Worst Game Experiance

[cowboysooner]

Not on any of the football boards, so I am venting here.

I have purchased my last OU football ticket.

Saturday was the worst sporting event attendance experience of my life.

My dad starting taking me to OU football games in the 1960s. I have two degrees from OU and have gone to every home game I could during my adult lifetime. I like the experience of the day as much as the game. Going a couple hours early and avoiding traffic spending time on campus corner and campus before the game, getting a meal at one of the long standing game day places, then getting into the stadium a little early to watch warm up.

Saturday, we got up early and headed from Tulsa to the game. Got stuck in maddening traffic starting at 244. Got parked about an hour and a half before the game, and just had time to walk to campus corner and buy a couple tickets (needed two extras as I took my son and his girlfriend), and got outside the stadium about 45 minutes before the game. Stood in the heat and humidity for those 45 minutes while security guards spent all day check to see if coeds that were virtually naked had weapons of mass destruction hidden in their mini shorts and tank top. Then, since nobody got in the game until game time, I waited another 15 minutes to walk up the ramp, and missed the kickoff.

There were no vendors with cold drinks in the aisles. By half we had been in the direct sunlight, heat and humidity for over 3 hours and called it quits.

This was the first game I have ever left early and it had nothing to do with the score.

I will continue to root on the team, watch the game on TV, and if not on TV, listen on the radio. But, OU plainly doesn't want me attending these games live.

BTW, I have been to plenty of games on hot days.

 

[oufanfrmks]

There were numerous announcements about the new safety policy when going into games, so it shouldn't have been a major surprise for you. Unfortunately, events have to take these measures to ensure the safety of everyone, even if it means upsetting a few people in the process. I wouldn't give up on going, don't let one experience like this ruin it for you and future events with your son. BTW, it might be a litter further from your seats, but next time try going through the northwest handicapped entrance. Usually not a long line to get it because people don't think they can get through there. The attendants are usually asking people to come through their gate. Hope this helps.

 

[perryj74]

I got to my parking spot at 9:30. Took my 13 year old niece and her friend around for some pictures with the Ruf/Neks and cheerleaders. Headed to the stadium right behind the band and spent a grand total of 5 minutes in a north end zone security line to get into the stadium. Was in my seat with the $4.50 waters I bought as I entered the stadium 35 minutes before kickoff with plenty of time to see them punt the ball to midfield, fire up some crazy train, and watch the Pride preform the pregame.

 

[Chiefdaddy]

I gave up my season tickets before last year as the place where we used to have a huge tailgate, built a playground at the church and took away our spot where we hosted 30-50 people every game. That and I was tired of convincing my wife to go to the games. She just wanted to tailgate and watch on TV at the tailgate once we got there. I've been going to home and away games since I was a little kid. I'll be honest, it's a different feeling but I do like staying at home watching the games in my mancave on the large projection screen. Everyone that went to the game just said how hot and miserable it was. Lol. Add in a blowout and everyone was gone by halftime. I was chilling in the A/C with a cold Tecate loving life. I was thinking about going down for UCLA this weekend but I'll check and see what the weather is going to do. And that was never an issue. Haha. I've sat in horrible weather to watch bad OU teams play. The thing I miss the most is seeing all the people that I hardly get to see anymore due to life, including my parents. It is nice to roll out of bed and not have to worry about everything related to going to the game when it is an early kick.

 

[cowboysooner]

I wasn't trying to start a boycott. I hope everyone else thought OU handled the thing great, love the early tee time, didn't have a problem and keep going to the games.

I was just making the point that I am done.

My point is for people like me, you can't have a tee time before 1:30, you need to figure out a way to be secure and still not make people stay in line for 45 minutes, and on a particularly hot day you need to have people selling water in the stands. JMO. I prefer going to events live, but not if I have to take an Azz whipping to do it.

Like I said, I'm not anti OU now, just not going to attend games live anymore.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Not on any of the football boards, so I am venting here.

I have purchased my last OU football ticket.

Saturday was the worst sporting event attendance experience of my life.

My dad starting taking me to OU football games in the 1960s. I have two degrees from OU and have gone to every home game I could during my adult lifetime. I like the experience of the day as much as the game. Going a couple hours early and avoiding traffic spending time on campus corner and campus before the game, getting a meal at one of the long standing game day places, then getting into the stadium a little early to watch warm up.

Saturday, we got up early and headed from Tulsa to the game. Got stuck in maddening traffic starting at 244. Got parked about an hour and a half before the game, and just had time to walk to campus corner and buy a couple tickets (needed two extras as I took my son and his girlfriend), and got outside the stadium about 45 minutes before the game. Stood in the heat and humidity for those 45 minutes while security guards spent all day check to see if coeds that were virtually naked had weapons of mass destruction hidden in their mini shorts and tank top. Then, since nobody got in the game until game time, I waited another 15 minutes to walk up the ramp, and missed the kickoff.

There were no vendors with cold drinks in the aisles. By half we had been in the direct sunlight, heat and humidity for over 3 hours and called it quits.

This was the first game I have ever left early and it had nothing to do with the score.

I will continue to root on the team, watch the game on TV, and if not on TV, listen on the radio. But, OU plainly doesn't want me attending these games live.

BTW, I have been to plenty of games on hot days.

no offense, but sounds like just a bunch of whining to me.

OU can't control traffic.
The new security procedures have been well documented and publicized. That is your fault for not leaving early enough.
OU can't do anything about the heat outside.

What are your suggestions to improve your game day experience?

 

[soonertravis]

Like Perry I went through Security in about 3 minutes about 40 minutes before kick on the west side. Knowing it would be hot I got water, including an extra, once I entered the stadium at the concession stand and then waited until just before the band hit the field to go to my seats to lessen the impact of the heat. I stayed for the entire game, though my daughter left with my parents to hit the pool at halftime.

I know it can be a pain to get more water and I agree that the lack of people selling water in the stands was bad.

Driving from Tulsa is also a whip. My parents have a place in Norman now, but if they didn't I probably wouldn't attend as much as I do.

With TV getting better and better the comfort of home is appealing. I like the game day experience and will keep attending.

 

[sperry]

The game experience in general for football games isn't great. Aside from the big games where you will want to remember where you were at, watching on tv is preferable. Exposure to the elements, ****ty overpriced stadium food, concession workers who are challenged, long lines, no beer, nothing to do during the 25 minute long halftime. Crammed onto a tiny bench with no back in between fat people. Games last 4+ hours because of ridiculous amounts of television breaks and the halftime show. I'd much rather watch at the tailgate or on my couch for all but the most interesting games.

 

[Stikboy]

The game experience in general for football games isn't great. Aside from the big games where you will want to remember where you were at, watching on tv is preferable. Exposure to the elements, ****ty overpriced stadium food, concession workers who are challenged, long lines, no beer, nothing to do during the 25 minute long halftime. Crammed onto a tiny bench with no back in between fat people. Games last 4+ hours because of ridiculous amounts of television breaks and the halftime show. I'd much rather watch at the tailgate or on my couch for all but the most interesting games.

LOL there were a group of crazies working in my concessions area in the NW corner on the second deck. Wow. What a group! Not sure where they shipped them in from...

 

[skyvue]

I'm sure attending games can be frustrating, but as someone who's been situated on the east coast for more than 35 years, I'd love to be able to go to a game two or three times per season, even with the inconveniences and frustrations.

Folks have been complaining about the Cotton Bowl for years and years, and I never did understand that. That's the one game I used to attend with regularity (I went to 90% of OU-texas games from 1976-2013 or so). The joy of being at that game always overrode whatever limitations or shortcomings the stadium experience might have had. Now, I definitely had complaints about the outcome of the game on occasion, but the stadium? I barely noticed.

 

[thegreyghost]

I think the heat had a lot to do with everything Saturday....pretty ridiculous to play a game in Oklahoma at that time on the 1st Saturday in September (OU probably should have cut the price of water in half to $2.25 to show some appreciation for people even showing up at that time).

Road construction is ridiculous throughout the state, every main road it seems like is jacked up....say this is more on state/local and fed govt for letting them get this bad and they all need repair at the same time.

Security worked better than I would have thought for the 1st game; on the west side at least....this goes on everywhere now, and it was not to long ago at OU someone blew them self up pretty close to a full stadium....so safety is gonna win here from now on


I would definitely say the City of Norman could do a lot better with traffic before and after the game, which would include turning some streets into 1 way for a better traffic flow, but this has been a problem for a long time and Norman doesn’t seem to give a damn

 

[SoonerTraveler]

I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s when my father's automobile did not have an air-conditioner. When we went on summer vacation as kids, my father drove us cross-country in August from Tinker AFB to West Virginia to visit family. The car windows were wide open. Sure we were hot on that long two-day drive before the existence of interstate highways along much of our route, but that was just the way it was and I always enjoyed the trip along with my brothers and sisters. The old Ford was full with six of us on the trip, including my parents, of course.

As a grade school age kid going to his first OU games in the 1960s, my first memory of an OU football "play-maker" was #33 Eddie Hinton, running down the sideline on a long touchdown play. As I recall, ALL HOME GAMES had a kickoff time of 1:00 pm or 1:30 pm back in those days. There were no night games played by OU in Norman in those days. I have great memories and greatly enjoyed the games in the days when very few games were on TV.

As many of you have discussed above, times have changed, in many ways. Even so, as a 60-something year-old Sooner fan, I once again enjoyed attending a season-opening football game last Saturday. I got into line to get into the stadium about 45 minutes before kickoff, and was in my seat about 30 minutes before kickoff. The new security process went better than I expected. (At least for me.) During the game I certainly did sweat a lot, but I used to sweat a lot when I was a kid. (I have always been overweight.) Early season games in Norman have been played on hot days for as long as I can remember.

It was Sooner football. OU won the game. I had a good time.

I know traffic is going to be heavy, and I am able to avoid the highways by traveling to Norman from SE OKC by using either Sooner Road or Sunnylane. I have taken this route for decades. It is often slow-going, unless one leaves early enough to avoid the worst of it. I like to leave early and get to Norman with enough time to "take in" the atmosphere of a college football Saturday.

After the game, I usually hang around for 90 minutes or so to let the worst of the post-game traffic clear out. I do a lot of walking on game day, as I like to park a mile or more away from the stadium.

I am fortunate to live about 20 miles from the stadium. I know that driving long distances to the game greatly complicates things for many fans.

For the UCLA game, it looks like some of the sweat might be replaced by rainfall. Oh well. Wet is wet.

 

[WTSooner]

Not on any of the football boards, so I am venting here.

I have purchased my last OU football ticket.

Saturday was the worst sporting event attendance experience of my life.

My dad starting taking me to OU football games in the 1960s. I have two degrees from OU and have gone to every home game I could during my adult lifetime. I like the experience of the day as much as the game. Going a couple hours early and avoiding traffic spending time on campus corner and campus before the game, getting a meal at one of the long standing game day places, then getting into the stadium a little early to watch warm up.

Saturday, we got up early and headed from Tulsa to the game. Got stuck in maddening traffic starting at 244. Got parked about an hour and a half before the game, and just had time to walk to campus corner and buy a couple tickets (needed two extras as I took my son and his girlfriend), and got outside the stadium about 45 minutes before the game. Stood in the heat and humidity for those 45 minutes while security guards spent all day check to see if coeds that were virtually naked had weapons of mass destruction hidden in their mini shorts and tank top. Then, since nobody got in the game until game time, I waited another 15 minutes to walk up the ramp, and missed the kickoff.

There were no vendors with cold drinks in the aisles. By half we had been in the direct sunlight, heat and humidity for over 3 hours and called it quits.

This was the first game I have ever left early and it had nothing to do with the score.

I will continue to root on the team, watch the game on TV, and if not on TV, listen on the radio. But, OU plainly doesn't want me attending these games live.

BTW, I have been to plenty of games on hot days.

Eh. The new security stuff created longer lines then normal. That'll take a little time to work through. We were only in line for about 20 minutes or so. They don't sell drinks "in the aisles" anymore. Haven't since renovation, I don't think. Not necessary. You are never more than a few steps from a concession stand. TV's everywhere so you don't miss anything.

I left Tulsa at 8am and really didn't hit any traffic until Norman, then it was normal game traffic.

 

[soonertravis]

Eh. The new security stuff created longer lines then normal. That'll take a little time to work through. We were only in line for about 20 minutes or so. They don't sell drinks "in the aisles" anymore. Haven't since renovation, I don't think. Not necessary. You are never more than a few steps from a concession stand. TV's everywhere so you don't miss anything.

I left Tulsa at 8am and really didn't hit any traffic until Norman, then it was normal game traffic.

This may be true in parts of the stadium but not the west side upper deck. Getting food or a drink shouldn't be a 20-30 minute ordeal.

I'm all in and will attend as many as my schedule allows. But there are real reasons for people to complain.

 

[coolm]

TV's everywhere so you don't miss anything.

yes. because that's what we like to do when we attend the game - watch it on TV.

 

[WTSooner]

yes. because that's what we like to do when we attend the game - watch it on TV.

Don't be a clown.

People have to use the restrooms and get food/drink. I was merely pointing out that unlike a few short years ago, when you do have to leave your seat, you aren't necessarily missing the game. That's a nice touch if you ask me.

 

[oufanfrmks]

Just wanted to hop on real quick about my reply to the original post of this thread. My son and I went to the same northwest corner entrance and were in line for maybe 5 minutes before we got into the stadium. I've never experienced a hold up in the line, even with the added security. Cowboysooner, don't give up, go again and try that entrance.

 

[WTSooner]

The lines were moving MUCH faster this week.

I had another great game day experience.

 

[gwydion]

Concession workers are poorly trained. OU needs to hire a manager for their concession stands to see that they are run effectively. These groups who man them for their fundraiser are very inefficient. I have never figure out why OU doesn't ice down water before the game starts. It's hard to find a cold bottle of water after the 1st quarter. It's like OU has never figured out it's usually hot in September and yes 80,000+ people will be there who want to drink something cold.

 

[WTSooner]

Concession workers are poorly trained. OU needs to hire a manager for their concession stands to see that they are run effectively. These groups who man them for their fundraiser are very inefficient. I have never figure out why OU doesn't ice down water before the game starts. It's hard to find a cold bottle of water after the 1st quarter. It's like OU has never figured out it's usually hot in September and yes 80,000+ people will be there who want to drink something cold.

Difficult to train volunteers who probably aren't willing to put in any more time than they have to. I agree that they are slow, but I still feel like it is light years better than it was several years ago. And they are "run/managed" by an outside company, I believe.