Memories and family traditions of OU - TX weekend

[Brownwood]

This weekend, I will make the annual pilgrimage to Dallas for my 34th consecutive OU-TX football game at the Cotton Bowl. I have so many memories of the game and weekend throughout the years.

As a child, I looked forward to the fair as much as the game and loved being able to swim at the hotel one last time before winter. The Texas state fair was where I had my first smoked turkey leg. I took great pride walking the midway with what I thought to be a baseball bat sized piece of meat on a stick. I felt like a true caveman.

As a teen, I felt held back being with my parents and wished I could have hung out with my friends at the fair. I now look back at those trips and wish I had another chance to experience a football game with my dad.

The college years brought a whole new experience. Driving down with my friends, 6 people squeezed into one room and trying to figure out where the dividing line was for the dry county. Downtown Dallas on Commerce street was the place to be on Friday night. Tens of thousands of fans yelling and screaming at each other until the street cleaner / water cannon truck cleared the streets at midnight.

As a young adult, the scene began to mellow due to the overindulging crowds. Outside drinking was prohibited and the Commerce street party became a distant memory. We found clubs and or restaurants in West End but the festivities just weren't the same.

As new parents, OU-TX became less of a "party weekend" than a chance to get away and spend a quiet weekend with my wife. Quiet comfortable hotels became much more important than being in the middle of the action.

As the father of a young man, my son became old enough to enjoy football and looks forward to the weekend more so than I ever thought. Annually rituals of drag racing and go carts at Speed Zone, thrills at Zero Gravity amusements and medium rare steaks are our Friday night highlights. The fair, with it's fried everything still provides great time and memories for our family.

We only have a few more trips together as a young family before our only son goes to college and begins to form his own traditions. I hope I'm around to be a part of a three generation tradition so I can share the experience with my son as he forges his own traditions.

Boomer Sooner!!

[SoonerDave]

Wow. Great story there.

My first OU-Texas game was 1979 - my dad took me as a just-turned-15-year-old, and then he left my mom and me the following Monday morning. In the intervening 34 years, I don't think we've said 100 words to each other. He's never even met his grandkids, even though I told him when each was born.

His loss.

Commerce Street was still in full swing in 1979, and as a 15 year old, it scared the bananas out of me. Drunks hurling profane, vulgar insults at each other. Police tackling some drunks right in front of us. It didn't take long for that to become not fun.

My mom and I started going in 80 until I started going on my own or with friends as I started at OU myself. I didn't watch OU win until my FOURTH trip, which was in 1982 and Marcus Dupree ran silly over the Horns and OU won 28-22. I went down with a friend of mine in '85, and took a side-trip to SMU to visit a girl I was kinda interested in during high school and kept touch with after graduation, and thought perhaps was a chance at something starting up...only until she told me after I arrived that she had gotten engaged that week. But OU beat UT that year, so that made up for it. Sorta.

We used to go to the Old San Francisco Steak House just on the east side of I-35 in north Dallas, and that was a tradition until the place closed up years ago, and turned into a nasty strip joint (along with most of the other restaurants that moved out of that area and down to the "newer" restaurant row along Northwest Expressway farther south). In its heyday, Old SF was a great treat and had really good food.

There were a couple of years we didn't go, as marriage and baby came along, and wife wasn't the least interested (and still isn't) in football, but my boy at the ripe age of six went to his first OU-Texas game in 2002. He and I have made the trip every year since with the exception of 2005 and, sadly, this year, as he recovers from a broken leg he sustained playing football for his high school. And there's no telling what holds for next year, since he'll start college (somewhere?) and who knows if we'll be in a position to go. I knew over the last couple of years that the run of his and my going together were probably drawing to a close, and I'll be honest that it struck more than a little chord of sadness in me - but I know he can look forward to going with his own kids down the road should the opportunity arise.

I wouldn't trade one second of the time I've spent with him on our trips to OU-Texas. They are memories I'll carry with me for as long as God allows. It isn't just football - its the picture of a seven year old boy being handed a giant Chick-Fil-A stuffed cow on while standing on a seat in the Cotton Bowl. Its about a picture of him and me in front of a sporting goods stand laughing and being together in our OU t-shirts on the one day when the game was actually played on my birthday. Its about discovering home made root beer at a hamburger stand in Dallas, about devouring Bevo burgers at Carl's in Ardmore on the trip down. Its about the sunny Friday afternoons we spent driving to Dallas, and the leisurely Sunday mornings we spent driving back. Its about sharing a Texas state fair corn dog at 9AM because of ridiculous 11AM kickoffs. At the ripe age of 17, I doubt he understands those memories just yet, but I hope someday they are as meaningful to him then as they are to me now.

Boomer Sooner.

[Pete]

Love this thread already!

I'll share more later but did want to say my first was my freshman year in 1978 and I went every year until I moved to Cali in 1990. I managed a few more afterwards, too.

Many, many memories including sitting on the Texas side a couple of times (by necessity) and my senior year -- where Marcus Dupree had that long, amazing run as a freshman -- I sat exactly on the 50; the guy to my right was a Texas fan.


Hope we kick some tail this Saturday! Texas will always be the team I want to beat the most.

[ou48A]

My first OU-Texas game was also 1979. I remember watching the Dallas cops beat the tar out of a young gang member. They only stopped when a reporter from the DMN started taking pictures. From a distance I watch a group of very drunk UT students harassing OU coeds and their dates. A group of OU students who had obviously been wrestlers at some point intervened and it looked like the MAA for a time. When the police broke it up an official who was out of uniform flashed a badge... Apparently he told them that the UT fans started because they were hauled away bruised, bloodied and in hand cuffs. The OU people were let go... My date was ready to go back to the hotel after that witch was more than fine with me....But that was the only time I spent any time at street level on Commerce Street on foot.

My last Commerce street party experience was in 1988. It was spent mostly in a ball room of the Adolphus Hotel at a party of the really big UT cigars...At the time I felt very out of place. I remember going to a balcony that was over looking the madness on Commerce street... It's probably good that this tradition died. It was attracting a lot of local thugs who caused the vast majority of problems.

Ironically my wife attended many OU Texas games while growing up, but rooted for the longhorns... She wised up in high school and goes to all most all OU games with me now actively cheering for OU....

Something that I never forget is to count my blessing that I have been able to attend so many OU football games (This will be #274) including about 25 OU Texas games. Someday this will end, so no mater what happens in life I will never take these experiences for granted. It's why I stay until the final snap of each game regardless of score or weather.


I hope the OU Texas game stays at the Fair Park location forever.

[Geographer]

This will be my 14th OU/Texas this year. I started going in 1999 when I was 9 years old...haven't missed one since!

[SoonerDave]

This will be my 14th OU/Texas this year. I started going in 1999 when I was 9 years old...haven't missed one since!

Then wouldn't this be your fifteenth OU-Texas? '99 and '00 were the first two, then '01-'13 would be...thirteen more. Smells like 15th to me.

[ljbab728]

I started with my first one in 1965. I have relatives in the Dallas area and our family always stayed with them. Sadly my parents and my aunt and uncle who lived there have now passed. We still enjoy a very fun weekend with the cousins though. I have a younger cousin there who is the most rabid OU fan you can imagine. I have fond memories of taking him to the game when he was very young. He had to hold onto my belt loop in the crowds so he wouldn't get lost.

[SoonerDave]

Love the fact they expanded the place to nearly 100K, but man the Fairgrounds area immediately around the Cotton Bowl was never designed to handle that much foot traffic. There were spots in the midway after last year's game (even after half the stadium bolted) that were nearly gridlocked with nothing but wall-to-wall people - no place for anyone with a touch of claustrophobia. Normally, when that game is over, my son and I bolt for the exit nearest where the car is parked, or else you'd best be happy waiting for an hour or better for the crowd to thin out. And a secret trick for escaping the area after the game is to get out on the highway and forget westbound traffic (which many/most use to get back to I-35), but go eastbound - rarely any traffic and almost always full-speed all the way east to the 640 loop. Longer in miles, but shorter in time, nowhere near the traffic, and greatly lower stress level.

[ou48A]

With the stadium expansion the foot traffic around the stadium particularly on the South end is horrendous. They have way too many food booths and other choke points way too close to the stadium.
It's taken me as long a 45 minutest to make my way from the upper deck to a stadium gate....It really is a true fire trap. It's a 30 minute walk though the congestion to the car or to MLK train station.
It's another 15 to 30 minute wait on the train or to make your way out of a parking lot and out of the congestion to side street that work well.

I believe the stadium holds about 92,000 now but will be expanded to about 96,000 in another year or 2. The new seats will be under the upper decks and in a new press box...

The city of Dallas needs to build elevated walking ramps from the upper decks to points well away from the stadium. Relocate many of the food booths. Raise Fair ticket prices for people who are not going to the game.

Last year they started providing an east west walking path about 100 yards south of the stadium.... I don't know if it helped but I communicated this need to OU officials twice in recent years.

[ou48A]

Love the fact they expanded the place to nearly 100K, but man the Fairgrounds area immediately around the Cotton Bowl was never designed to handle that much foot traffic. There were spots in the midway after last year's game (even after half the stadium bolted) that were nearly gridlocked with nothing but wall-to-wall people - no place for anyone with a touch of claustrophobia. Normally, when that game is over, my son and I bolt for the exit nearest where the car is parked, or else you'd best be happy waiting for an hour or better for the crowd to thin out. And a secret trick for escaping the area after the game is to get out on the highway and forget westbound traffic (which many/most use to get back to I-35), but go eastbound - rarely any traffic and almost always full-speed all the way east to the 640 loop. Longer in miles, but shorter in time, nowhere near the traffic, and greatly lower stress level.

There are some major construction spots this year on 635/ LBJ and on I-35E that you might want to check out?

[Geographer]

Then wouldn't this be your fifteenth OU-Texas? '99 and '00 were the first two, then '01-'13 would be...thirteen more. Smells like 15th to me.

....oops.

That's what a degree from the University of Oklahoma will earn you!

[RadicalModerate]

I only made it to one Texas/OU game. It was in the early '80s. We drove down with another couple on Friday night, checked into a hotel, and then went down to The (Infamous) Commerce Street Pre-Game Mardi Gras and Stroll. I had a BIG McDonald's cup with ice and filled it with Crown Royal for the journey.

I never saw so many police--and other people--all together, on a street, in one place as I did that night. The cops were shoulder to shoulder on both sides of the thoroughfare for several blocks and kept telling people to move along. At some point, I stopped to chat with some dude and felt a hand slapped down on my shoulder. I turned around, poised to smack whoever it was who had manually accosted me, and fortunately wasn't too far gone to see the badge. "Keep moving," he said. "Yes, Officer," I replied.

We walked all the way to the end of the Street Theater, then all the way back up the other side of the street. At some point I vaguely remember being up at the very top of some high-rise hotel down in that area. Eventually we made it back to the car and drove to our hotel. My "ice cup" was empty at that point. (Please note that I was a passenger for the entire visit to Dallas and was never behind the wheel. I may be stupid, but I'm not THAT stupid.)

I never get hangovers, but the next day I awoke with a killer of one. We went to the game and I sat all afternoon, suffering under the blazing Texas sun. To add insult to injury, OU lost that year. Yet I remember that the Texas fans at the Fairgrounds next to the Cotton Bowl were gracious and didn't gloat. After the game everyone--but me--wanted to go to that "Gilley's" Urban Cowboy Bar (imitator?) in Ft. Worth and we did. I think I sipped on some Seven-Up or something. When asked if I wanted to ride the mechanical bull, I politely declined.

All in all, it was definitely a memorable experience, but I never again pulled a stunt as stupid as the one I pulled the night before The Big Game. Not even involving Crown Royal. In fact, I'm feeling a bit queasy right now just thinking about it. Still, I suppose that there is some learning here . . . Perhaps something along the lines of: "Learn from the mistakes of others because you will never live long enough to make them all yourself." =)

Go Sooners!!!

[SoonerDave]

There are some major construction spots this year on 635/ LBJ and on I-35E that you might want to check out?

Won't matter to me this year, ou...not able to go. Tremendous bummer. Already missing the fun.

[SoonerDave]

Hey, are they having the Bevo Bash at the Carl's in Marietta? Usually an annual thing, but this year, I haven't heard anything about it (advertising, etc).

[BoulderSooner]

Hey, are they having the Bevo Bash at the Carl's in Marietta? Usually an annual thing, but this year, I haven't heard anything about it (advertising, etc).

yes they are

[SoonerDave]

yes they are

Awesome...even if I can't go this year, I may find a Carl's in town on Friday and have a sympathy burger

[MikeLucky]

My first OU/texas was 1994. I have been an OU fan my entire life. Since I have memories it’s been family filled days of OU football in the fall, OU vs. Nebraska the day after Thanksgiving, and OU/texas the second week of October. We weren’t a family that went to the games, but when they were happening we were either watching the game on TV or listening to it on the radio.

Because of my family and my life growing up as an OU fan, my choice of college wasn’t a real surprise. And, in the Fall of ’91 I went to my first OU game in Norman as a freshman. But, being from out of state and not really having any friends at college yet, I hadn’t really had a chance to go to Dallas for the game. My Father always told me that no matter the experience I had in High School, that college would be the place I would meet my lifelong friends. I was still skeptical early on in my college career. But, as it turned out (and was usually the case) Dad was right. By the Fall of ’94 I had settled into a group of friends that to this day are people I consider my family in this world.

So, with this new group of friends I found myself on my way to Dallas for my first experience with the OU/texas weekend in 1994. There is nothing like the feeling you have when you are leaving Norman in a caravan of cars with your best friends and heading to Dallas for this weekend. The car windows were covered with fanfare and we couldn’t wait to get to Dallas. We went to the Galleria and listened to the choirs sing both The Eyes of Texas and Boomer Sooner. All the storefront mannequin displays featured burnt orange and Crimson. You just knew that this wasn’t like any other college football weekend. As a group we went out for a nice dinner and prepared for our night out on the town.

I missed the Commerce Street experience by one year. In 1993 there was such a rash of crimes, injuries, and even deaths that the city of Dallas decided to no longer block off Commerce Street for pedestrian traffic only. But, what we discovered is that the fans accustomed to this tradition just moved it over to the courtyard in the West End. Until the day I die I will never forget walking through Dallas Alley and into the West End that Friday night. You could hear the roars and the commotion building in our ears as we neared the end of the tunnel... and what we emerged into was a writhing, boisterous, mass of orange and crimson. There was every imaginable combination of screaming, cheering, and fighting going on. Flags waving... people dancing... Every possible way to celebrate college football, state rivalry, and even just sheer human pride was on maximum display. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen and will likely experience again. The West End scene has degraded into a mere shadow of what it was in those very first post-Commerce Street years. But, that very first image and experience of OU/texas and all that it meant will be seared in my memories for the rest of my life.

Saturday brought the Fair and all that it entails... The corndogs, razzing the texas band, going toe to toe with texas fans... The game atmosphere is unlike any other. The highs and the lows experienced by the fans in this game are unparalleled. When your team scores and you hear YOUR guns go off and watch an entire half of the stadium sit down in silence it is one of the most euphoric feelings you can have at a football game. But, when THEY score and that cannon goes off, you feel it to your bones as you slink down into your own seat. And, sharing an exit to the stadium with those other fans after a loss is one of the most wrenching emotional feelings you can have when it comes to sports. But, you suck it up and take your medicine for all those times when you were on the other end. For every Stoney Case goal line tackle to ensure the defeat... there is a James Allen TD dive in the exact same end zone to secure the win in overtime. The game and the weekend is everything you could ever expect for the pinnacle of rivalry, competition, and pride. After the game we would relax before getting ready for a night out on the town. And, Sunday we would enjoy breakfast together before trekking back over the Red River ending the weekend broke, hungover, and spent.

I made the decision that very first year that I would never spend the OU/texas weekend anywhere but in Dallas for the rest of my days. So far, I’ve stayed true to that promise. And, without question it’s my favorite weekend of the year. Those friends I met in college... I still spend the weekend with those very friends my Father told me I would find. This time we come from points all over the globe to celebrate the weekend together. And, now it’s with spouses and children. The weekend goes by a little bit of a different itinerary now. We typically arrive on Thursday night and spend the evening smoking cigars, drinking, and reliving the memories. We now have a golf tournament on Friday where the golfers in the group battle it out for the privilege of taking home the trophy for the whole year. We have a group “family” dinner on Friday night that usually ends around 10 or 11 and we head back to our hotel rooms. Game day goes about the same, except after the game we are usually content with a low key dinner and more relaxing. Sunday brings brunch before we all hug, say our goodbyes, and depart our own ways back home; some driving back to Oklahoma, some staying right there at home in the Metroplex, and others on to the airport. And, before I even arrive home I find my mind wandering about the weekend for the following year.

OU/texas weekend is my favorite weekend of the year... and it’s not just about football. It’s about being a proud Okie and the legacy my family gave to me... It’s about seeing the people that not only helped define the man I have become, but are the people I still share my life with... It’s about feeling the whole range of emotion and embracing the highs of joy and the lows of defeat with the people I love. And, it’s about knowing that no matter how the rest of my life is going at the moment, that weekend never lets me down.

It’s 247pm and texas still sucks... Boomer Sooner.

[ljbab728]

I never saw so many police--and other people--all together, on a street, in one place as I did that night. The cops were shoulder to shoulder on both sides of the thoroughfare for several blocks and kept telling people to move along. At some point, I stopped to chat with some dude and felt a hand slapped down on my shoulder. I turned around, poised to smack whoever it was who had manually accosted me, and fortunately wasn't too far gone to see the badge. "Keep moving," he said. "Yes, Officer," I replied.

One of my cousins was in that exact same situation one year. Unfortunately for him, before he turned around to see who was talking to him, he said "I'm fine right where I am". He spent the night in jail. LOL

[RadicalModerate]

One of my cousins was in that exact same situation one year. Unfortunately for him, before he turned around to see who was talking to him, he said "I'm fine right where I am". He spent the night in jail. LOL

So . . . Who'da thought that The Old, Freeform, Commerce Street Pre-Game Mardi Gras/Debacle in Dallas--in conjunction with The Red River Rivalry--would have involved a tiny, community theater version, of "Kismet"? =)

for what it's worth, imho, this is one of the best threads in here EVER. but i'm a noob so what do i know? thx to the OP.

[SoonerDave]

Although I've been to several OU-Texas games, and I've relayed a summary of the fun they've provided to me over the years, there is one that's especially sweet for me.

In 2002, my son was 6. I had finally taken him to a few home games, and we became instant OU football buddies. And mom and I decided he was finally big enough for us to give OU-Texas a try. Only problem was we hadn't been to OU-Texas in a few years, so I was kinda stale on my ticket-buying practices. So I ended up resorting to the One Thing I Did Once Before And Swore I Wouldn't Do Again: Go down to Dallas without tickets, and hope to find some around the Cotton Bowl.

This required some preparation on my part. I had to have a "frank talk" with my boy about this project, because I told him I wasn't sure if I would be able to find tickets at a price I could afford, and that we might have to go to a pizza place or something like that to watch the game if I couldn't. I wanted to make sure he, as much as he could, understood that. And he did. The thought of going to the big State Fair of Texas was intriguing enough for him, so we launched our plan.

Piled everyone into the car Friday afternoon, and drove out. Tried the desks at a few Dallas-area hotels that night, and a few folks were, in fact, selling tickets. None of them panned out. Didn't take long for me to face the fact I'd have to go to the fairgrounds and try to get them there.

So, my boy and I head to Fair Park, and I linger around an entrance for a while before paying Fair admission into the park. Nothing doing except a few scalpers that were way out of the ballpark. And nothing else.

Nothing.

So I go to the window, pay something like $20 to get in the gate, and we go in.

I then proceed to start what seemed like 100 circuits around the Cotton Bowl, knowing full well that selling tickets was illegal on city property, and finding any sellers was getting less likely with each passing minute. One guy offers me a pair for $1,000, and no, I'm not kidding. I decline and walk away. We walk around some more.

I see a few transactions take place right in front of Dallas area police, and they don't care. So I linger in front of the same officers and furtively hold up two fingers.

No response.

Time wears on, the afternoon wears on. The boy is getting tired of standing or walking, but he's not complaining. I'm realizing I'm nuts for not having worked harder to have tickets in hand before leaving town.

More time wears on, and the game approaches. The crowd starts to make its way into the stadium, and the pool of possible tickets starts dwindling. I start to think its time to prepare the boy for the bad news. I've gotten exactly zero nibbles.

I look to my left, and my boy has sat down cross-legged beside me, with his head in his hands contemplatively. He's not saying anything, not complaining, but I can tell the fun for him is rapidly wearing off. We're maybe fifteen minutes from kickoff. I hear the bands playing in the background. I feel like an idiot for having put the kiddo through it. I know better. I've done this before and should have gotten it done, I think to myself.

Then, as one more chorus of "Boomer Sooner" rings out, I hear a muffled "sniff" from my boy. Almost inaudibly, I hear him say, "well, I guess we're not going to get tickets, are we, daddy?" No whining, mind you, no complaining, but certainly disappointment. In my head, I'm agreeing with him, but until the game starts, I'm not giving up. Yet. And I tell him, "well, we've got a few more minutes, buddy."

About that time, a guy leans over toward me and asks a curious question.

"Are you a cop?"

As I'd been standing there for some time with my son beside me, that someone would ask the question was a little curious. But no matter.

"No, just looking for some tickets."

"Do you care where they are?" came the reply.

"No, just on the OU end."

"Well, I've got two right here I'll sell you for face value."

I about faint. I don't even look at the tickets as I rush to pull the money out of my wallet. "I'll take them!"

The guy looks at me, smiles, and said, "You know why I'm selling them to you?"

"No.."

"Because I couldn't stand the thought of that boy not getting to go to the game. Enjoy them."

I thanked him as he smiled and disappeared into the crowd, and I leaned over to my son and said "Look what I've got"

He looked up, face not leaving his hands, and his eyes lit up as brightly as though Christmas had come in October. "You got tickets!!" came the squeal

He leapt up, said "where are they," and frankly, I didn't know. Turns out they were on the third row in the corner of the endzone.

Neither of us really cared.

We ran into the stadium and down to our seats, and my boy stood on his chair most of the game so he could see over the one row of adults in front of him. We watched OU beat Texas 35-24, and Quentin Griffin picked up a fumble and ran it in for a touchdown almost right in front of us.

After the game, virtually the entire OU team ran in front of the crowd in our section and high-fived fans and thanked them for their support. My son was not quite awestruck, but it was close. We stayed after they awarded the Golden Hat trophy and soaked in the moment, and when the game was finally over, we left, headed back to the parking lot seemingly the owners of the entire state of Texas. At least for a day. Or an afternoon.

We finally made it back to the parking lot, and later back to the Galleria where we had deposited my wife and daughter hours ago, who themselves had enjoyed a day of shopping, and we feasted as Texas champs on supper that night, and enjoyed a wonderful ride home the next morning.

But one thing I'd learned: I wasn't going back to OU-Texas without tickets in hand again!

[RadicalModerate]

Excellent, SoonerDave. No matter how one looks at it.
"Kismet" favors the Kind. Thanks for your reminder of that fact.

[ljbab728]

Great story, SoonerDave. I never worry too much about where my tickets are located. I usually spend less than half of the game in my seat. I usually end up watching in the area under the upper deck standing up for the rest of the game.

[Geographer]

I will be southbound 35 in a mere 4 hours!!!!

Boomer.

[ou48A]

That's a great memory SoonerDave that both your son and you will take to your graves....
This week end has been a great bonding event for many fathers and sons.

[BoulderSooner]

I will be southbound 35 in a mere 4 hours!!!!

Boomer.

lucky you .. i am heading that way in 22 hours