OT: LSU @ Texas Game Report
The first of my annual 5-6 college football game tour began this past weekend. I had been to Austin several times over the years for ACLs and work/play weekends. However I had yet to check off a Texas game, so pretty easy decision to make this trip once this game was announced a while back.
My buddy and I stayed in a two bedroom hotel/condo type place called The Guild City Center:
Friday afternoon we had a great lunch recommended to me by a local friend at Turf N’ Surf Po Boy:
After lunch we found a very “cool” spot called Upstairs at Caroline. It was 102 degrees both days so anything that can get you out of that is very pleasant. This was a restaurant/bar that then had an open-ish area that was kept mostly cool by a shade structure but also from the A/C bleeding out from the main bar. We got there around noon and stayed until about 4 as other friends started to join us. It was absolutely packed at that point with mostly out of town LSU fans, great atmosphere. This was taken on our first beer when it was still mostly empty:
Friday night we had a great dinner at III Forks. Saturday, my original plan was to tailgate near the stadium so as to miss every snap of the dreaded Michigan/Army game. But due to my hangover, my fandom, and the 102 degrees I instead opted stay in the condo to watch every single snap of our game and lost years from my life accordingly.
We then took an uber to the stadium area a around 3pm. I have been to a lot of P5 stadiums/tailgates (think I’m at around 25 now) and I can say that this was the hottest I’ve experienced even in the shade. It also felt like what I would imagine OSU would be like (not one of my 25), 300,000+ tailgating when the majority will not be attending the game. People everywhere and not enough room/shade for all. We had wrist bands to get into one of the several private tailgates. We were stuffed in like a cattle herd, and I think I got the last two beers in the massive coolers now full of ice water. I think I’ve seen this type of can before, but still wanted to share because very cool:
We knew that they sold alcohol inside the stadium so due to the pretty crappy tailgate experience/heat we opted to head in to get shade, drink beer, and watch the 2nd half of the Nebraska/Colorado game in the concession area underneath the stands. One interesting thing to me was seeing Matthew McConaughey walking around by himself with no entourage or fans bothering him, seems like a pretty good gig. We had decent seats in a mixed fan area so some good passive aggressive banter going on all game per usual:
The stadium’s current capacity is ~66,000 but they are going through a renovation of the south endzone which will increase it to just over 100,000:
The game was pretty fun. Not to bring up actual football, but I think we are all hoping that our offense will be what LSU’s was in this game. Towards the end of the game as things looked bleak I was pretty amazed to see how many of the assumed “big money” fans bailed while most of the rest of the stadium stuck around. From this picture it’s pretty easy to see this delineation:
After the game we walked back ~2 miles to our hotel area and happened to walk past their state capital which is pretty cool at night:
I hadn’t sat on the correct side of the airplanes on my few flights back to LA in a while so I haven’t seen the new Rams/Chargers Stadium in some time. Well here it is yesterday:
Next up for me, for now:
ND @ Michigan
USC @ ASU
LSU @ Ole Miss
OSU @ Michigan
September 9th, 2019 at 12:04 PM ^
Diary?
September 9th, 2019 at 12:39 PM ^
Maybe I should on these posts going forward. I guess I never considered these posts diary-worthy.
Moms feel free to move this to the diary if you'd like.
September 9th, 2019 at 1:01 PM ^
I'd say it's worthy of diary status if for no other reason than it will be pushed off the mgoboard sidebar in another hour, replaced by yet another thread detailing everything wrong about the current iteration of the football program.
September 9th, 2019 at 4:26 PM ^
Definitely diary worthy.
And BTW I think most Michigan fans would happily settle for the offense looking as good as the Longhorns', yet alone LSU's. :)
September 9th, 2019 at 12:06 PM ^
very cool. should probably be in the diaries. or the dairies. either one works.
question: you said you were in austin before for 'ACL's'. what is an 'ACL' if its not a knee injury?
September 9th, 2019 at 12:09 PM ^
Austin City Limits?
September 9th, 2019 at 12:10 PM ^
Austin City Limits music festival
September 9th, 2019 at 12:37 PM ^
good to know. ty.
September 9th, 2019 at 12:06 PM ^
Pretty Cool Stuff, I will be going to lexington this weekend to check out UK vs UF. If anyone has any details about where to tailgate or must sees please let me know. I don't have much info yet.
September 9th, 2019 at 12:06 PM ^
They're increasing their capacity 50% ??
September 9th, 2019 at 12:16 PM ^
Appears that their capacity will remain the same as it was before construction...
"While the project would add some high-end amenities and could open up new revenue streams for UT Athletics, it would not expand the official stadium capacity, which would remain at 100,119 — the eighth-largest college football stadium in the country"
September 9th, 2019 at 12:28 PM ^
Renovations in the south end zone area have shrunk capacity from 100,000 (upgraded to that amount back in 2009) to the aforementioned 6̶6̶,̶0̶0̶0̶ 96,000*.
*EDIT: I think OP meant to say the renovation capacity is ~96,000 as opposed to ~66,000. If only he could edit his post!
September 9th, 2019 at 12:39 PM ^
ESPN has the game attendance at 98,763. Doesn't seem right that it's a temporary 66,000 capacity. Maybe more like 96,000?
September 9th, 2019 at 12:50 PM ^
Who doesn’t fudge attendence numbers?
September 9th, 2019 at 1:04 PM ^
The old capacity was ~100,000 and they only have removed the bleachers under the scoreboard in this picture: https://www.fathead.com/college/texas-longhorns/texas-longhorns-stadium-wall-mural/
There's no way that's 34,000 seats. It's maybe 2,000? It's the band times about 4.
September 9th, 2019 at 1:07 PM ^
Good sleuthing.
September 9th, 2019 at 1:03 PM ^
Hmm. I took the current capacity from the OP but maybe he fat-fingered it and it's supposed to be 96,000 at present, and not 66,000.
September 9th, 2019 at 12:13 PM ^
I was in Dallas for a while this summer.
A) 102 degrees, you're not kidding. Like every day. Texas is a burning hellscape.
B) I visited a couple of high school stadiums that were, as everyone says, outrageously lavish. I hope that most of that is privately funded.
September 9th, 2019 at 12:26 PM ^
I turned down a job in Dallas making significantly more than I do now for that reason alone. It shouldn't be 95 degrees at 8am. Ever.
September 9th, 2019 at 12:40 PM ^
I hear you. I lived in Dallas for a while - hot as hell, flat and windy. My recommendation is never get seafood in Texas, especially inland. You are better off going to Costco and buy frozen shrimp. Texas has darn good BBQ but fish/seafood is not their thang
I fly into LA all the time and the location of the new stadium is a disaster. It is right inline with final approach for runway 24. Literally a plane will pass overhead every 60 seconds during a game.
September 9th, 2019 at 12:56 PM ^
Is it dry at least? I was in Shanghai in summer a few years ago for a few days and it was miserable. 100 degrees and very humid. Literally felt like my skin was being slightly steam roasted. Not painful but you could feel the evaporation. Hard to describe exactly.
I've traveled a lot and if I'm considering the entire year, I'd seriously take Michigan's weather over anywhere else I've been. Obviously I don't mind winter at all. If Michigan had mountains, it'd be perfect.
September 9th, 2019 at 1:24 PM ^
It was probably mildly humid in Austin. The humidity depends on the part of the state. My brother lives in El Paso and it's generally low humidity, but it's miserably hot.
September 9th, 2019 at 12:16 PM ^
mmmmmm beer
September 9th, 2019 at 12:18 PM ^
Wow didn't know Texas' stadium only held 66k...that seems oddly in the average capacity area for power5/FBS schools...it's Texas for crying out loud.
September 9th, 2019 at 12:24 PM ^
It only temporarily holds 6̶6̶,̶0̶0̶0̶ 96,000*. The capacity was increased to roughly 100,000 back in 2009 but is down some 3̶4̶,̶0̶0̶0̶ 4,000 seats currently because of the aforementioned renovations in the south end zone area.
*EDIT: I'm guessing the temporary capacity must be more like 96,000 (and the OP accidentally fat-fingered the number) because attendance data from Texas' first two games show crowds of 93,418 (LA Tech) and 98,763 (LSU).
September 9th, 2019 at 12:20 PM ^
Thanks for sharing! Are fans on their feet more here than at the big house? Any "Down in front!" folks? How about the noise level- how does it compare to the big house?
September 9th, 2019 at 12:34 PM ^
Seems like the steep double-decker stadiums (is stadia the proper plural?) always produce more noise than the huge bowls. They must have an acoustical advantage.
September 9th, 2019 at 12:41 PM ^
In general during my travels lots more standing. This particular game we were in the front row of that particular upper section so we didn't have that issue.
As mentioned our stadium design is the worst possible for noise so yes, most other stadiums are louder in general.
September 9th, 2019 at 12:20 PM ^
Thanks for sharing! Are fans on their feet more here than at the big house? Any "Down in front!" folks? How about the noise level- how does it compare to the big house?
September 9th, 2019 at 12:42 PM ^
I was in the 3rd to last row of the upper deck, and the entire upper deck was standing pretty much the whole game. I didn't hear one complaint, (although there weren't too many people behind to hear complain)
September 9th, 2019 at 12:22 PM ^
Great city huh? I live here. Austin's hot, but great.
The city was on absolute FIRE yesterday. LSU fans roll deep and the city was buzzing. First time College Gameday has been here since the days of Colt Mccoy.
Good to see Texas back in the spotlight, all of Austin could not have been more excited for this game.
September 9th, 2019 at 12:40 PM ^
I’m coming to ACL for the first time. Any tips/suggestions? I’m an experienced festival-goer (many years to Lollapalooza in Chicago) but not been to Austin.
September 9th, 2019 at 12:51 PM ^
1. Wear neutral colored clothing so as not to draw attention to yourself.
2. Bring only travelers cheques, never cash.
3. Don't drink the water.
September 9th, 2019 at 1:01 PM ^
ACL ends at 10 pm; if you want to keep the party going into the late night, go ahead and start looking at late night show tickets to purchase.
ACL, like Lolla is a city-based festival; no camping (except if you have an RV) means there's crowded exits as people leave the park for the night. Plan accordingly.
Other than that, you'll have a blast. Going weekend 2 myself.
September 9th, 2019 at 1:23 PM ^
I’ll be there weekend one. Did an after-party the first time I went to Lolla and realized I'm too old for such things. Back to hotel for shower and sleep!
September 10th, 2019 at 7:50 PM ^
Prepare for it to be insanely hot. I have seen people pass out at ACL from heat stroke. Drink plenty of water (the filling stations are a pain so you may have to just buy some water unless you have a CamelBak).
Uber is a pain in the butt to use around the festival when you are leaving, so you are better off taking a taxi from the taxi line or using the bus to get back to downtown after it is over. I always take an Uber to get there and have them drop me off on the north side of the river across from Zilker Park.
ACL has improved in recent years for the overall experience, but sadly the quality of acts they have booked since going to two weekends has declined. It tends to be a B/B+ version of the Lolla lineup.
September 9th, 2019 at 4:01 PM ^
Pray that it does not down pour at any point from Thursday-Sunday. If it does, bring extra socks, shoes, and maybe shorts in a backpack to the festival.
The one year I went in 2014 it did, and the mud pits were unavoidable if you want to see different acts at different stages throughout the day.
Great festiavl though, I liked it more than Lolla. Very similar.
September 9th, 2019 at 12:25 PM ^
Cool story bro
September 9th, 2019 at 12:37 PM ^
I read this post while eating yogurt for lunch, and my hunger level has amplified due to your delicious pictures. Damn yogurt.
September 9th, 2019 at 12:42 PM ^
Great photos/write up. Looking forward to future posts for the USC vs. ASU and LSU vs. Ole Miss games.
September 9th, 2019 at 1:01 PM ^
Saw the headline: I was expecting a wall of text with no punctuation ranting about LSU's offense or a comparison of the return of Texas to prominence with Michigan's. This was much, much, much better. Looking forward to future posts in the series.
September 9th, 2019 at 1:27 PM ^
that is a cool beer, whats the brand?
September 9th, 2019 at 2:16 PM ^
I don't recall. the can has a big ass pull tab that pulls the entire top off, kinda like a soup can.
September 9th, 2019 at 5:52 PM ^
Beer is El Chingon, brewed by Four Corners Brewing, Dallas. Good brew, but a tad hoppy for my taste (not an IPA guy).
Appreciate the fact you’re keeping it real with the Oberon coozie.
September 9th, 2019 at 6:04 PM ^
My neighbor is an LSU grad, we were thinking of making the trip from DFW down to AUS for this game....until stubhub revealed tickets were generally in the $300-500 range, more than I paid for Orange bowl tix a few years back. This was in early August, I heard tix climbed higher from there up to game day.
Hopefully you were able to get in on tix early.