Game Day Experience 2023

[Red Five 40,838]

Just now, Surly Bevo said:

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.  

There were about three people checking tickets in that mass of humanity of Gate B. I watched a lot of people just walk right by them. 

There were also people scaling the walls. It looked like that Jerusalem scene in World War Z. 

[Tex Pete 20,330]

2 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

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.  

I entered through B, but came from the direction of A. It wasn’t bad at all once I got through the sea of humanity pressing toward A from Gameday. It was also about 10:15. The last few times, I’ve committed to making my way into the stadium an hour before kick since it’s impossible to know how long it will take to push through the people and get through the scanners. The number of people who don’t have their shit together is infuriating.

The online coupon pickup window was enough to make me punch a baby. A bunch of supposed college graduates absolutely refuse to read directions. 

[Tex Pete 20,330]

3 minutes ago, Red Five said:

There were about three people checking tickets in that mass of humanity of Gate B. I watched a lot of people just walk right by them. 

There were also people scaling the walls. It looked like that Jerusalem scene in World War Z. 

I definitely saw opportunity to sneak in there. I also heard from people sitting around me that someone fell off the wall and landed on his head/back. He just popped up and down walked off. Alcohol. 

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,547]

This was leaving the game and once you got through that mess toward the building in the back, it was still wall to wall humanity as far as you could see in every direction. We ended up ducking through some livestock building just to get the hell out of it.

As I'm walking to and from the game, all I'm thinking is that I can't imagine what would happen if there was some sort of fire or accident. It would be an absolute catastrophe. They really need to get their shit together. Something bad is going to happen one of these years. There is no way in hell cramming that many people into that small a space is safe. 

[hobbs 243]

Yep, getting into the stadium was significantly worse this year.  It was mayhem...not nearly enough scanners, people climbing walls, etc.  They gotta fix this somehow.

Getting into the fair was another story.  Usually it takes a while too, but this year they were just waving everyone in and there was zero checking of tickets where we entered.  One nice part was no policing of drinks either, so waltzed right in with a cocktail.

As for post-game at the fair, one good addition (or, I'd just never noticed before) was the unmanned coupon kiosks.  Heard some say they weren't all working right, but I had no trouble and it damn sure beat waiting in the normal coupon hut lines.

Edited October 9, 2023 by hobbs

[GreenspointTexas 9,598]

16 minutes ago, Red Five said:

There were about three people checking tickets in that mass of humanity of Gate B. I watched a lot of people just walk right by them. 

There were also people scaling the walls. It looked like that Jerusalem scene in World War Z. 

This. I was there as well. The two cops (a male and a female) stopped the first one or two people doing it, but then there was a massive deluge of people scaling the walls like it was Helms Deep about 3 min before kickoff

[GreenspointTexas 9,598]

24 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

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.  

This also

[dcar00 14,153]

It's not all this but I hate the fucking 11AM kick.  100K people plus other fair goers showing up between 9 and 9:30AM.  Then everyone trying to get a beer and corn dog all before the kick which means EVERYONE tries to get in the stadium at 10:45.  Gameday set made it even worse.

The 2:30 kick spreads everything out - getting to the fair, hanging out, getting in the stadium.

There is the other issue that so many people don't realize there are gates behind the stadium too.  It's an epic cluster fuck every time.

[mdmost 42,999]

16 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

This was leaving the game and once you got through that mess toward the building in the back, it was still wall to wall humanity as far as you could see in every direction. We ended up ducking through some livestock building just to get the hell out of it.

As I'm walking to and from the game, all I'm thinking is that I can't imagine what would happen if there was some sort of fire or accident. It would be an absolute catastrophe. They really need to get their shit together. Something bad is going to happen one of these years. There is no way in hell cramming that many people into that small a space is safe. 

This was what we had to navigate through getting out to get to the exit at the Pan Am gate. There's too much ancillary crap in that area. That's fine for a normal Fair day but not when there's 100K in that stadium. They also had stupid shit like beer tents right near that tree that blocked getting out and a dumb Lays tractor just to the right near that truck. Just dumb to place anything there. One thing the other side has that works well is a set of stairs on both ends of the press box area that can take you straight to the bottom. The other side doesn't so you have to go down intersecting ramps that then don't lead to an actual exit. It just takes you to the bottom concourse. Really hope they fix that. 

Going forward the game will be at 2:30. So maybe spreading people out over a longer period will make things better. Why anyone not affiliated with this game would choose to go to the Fair on a day when 100K will be going in and out is a real head scratcher. I get the weather was great but Sunday is going to be a much better option for you. 

 

[Cap33 384]

We had no trouble getting into the Fair through one of the east gates. The attendants were in "Show and Go" mode, and it was a breeze. Getting OUT of the Fair was ridiculously stupid because they made everyone walk through one narrow gate with a second one blocked by another attendant on her phone. I've never had to wait in line to exit before, and it's not like they were checking for people walking out with beers or anything. I don't get that at all.

Getting into the game at Gate C was fairly typical, but they were not letting anyone through without Gate C being the designated gate on the ticket. Some students were arguing with the attendant about being sent around to their correct gate, and they held up the line with that discussion, but there wasn't anything unusual about the wait time. I usually try to get in 45 minutes before kickoff though. I guess those same attendants didn't give a shit about enforcing any rules whatsoever because they could not have cared less about showing a pass out slip after halftime. Getting into Section 11 was a real treat, and the cop standing there was just enjoying the game I guess.

[Skipper 6,127]

43 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

This was leaving the game and once you got through that mess toward the building in the back, it was still wall to wall humanity as far as you could see in every direction. We ended up ducking through some livestock building just to get the hell out of it.

As I'm walking to and from the game, all I'm thinking is that I can't imagine what would happen if there was some sort of fire or accident. It would be an absolute catastrophe. They really need to get their shit together. Something bad is going to happen one of these years. There is no way in hell cramming that many people into that small a space is safe. 

They really need to keep some kind of a count and cut-off access to non ticket holders at some point. 

[Tex48 840]

I went with a buddy who had never been to the game before. We got to the fair at 9 and walked around the fair until 930. My buddy said we should go into the stadium so we could take in the stadium and grab some pics. That turned out to be the move. We were upper deck. We could see how bad it was outside the stadium at 10 am onwards. It looked like you could not move an inch around gameday

Edited October 9, 2023 by Tex48

[4th&Five 41,510]

I woke up Saturday pretty pissed that I wasn't going this year but the result and all this shit makes me feel lucky to have skipped it.

[dcar00 14,153]

54 minutes ago, Skipper said:

They really need to keep some kind of a count and cut-off access to non ticket holders at some point. 

this is the City of Dallas you are talking about.  plus it is the day that makes the fair potentially profitable.   they won't ever turn away anyone.

[MissingInAction 25,009]

@immamac photo bombing sooners with his Thujone oklahoma eating a dick shirt made it all worth it.

[txduck87 985]

Wow Gameday experience at fair sounds like it was an absolute disaster . I’m gonna hug my couch just a little tighter tonight.

[LonghornSean 3,989]

If only we all had a police escort to get around:

 

[MissingInAction 25,009]

Corso had his own platoon of cops knocking people out of the way. 

[wood 11,225]

On 9/22/2023 at 1:40 PM, MirrOlure said:

I'm sure this will solve all of the problems....here's what I typed into the template on the "Contact Us" page.  You have to give your real name, email and telephone number:

https://texassports.com/sb_output.aspx?form=12

Cool, cool, cool. Looks a lot like what I sent them. I'm certain they're working hard to incorporate our ideas as we speak.

[wood 11,225]

On 10/8/2023 at 10:36 AM, UTexasFight said:

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!)

On 10/8/2023 at 5:19 PM, Hookem2147 said:

You couldn’t hear the PA guy, the ref or anything on the video board.

Y'all were probably just still deaf from the last UT home game you attended.

[wood 11,225]

17 hours ago, Tex Pete said:

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!”

That's amazing that it's that bad. I know Dart's not trying to move everyone out of there. Probably not even 10%, and they apparently can't even handle that. An example of somewhere that does it right is Montreal, with the Canadian Grand Prix. Upwards of 140K people attending on race day, and 99% of them get there via one Metro line from downtown. They add trains to the route so that they're running like every 3 minutes. You're nbot crammed in like sardines,  and it works like fucking clockwork. Every time I've been, I'm in the station for no more than about 5-10 minutes. So it can certainly be done.

Edited October 10, 2023 by wood

[wood 11,225]

17 hours ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

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?”

Were asses kicked? Was that dipshit MikeUT8750 from the "How not to sit with ou" thread there douching it up? Did you "take whatever is given to you, and like it", like he said we'd do?

[wood 11,225]

13 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

I woke up Saturday pretty pissed that I wasn't going this year but the result and all this shit makes me feel lucky to have skipped it.

Yeah, fucking this. I've been to 30 or more of the last 41 Texxas - ou sucks games, but all this nonsense is making me really rethink my disappointment over not getting tickets this year, and making me question whether I'll chance having to put up with this kind of bullshit in the future. I can only tolerate so much stupid.

[SamsCorner 395]

2 hours ago, wood said:

Yeah, fucking this. I've been to 30 or more of the last 41 Texxas - ou sucks games, but all this nonsense is making me really rethink my disappointment over not getting tickets this year, and making me question whether I'll chance having to put up with this kind of bullshit in the future. I can only tolerate so much stupid.

I'd been to every game from '95 - '21, I missed last years game and thought hard about going this year.  Ordered Fletcher's to the house and threw some turkey legs on the smoker.  Nearly killed a 30 pack of Bud Light from the garage fridge and watched the game on the back patio.  I may never go back to Dallas.  If I need the fair I'll just drive to Tulsa.

[Eskimohorn 5,630]

A lot of issues get solved when the game gets moved to 230. Because Ive long realized for 11am games it realty means you have to find a suitable Cotton Bowl entrance at 10am.

[Lidig8r 1,870]

So, my friend and I got to the State Fair about 8:45. Had no trouble driving there because of the secret way with no traffic. (Only hint... you have to drive through a gravel parking lot with lots of potholes). Zipped through the "Game Tickets" entrance without stopping. Friend picked up her on-line purchased coupons (no line either!)

Went to the Fletchers behind the stadium. The line moved pretty quickly, plus we each had a beer while moving through the line. Met friends of hers at a nearby IPA bar thingie.

Entered the stadium at 10:25. Gate D, It took less than 3 minutes to get in.

Wrong team won. ou sucks.

Oh.. and for you animals and the rules.

FullSizeRender-preview.HEIC

[Horndog 2,228]

Per the DMN, there is a $150 million renovation of the Cotton Bowl to take place over the next 2 years, with construction paused during the 2024 Fair.  Replacing the ramps inside the stadium with some other mechanisms for getting spectators to the upper sections.  This is supposed to result in increased areas of the concourse and more concession and bathroom areas.  Completion date is supposed to be before the '25 game, but '24 may be an absolute shitshow. 

[Skipper 6,127]

15 minutes ago, Horndog said:

 Completion date is supposed to be before the '25 game, but '24 may be an absolute shitshow. 

And it will still be my favorite day of the year.

[dcar00 14,153]

On 10/9/2023 at 10:12 AM, Skipper said:

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.

It was fine when it was in front of the hall of state in 08 or 09. or have it front of big tex.  Thy can do it in front of stadium if it is a 2:30 kick as gameday ends way before that.

[UTexasFight 9,428]

I found the key to solving all of this:

global pandemic.

Timestamp: 10/10/2020, 10:02am

[Constant 6,723]

11 hours ago, Horndog said:

Per the DMN, there is a $150 million renovation of the Cotton Bowl to take place over the next 2 years, with construction paused during the 2024 Fair.  Replacing the ramps inside the stadium with some other mechanisms for getting spectators to the upper sections.  This is supposed to result in increased areas of the concourse and more concession and bathroom areas.  Completion date is supposed to be before the '25 game, but '24 may be an absolute shitshow. 

The ‘other mechanisms’ is an odd way to say escalators. 

[YGIFS 19,449]

We now go live to Oklahoma fans attempting to negotiate the "other mechanisms" in order to gain access to upper levels of the facility:

 

[ImissWallyPryor 9,046]

On 10/4/2023 at 2:02 PM, Wilcox Cummingtonite said:

[4th&Five 41,510]

[hookem2010 2,623]

I'm going to my first home game in at least 5 years this weekend with my 77 y/o FIL. Recs on getting in and out of the stadium to minimize his walk as much as possible? I live in Round Rock and could potentially have my wife drive us, if that would be the best option. He doesn't drink so getting there early to go to Scholz or something isn't in the cards.

[NTVTXN 1,432]

On 10/10/2023 at 9:04 AM, Lidig8r said:

So, my friend and I got to the State Fair about 8:45. Had no trouble driving there because of the secret way with no traffic. (Only hint... you have to drive through a gravel parking lot with lots of potholes). Zipped through the "Game Tickets" entrance without stopping. Friend picked up her on-line purchased coupons (no line either!)

Went to the Fletchers behind the stadium. The line moved pretty quickly, plus we each had a beer while moving through the line. Met friends of hers at a nearby IPA bar thingie.

Entered the stadium at 10:25. Gate D, It took less than 3 minutes to get in.

Wrong team won. ou sucks.

Oh.. and for you animals and the rules.

FullSizeRender-preview.HEICUnavailable

This was me and my 14yo Daughter. Except we walked by the IPA thingy without stopping and while in line at Fletchers she had a lemonade. I skipped my normal warm Shiner in a waxy cup this year- so this loss is on me.😠😡🤬

And there will be zero pics, you animals.🖕🏻

 

On to BYU…🤘🏻

[blacklab 11,926]

Holy shit

They actually turned down the volume. I could actually talk between plays.

Seems like they did less between plays too.

Bob Cole is still an idiot and talks to much. Continued to talk after the snap several times. Heard at least 2 wrong announcements.

 

[DalTxHornFan 3,097]

11 minutes ago, blacklab said:

Bob Cole is still an idiot and talks to much. 

 

Cannot be said too often.  Carry on.

[Jersey Man10 3,528]

That douchebag that tried to get us to do Texas Fight each time was annoying af. Especially after each kickoff. Also I can barely hear the band with all that noise. Also wtf was up with that Mr Nice Guy shit?

[Red Five 40,838]

16 minutes ago, blacklab said:

Holy shit

They actually turned down the volume. I could actually talk between plays.

Seems like they did less between plays too.

Bob Cole is still an idiot and talks to much. Continued to talk after the snap several times. Heard at least 2 wrong announcements.

 

I think there is a difference between the volume at day games vs night games. Just seems so much louder at night. 

[Boss Hogg 808]

On 10/2/2023 at 11:41 AM, texasdago said:

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.

lol 

Shoutout to the fat black guy not wearing a shirt that is shown at least 30 times a game with his titties bouncing all over the place. 

[Eskimohorn 5,630]

lol 
Shoutout to the fat black guy not wearing a shirt that is shown at least 30 times a game with his titties bouncing all over the place. 

Missed game. Do they even show cheerleaders any more? They used to get some sweet early morning dew shots. Now we get 30 Hellraisers

[SubliminalHorn 6,786]

17 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:

Missed game. Do they even show cheerleaders any more? They used to get some sweet early morning dew shots. Now we get 30 Hellraisers

There are some things that just will always be as a Texas fan. One is how annoying it is seeing the Hellraisers on tv all the time. What’s worse is they’ve gotten progressively less good looking and they weren’t that great even back in the day

[TrashMaster G 17,544]

3 hours ago, blacklab said:

Holy shit

They actually turned down the volume. I could actually talk between plays.

Seems like they did less between plays too.

Bob Cole is still an idiot and talks to much. Continued to talk after the snap several times. Heard at least 2 wrong announcements.

 

Yep. It was much better.

Now, if someone would just hit that DJ dude over the head with a shovel and go bury him out in a pasture sonewhere, we'd be in great shape.

[Had Enough 2,078]

Lack of replays for those of us that like replays was as bad as it’s ever been. I’m sure Estes audiology would be ok slapping their name of the replay screen.

[TKthunder2 4,985]

13 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

Lack of replays for those of us that like replays was as bad as it’s ever been. I’m sure Estes audiology would be ok slapping their name of the replay screen.

Yes this was my biggest complaint. The volume and occasional lulls in advertising were significantly better than the first few home games. Hope that wasn’t a fluke.

[texasdago 7,567]

1 hour ago, Boss Hogg said:

lol 

Shoutout to the fat black guy not wearing a shirt that is shown at least 30 times a game with his titties bouncing all over the place. 

Fat black guy? Last time was a fat white guy.  Equal opportunity.

[Boss Hogg 808]

48 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Fat black guy? Last time was a fat white guy.  Equal opportunity.

I’ve only been to Wyoming and BYU but it was the same dude who needed a bra at each game.  

[YGIFS 19,449]

Well if it involved BYU and Wyoming, we can assume it wasn't "the Bro"...too ethnic

[Ignatius 4,017]

3 hours ago, Boss Hogg said:

lol 

Shoutout to the fat black guy not wearing a shirt that is shown at least 30 times a game with his titties bouncing all over the place. 

Hah and to the Pippie Longstocking chick with her titties bouncing all over the place who was also show at least 30 times. At least twice she moved her hair out of the way of her jugs….