I had the following thoughts

1) The community has embraced the entire "game as event" way of thinking, and there is a lot we could learn from them. There were hundreds of individual tail gates going on, all with open containers in plain view. And there were Police all over the place, who didn't hassle anyone unless they got out of control. This was fabulous.

2) The Joan is a good-to-great stadium. It sounds like it's bigger than it is.. It was easy to get in and out of, and there were plenty of bathrooms, WITH HOT WATER TO WASH YOUR HANDS!

3) The fans were great. Much nicer than I have been treated at the Cam Henderson Center. After the game, on my walk back to my car, three fans went out of their way to congratulate us on the win. They were clearly disapponted that they had lost, but one guy said he was glad that the series was competitive again. Frankly, I hope we can keep it one-sided for a bit longer ;-)

4) Cato is the real deal.

5) TT is too, and he's tough as nails.

6) We've got a young secondary that is going to invite teams to throw on us. They'll get better as we go along, but I think it'll be exciting.

Go Bobcats!

-john

I wish we could get a tailgate atmosphere going at Ohio.  It just isn't feasible for students.  The student tailgate park is a good idea, but people just go for free stuff.  Students need a place to setup camp without driving and of course allow alcohol.  For the first time ever I attended a tailgate event I didn't throw before NMSU (glad to see new student interest), but being at a house limits getting a true gameday feel.  Unless you could get all of Mill Street going, I think our best bet is some other area for student tailgating.

I'm not sure why no one knows this but you can BYOB into the student tailgate park.  I did this maybe 3-4 times when I was a student and always drank straight from the can.

I've always thought the Convo parking lot and surrounding area was an enormous advantage for tailgating that isn't being used properly. Students need to start gathering over there.

I don't think you can have alcohol in that portion of the parking areas...

I *think* I *might* have heard from *someone* that wasn't me, that you can get a ticket from OU police if they see you with an open container of adult beverage in your hand, if you're not parked in TAILGREAT.

I *think* I *might* have heard from *someone*, too, that also wasn't me, that the police did not actually write the ticket, but they strongly emphasized that no open containers be visible on their return trip.

This policy, IMHO, could be relaxed a bit.  I understand the party school image, etc, but again, if we're all OldKats, and we're not up to any DBaggery, it seems like no blood, no foul.

This might be a simple thing to address administratively.

-john

Those all sound like nice plans, but I just don't see students (any decent amount at least) doing that.  If you really want to build a student tailgate culture, it needs to be a very clear area.  Most students don't have cars, and those that do won't want to pay $15 to go park it then have to worry about being sober enough to get it out before the lots clear.  Stupid or not, that is just the reality of it.