Disgusted by the SMU Gameday experience.

[Mean Green Matt]

1 hour ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

Apparently there was a big fight in the SMU student section between some frats… typical

We avoid that at North Texas by the fraternities not attending the actual game. 

[rws69]

2 hours ago, SMU2006 said:

Haven't posted here in years but am disappointed to hear some folks had a negative experience at Ford on Saturday.  I will say most of the UNT folks we interacted with were very friendly and courteous.  However, the UNT tailgate tent near ours had a drunk moron screaming "F&CK SMU LETS F&CKING GO!!!" every five minutes directed at our tent puffing his chest out.  When I pointed to my two year old (and the half a dozen other elementary school kids) he just laughed and kept doing shots.  Point being, as others have stated, bad apples exist in every fan base.  Too much binge drinking before games leads to terrible behavior IMO.

As to the quote here the poster is 100% correct.  Ford has started to look a bit dated for years now.  Concourse is a nightmare as well as the bathroom/concessions situation.  For this reason and a myriad of others, SMU has committed $150-200m for a major facelift to Ford as well as a Football Operations building that will take the place of the existing "grassy knoll" in the south end zone.  Some of the key features will be a total gut on the existing concourse for widened walkways, improved concessions, as well as an extension of the existing suites to go completely around to the east side of the stadium.  Suites will be indoor/outdoor style (not the enclosed stadium club behind the west side stands).

https://247sports.com/college/smu/Article/Ford-Stadium-football-operations-building-set-to-be-main-focus-of-SMU-next-projects-168387414/

The plan is for shovels in the dirt by summer 2022.  Roughly 50% of the funds have already been accounted for, however SMU does not begin any construction projects until it reaches 80% of the anticipated costs so we've got a bit of a ways to go.  

Hopefully when we see you in a couple of years the situation will be better.  Best of luck the reason of the year.

Thanks for sharing. I missed this one due to conflict, but went to the previous three games NT played at Ford. Have you been to Apogee? Very wide concourse and awesome variety of concessions. Parking at the old Fouts Field site and taking the pedestrian bridge across I-35 is easy.

[vpackrats]

Since this seems to be the designated thread for the SMU stadium experience, let me just add my .02 cents to Saturday on top of what's already been said about the concession stand lines, etc... and that would be this was probably the BEST atmosphere for a North Texas - SMU game I've seen at Ford Stadium and I've literally made every game since "Dodge Ball" started at UNT.  My take is I've never seen more SMU fans at our rivalry game ...the stands were quite full and the grassy knoll, which is usually pretty lame was packed.  Unless I was missing a view of things from the visiting side in the lower section on the 30 yard line, I've unfortunately never seen less UNT fans at Ford.  Maybe it was the pandemic, maybe it was the betting line, but for whatever reason it wasn't packed by UNT fans like normal.  (I realize not bringing the band certainly didn't help the look).  Anybody who's been going to a lot of games agree with that assessment?

P.S.  Sux that it sounds like they're getting rid of the grassy knoll on the south side of the stadium.  It looks a cool area for the students to hang.

[Big Z]

27 minutes ago, vpackrats said:

Since this seems to be the designated thread for the SMU stadium experience, let me just add my .02 cents to Saturday on top of what's already been said about the concession stand lines, etc.  And that would be this was probably the BEST atmosphere for a North Texas - SMU game I've seen at Ford Stadium and I've literally made every game since "Dodge Ball" started at UNT.  My take is I've never seen more SMU fans at our rivalry game ... the stands were quite full and the grassy knoll, which is usually pretty lame was packed.  And, unless I was missing a view of things from the visiting side in the lower section on the 30 yard line, I've unfortunately never seen less UNT fans at Ford.  Maybe it was the pandemic, maybe it was the betting line, but for whatever reason it wasn't packed by UNT fans like normal.  (I realize not bringing the band certainly didn't help the look).  Anybody who's been going to a lot of games agree with that assessment?

P.S.  Sux that it sounds like they're getting rid of the grassy knoll on the south side of the stadium.  It looks a cool area for the students to hang.

I agree, I didn’t see that many UNT fans compared to previous seasons there. I personally think people just do not like getting out anymore or money tight.

Edited September 14, 2021 by Big Z

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

8 hours ago, SMU2006 said:

Haven't posted here in years but am disappointed to hear some folks had a negative experience at Ford on Saturday.  I will say most of the UNT folks we interacted with were very friendly and courteous.  However, the UNT tailgate tent near ours had a drunk moron screaming "F&CK SMU LETS F&CKING GO!!!" every five minutes directed at our tent puffing his chest out.  When I pointed to my two year old (and the half a dozen other elementary school kids) he just laughed and kept doing shots.  Point being, as others have stated, bad apples exist in every fan base.  Too much binge drinking before games leads to terrible behavior IMO.

As to the quote here the poster is 100% correct.  Ford has started to look a bit dated for years now.  Concourse is a nightmare as well as the bathroom/concessions situation.  For this reason and a myriad of others, SMU has committed $150-200m for a major facelift to Ford as well as a Football Operations building that will take the place of the existing "grassy knoll" in the south end zone.  Some of the key features will be a total gut on the existing concourse for widened walkways, improved concessions, as well as an extension of the existing suites to go completely around to the east side of the stadium.  Suites will be indoor/outdoor style (not the enclosed stadium club behind the west side stands).

https://247sports.com/college/smu/Article/Ford-Stadium-football-operations-building-set-to-be-main-focus-of-SMU-next-projects-168387414/

The plan is for shovels in the dirt by summer 2022.  Roughly 50% of the funds have already been accounted for, however SMU does not begin any construction projects until it reaches 80% of the anticipated costs so we've got a bit of a ways to go.  

Hopefully when we see you in a couple of years the situation will be better.  Best of luck the reason of the year.

I was there and I agree to a extent. I can tell you he wasn't directing it towards yall, but we had several students or some type of fans flipping us off and 2 kids trying to pick a fight (that would lead to other things). The students/fans didn't help this. 

He's a very passionate fan, but yeah he can go over the top often. Sorry if you guys felt threatened in some way, but in general this was both ways. During the game we had many students and such cussing and flipping me off while I was next to quite a few kids. It was a great environment in the BLVD for sure though.

About the stadium, hope yall can get it better renovated. Such a great campus, updated stadium would be nice, mainly the amount of gates used. 

[All About UNT]

32 minutes ago, Big Z said:

I agree, I didn’t see that many UNT fans compared to previous seasons there. I personally think people just do not like getting out anymore or money tight.

Neither of those two scenarios are the answer as to why UNT fans didn't show this year.  

Many are tired of this and until the outcome even potentially changes it will remain this way...

 

[NT93]

My son and I commented on how few UNT fans were there.  We didn’t make the game there in 2019, but we were there in 2017 and our recollection* was that it was about a 60-40 fan split…maybe 70-30.  This year seemed about like a 90-10 split.

*we could be way off, but that’s what we both remembered.

[SteaminWillieBeamin]

10 hours ago, NT93 said:

My son and I commented on how few UNT fans were there.  We didn’t make the game there in 2019, but we were there in 2017 and our recollection* was that it was about a 60-40 fan split…maybe 70-30.  This year seemed about like a 90-10 split.

*we could be way off, but that’s what we both remembered.

I know that my pack of 15 or so people that would normally go - did not go. I am not looking to be packed in during a pandemic. That has to be a factor somehow. 

[97and03]

I think our student section can be pretty brutal and offensive. And generally I am okay with that. Part of home field advantage. I would expect the same as a visitor and have personally been involved in a shoving match/near fight in Ford. Honestly, I kind of goaded them into it. Hey, it’s Smut! Sue me!

Why didn’t our fans turn out? Occam’s Razor: pandemic, four win seasons, and little reason for hope for a win. Obviously.

[Mean Green Matt]

21 minutes ago, 97and03 said:

I think our student section can be pretty brutal and offensive. And generally I am okay with that. Part of home field advantage. I would expect the same as a visitor and have personally been involved in a shoving match/near fight in Ford. Honestly, I kind of goaded them into it. Hey, it’s Smut! Sue me!

Why didn’t our fans turn out? Occam’s Razor: pandemic, four win seasons, and little reason for hope for a win. Obviously.

I guess I don’t have a TON to base this on, but my observation has always been that opposing fans were pretty much left alone by our student section… Despite our student section on game days being pretty much the caricature of what SMU fans view us as. 😂

[97and03]

1 minute ago, Mean Green Matt said:

I guess I don’t have a TON to base this on, but my observation has always been that opposing fans were pretty much left alone by our student section… Despite our student section on game days being pretty much the caricature of what SMU fans view us as. 😂

Not sure how they treat fans exactly but they sure have been brutal against the opposing sideline!

[WanderingMustang]

I am sorry for the cheerleader harassment, that's not very cool. For the most part, all the UNT fans around us were pleasant. One was a jerk who kept making comments about my mother after she came down to say hello from her seat in the upper deck. That was about the only bad thing I could say. I had a pretty cool conversation with some of the students and fans around me. Even played catch with some of the kiddos running around in UNT gear. I was glad to see 5 and 6-year-old kids there, decked out in green. I grew up going to games and it's why I'm such a big college football fan.

I was on the field at the end of the '18 game in Denton due to my job at the time. We were yelled at and chirped at since we were on SMU sideline. It's just one of those things that I don't think you can take too hard, unless it gets too personal. Obviously there's a difference between that and making lewd gestures/comments toward 18-19 year old cheerleaders.

With all due respect, I know some of the folks on this board and saw them being very loud and animated during the game. Nothing that crossed the line, but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the passion and emotion displayed by fans, especially in a home environment during a meaningful series, is part of what makes college football great. Verbal and physical harassment of visiting fans is never ok, but loud yelling and being animated is something that's a part of the experience. I certainly do it as well. 

Enjoyed meeting some of y'all at the tailgate. I used to kick around Denton a lot, it's a fun town. Even dated a few girls from up that way and went to a few formals. With the exception of how your Greek Village is laid out, I always enjoyed it. The downtown square is beautiful and I love some cheap drinks at Fry Street. 

Hope to see y'all there next year. 

[UNTLifer]

52 minutes ago, WanderingMustang said:

I am sorry for the cheerleader harassment, that's not very cool. For the most part, all the UNT fans around us were pleasant. One was a jerk who kept making comments about my mother after she came down to say hello from her seat in the upper deck. That was about the only bad thing I could say. I had a pretty cool conversation with some of the students and fans around me. Even played catch with some of the kiddos running around in UNT gear. I was glad to see 5 and 6-year-old kids there, decked out in green. I grew up going to games and it's why I'm such a big college football fan.

I was on the field at the end of the '18 game in Denton due to my job at the time. We were yelled at and chirped at since we were on SMU sideline. It's just one of those things that I don't think you can take too hard, unless it gets too personal. Obviously there's a difference between that and making lewd gestures/comments toward 18-19 year old cheerleaders.

With all due respect, I know some of the folks on this board and saw them being very loud and animated during the game. Nothing that crossed the line, but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the passion and emotion displayed by fans, especially in a home environment during a meaningful series, is part of what makes college football great. Verbal and physical harassment of visiting fans is never ok, but loud yelling and being animated is something that's a part of the experience. I certainly do it as well. 

Enjoyed meeting some of y'all at the tailgate. I used to kick around Denton a lot, it's a fun town. Even dated a few girls from up that way and went to a few formals. With the exception of how your Greek Village is laid out, I always enjoyed it. The downtown square is beautiful and I love some cheap drinks at Fry Street. 

Hope to see y'all there next year. 

Just stop it.  How are we supposed to hate you all when  you come on here posting these things that make sense?  I agree with everything you posted.  It is the "over the line" crap that bothers me.