New deal extends game’s tenure in Dallas until 2010, but does not ensure long-term future.By: Adam Bielamowicz
It may not be a permanent solution, but it does allow more time to either make a deal or say goodbye to a hallowed tradition.
University of Texas, University of Oklahoma and City of Dallas officials agreed to a five year contract extension to keep the Texas-Oklahoma Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas Thursday.
The new deal, which states that the game will be played in the Cotton Bowl for the next five seasons until 2010, replaces the old deal which expired after the 2008 game with an opt-out clause after the 2007 game. The game has been played annually in Dallas since 1929.
Last week, Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds stated that Texas officials were interested in moving the annual matchup to a home-and-home series if Dallas officials did not agree to major renovations to the stadium, making Thursday’s announcement somewhat of a shock. It also puts the ball in Dallas’ court when it comes to making sure the game stays at the Cotton Bowl.
Dallas mayor Laura Miller said after the deal was made that she would immediately work to get a $50 million Cotton Bowl renovation proposal onto a November ballot, showing that the City of Dallas is committed to keeping the game in their city, where crowds coming in from Austin and Norman, Oklahoma pump $15 million into the city’s economy that weekend.
The Cotton Bowl has been showing its age lately. The concourses are not very wide, the plumbing in the restrooms has been known to falter at times, the seats are somewhat uncomfortable, there is a lack of luxury boxes, not to mention the fact that the stadium holds around 78,000 and is easily filled for the annual showdown.
The proposed renovations would address these problems. Renovations would be made to restrooms and concession stands, luxury boxes would be added, and seating capacity would be expanded to around 90,000. However, unless the bond is approved by voters in Dallas, you can bet that the game will be moved out of Dallas after 2010.
It is no secret that both schools would love to move the game to their respective stadiums. An extra home game against a high profile opponent would bring much more money to each school every other year, as well as the schools’ respective cities. But at what point should the schools sacrifice tradition in order to make a few more bucks?
Talk of the game moving to a home-and-home series has angered many fans of both schools who consider this game the best spectacle in college football, including yours truly.
The Texas-Oklahoma game is the premier rivalry game in all of college football. There are quite a few reasons that this is true.
The setting of the game in Dallas at the Texas State Fair makes the rivalry. There is nothing like waking up and heading to the fair. The best breakfast in the world is two Fletcher’s Corny Dogs complete with a Bud Light in a wax paper cup at the fair on the morning of the game. Walking into the Cotton Bowl, there is nothing like that burnt orange and crimson split right at the 50 yard line.
There is also no more animosity between two fan bases. The fun begins on Friday night when both teams’ fans live it up in separate parts of town, then at about midnight converge in Dallas’ West End for the most massive smack talking exhibition in the nation. There is no lack of fistfights either. The Dallas Police Department typically makes 70 to 80 arrests the Friday night before the game because of the fighting.
The rivalry is also nationally relevant. The two schools have won a combined for eleven national championships between them, in addition to being in contention for at least twice as many. The winner of the game has played in the National Championship game four times since 2000, taking the title twice. Both teams are typically ranked heading into the game, especially recently.
The combination of all of the above factors is what makes the Texas-Oklahoma game the premier rivalry in all of college football. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be at the universities involved want to end one of the greatest traditions in all of sports. And I can say for sure that this rivalry would not be the same if it moved to the schools’ campuses.
It would end the greatest weekend of the school year for students of both universities, who make every second of the weekend, including the roundtrip bus ride, a 48 hour long party. It would mean the end of older fans taking that Friday off of work and hanging out in Dallas, a very underrated party city, for a weekend with 40,000 of their burnt orange or crimson friends. I would also mean the end of $15 million of revenue for Dallas businesses.
The majority of students and fans of both schools love the rivalry and want it to stay the way it is. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be at both schools want to end it because they want to appease to the luxury box crowd.
True football fans do not need luxury boxes. True football fans need a 100-yard gridiron and a seat. The game lasts four hours, and I have no problem for being uncomfortable for four hours a year in order to preserve one of the greatest traditions in sports.
For the sake of college football fans everywhere, the administrations of both schools’ athletic departments agree with me.