ESPN Reporting OU has sold third fewest bowl tickets

[Jay C. Upchurch]

Where are the Sooner fans?

Still 9,500 Fiesta Bowl tickets left of OU's allotment .... Yes, they are playing UConn, but that shouldn't stop folks from heading out to the desert to watch the Big 12 champions!

Wisconsin sold out
TCU sold out
Arkansas sold out
plus, a couple of other schools have also sold all of their 17,500 bowl tickets.

[Scott D]

that's twice as many tickets sold as UConn.

The clear indicator is that neither school cares to be playing in Arizona.

[Aldebaran]

We've already paid for that stadium with our blood.

[AlboSooner]

We've already paid for that stadium with our blood.Hahahahaha, then :( :( :(

[fwsooner22]

I don't blame either school for not going. It's a joke of a BCS game.

I have season tickets and I'm not sure I would go to Norman from Fort Worth on a regular Saturday for this game. Probably would but it's not like it would be a hot ticket.

It's a sad and stupid system that allows this kind of situation to exist.

[Jay C. Upchurch]

UConn has a much smaller fanbase where football is concerned, so that is going to factor heavily into its overall ticket sales... Plus, they are a 17-point underdog, which is also going to dissuade some folks from making the trip, and it also costs more to journey from the East Coast to Arizona...

Not saying it's cheap for anyone to make the trip, but I would expect a much better showing from Sooner fans than what they've done so far... still a couple of weeks left - hopefully that will pick up.

[AlboSooner]

I don't see why it is a joke for UConn. Playing in their first BCS bowl game, against the Granddaddy of College football....what moar do they want

[NormanPride]

**** this game and **** going out there. Boring as hell trip followed by a crappy game that gets us nothing if we win. I will enjoy watching the Sooners field a team on New Year's Day, but as for the football itself... who cares?

[Scott D]

I don't see why it is a joke for UConn. Playing in their first BCS bowl game, against the Granddaddy of College football....what moar do they want

Because tickets for them are $100-$200+ not including the overpriced airfare and hotel costs. Any UConn fan is easily looking at spending well over a grand just to attend the game, much less eat anything other than a continental breakfast when they're out there.

I believe a UConn fan posted on this board that it'd have been far less expensive for them to be in the Orange Bowl.

[Sooner_Bob]

I don't see why it is a joke for UConn. Playing in their first BCS bowl game, against the Granddaddy of College football....what moar do they want

For the game to be east of the Mississippi . . .

[badger]

The fans are getting cheaper tickets via scalpers than they would through schools bowl allotment.

The Fiesta Bowl has not been kind to Oklahoma. Not only have we not been winning there, but the opponents are usually very lackluster (not knocking their on-field performance, but rather, they are not big names with passionate fanbases with lots of tradition behind their programs).

OU fans will show up, but won't be paying face value, IMHO.

Further reason why the bowl system fails - mandatory ticket obligation to the schools for overpriced face value tickets against the required-bid opponent.

BCS, next time you take us to the Fiesta Bowl, how bout you give us an opponent that doesn't get a pity bid (Boise), a letdown bid (WVU) or an unranked-but-conference-champ bid (UConn).

I love that ESPN called the Huskies "The Conn," because there's no other way to put the fact that an unranked Big East champ got into the coveted BCS.

[AlboSooner]

Because tickets for them are $100-$200+ not including the overpriced airfare and hotel costs. Any UConn fan is easily looking at spending well over a grand just to attend the game, much less eat anything other than a continental breakfast when they're out there.
I see that. But playing in your first BCS bowl game, against one of the best teams of all time......

but with the way the economy is I see why many people won't go to the game.

[ELP Sooner]

I'm sitting in good seats. Therefore I didnt get them through OU. Same deal as the Sun Bowl last year. The schools need to wise up and demand the bowls give them decent seats rather than nosebleeds. I dont blame anyone for not paying big $$ to sit in the rafters...or lower corners.

[Soonerfan88]

Ticket thru OU ticket office: $235
Ticket thru eBay, Stub Hub, etc: $175

Can anyone give me any reasonable explanation why tickets to this game are so high, even if it was the BCS Champ game? Unsold tickets are the only way that bowl committees will understand they are so unreasonably priced and need to change.

[badger]

Unsold tickets are the only way that bowl committees will understand they are so unreasonably priced and need to change.

Protip: Unsold tickets from school allotments are the college's problem, not the bowl's, because the college has to foot the bill for those tickets if the fans don't.

[rekamrettuB]

Old hat for OU fans plus there's probably more than a few that have spent a lot of money on 5 BCS games in a row and say "no thanks" this year.

[WichitaSooner]

Ticket thru OU ticket office: $235
Ticket thru eBay, Stub Hub, etc: $175

Can anyone give me any reasonable explanation why tickets to this game are so high, even if it was the BCS Champ game? Unsold tickets are the only way that bowl committees will understand they are so unreasonably priced and need to change.

Yes... the bowl doesn't care about the university's tickets... they are getting their money because they made the corporate sales for the BCS title game also buy tickets for this game... that's why they are so cheap on the secondary market. Because it's a bunch of people that just wanted tickets for the BCS title game and have no intention of going to the JV Fiesta bowl.

So they set the face value high so that those forced sales generate a good revenue.

[Okie35]

If you were looking at the CFB live numbers I don't remember Arkansas being sold out.

[OULenexaman]

message well sent to the BCS baffoons...

[yermom]

I'm sitting in good seats. Therefore I didnt get them through OU. Same deal as the Sun Bowl last year. The schools need to wise up and demand the bowls give them decent seats rather than nosebleeds. I dont blame anyone for not paying big $$ to sit in the rafters...or lower corners.

this.

the tickets that were $235 from OU (plus a $30 order fee) are going for ~$60 on eBay right now

that means they are likely going to be even cheaper at the stadium from scalpers

i'm going, but i'm not getting tickets from OU, really the Fiesta Bowl needs to get over itself if it thinks tickets are worth that.

[KantoSooner]

It's completely understandable, but embarassing nonetheless. I'd go, but even $1,000 all-in is simply not in my budget this year. It's batten down the financial hatches here in my world.
I'll be watching on teevee, though.

[bigfatjerk]

Imagine how fast this would sell out if it was Boise instead of UConn.

[DCsooner22]

Don't know if this has been posted here or not, but just in case:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/UConn-made-the-BCS-and-all-it-got-was-this-loom?urn=ncaaf-296921


UConn made the BCS, and all it got was this looming financial burden
By Matt Hinton

UConn! You've just finished the best football season in school history to earn an improbable berth in the Fiesta Bowl! What are you going to do next?
According to the New Haven Register, the university's going to take a financial bath.

[Related: Change comes to BCS game]
BCS games are supposed to be a big payday, and on paper, they are: The Fiesta Bowl is doling out $17 million to both the Big East and the Big 12. Based on the Big East's revenue-sharing plan, the Huskies are guaranteed somewhere in the neighborhood of $2.5 million of that, with other revenue streams bringing their cut of the conference pie up to about $3 million. Not bad, until you start to add up the expense of traveling to a major bowl game, beginning with ticket obligations:

The Fiesta Bowl distributed 17,500 tickets to UConn, and the school is responsible to sell them all. The cheapest of those tickets cost $111 (in the lower end zone) and can cost as much as $268 for club level.
… and hotel obligations:

[…] a total of 550 rooms at three different hotels ranging in price from $125-225 a night, not including tax, with blocks reserved for either three or seven nights. Additional expenses include a chartered flight and meals for the team, staff and 300-member band, as well as a $100,000 bonus to coach Randy Edsall, and smaller bonuses for assistants, per their contracts, for getting the team to a BCS bowl.… and obligations to move all that inventory, or eat the cost (emphasis added):

Cost of any tickets or hotel rooms that go unfilled are absorbed by the university, with the exception of the 150 rooms at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa, where UConn is on the hook for only half of money owed on unsold rooms at the $225-a-night hotel.

Whether UConn maximizes its revenue opportunity will depend on the amount of tickets it can sell. The school will almost certainly take a bath. As of Monday night, only 4,000 tickets had been sold, meaning UConn was still holding roughly $2.5 million in unsold tickets.

Meanwhile, on StubHub.com, Terrace Level tickets are starting at $25 – barely a fifth of the cost of the cheapest tickets allocated to the university. Which is how coach Randy Edsall has found himself in the position of acting as a pitchman for the greater Phoenix area just to get his own fans to come to the biggest game in school history:

"If you have the opportunity and the wherewithal to make it happen, (you) should make it happen, because this is a once in a lifetime experience for the most part," Edsall said. [… ]"[I]t's a lot warmer in Phoenix than anyplace in Connecticut from December 26 to January 2. I'm glad I'll be in Phoenix. I might be shoveling, but it will be sand, not snow, and I'll be sitting by a pool."

That's par for the course, by the way, whether or not the coach goes out of his way to stump for the destination. When Florida won the BCS championship in 2008, the university's profit from the advertised $17 million payday amounted to $47,000 – and that was with in-state travel, to Miami. The Gators took a loss on their 2006 BCS title trip to Glendale, as did their opponent, Ohio State.

[Rewind: Pro team faces $120 million debt]
Further down the chain, Nebraska is almost certainly going to lose money on its return trip to the Holiday Bowl, because it's footing the bill for the band this time. (The 'Huskers broke even on their trip to San Diego last year, in part by making the band pay its own way to the game.) Those scrubby bowl games that have popped up over the last decade to fill afternoon airtime on ESPN over the holidays – many of which are subsidized or owned outright by ESPN – regularly take back a significant chunk of the payout in the form of ticket guarantees.

Just about everybody loses money on bowl games, or comes close – except television and the bowl games themselves, which is why they continue to exist. No one has ever turned down a bowl for financial reasons ("Hey, highly touted recruit, you won't even go to a bowl game at Rival U because they're too cheap!"), and won't anytime soon. But remember that they're usually paying for the privilege.

[FtwTxSooner]

OU doesn't directly get hit by the lack of ticket sales anyway. Dan Beebe would be more worried as the conference picks up the tab.

As the conference pools all bowl revenue, and distributes it equally to all conference teams, any shortfall would get spread across everyone.

[bent rider]

OU doesn't directly get hit by the lack of ticket sales anyway. Dan Beebe would be more worried as the conference picks up the tab.

As the conference pools all bowl revenue, and distributes it equally to all conference teams, any shortfall would get spread across everyone.

Apples and Oranges...
Revenue (Income) is a top line figure.
"Shortfall" (Profit/Loss) is a bottom line figure.

So which one is shared among the conference schools?? If its only "net" a university doesn't have much incentive to work to sell the game, control its costs, etc.

[PDXsooner]

What does one do with their family in Phoenix?

[IndySooner]

I don't think ESPN's accurate. Mizzou has sold less than us. Iowa's sold less. Washington's sold less. UConn has sold less. Maybe we've sold less as a percentage, but that's not a fair assessment, either.

[Sooner91ATL]

I was at the WV Fiesta Bowl debacle. Glendale is horrid. Phoenix is boring. What an uninspiring bowl and the facility, while it has cool engineering, is also uninspiring. The lighting was odd inside. And I bought my ticket about 30 seconds after they went on sale, and got a very bad end zone seat since the school allotment is generally poor seating. So would love to go, but seat is much better and about a thousand dollars cheaper here at home.

[3rdgensooner]

They really should rotate these bowl games through various NFL stadiums. It would be much more interesting for those of us fortunate to be fans of a strong program.

[Okie35]

I don't think ESPN's accurate. Mizzou has sold less than us. Iowa's sold less. Washington's sold less. UConn has sold less. Maybe we've sold less as a percentage, but that's not a fair assessment, either.

The whole College Football live show earlier was pretty much about OU/Uconn so they probably did just make sure they kept on topic. They showed other schools, VT, Ohio State, gave numbers. Next to Stanford there was a "plenty" and there was another school that didn't give out their exact figures. That's why I was like 3rd fewest?! and looked confused. There weren't definite amounts for some of schools that were shown.

[nativesooner]

I saw where you can buy tickets and donate them to troops but I don't know anyone that can afford that, especially at this time of the year. What OU should do is offer season ticket holders a few Priority Points to go that route and then you may see it actually happen.

[Scott D]

message well sent to the BCS baffoons...

Is it the BCS buffoons or is it the overpriced airlines that want $500+ for 1 ticket not including "bag fees and homeland security taxes"? Or the fact that schools are given a bill of $2 Million for these tickets that they absolutely "must" sell?

[rekamrettuB]

The whole College Football live show earlier was pretty much about OU/Uconn so they probably did just make sure they kept on topic. They showed other schools, VT, Ohio State, gave numbers. Next to Stanford there was a "plenty" and there was another school that didn't give out their exact figures. That's why I was like 3rd fewest?! and looked confused. There weren't definite amounts for some of schools that were shown.

Ya I would imagine Stanford has a crapload of them. That's a long, expensive trip when most of their fans think they should be playing in Pasadena.

[Jacie]

To everyone who said my idea was no good when I suggested the AD's take back some of the power the bowl moguls have carved out for themselves, that the attraction is not the bowls themselves or the cities they are in but the teams that play the games, well?

Is this really what you want? The Sooners in a meaningless, nothing-to-gain game and saddled with the burden of selling tickets to a fanbase that is choosing to stay home?

What will happen to UConn in that the game will actually cost them more than they will make is all because the school AD's refuse to stand up and say enough is enough.

Once more, the schools are the attraction. They should agree to tell the bowl officials to pick up the tab for teams to travel to their cities, play in the games rather than require them to pay their own way and sell X number of tickets. And this is in addition to the revenue they pay the conferences or teams. If they can do this and show a profit, great. If not, they go under and some other group/city/corporate sponsor will start another meaningless bowl. Really people, there are no shortage of them. The schools should not be having to pay to play . . .

[badger]

I imagine the Rose Bowl would sell out regardless of who was playing, but Stanford got screwed. Wisky/Stan would have been a nice matchup and a repeat of Ron Dayne' senior/Heisman year bowl if I recall correctly (Badgers won!)

[OUthunder]

I'm sitting in good seats. Therefore I didnt get them through OU. Same deal as the Sun Bowl last year. The schools need to wise up and demand the bowls give them decent seats rather than nosebleeds. I dont blame anyone for not paying big $$ to sit in the rafters...or lower corners.

I agree. I paid $400 for my tickets but they are isle, front row, and close to the action. For the same price that OU wanted, I would have needed to purchase a set of binoculars. I also got a parking pass thrown in by the seller. Tickets came today and I couldn't be more excited!

BTW, the wife and I booked our trip thru Travelocity. Airfare, hotel, and shuttle service to and from Glendale to the airport was around $1500. Not cheap but not bad. I'd rather have gone to Florida or California, but thank God we're not going to New Orleans! **** that place!

IMHO, a true fan wouldn't care what bowl or what opponent it is, if you have the resources to go. It's OU playing football in a BCS Bowl.

Just my .02.

[texaspokieokie]

i got a pair of tickets to the rose bowl, many years ago.

usc-osu

[Always_Sooner]

I would go, but I just started my first job out of school.

[pappy]

I have great seats for the game...right in front of my tv.

[sendbaht]

to far from my home or I would go

[Soonermagik]

The fans are getting cheaper tickets via scalpers than they would through schools bowl allotment.

The Fiesta Bowl has not been kind to Oklahoma. Not only have we not been winning there, but the opponents are usually very lackluster (not knocking their on-field performance, but rather, they are not big names with passionate fanbases with lots of tradition behind their programs).

OU fans will show up, but won't be paying face value, IMHO.

Further reason why the bowl system fails - mandatory ticket obligation to the schools for overpriced face value tickets against the required-bid opponent.

BCS, next time you take us to the Fiesta Bowl, how bout you give us an opponent that doesn't get a pity bid (Boise), a letdown bid (WVU) or an unranked-but-conference-champ bid (UConn).

I love that ESPN called the Huskies "The Conn," because there's no other way to put the fact that an unranked Big East champ got into the coveted BCS.

^^^^ Nothing else needs to be said.

[sendbaht]

also,,,seems this could be a perfect bowl game for texas....give them some football to watch and the OU haters can root for UCONN....

[cvsooner]

I saw where you can buy tickets and donate them to troops but I don't know anyone that can afford that, especially at this time of the year. What OU should do is offer season ticket holders a few Priority Points to go that route and then you may see it actually happen.

I bought tickets last year for the troops' program. Two tickets to the Sun Bowl, which has a big Army base, set me back $80. However, I was happy to do it.

This year: $300 or so. The only military thing is Air Force...a base, I think. And not one of the bigger ones (i.e., personnel). As much as I'd like to, I can't justify it this year.

[salth2o]

Too many trips to the same bowl in just a few years coupled with a ****ty opponent (again) is not a good formula for record ticket sales.

[bent rider]

Where are the Sooner fans?

Still 9,500 Fiesta Bowl tickets left of OU's allotment .... Yes, they are playing UConn, but that shouldn't stop folks from heading out to the desert to watch the Big 12 champions!

Wisconsin sold out
TCU sold out
Arkansas sold out
plus, a couple of other schools have also sold all of their 17,500 bowl tickets.

I saw where Nevada-Reno sold more than 15,000 tickets to the Kraft Mac & Cheese Bowl in San Francisco.

[SanDiegoSoonerGal]

I tried to be a good alumna and buy tickets online through OU, but unless I did something wrong, it didn't even show me where the seats were. No way am I spending that kind of $ on something sight unseen.

[bent rider]

I bought tickets last year for the troops' program. Two tickets to the Sun Bowl, which has a big Army base, set me back $80. However, I was happy to do it.

This year: $300 or so. The only military thing is Air Force...a base, I think. And not one of the bigger ones (i.e., personnel). As much as I'd like to, I can't justify it this year.

Its Arizona, they're fighting a war on immigrants. In was in the papers.

[pappy]

its just not a game worth traveling that far to go to...gonna be a boring game, we should blow them out...tv is where its at.

[meandmybutt]

I saw where Nevada-Reno sold more than 15,000 tickets to the Kraft Mac & Cheese Bowl in San Francisco.

Wow, Kraft is really pushing the envelope here....bringing Mac & Cheese into the Rice-a-Roni city. THE PASTA WAR IS ON!!!!

[yermom]

its just not a game worth traveling that far to go to...gonna be a boring game, we should blow them out...tv is where its at.

i'll love every minute of it if this happens :D

[Salt City Sooner]

The whole College Football live show earlier was pretty much about OU/Uconn so they probably did just make sure they kept on topic. They showed other schools, VT, Ohio State, gave numbers. Next to Stanford there was a "plenty" and there was another school that didn't give out their exact figures. That's why I was like 3rd fewest?! and looked confused. There weren't definite amounts for some of schools that were shown.
On that same show, they also said that this year was the first in school history that OU had a 4,000 yard passer, a 1,000 yd. runner, & a 1,000 yd. receiver. I'm kind of with Indy when it comes to jumping feet first into the ESPN accuracy pool, because apparently they were asleep for the entire 2008 season. If Gresham had managed 50 more yards that year, OU would've had 2 1,000 yard rusher AND receivers in addition to Sam's incredible year.

[I Am Right]

Where are the Sooner fans?

Still 9,500 Fiesta Bowl tickets left of OU's allotment .... Yes, they are playing UConn, but that shouldn't stop folks from heading out to the desert to watch the Big 12 champions!

Wisconsin sold out
TCU sold out
Arkansas sold out
plus, a couple of other schools have also sold all of their 17,500 bowl tickets.

Ever been to the Fiesta Bowl? Did you watch the Boise State and West Virginia games? Not going to do again!

[oumartin]

I'd go but if I were to drive that distance I'd probably turn north and enjoy vegas more.

[I Am Right]

I tried to be a good alumna and buy tickets online through OU, but unless I did something wrong, it didn't even show me where the seats were. No way am I spending that kind of $ on something sight unseen.

One does not have anything to do with the other!!!!!!

[85sooners]

IMHO, a true fan wouldn't care what bowl or what opponent it is, if you have the resources to go. It's OU playing football in a BCS Bowl.

Just my .02.

:pop: This

[Sooner Suzie]

Where are the Sooner fans?
Wisconsin sold out
TCU sold out
Arkansas sold out
plus, a couple of other schools have also sold all of their 17,500 bowl tickets.

Maybe some fans of those schools might be interested in buying some of OU's excess tickets. :D

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Protip: Unsold tickets from school allotments are the college's problem, not the bowl's, because the college has to foot the bill for those tickets if the fans don't.No wonder the bowls don't want to change the system, and go to a playoff.

[webfoot]

I'm going but agree with the comments about tickets available through the University and their pricing / location.....redunkulous. No way.

I bought mine (6) from an outside source. I paid a little more per ticket but am sitting roughly 70 rows closer to the action and almost midfield.

On a side note - if a playoff system existed, going to more than one game would be undoable without a home field advantage.

[I Am Right]

Lose Lose situation

[PLaw]

I think smart money sez that you can probably go scalp a good ticket well under face value.

BOOMER

[usaosooner]

Everyone I know who is going is buying from third party

[RacerX]

^^^^ Nothing else needs to be said.

Wrong. One more thing to be said -

Sooner fans are getting criticized about not buying tickets by people who don't have to buy tickets (the media).:norm:

[Always_Sooner]

I have great seats for the game...right in front of my tv.

That is right, and I'll be watching it in 1080 P.

[birddog]

well, if it were a playoff game....

:D

[yankee]

Too many trips to the same bowl in just a few years coupled with a ****ty opponent (again) is not a good formula for record ticket sales.

those same "****ty" opponents beat our ***.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Wrong. One more thing to be said -

Sooner fans are getting criticized about not buying tickets by people who don't have to buy tickets (the media).:norm:

dis rite hur

[IndySooner]

well, if it were a playoff game....

:D

If it were a playoff game, I'd be camped out at my tailgate drunk out of my mind, because it would be in Norman!

[Soonerus]

I bought 6 tickets (face value $235 x 6 = $1410) for $470 on eBay...why would I go though OU ???

[CatfishSooner]

FIESTA!!!

[King Barry's Back]

I see that. But playing in your first BCS bowl game, against one of the best teams of all time......

but with the way the economy is I see why many people won't go to the game.

Seriously, ten years ago UCONN was in Div Iaa. You have to face the reality that they are a small state, and really might not care that much about their football team.

[EstablishedSooner1967]

Fist of the match up a joke for OU win or lose.. you win it will not be a big enough score... just win and it hurts OU. Lose... and you have another BSU/WV desert storm. You buy tickets from OU and you get crappy seats... if you were to go to game buy them there same price good seats. Schools really get bad deals on ticket seating..

[Sooner_Tuf]

Seriously, ten years ago UCONN was in Div Iaa. You have to face the reality that they are a small state, and really might not care that much about their football team.

Connecticut has about the same population as Oklahoma. The University of Connecticut has about the same number of students as OU. Obviously football is a relatively new passion for them at this level so they aren't going to have as large a fan base as we do. I'd bet the fans they have and the ones that travel care as much about their team as we do ours.

[Okie35]

On that same show, they also said that this year was the first in school history that OU had a 4,000 yard passer, a 1,000 yd. runner, & a 1,000 yd. receiver. I'm kind of with Indy when it comes to jumping feet first into the ESPN accuracy pool, because apparently they were asleep for the entire 2008 season. If Gresham had managed 50 more yards that year, OU would've had 2 1,000 yard rusher AND receivers in addition to Sam's incredible year.

Yea, Espin always gets their "facts" wrong.

[Okie35]

Connecticut has about the same population as Oklahoma. The University of Connecticut has about the same number of students as OU. Obviously football is a relatively new passion for them at this level so they aren't going to have as large a fan base as we do. I'd bet the fans they have and the ones that travel care as much about their team as we do ours.

True the majority of Uconn fans travel to basketball games though.

[Jay C. Upchurch]

That's it... I'm quitting my job and buying tickets to the Fiesta Bowl!

But seriously, I wasn't attempting to criticize anyone. I was simply reporting what ESPN had said in its story on the Fiesta Bowl game. I understand economic times are not exactly stellar for a lot of folks. Not everyone can lay down that kind of cash.

OU fans did a great job of supporting the Sooners at Jerry World in Dallas back on Dec. 4... It would be great to see a big crowd in Glendale on Jan. 1.

[yermom]

I'm going but agree with the comments about tickets available through the University and their pricing / location.....redunkulous. No way.

I bought mine (6) from an outside source. I paid a little more per ticket but am sitting roughly 70 rows closer to the action and almost midfield.

On a side note - if a playoff system existed, going to more than one game would be undoable without a home field advantage.

it's hard enough to make arrangements on short notice for a CCG and a bowl game, any more than that get's pretty rough

[pappy]

i'll love every minute of it if this happens :D

me too

[BajaOklahoma]

OU fans did a great job of supporting the Sooners at Jerry World in Dallas back on Dec. 4... It would be great to see a big crowd in Glendale on Jan. 1.

The reason we can't afford to go to the Fiesta.

[sooner518]

i cant afford to go, but if I could, I sure as hell wouldnt be purchasing from the university. I learned my lesson in 2005 when my Orange Bowl, upper deck, corner, 2nd to last row ticket from the university cost me $150 and a friend who went to the game without tickets found a lower level, 20 yardline ticket for $40 2 hours before the game from the first scalper he ran into.

and to top it all off, that game ended being cancelled! :D

[Okie35]

it's hard enough to make arrangements on short notice for a CCG and a bowl game, any more than that get's pretty rough

Very much so. I'd hate it.

[yermom]

The reason we can't afford to go to the Fiesta.

really... i ended up with a decent ticket for $125, and kinda scammed into free parking, but i got a bit lucky. Arlington seems to be designed to fleece fans.



i cant afford to go, but if I could, I sure as hell wouldnt be purchasing from the university. I learned my lesson in 2005 when my Orange Bowl, upper deck, corner, 2nd to last row ticket from the university cost me $150 and a friend who went to the game without tickets found a lower level, 20 yardline ticket for $40 2 hours before the game from the first scalper he ran into.

and to top it all off, that game ended being cancelled!

this only works when you aren't playing the home team

i got tickets from the Orange Bowl before the season started, and ended up paying for two seasons worth of crappy upper deck tickets at face, but got to sell the next year's tickets on eBay, i got like $200 for them. friends scalped cheaper, better seats at the game

4 years later i was lucky to get in the game for $500 per :mad:

[jumperstop]

really... i ended up with a decent ticket for $125, and kinda scammed into free parking, but i got a bit lucky. Arlington seems to be designed to fleece fans.




this only works when you aren't playing the home team

i got tickets from the Orange Bowl before the season started, and ended up paying for two seasons worth of crappy upper deck tickets at face, but got to sell the next year's tickets on eBay, i got like $200 for them. friends scalped cheaper, better seats at the game

4 years later i was lucky to get in the game for $500 per :mad:

Once I pay for the tickets, I try to not think about how much I payed and just enjoy, or in the case of Orange Bowl 2005 don't enjoy.

[yermom]

it's harder when you lose to St. Tebow in the 4th quarter, or the game is cancelled (you know, it's kinda hilarious that this basically really has happened now)

but yeah, i'm just applying historical evidence, to optimize the process as i go :D

i probably scalp tickets for half the games i go to (probably something like 40 times now), and only a handful of times have i had to pay over face

[85sooners]

$$$$$

[bigfatjerk]

it's hard enough to make arrangements on short notice for a CCG and a bowl game, any more than that get's pretty rough
It would be rough for teams that don't have big fan bases. Let us face facts if we played Boise or Mich State in this game instead of UConn we would already have sold out the day after the bowls were announced. The only reason we are slow in selling out is because we are playing UConn.

[yermom]

that statement is referring to making additional games if there was a playoff

let's wait and see how the stadium looks on the first. i'm guessing a little more than 8,000 will be there in Crimson

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Here's a ticket purchase web site suggested for good prices:
http://www.epicseats.com/

[Partial Qualifier]

Arlington seems to be designed to fleece fans.



They're good at it too. They got 'Fleece' down to a science

[MamaMia]

We traveled all the way to Florida just to be extremely embarrassed in TGOWWDNS, after partying on the beach with the OU football players while the Trojans were in their hotel banquet rooms watching OU game film.

Once again, still traumatized by TGOWWDNS, the entire OU Sooner part of my family bled our banking accounts for a couple grand a piece to go to the Fiesta Bowl against West Virginia only to drive home convoy style disappointed once again. We had fun before the game, blindly eating great food, drinking cocktails and Gelato shakes. We laughed and partied, shopped our hearts out while foolishly believing that this time, we were going to win a ball game. We were so wrong.

Driving all the way home trying to cheer up 4 SUV's full of eerily quiet children with sad faces and fake smiles, and paying all that money for it is not my idea of fun. I vowed then that I would not load my gang up for another BCS Bowl game until I saw that the Sooners went there ready to play.

Now we get a team we don't even have to be ready for to beat. This is just weird. No thank you. I'll stay home for free and watch the game in the comfort of my tiny villa and listen to the announcers talk about our embarrassing Fiesta Bowl failures and downplay our win against this lousy UConn team. Should we somehow manage to lose this game too, the embarrassment would be so great that I would most likely end up wondering aimlessly through the desert for 40 nights and forty days.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

We traveled all the way to Florida just to be extremely embarrassed in TGOWWDNS, after partying on the beach with the OU football players while the Trojans were in their hotel banquet rooms watching OU game film.

Once again, still traumatized by TGOWWDNS, the entire OU Sooner part of my family bled our banking accounts for a couple grand a piece to go to the Fiesta Bowl against West Virginia only to drive home convoy style disappointed once again. We had fun before the game, blindly eating great food, drinking cocktails and Gelato shakes. We laughed and partied, shopped our hearts out while foolishly believing that this time, we were going to win a ball game. We were so wrong.

Driving all the way home trying to cheer up 4 SUV's full of eerily quiet children with sad faces and fake smiles, and paying all that money for it is not my idea of fun. I vowed then that I would not load my gang up for another BCS Bowl game until I saw that the Sooners went there ready to play.

Now we get a team we don't even have to be ready for to beat. This is just weird. No thank you. I'll stay home for free and watch the game in the comfort of my tiny villa and listen to the announcers talk about our embarrassing Fiesta Bowl failures and downplay our win against this lousy UConn team. Should we somehow manage to lose this game too, the embarrassment would be so great that I would most likely end up wondering aimlessly through the pumpkin pie dessert for 40 nights and forty days.I might travel to Tucson to see us play(about 100 miles), but prolly no farther. I agree with your sentiments. I'll go because it's played where I live, but I'm quite squeamish about the game.

[yermom]

i'm still waiting to go to Hawai'i :D

[FirstandGoal]

Hey mama, at least we're alive abd here to be able to celebrate it this year, ya know?

I think its fantastic that we have this debate going on because it sure as heck beats having to sit at home no matter how much money we (as a fanbase) are willing to spend because we had a sucky year.

Both health and financial reasons consipire to keep me at home this bowl season, but for those who are going..... have a heck of a time, raise some hell and Boomer Sooner! I don't care if you blow your whole budget on overpriced university tickets or buy $20 cheapos from a scalper during the national anthem.

Another thing I've been seeing this year is people who don't want to justify spending all that money because we have a perceived "lesser opponent"

IMO, any opponent on the field would be worth my time and money if I were going in the first place, but I'm not walking around in anybody else's shoes (mine are hard enough at the moment thank you very much)
and therefore refuse to judge or form opinions about anyone's travel plans.

Maybe next year will be my year, maybe I'll never get to go see a bowl game in person, but it won't keep me out of my living room cheering with all of the passion I have to give.

[silverwheels]

If Hawaii had a good stadium, that would be an epic bowl site.

[yermom]

or a home and home or something

[SoonerMarkVA]

I simply don't understand how with the history of the Big 8's tie-in to the Orange Bowl that alliance wasn't preserved. They didn't hesitate to preserve the Big 10/Pac 10 in the Rose, and the SEC in the Sugar. The Big 8 to the Orange was every bit as important as those tie-ins.

The Fiesta should never have been in the BCS alliance to begin with, and of course we're the ones stuck with it as a tie-in.

[yermom]

the Rose Bowl's little brother probably had to be appeased for the Granddaddy to agree to anything

the Big 12 had a lot more history with the Cotton Bowl, let alone the Orange Bowl than the Fiesta Bowl

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

I simply don't understand how with the history of the Big 8's tie-in to the Orange Bowl that alliance wasn't preserved. They didn't hesitate to preserve the Big 10/Pac 10 in the Rose, and the SEC in the Sugar. The Big 8 to the Orange was every bit as important as those tie-ins.

The Fiesta should never have been in the BCS alliance to begin with, and of course we're the ones stuck with it as a tie-in.The Cotton died as a New Yr's Day bowl when the Southwest Conference died...and Dallas on NY day is sometimes nasty cold. Seems the Orange Bowl itself was involved with booting the new Big 8/SW Conference convergence(Big 12), but someone oughta google it to see.

[silverwheels]

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Cotton Bowl included in the next BCS contract. This region of the country needs a BCS bowl game.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

the Rose Bowl's little brother probably had to be appeased for the Granddaddy to agree to anything

the Big 12 had a lot more history with the Cotton Bowl, let alone the Orange Bowl than the Fiesta BowlSW Conference WAS the Cotton Bowl. Big 8 was aligned with the Orange Bowl from the days of Bud Wilkinson, up through Switzer's loss to Miami after the '87 season. I'm not sure about the Big 8 bowl ties after that, since we weren't very good after the '88 season, til after the Big 12 was formed.

[bigfatjerk]

We were always tied with the Orange till the BCS era. I don't think any bowl games should have ties anymore. It should just be the best match-ups. 1 vs 2, 3 vs 4, and so on.

[yermom]

that's what i'm saying. 1/3rd of the Big 12 when it was formed was expecting to go to the Cotton Bowl after winning the SWC

[silverwheels]

Yeah, yermom was saying the Big 12 has more history with the Cotton than the Fiesta. Not the Orange.

[85sooners]

$$$

[I Am Right]

Wrong. One more thing to be said -

Sooner fans are getting criticized about not buying tickets by people who don't have to buy tickets (the media).:norm:

Good Point!

[MamaMia]

i'm still waiting to go to Hawai'i :DI would go to that game just to drink Mai Tais and hula dance. :D

[ELP Sooner]

I had bad luck attending OU games in the past so I did something about it. Instead of attending games out in this part of the country I decided to go to Norman and see a likely win. Started last year with Baylor...win...then of course the Sun bowl...win...this year in Norman v Cu...win...and now the Fiesta Bowl V uconn. I agree with not wanting to see a loss and lord knows I have had my share. In fact the Baylor game was my first win, before that I saw Ou lose in the Fiesta to Az State...went to La to see Ou lose to USC and Rodney Peete...then to Tucson to see OU lose to Arizona....then another Fiesta Bowl V Boise...and a loss to Tech on the road when Bradford went down. If Ou had lost to Baylor I swore I would never go again, but the guys won and now I'm on a 3 game winning streak. hoping for 4 in the Fiesta.

[soonerboy_odanorth]

UConn has a much smaller fanbase where football is concerned, so that is going to factor heavily into its overall ticket sales... Plus, they are a 17-point underdog, which is also going to dissuade some folks from making the trip, and it also costs more to journey from the East Coast to Arizona...

Not saying it's cheap for anyone to make the trip, but I would expect a much better showing from Sooner fans than what they've done so far... still a couple of weeks left - hopefully that will pick up.

I find your post somewhere between smarmy and patronizing, with a healthy dose of shortsightedness thrown in for good measure.

All I can figure is you must have some revenue from travel agencies that advertise in your rag tied to how many packages they sell.

Because if you honestly expect a better showing from Sooners fans for a crappy matchup at a stale bowl location with travel costs higher than they've ever been you're either the biggest sunshine pumper ever, or a fool, or some combination of the two.

If you've got a problem with how we're "performing", maybe you ought to use that press pass to put a bug in Joe's ear that we think the seat locations and prices provided by the Fiesta Bowl folks suck, that we're not all that enamored with the Big XII-Fiesta Bowl tie-in to begin with, and that overall the Big XII's other bowl tie-ins are pretty crappy compared to those of the other three big boy conferences.

[Stitch Face]

Ouch.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

I had bad luck attending OU games in the past so I did something about it. Instead of attending games out in this part of the country I decided to go to Norman and see a likely win. Started last year with Baylor...win...then of course the Sun bowl...win...this year in Norman v Cu...win...and now the Fiesta Bowl V uconn. I agree with not wanting to see a loss and lord knows I have had my share. In fact the Baylor game was my first win, before that I saw Ou lose in the Fiesta to Az State...went to La to see Ou lose to USC and Rodney Peete...then to Tucson to see OU lose to Arizona....then another Fiesta Bowl V Boise...and a loss to Tech on the road when Bradford went down. If Ou had lost to Baylor I swore I would never go again, but the guys won and now I'm on a 3 game winning streak. hoping for 4 in the Fiesta.You musta thought you were a freakin' JINX!

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

I find your post somewhere between smarmy and patronizing, with a healthy dose of shortsightedness thrown in for good measure.

All I can figure is you must have some revenue from travel agencies that advertise in your rag tied to how many packages they sell.

Because if you honestly expect a better showing from Sooners fans for a crappy matchup at a stale bowl location with travel costs higher than they've ever been you're either the biggest sunshine pumper ever, or a fool, or some combination of the two.

If you've got a problem with how we're "performing", maybe you ought to use that press pass to put a bug in Joe's ear that we think the seat locations and prices provided by the Fiesta Bowl folks suck, that we're not all that enamored with the Big XII-Fiesta Bowl tie-in to begin with, and that overall the Big XII's other bowl tie-ins are pretty crappy compared to those of the other three big boy conferences.When we(the Big 12 Conference) got screwed out of the Orange Bowl, I was hoping that wasn't a permanent arrangement, but was DEAD WRONG. Who doesn't prefer the ocean, beaches and Miami to a bunch of golf courses?(okay maybe Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, etc)

[salth2o]

those same "****ty" opponents beat our ***.

exactly. How many people really want to potentially experience that again???

[MamaMia]

I find your post somewhere between smarmy and patronizing, with a healthy dose of shortsightedness thrown in for good measure.

All I can figure is you must have some revenue from travel agencies that advertise in your rag tied to how many packages they sell.

Because if you honestly expect a better showing from Sooners fans for a crappy matchup at a stale bowl location with travel costs higher than they've ever been you're either the biggest sunshine pumper ever, or a fool, or some combination of the two.

If you've got a problem with how we're "performing", maybe you ought to use that press pass to put a bug in Joe's ear that we think the seat locations and prices provided by the Fiesta Bowl folks suck, that we're not all that enamored with the Big XII-Fiesta Bowl tie-in to begin with, and that overall the Big XII's other bowl tie-ins are pretty crappy compared to those of the other three big boy conferences. Oh snap!

[Tigeman]

Fact is we've been there, done that, figured out better ways to plan our trips than what the "Experts" put together.

[sperry]

Even if money were no issue, I have better things to do than fly to Glendale, Arizona to watch OU play a glorified scrimmage against a thoroughly outmatched opponent. When the game can be watched on TV from a much more desirable vacation destination, and the game is essentially meaningless, I see little reason to travel at all.

[sooner59]

1. We blow uconn out of the water and it was a dicey choice to go, moneywise.
2. We win a tightly contested game, and it is embarassing. Dicey moneywise.
3. We lose to uconn, and are the laughing stock of college football. Waste of money and time.

4. Watch on tv, save money, probably win, save for the MNC trip next year. :D

[sooner94]

Protip: Unsold tickets from school allotments are the college's problem, not the bowl's, because the college has to foot the bill for those tickets if the fans don't.

You are right. I read an article recently in either Sports Illustrated or ESPN Mag on why its going to be really difficult to change the current bowl structure and go to a play-off system. One factor is that a lot of people make a lot of money off the current bowl structure, including the guarantee on ticket allotment. Its not uncommon for some schools to lose money on a bowl game.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Maybe we should decline all bowls except for the NC game! If we win the Big 12, er ah 10, Chanpionship Game, and then decline the Fiesta Bowl, or any other bowl, that would put an exclamation point on the facetiousness of bowls...especially since they are net money losses for us, and risk our guys getting hurt in practice or a bowl game.

[cleller]

Add me to the list of the disenchanted. With all the hoopla over the poor sales, I just cruised over to Soonersports.com to weigh the possibility of getting some tickets.
For two "Best Available" it offered me two tickets in the corner of the endzone, in 2nd level for $550.

That's just stupid to expect your fanbase to pay out that kind of money for those seats. The greed factor is getting out of hand, hopefully it will hit a tipping point, and someday the fans/supporters will be included in the post-season.

[OUthunder]

There was (maybe still is) a set of tickets on ebay on the 35 yard line. I think that they were 42 rows up from the field. The guy can't even get face value. As a matter of fact, the buy it now was $399 and they did not sell at the time. I think he dropped his asking price but those were some damn nice seats that I would have purchased if they were not in the middle of a row.

Also, you can get GREAT seats on the UCONN side if you don't mind setting with the enemy, lesbians, liberals, and uninformed football fans.

As I said before, I overpaid a little, but having isle seats and no one sitting in front of me was worth it. Especially if OU plays like it has in the past so I can hit the concession for booze.

I received my tickets this week, hope that those of you who did order them from OU, got em too.

[jkjsooner]

went to La to see Ou lose to USC and Rodney Peete...then to Tucson to see OU lose to Arizona....

Those were some crappy games. I rode a plane with Chris Melson's aunt from DC a few years ago. She mentioned her nephew played QB for OU and his name. I asked, "Didn't he start against Arizona?" Her expression changed quickly and the conversation took a sobering turn.

[FtwTxSooner]

In the extremely rare situations where we don't make it to a BCS bowl, I just hope the nearby bowls, Cotton and Alamo, don't use the lack of ticket sales in the Fiesta against us as a reason to select someone else.

[hawaii 5-0]

i'm still waiting to go to Hawai'i :D




We just got about 3 inches of rain the past 24 hours. It's a swim meet.


The temperature is very nice tho. About 76 degrees.


5-0

[sooner59]

I saw on ESPN that Va. Tech still has 11,000 tickets available. Please give the Big 12 the ACC's Orange Bowl tie-in. kplzthnx