At the Game

GreenTiger_OriginalAcct · September 13, 2004

With everything going on I was pissed BEFORE the game started, and then it just got worse. To start with, the folks at the deck didn't seem to know which end was up. They let us in but didn't have any tickets out and the mailer had said something about the "bar" being able to take cash so we figured that was the reason. We go to the "bar" to get some water and the arse smarted off to my Dad and Wife because they didn't have tickets. We go BACK to the table and Dolly Dingbat couldn't figure out which tickets were for drinks and which were for food which shouldn't have mattered anyway because the food didn't arrive till 5:15 or so. Get to the seats and have tar all over the place. I have 8 seats, 4 of us were there the other 4 were on I-35 heading to the game. Had to practically sign over my life to get 1 cushion for the people that would soon be there. 3rd quarter go to get water and voila!! Concessions stands are out!! Who would have ever thought there might actually be people at a UNT game that would get thirsty!!! They sure like to beg for our money, but apparently return on investment (not talking about the football team) for us doesn't factor very highly for them. I decided Sat night I was going to write RV then just figured it was pointless. Ok enough ranting thanks for the vine.

CorinthEagle,

Are you in row 38-39 (or so) with seats around 25-30?

GreenTiger

Cerebus · September 13, 2004

Be Civil.

fullgreenjacket · September 13, 2004

This tread needs to be deleted.

What a pack a pussies! I had a great time, yeah they were out of water so I bought a coke. No I didn't attempt to rip off the school by carrying in products sold at the concessions. What a nazi type concept for the school to come up with, make people sit where they are supposed to and do not allow outside products into the stadium. Damn I hope this doesn't catch on or there could be rioting at stadiums around the nation...oh wait...everyone else has being doing this for freaking decades..

Pathetic

GreenTiger_OriginalAcct · September 13, 2004

I think some you who are complaining about the complaints are missing the point.

RV wants us to buy more tickets, make more contributions, put more people in seats so the programs can go to the next level. Some of us respond.

The first game of the season, the premium ticket area is covered in tar and people's clothes are ruined. The first guy I complain to tells me it will be cleaned up "before the next game". When they start to distribute cushions to cover the tar, they have to take down all of your season ticket info before they will give you a cushion.

The concession stand was not a problem of running out of my choice of beverage, it was a problem of running out of just about everything. I am diabetic - when they run out of water and other low/no cal beverages, it is not exactly healthy for me to slug back a coke or powerade.

To be perfectly honest, losing the game does not bother me nearly as bad as the fact that the athletic department just looked unprepared on Saturday night. That will not get us to the next level and it will not bring people back. The people sitting next to me were using someone else's tickets. Did Saturday provide the type of experience (they enjoyed the football) that will make them come back or buy tickets?

Green92 · September 13, 2004

I like your view meangreenjacket. If we had won this thread would probably not have gotten this far. Growing pains, people. Growing pains.

FireFightnJoey · September 13, 2004

And now one held by hand when I went potty.

I laughed so loud and spontaneously, the entire floor (25,000+ sq ft) heard me. I'll be sure to shut my door next time.

This thread is crazy. But I absolutely can not complain one bit about how things were ran:

1. My cushions were on my seat as promised. I sit in E, row 36 and everyone was hooting and hollaring alot. High fives being exchanged and this was families sitting all around me. Even accepted the fact that I was probably a little bit rowdy due to a little too much alcohol which started to wear off around end of 1st quarter. I've decided I like my seats and my section!

2. Didn't see the tar, but that is a pretty legitimate complaint.

3. Showed my ticket to the extremely polite and charming usher, who even cared to make sure I knew how to get there, everytime except the last 5 minutes of the game. I can't think of the last organized event (baseball, basketball, football, hockey, concert) that I didn't have to do this every time. Sometimes twice to go through a section to get to another.

4. I'd be upset too if they ran out of water/concessions, but I didn't need any. But again, I can't think of a venue that allows you to bring in water/food. We're lucky we have a hospitality deck. Does TT, TAMU, UT? I've been to several of those games and if you feel like you're mistreated here as a student, try it there. And there you pay a buttload for student tickets. It's not free.

5. Extremely suprised they let me leave at halftime to run to my truck to b@#*h at some friends that decided to stay and not come in. I made them walk home by the way.

6. Hospitality deck. I got there at halftime and they had their ducks in a row. Walked up and viola, here you go Joey. Walked over to the bar and paid cash for my beers. Was suprised had to pay to eat, thought that could have been free for my donor level. But I am cool with it.

7. Are strollers ever allowed in stadiums? Don't know, no kids. So I'll take your word on it.

8. If every student waits till the last minute to get into the stadium (and that means 15 minutes prior), expect a long freakin' wait to get in.

Not taking their side, just showing a different perspective. One that interfaces with the public as myself can see this one going both ways. Regarding ushers on student side ... how many beligerent drunk students do you think they had to deal with? But still, I expect a certain level of professionalism from them.

I'm glad to see some of the changes as Stebo said, using ushers and such. Last year was my first time to really start attending games as an alumni and I was shocked you could pretty much do what you wanted. This was the Baylor game which was packed. That atmosphere really made me feel like everything was second rate.

UNTLifer · September 13, 2004

And to hope on this band wagon of buzz kills, I didn't get a massage at half time. And now one held by hand when I went potty. And they didn't give me free beer. And some of the other fans smelled bad. And I wasn't allowed to bring in my shoppong cart. And RV didn't personally greet me at the gate.
This thread is pathetic.

And we wonder why the ushers were rude on the student side!?

I didn't run in to any problems, had a great time (other than the outcome), liked seeing ushers assist people and insure people were sitting in the seats they paid for. Look, I used to show up, buy my $8.00 endzone seat and sit any place I saw fit. Prior to last year I decided to stop robbing the system, realizing I was hurting the department I was trying to support by skating by and bought season tickets. These are growing pains that we will have to work through because there has been a total lack of attention in the past. Our athletic department is just trying to run the show like any other D1 school and will learn from their mistakes. If the same problems arise for the MUTS game, then we've got a problem, but I have faith that RV will correct these problems.

I have worked in customer service for over 10 years and would advise RV to address these concerns, but how do you reach all of the people that attended without their addresses? First, you shoot out either a letter or email to the season ticket holders, then you run an ad in the NT Daily apologizing and addressing the changes with the faculty, staff and students of UNT, run a brief article on the website and have Vito run an article in the DRC. Acknowledge the problem, apologize, fix the problems. Those three steps, if done correctly, will created more loyal fans/customers to the program. Ignore them, and you will lose some forever.

If you choose to write RV a letter, don't be biligerent. Point out the positives you saw, then point out the problems you encountered and be tactful.

See you all on October 2nd when we welcome the MUTS to SPCA day.

kj86 · September 13, 2004

Well, I can't let this thread die without putting in my 2 cents.

THE WHOLE SEAT NAZI BS IS A BUNCH OF BS!

This program has not reached the point where we can tell people where to sit, when there are empty seats everywhere, tell people not to bring in water, etc. It should be as little hassle as possible. Someday, I hope, there will be a need for this kind of thing, but it should be phased in gradually and done on an as needed basis.

I don't think we'll see these clowns again this year. As FFR said, there won't be a need.

GreenEggs&Ham™ · September 14, 2004

When I was a student in the late 80's, I don't remember there being any rules at Fouts at all.

I moved about freely and did what ever the hell I wanted to. I never missed one home game in four years so I think I would remember if there were rules.

These "rules" go against the free spirit thing that I thought Texans were protective of. These rules sound kinda anti Texas to me.

EagleChick03 · September 14, 2004

I live out of town and wasn't at the game, so I am only going off of what this thread says. If it is true that people cannot move freely at the games anymore, than my old game day expeirence is dead. Roaming the stands talking to friends is part of what makes nights at fouts so much fun. I miss Denton but I think I got out at the right time.

untgirl04 · September 14, 2004

This tread needs to be deleted.
What a pack a pussies! I had a great time, yeah they were out of water so I bought a coke. No I didn't attempt to rip off the school by carrying in products sold at the concessions. What a nazi type concept for the school to come up with, make people sit where they are supposed to and do not allow outside products into the stadium. Damn I hope this doesn't catch on or there could be rioting at stadiums around the nation...oh wait...everyone else has being doing this for freaking decades..
Pathetic

Did you even read the original post? Here's the deal: I would complain about this even if we did win, because I don't think that students should EVER be treated like pack animals - even if they only pay for their tickets through athletic fees.

At TAMU and UT, yes students pay for their tickets. They also have assigned seating, and only one person per space. They are provided with plenty of water and other beverages of choice and are allowed to go to the bathroom and return to their seats whenever they wish. That being said, here's what happened to me on Saturday:

I entered the stadium about 45 minutes before game time so that I could be there to cheer on the team when they took the field. I was told at the gate that I couldn't bring water into the game. Fine. I understand the new rule, but I think that they should have informed the fans about it BEFORE they tried to enter the stadium. It just seems like such a waste of water to me, to have to throw all that out. It's not like they've ever enforced the rule before. Now we know, and I don't really think it will be a problem anymore.

I stood for a while at the game, sang the fight song 50 times along with the band while they marched the field, danced to "Fly Like an Eagle" and really enjoyed the game. About midway through the second quarter, things started really getting packed. Being only 5'1", I was nearly being stood on, and could barely even see the game. There wasn't an empty space anywhere that I could see. Having a medical condition that makes me susceptible to extreme heat, and being too stubborn a fan to sit this one out, I suddenly realized that I really needed to get some water. So, my husband and I make our way to the aisle and try to go get some water. Our tickets were for the exact seats that we were supposed to be sitting in. The usher watched us leave our seats and walk towards her. When we tried to go get water, we were told that if we left, we wouldn't be allowed to return to our seats. We explained that we just wanted water, and we even showed her our tickets. We were told that it didn't matter, and that we should go back and sit down. There was a line of students on the other side of the usher trying to get back in to their seats. No one was where they shouldn't have been. No one was belligerent or noticibly drunk. Just a bunch of students *gasp* cheering for their university.

While it's nice to see that many of you that post on this board are very concerned about this problem, it is discouraging to me that many of you assume that every student in the stadium is drunk and trying to take advantage of the university. Let's give the students a little credit. Not everyone is a moocher or a deadbeat, and many students are honestly going to the games so that they can enjoy the college experience.

On another note, one of the members of our group's grandfather was at the game. Although the man never went to UNT, he is VERY generous in his donations, and supports this school wholeheartedly. His experience was similar to mine. However, he had to leave the game at halftime because he wasn't allowed to get any water. Is that the kind of message we want to send to contributors and to people in general?

I posted this thread to see if anyone else had these experiences. If it were an isolated incident, fine. That's what I was hoping for. But I've found that there were others who had a less than enjoyable experience at Fouts (excluding the football). Perhaps it will take everyone a bit of time to get used to the new rules. I don't have a problem with new rules, just rules that have no explanation or are a hazard to the fans. Go ahead, rip me if you want, but please let's keep this civil.

FireFightnJoey · September 14, 2004

untgirl04, It's apparant that wires got crossed this weekend and some things didn't work out too well. I hope they learn and repair. Change is not just inevitable, but it usually brings some complications with it.

You should write RV and explain your experience just like you did above. That was a classy post.

Having said that, I hope the students still come out and support the team in force. From the other side, it looked like that section was having a lot of fun and stayed in the game the whole time. That's good to see. It's aparent they might need to expand the student section which means they did not expect such a turn out and that is a good thing.

hope24 · September 14, 2004

Okay I agree with a lot that's been said but I'm still a little 'John Kerry' on the bottle water issue.

I can understand how people might be upset about being told they need to throw out their water. That seems like a big waste. When they ran out of water in the second half or whenever it was, could they have not just sold the water they confiscated in the first place (sealed bottles only of course)? Or charged people two bucks or so to bring it in? While I like the fact that they are basically forcing students to contribute to the AD money pot by purchasing their water at the game, it does seem to pose some safety risk. Last year I found myself continually forgetting to bring cash to the games. Does anyone remember how ridiculously hot the homecoming game was last year, and how tired we all were by the time all the pregame festivities were over? Now try to imagine being at that game, without cash (don't get me started on how inconvenient it is for there not to be an ATM at Fouts), and being told that your bottled water must be thrown out. I can respect the decision not to allow outside food/beverages, but I think there should perhaps be an exception to the rule as far as water goes.

I personally didn't have any trouble with the ushers. I left my seat to get a hot dog (yes, after the students were kicked out of the paid seats and security was stepped up), and as I was walking up to leave I saw what appeared to be the usher telling someone they couldn't come back down, but I figured it had more to do with the fact that this was the particular aisle that went right down by the paid section in question, so I didn't worry too much about it. She didn't try to stop me when I came back. I don't know if it's because I, as Bryan suggested, walked right by her without looking at her as if I knew what I was doing, or if it's because she noticed my Talons shirt and figured I must genuinely have a seat down there with the Talons and it wasn't worth fighting.

I also noticed, as someone previously said, that the outside vendors seemed scarce. I hope they will correct this. I'm not particularly interested in Kettle corn, but Dominos pizza was sounding good at one point, yet I was disappointed to not find them. I noticed though that pizza is on the menu at the concession stand. Is this new? Maybe they replaced dominos with their own pizza at the concession stands to get more profit from sales rather than leasing out a booth or whatever for dominos to sell.

I know I said don't get me started...but I changed my mind. We really need an ATM. I always forget to bring money, but I always have my wells fargo linked student ID, and nothing is more frustrating than forgetting your cash, none of the vendors taking debit, and no ATMs.

I like that they have a water fountain now. They had one last year at the beginning of the season, then they took it out in some assanine move.

eleazar · September 14, 2004

Wow. When I left the game I was talking with my girlfriend about the whole experience and we were both in agreement that there was something "off" about the whole situation. I was sitting on the students side and had a few problems as well, but none to the same degree as not being able to leave my seat.

First when I arrived, there was a guy checking the student id's and since I have been a student since the birth of UNT I have an older style ID, the man proceeds to ask me if it is valid. I tell him yes it is. With a smug look on his face, he tells me "uh, yeah right" with quite a tone and then that "I better not be lying because they will be checking next week." So of course I am slightly pissed and tell him to "scan it now if you don't believe me" to which he replies, "I don't think you would really want me to". Nice way to enter the game.

Second, the concessions ran out of just about everything with 6 mins left in the first half. I was told I could only get sprite or coke and they were out of everything else. To me this is just plain bad business. You mean to tell me the stadium doesn't have enough drinks to cover everyone? It's not like drinks spoil like food so they should have an abundance stored away. This is just plain bad business.

Third, when standing in line a woman ran up to the end of the counter where I was standing and told the man behind the counter that someone had just passed out somewhere nearby and asked him if he had a towel or some paper towels that she could wet to bring to the person. He got rude with her and told her no. The whole time he was talking there was a roll of paper towels for people to use who bought food sitting right there on the counter. I said to him, "how about these?" and pointed and he seemed reluctant to offer them.

I left the game thinking "Who are all these people they got to run the game this year.... and where are the damn tubs filled with drinks?"

kj86 · September 14, 2004

First when I arrived, there was a guy checking the student id's and since I have been a student since the birth of UNT I have an older style ID, the man proceeds to ask me if it is valid. I tell him yes it is. With a smug look on his face, he tells me "uh, yeah right" with quite a tone and then that "I better not be lying because they will be checking next week." So of course I am slightly pissed and tell him to "scan it now if you don't believe me" to which he replies, "I don't think you would really want me to". Nice way to enter the game.

This really happened? Unbelievable! Until sellouts are happening on a consistent basis, the AD should be thrilled with every single soul that shows up at the gate. They shouldn't care whether you have a general admission ticket, student ID, section E ticket or a friggin' Chuck E. Cheese ticket. Welcome to Fouts. Enjoy the game.

Austin Eagle · September 14, 2004

I attended the A&M/Wyoming game in College Station on Saturday. Close friends have a son in the Corps. I was shocked and suprised to be able to take opened water bottles into the stadium. No one said a word.

shaft · September 14, 2004

"And then they looked at me funny when I showed them by homemade UNT ID"

Boo-frigging Hoo. If your really a student, you are susposed to get a new style student ID.

"Well, I'm going to write RV"

Do you write Bill Gates when your PC doesn't work? Why don't some you try to work with the AD department instead of aimlessly trying to go straight for the top. Why are you boggin RV down with your minor complaints. Wouldn't you rather have him working on donors for a new stadium, than forwarding your emails back down the chain of command in the AD.

untbowler · September 14, 2004

You know what shaft if the school does not force the students to get new ID's much less tell them that they are changing ID's every year, then how do they know to get a new ID.

Quit the fan bashing!!

Zeke · September 14, 2004

"And then they looked at me funny when I showed them by homemade UNT ID"
Boo-frigging Hoo. If your really a student, you are susposed to get a new style student ID.
"Well, I'm going to write RV"
Do you write Bill Gates when your PC doesn't work? Why don't some you try to work with the AD department instead of aimlessly trying to go straight for the top. Why are you boggin RV down with your minor complaints. Wouldn't you rather have him working on donors for a new stadium, than forwarding your emails back down the chain of command in the AD.

Your first point is bogus. If he saw no need to get one, then why should he? They upgraded the ID's once while I was there and I waited a few years until I upgraded mine. There is no need to give him the "Boo-friggin Hoo" treatment, he had an old ID -- it's not unbelieveable. (I would suggest that he get the new one to make sure there are no big problems at the MTSU game if for some reason their scanners don't take the old cards well)

Your second point is right on. Someone else is better suited to handle the situation than RV.

September 14, 2004

Shaft... your attitude is terrible.

Edited September 14, 2004 by ipEAGLE

UNTLifer · September 14, 2004

"And then they looked at me funny when I showed them by homemade UNT ID"
Boo-frigging Hoo. If your really a student, you are susposed to get a new style student ID.
"Well, I'm going to write RV"
Do you write Bill Gates when your PC doesn't work? Why don't some you try to work with the AD department instead of aimlessly trying to go straight for the top. Why are you boggin RV down with your minor complaints. Wouldn't you rather have him working on donors for a new stadium, than forwarding your emails back down the chain of command in the AD.

Your attitude amazes me.

Who do you suggest they address there concerns to? RV is ultimately responsible for what occurs with NT athletics. He can forward all of the letters the the staff member that is responsible for this, but he should know and needs to be aware of the problems that arose.

Why don't you go sit at Eagle Point and mark off the days until your 8 to 10 year stadium plan comes to fruition.

shaft · September 14, 2004

Why? Our fans are being jacka$$es. Outside of the tar and the outcome what was wrong with Saturday's game? It was one of the biggest tailgating turn outs I've ever seen at UNT. We hit the 15K attendence mark against a team no one has heard of. The crowd was more "spirited" than most home games. Sorry if I thought this weekend was an improvement over some of the previous seasons home games.

And I don't feel bad for people who acted like a deer in the headlights the moment they were told no. If your a current student, have a current student ID. Its takes less than a minute to get one and its free.

NTEagle08 · September 14, 2004

I am sure with some of these problems will be fixed by the next game since the next game is during Parent/Family weekend.

shaft · September 14, 2004

[quote name='
Your attitude amazes me.
Who do you suggest they address there concerns to? RV is ultimately responsible for what occurs with NT athletics. He can forward all of the letters the the staff member that is responsible for this' date=' but he should know and needs to be aware of the problems that arose.
[/quote']
Just because I'm feeling rowdy.
Do you write the president when you need a pot hole fixed? Instead of making a big deal about how your going to write/call/telegram RV, why not just call the Atheletic Department offices. Also people tend to call your bluff in coustomer service when people shout and threaten to go to higher ups.
Don't get be wrong this tar thing is pretty unexectable. And if it had happened to me, I would call whatever numbers for the AD that came with my season tickets. But the rest of these complaints seem like they are comming from people who have never been to a football game before.

Edited September 14, 2004 by shaft