Couple of Questions for the Board

[westcoast_sooner]

At the game yesterday, there were a couple of comments about OU and their fans that I was a little surprised about from Bama fans.

First, I was hanging out with some Tide fans before the game and they had made the trek to Norman in the early 2000s - don't recall the year at the moment. I asked how the experience was and they said that the stadium was "kind of a dump." In all honesty, I haven't been to a game in Norman for a long time, so can't comment. Were there renovations going on at the time? Is OU stadium in need of upgrades in order to keep up with others?

Second, when asked about the fans, they said that the OU fans were "cordially condescending". Last year when I was at the UW game, their fans loved the Sooner fans - said we were more polite than those in Nebraska. And same holds true everywhere I've been for a Sooner game. Did these fans just find the wrong group to be around?

Thanks.

[Collier11]

I was there, it was 2002 I believe?

the stadium was almost done being renovated I believe, I could be wrong. I didnt have one negative experience with any Bama fan, all were very cool, gracious, and even told us to go beat texas's azz

The UW fans I encountered were pretty ******y, thats weird that our experiences were so different

[westcoast_sooner]

Main complaint was about having to funnel so many people through small portals.

When I was at UW, I was partying with a bunch of UW people in a boat. We had to walk along the dock (wearing OU gear, of course) past a bunch of others. The only thing negative they said was about the Sonics moving to OKC. Other than that, most were really nice.

[Collier11]

I guess in Seattle the only ones who were annoying were the really drunk students so it wasnt as bad as I thought

[tulsaoilerfan]

The game at Norman was 2002, and the stadium renovation was not complete and the entrances were pretty messy, not to mention it was hotter than a mofo that day

[sooner59]

Yeah the stadium wasn't finished until 2003.

[pac10SUX]

Around the condescending thing, my guess is that the tide fans were misinterpreting confidence as condescension due to their lack of confidence in their own team.

I'm not a phsychologist by any means but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. :D

[StoopTroup]

Walking your *** out of Memorial Stadium after having your *** handed to you must make those exits look really awful. Then having OU walk into Tuscaloosa the very next year and watching them walk out of there with a win probably didn't help either. You also have to remember that both of those games were over 6 years ago and the fans that visited Norman who were the really good folks that I saw there....well...it's like when gossip talk starts. The first tale talks about it being a nice place but it would have been nice if we'd have won. Tale 2 becomes...They were "cordial" to us and we would have had a much better time if we'd have won. Tale 3 becomes they were"cordially condescending" and I can't believe we lost to those guys. Tale 4 probably has something about the Stadium being a dump and how funny it was to watch them lose to Boise State...

But....that's how it goes when you've watched a great Team like The Sooners starve your elephant.

I'm very happy right now about how they played on Thursday and took that Crystal Ball back to Tuscaloosa. It's probably nice to have an actual Trophy that backs up one of your National Championships.

[Frozen Sooner]

Huh. Interesting comments, considering Bryant-Denny is currently in the middle of construction and at least the student entrances are torn to **** right now. It's a major pain in the *** getting out of the stadium after a game.

[sooner518]

That bama game in 02 was the hottest OU game I have ever been to. I had two friends pass out from the heat and had to get medical attention. Just a miserable day

[Soonerus]

That bama game in 02 was the hottest OU game I have ever been to. I had two friends pass out from the heat and had to get medical attention. Just a miserable day

I don't believe that....no way you had two friends...

[sooner59]

Wasn't it like 107 degrees at kickoff (2:30 pm) for the 2003 UCLA game? That was the hottest game I have ever been to. Also worst sunburn I have had at a football game.

[westcoast_sooner]

That bama game in 02 was the hottest OU game I have ever been to. I had two friends pass out from the heat and had to get medical attention. Just a miserable day

That happened to be another comment that was made - about how hot it was in Norman. Like OU can control the weather or something. I'm guessing it's pretty hot in Tuscaloosa.

I think they happened to mention something about how Memorial Stadium was in the middle of some construction then. They said that their stadium upgrades would be done by next season.

[Frozen Sooner]

Yes, the upgrades to Bryant-Denny should be done mid-season next year. This is good, since the construction is right in the middle of the grad student seating. At least it's good for me.

The games I've been to in Tuscaloosa averaged cooler than I remember the games in Norman. The North Texas game is the one that I remember being the hottest, and it doesn't compare at all with the late August/early September games I remember at OU.

I will say that the gameday atmosphere at Bryant-Denny compares favorably to gameday in Norman (though the last game I went to in Norman was 2000 OU-Nebraska, so probably not a fair comparison.) Some of the tailgates were absolutely insane-setups of multiple RVs with multiple TVs showing all the games, deep fryers with everything from gator meat to whole chickens, any kind of alcohol you want, barbecue pits...

Just awesome people to tailgate with. These guys know how to throw a party. Also great that the stadium is right by the Strip, so the bars are handy to the stadium.

Again, though, I don't know how much the tailgate scene has changed in 9 years in Norman.

[GottaHavePride]

Hottest game I've ever been to was UTEP in 2000. I think the on-field temp at kickoff was in the neighborhood of 116.

[Collier11]

Utep was miserable, I saw an older man pass out from the heat that day

[AlbqSooner]

I went to the OU game in Tuscaloosa in 2003. I can say without hesitation that I have NEVER been treated better on the road. At least 6 times that day I had Bama fans ask me, "Are people treating you right?" I always said yes, of course, and 3 different fans said, Well they better be because when we went to Norman we could not have been treated better.

Bama fans do tailgates that rival anything I have seen. Any good food you can imagine is available. I saw one tailgate that had a HUGE cast iron pot (like you would expect to see a bunch of natives cooking a missionary in) on a double propane burner, They were making gumbo. LOTS of good eats at Bama tailgates.

[Collier11]

Im sure their tailgates are awesome, I wasnt there though. Oregon has really good tailgates, the good thing about most other schools compared to OU is that all of their tailgaters are together, not all spread out.

[MI Sooner]

UTEP 2000, I had my typical pre-game 12 pack and didn't take a leak all day... just sweated it out.

[jkjsooner]

I went to both of the games in Norman and Tuscaloosa. Not only were the renovations not completed but it was in the early stages. The concrete support structure had just begun to rise above the lower deck. It wasn't enough to know how large the expansion/renovation was going to be unless you looked it up.

I did have a older 'Bama fan who was checking out the stadium on Friday before the game say that the stadium wasn't as impressive as he would have expected considering OU's tradition. I was nice to the guy but found his comment pretty insulting. Bryant Denny only held 60k up until 1988(which is less than impressive). Alabama just started their expansions a little earlier than we did. That has a lot to do with the fact that they had good teams in the '90s and we were dealing with bad teams, probation, financial trouble in the athletic department, and an administration that was intent on downplaying the role of the football team.

Even as little as five years prior to our game with 'Bama our stadium was larger than theirs. I suppose old geezers have short memories.

Memorial Stadium is a very cramped place. Bryant Denny definitely provided more leg room. I wouldn't change it as I think it provides an intimate old-school feel.

[jkjsooner]

One more point, since Alabama's first upper deck wasn't built until 1988, it did include some features (luxury seats) that were becomming more the norm in the late '80s than, say, what was norm when we added our first upper deck in the mid '70s.

Oh, and since they used to play some games at Legion Field in Birmingham, I'll add that I've never seen such a crappy dump as that stadium.

[sooneron]

That game in 02 was miserable hot. My buddy ( who was ****faced the night before) had to leave - go throw up and take a shower then pass out...

[Frozen Sooner]

That game in 02 was miserable hot. My buddy ( who was ****faced the night before) had to leave - go throw up and take a shower then pass out...

That was me at the '07 Tulsa game. Made it through the game itself, but anyone who saw me at the tailgate knew I was a hurtin' unit. Made it back to a buddy's house, booted and camped.