This
is written as a photo-travelogue as what a fan would have observed while
attending the game in
Tulsa
.
I
didn't see any Pronto-Pups anywhere. However, this place was across the
street from the stadium, but closed after the game so I didn't get to try them.
The
band marched over to the tailgating area to play a few songs by the fountains before
the game. I happened to catch a giant cup dropping out of nowhere and seemingly
about to crush some band members:
Unless
I missed half of it,
Tulsa
doesn't have quite as
much tailgating as
Boise
State
and they're spread
out. Of course it had been raining for days and the tailgaters were
restricted to a grassy area, except for some more retail-oriented tailgaters
that were located closer to the stadium than the rest. Unlike at
Louisiana Tech a couple years ago and Southern Mississippi last year, we had no
invitations to join in.
Somebody
went to a lot of trouble to make a poster for the
Boise
State
game.
I
photographed a couple of young ladies that had "GO TU" painted on
their faces.
I
didn't take a photo of it, but the first floor of the back of a brick
housing building facing the stadium served as the front for a row of food, snack
and drink outlets.
The
stadium exterior is brick and renovated in 2007. there was no
double-decking, but still, they seated 30,000 on three sides with a building at
one end that kicked balls bounced off of when kicking field goals and points
after touchdowns. http://www.tulsahurricane.com/facilities/tuls-skelly-stadium.html
Upon
entering the stadium, I photographed the tunnel the TU team ran through.
It
rained most of the first half, so I didn't take as many photos for fear of
getting the camera wet. However, here are a couple showing the nice size
of their scoreboard.
I
thought it strange that the TU band played the
University
of
Texas
fight song during
a break in the game. There must be some story behind that... I
expected to see a lot of "Hook-em Horns" during the song and actually
did see a couple. Maybe they just like the tune?
During
halftime, they honored the TU women's rowing team.
Here
are some photos of the game action and the crowd in the visitors' section near
the goal line.
Someone
needs to get "Coach Pete a "blue" jacket for away games!
WACedBronco
was in the stands, along with his friend from
Boise
.
TU
fans were loud! They reminded me of the 12th Man like A&M.
Boise
State
fans are loudest
in the end zones, I believe, but all TU fans were making noise when
Boise
State
was on offense.
They did quiet down in the third qtr, and seats began to empty, down to
about 75%, but when TU scored the TD in the 4th qtr. to bring them to
within 7 points, the fans magically reappeared and the noise level picked-up.
I
read on the BroncoCountry board that
Tulsa
could be the next
"
Boise
State
". It's
strange that I was thinking that exact same thing during the game.
It was in the atmosphere being there.
I
couldn't help but do an artsy photo with the cup during the game.
More
photos of the game:
The
confetti was a nice touch:
It's
always nice when the players drop by the stands after the game:
There
are always those fans playing to the ESPN cameras. I don't know if this
couple made it on TV or not, but they were nice enough to pose for me:
Most
of the TU fans around us were very cordial. There's always one
ugly fan, but the rest were just fine and hospitable, and I heard one TU fan say
they appreciated getting to know some Bronco fans and said she didn't feel so
badly watching her team get beat by the team of such nice fans.
NashvilleBronco
and friend were on the sideline after the game to get player autographs.
I
had just one parting photo to take of the scoreboard:
Except
for one of the brakes going out on my vehicle in
Dallas
, which I was able
to get fixed in a timely fashion, it was a most enjoyable trip!
