

1 hour ago, Tex Pete said:

Gameday’s setup also completely fucked the Midway before the game. A bunch of mouthbreathing fucktards were just standing there blocking thousands of people from being able to move toward the main entrance to the stadium. 

Yep. I got stuck in that bullshit. It was tip to tip in there.

 

[Red Five 40823]

Approached the stadium entrance just after 10:00. Barely made kickoff. The longer we waited in that mass of humanity, the more it felt like we weren't too far away from a stampede. Just an absolute nightmare and they have to fix it before something bad happens. 

[gofuckyourself 8197]

11 hours ago, Eskimohorn said:

>Hate the troughs in the pisser. Some kid had a geyser going and my leg caught the ricochet.

We lost a lot of good khaki pants out there.

Your description got me laughing. Reminded me of elementary school bathrooms and whipping it back and forth like it was a sprinkler.

[KingBobo81 534]

1 minute ago, Red Five said:

Approached the stadium entrance just after 10:00. Barely made kickoff. The longer we waited in that mass of humanity, the more it felt like we weren't too far away from a stampede. Just an absolute nightmare and they have to fix it before something bad happens. 

Completely agree. As I found myself in that same hour-long wait to get in the entrance and worrying a whole bunch of people could get hurt, I was thinking maybe this is the last time I would be going to the game until massive improvements are done. Everything about the logistics was a fucking nightmare.

[Hookem2147 21188]

The fair itself becomes unenjoyable starting at about 9:30 and you certainly aren't waiting less than 30 minutes for anything at the fair after the game. 

It's a great atmosphere and a top 3 game/environment in college football, but the more you go the less enjoyable it becomes when you consider all the surrounding stuff.

[Tex Pete 20326]

26 minutes ago, MissingInAction said:

Yep. I got stuck in that bullshit. It was tip to tip in there.

 

We were pressed up against the carnival games, moving right to left in your picture. The idiots had blocked the walkway to the extent that there wasn’t space for a single person to walk through between the fence in front of the games and the people watching the Gameday set.
 

There was a whole line of people literally pushing through to get to the gate. 

[Tex Pete 20326]

19 minutes ago, Red Five said:

Approached the stadium entrance just after 10:00. Barely made kickoff. The longer we waited in that mass of humanity, the more it felt like we weren't too far away from a stampede. Just an absolute nightmare and they have to fix it before something bad happens. 

It was much better when they had the Gameday set out along the perimeter of the fairgrounds a few years back, but it’s never great. The primary downside of going to the game. Still the best game atmosphere anywhere. 

[mdmost 42997]

Yeah, if Gameday returns, the Fair has to force them to go to a spot like over by the Texas Star where Gameday is in its own separate area that doesn't interfere with getting through the Fair. It was nut to butt at 8:45-9. We watched it for a bit and then went to get some food in the Pavilion. Not worth standing around for. Fox does a much better job when they are here as they set up by the Hall of State where it's more open. 

We got in pretty easily on the other side of the Cotton Bowl. We went in one of the side entrances as they are plentiful on that side. I think that's a large part of the problem. The south facing end only has 3-4 entrances on that side to service way too many people. You're better served to enter around the endzones and work your way towards your seats. 

Getting out for us was a double beating as we had to navigate a sea of OU fans who for the most part didn't taunt at all. I think they were just relieved to win it. It also didn't help that pretty much the whole stadium stayed till the end. 

Edited October 9, 2023 by mdmost

[LonghornSean 3989]

Since the move to digital tickets, Gate A to get in the stadium has to be avoided. It’s painfully slow and feels unsafe, and absolutely miserable if it’s hot out. We were stuck there last year and almost missed kickoff.

This year I went from the Car Show to Big Tex area to Gate B around 10:30 and made it to my seats (admittedly very close to Gate B), by 10:40ish.

Can’t speak to the other “main gates”, D, G, and K, but strong recommend to use the in-between ones if you can.

[Skipper 6127]

3 minutes ago, mdmost said:

Yeah, if Gameday returns, the Fair has to force them to go to a spot like over by the Texas Star where Gameday is in its own separate area that doesn't interfere with getting through the Fair. It was nut to butt at 8:45-9. We watched it for a bit and then went to get some food in the Pavilion. Not worth sitting around for. 

This.  It was bad 2 years ago and worse this year.   I get that it's a great shot for TV but it draws way too many people not going to the game into the main thoroughfare.

[Surly Bevo 24908]

I went in through Gate B.  It was a shitshow or great based on the angle you took to it.  We were in the shitshow angle.  About 10:50 there was a big push and people chanting "let us in".  I was right at the stairs at that point with 3 of the 4 in my party (the 4th had gotten squeezed back about 4-5 minutes of line waiting). I just went up the stairs to lessen the congestion, never had a ticket validated.  Nor did my buddy who rolled up 5 minutes later.