Cowboy Up!

What do you do when you’re a billionaire with an ego? Name a stadium after yourself of course! And at $110 bucks a pop for seat, it would appear that ol’ T. Boone Pickens didn’t get into the “B” club by giving away his football tickets cheaply.

Luckily, earlier in the day we had only paid seventy dollars apiece for our seats on the 25 yard line of the newly re-dedicated T. Boone Pickens Stadium (and may have had them even cheaper if we weren’t preoccupied with pre-game festivities with our friend Dale). Everything shimmers in this newly expanded stadium, and it’s hardly been around long enough to collect any dust on the internal girders. Nevertheless, it’s an impressive facility, and the brick façade blends in quite nicely with the Georgian style architecture of the OSU campus.

The game was an entertaining one, with both teams coming out like a ball of fire in the first half (41 points of scoring). Both Missouri and OSU weren’t in the mood to play much defense in the first half and it was analogous to watching a game of Tecmo Bowl except for the Bo Jackson part. The Cowboys defense shored themselves up a bit in the second half, however, getting a few key stops while Mike Gundy’s gunslinger offense made sure they stayed out in front.

If you notice above, the stadium is unique in that the fans are quite literally right on top of the players. There is only about 8 feet separating the edge of the field from the stands, leaving hardly enough width for the team benches. The net effect of this design is that the thunderous sound inside the stadium belies its relatively small capacity, with a full crowd on this night of 55,752.

I will also add in a positive word for the Oklahoma State fans here, where the entire stadium (including the traditionally uninspired fogey and family seats) were on their feet, standing and cheering unbroken for four quarters. Fans retired to their seats only during halftime and extended time-outs. I have never seen this kind of fan devotion in another stadium I have been to.

Combine the smaller confines of the space, with the rabid enthusiasm of the orange clad Cowboy faithful, and Boone Pickens stadium plays much louder than it actually is, and makes for one rowdy night of premier college football.

Final Score Oklahoma State 33 Missouri 17

Orange Pond after the game.


**A special shout out to our friend Dale for showing us a good time around his old stomping grounds at OSU. Much appreciated Dale!