I got the chance to take my wife and two teens to the Convo for their first on campus basketball game in Athens. We live in Cincy, about 30 minutes east of Oxford, so we've often gone their due to ease of transportation and scheduling constraints. We've gone to CLE for MAC tourney, Nashville for March Madness and STL for Sweet 16.

*The entrance to campus via Richland at the roundabout from RT 32E exit never fails to impress, even on an overcast, rainy day. My kids literally shrieked.

*Parked at the city parking garage and tried to sneak the herd Pub burgers at The Pub. Nah baby nah, place was packed at 1215pm. I expected the 34 degree temps and rain to hold back the undergrads. Ain't no stopping a Bobcat, I reckon. C'est la vie!

*Kids made me hit Uptown Dog, Follets, CBS and the Under Armour shop. much money was dropped, so much so chose the unusual Dad tactic to inform the kids they were on their own after a certain dollar amount. they both chose to exceed that amount with their own funds by $75. Makes a fella proud...

*Boy, was it unpleasant to park at the Convo. I hate to not be positive, I really do. We had purple passes and that lot was completely full an hour before game. So was the blue lot. we circled about 4x before finally getting the correct information where to park, in red lot 3c. The poor student who saw us trapped near University Facilities spaces was an ANGEL. she was soooo friendly helped us, while not having so much as an umbrella. Good karma and pleasant juju her way, please...

*Walking to the entrance kinda sucked. No way to suger coat it. not being able to walk up the security manned and barricaded walkways to the covered outside concourse of the Convo was a poor fan experience. We all got soaked shoes, soaked pants legs, and soaked everywhere else taking the long trek to the only entrance. I hope there's a good reason for that inconvenience but i'm at a loss.

*Once we got inside, however, things were PERFECT. My teens were treated like treasured members of the family, each and every person working the event was A+. Kudos to the folks at will call, working the Bobcat Blizzard, table, searching the bags and scanning tix, the concessionaires. But...the fella that made my kids day was Esteban Arriola. Much thanks!

+My kids were in awe of the band and the Ozone. They got to interact with both since they were seated down there.

*I don't get the negativity for Lou, at all. He did a fine job. I attend games at three D1 on campus facilities in a major urban area (ok, major is debatable) and he's on par with them. Rock on, Lou...I'm in your corner!

*The dude MC on the mic during playing stoppages is better than his peers. He was most impressive leading the noise requests at the end of the game. Kudos, my man. I think he did a great job not trying to be The Show during the times undergrads were competing for prizes. Sometimes less is more, a fact most ESPN Sportscenter hosts nowadays could learn!

+just personal opinion, but Pepsi sucks. My wife made the concession selections and I was thrilled to have red Gatorade. Original would be better especially when the red stain factor is taking into account. Kudos to the university for providing a decent mustard for the hot dog, anyone know what brand it is? Souvenir cups and popcorn tin made the trip back home with us.

*I didn't have too much trouble with the floor scoreboards, but it was a challenge to see score at times. The lack of video scoreboard was HUGE during the Block/Thompson debacle. I was STUNNED that Ohio got offsetting technical on that play watching it live, it looked really, really bad.

*Disclosure, I love me some Saul. Maybe as much as anyone here. I absolutely hate to see coaches hollering John Calipari style, "look at me, LOOK AT ME"...I thought he displayed his extreme displeasure to the ref after Jaaron technical foul properly. it was the angriest I've ever seen him. I thought it was an outhouse level call, my wife disagreed 100%. another case of replay board needed.

*I think the police responded to the Easter fan incident efficiently. They were monitoring her make verbal comments to our section (ok by me) and went right after her after she left her section to get in the faces of some of our, uh, more tenured sports fans. I hope she wasn't detained but I hope she's not welcome at future sporting events at our lovely facility. She was way, way, way, way out of line.

*The Eastern guys were a little hyped after such an emotional win after the game on the court. I have no problem with that. No harassing of fans occurred, at all. I was beaming with pride when Coach Phillips held up his guys on the court to allow Eastern to walk to the locker room, before leading his team to high five the band and the Ozone before departing court. My kids got to shake his hand and high five the entire team. Thanks Coach, you made their special day all the more special. The proverbial cherry on top. Anyone can be a good sportsman after a great win, i'm proud of our guys being mature and pleasant to their fan base after what I am sure was a disappointing final result to each of them. MAKES A FELLA PROUD TO BE A BOBCAT!!!

I may have missed some items so I reserve the right to reply later in the thread.

Great recap. Thank you. The part I quoted above I meant to make mention of but had forgotten. That's a very emotional time/situation and OUr guys handled it perfectly.

I'll add on about parking - even though the OU parking group is probably the lowest hanging fruit yet to be plucked by the university, yesterday was somewhat of an extra unpleasant anomaly which usually isn't that bad. I am assuming it was due to the women's game beforehand and parking people didn't start work until ~1/1.5 hours(guessing) before the men's game. And since there were multiple thousands on hand for the lady Bobcats, it was a free-for-all leading to the situation you, and a lot of us encountered.

So very glad to see this.

Best place in the MAC and heads above many venues. Glad the kids had a great time and happy for a real review of where we are from someone who is not a regular. Always good to have fresh eyes.

Thanks for posting.

Since I am no longer able to get around as well..... I can say the Security situation makes it MUCH easier to STAY away. If I did not know the ins and outs of the Convo I would NOT be back. When you have limited mobility it is really impossible to navigate....and though we talk about security concerns....there must be a better way to serve those who are in poorer shape than I and can't just grit their teeth and go

Yes sir. Even for the performing arts series at Mem Aud there is added security and bag checks. If you go outside at intermission, you need to have your hand stamped for reentry (most of the folks going outside or just standing on the steps for a smoke). And the topper is if you buy a plastic bottle of water, they take the lid off.

Good post but I choose to only highlight this. It really pisses me off, every time. I know, first world problems. But I passionately hate overkill, and that is exactly what this is.

In security you "right size" your response to the "perceived threat". With the no parking under the convo, 2 bomb dogs, Wheelan Security folks, No one on the ramps/on the concourse outside and etc. I wonder what the "perceived threat" is?? In other words, how many times a week does OUPD get bomb/terrorist threats against the sports venues??

Great review of a day of hoops. I agree with the grumbling about security. This is a macabre thought, but added stupidity is that in the unlikely event of an attack, the current setup of a massive bottleneck at one entrance enhances the opportunity to maximize casualties. It's ridiculous.

I always assumed people inside the Convo were letting in non ticket holders and that's why we aren't allowed walking around it anymore. I do think, however, after halftime, the barriers should be taken down to let those leaving a little early the access to all exits.

I'm still at a loss for the ticket checker with the barrier after you get your ticket scanned ... Why on Earth do we need that person to tell us we can enter the seating area of the Convo? Do they not realize that people walk around the Convo freely once they are inside? That is the most pointless checkpoint I've seen.

You cannot park underneath because the Convo during a basketball game is considered a high value target.

All of the new restrictions are terrorism related. The OUPD chief, Andrew Powers, considers himself a real anti-terrorism expert. The no parking under the Convo makes some sense. Just think what a car bomb could potentially do in that location, and OUPD doesn't have the personnel to search every car thoroughly before allowing them to park there on game day. Also, it would make the line too slow for reasonable timeframe access to the lot. Not allowing people to walk around the outside ring, though, is a little more tenuous. If someone is walking along that ring with a suicide vest on, they would not discharge there but after they got inside, where more people are located. Same if they were carrying a weapon and wanted to kill as many as they could. OUPD could station folks inside the outside doors to make sure no fellow conspirator let them in through one of those doors. That would be just as safety conscious and a lot more customer friendly, IMHO.