I was in the upper deck and the flyover was powerful up there - you could feel it. There was a strange and disturbing pre-game prayer, but what're ya gonna do, ya know?
They have figured it out. The pre-game lighting it was like a futuristic rock concert. They "introduced" the starting line-up on the Jumbotron treating all the players as rock-stars. When the team ran through the T, only the T was lit up with spotlights, everything else was dark. These giant, Hollywood-style spot-lights randomly moving through the crowd throughout the night. Orange-only hue encircling the stadium. Insane fireworks. And hard-core rap/hip-hop music all setting the most badass tone I'd never even dared imagine.
Then, I hate to have to say it, but after all this modern hyping-up of the crowd, the Pride of the Southland marching band comes out and it was noticeable how comparably unexciting and corny the old-school traditional pageantry of college football seemed. I know they have to stick with it based on tradition, but it was like having James Taylor play an interlude in the middle of a Rage Against the Machine concert.
I was happy because I didn't want the stress of a close game. I earned a lot of respect and appreciation for Hooker's game. Aside from maybe 2 errant passes, his execution, from processing the field, running through his progressions, decision making (run or pass), and delivering the ball really jumped out to me live more-so than on TV. I'm finally getting past the "is he really that good?" phase. He is. I'm already worried about next year (the Milton era?).
I was also wondering what a season-ticket holder would think if they were transported from the 60's in a time machine to that game. They might not have survived - cardiac arrest.
