Unsolicited Game Day Thoughts

[CougSinceBirth]

...this isn't about that "GameDay".

I attended a very large P5 program's home game for the first time last weekend. Figured it would be fun to share some observations based on my experience.

-Definitely the largest stadium I've been in, that was very cool. The sight lines from where I walked all looked nice, too. Seats I purchased ended up have seat backs (bonus!)
-Security and ticket scanning was quick (and we showed up less than 30 minutes to kickoff)
-Audio around the stadium was great, and it was nice not hearing 2000s rock jamz
-Concessions moved quick and had solid food options. Beer AND cocktails were to be had in the general area. Beer was $8 for a large can of domestic/$9 for imports. Cocktails were $14 with four good pre-batched options. I was told liquor/beer was a recent add in the past 5 years.
-There were TVs throughout the concourse level so you can keep an eye on the action
-They had a team store in the stadium, and silent auction on products running throughout the game
-Yes, their students leave at halftime too. I saw ~1/3 of the section dipped by half (it was in the mid-90ºs)

Things I noticed I appreciated about WSU's experience:
-Really was hard to not do "...Cougar 1st Down!" on 1st down, and "Touchdown Cougs!" in the way it is belted is unique. PA last weekend felt more "corporate/NFL-like"
-WSU definitely feels more intimate
-Butch/cheer squad is a catalyst for cheers, and this wasn't as prevalent at my game

 

[Coug90]

...this isn't about that "GameDay".

I attended a very large P5 program's home game for the first time last weekend. Figured it would be fun to share some observations based on my experience.

-Definitely the largest stadium I've been in, that was very cool. The sight lines from where I walked all looked nice, too. Seats I purchased ended up have seat backs (bonus!)
-Security and ticket scanning was quick (and we showed up less than 30 minutes to kickoff)
-Audio around the stadium was great, and it was nice not hearing 2000s rock jamz
-Concessions moved quick and had solid food options. Beer AND cocktails were to be had in the general area. Beer was $8 for a large can of domestic/$9 for imports. Cocktails were $14 with four good pre-batched options. I was told liquor/beer was a recent add in the past 5 years.
-There were TVs throughout the concourse level so you can keep an eye on the action
-They had a team store in the stadium, and silent auction on products running throughout the game
-Yes, their students leave at halftime too. I saw ~1/3 of the section dipped by half (it was in the mid-90ºs)

Things I noticed I appreciated about WSU's experience:
-Really was hard to not do "...Cougar 1st Down!" on 1st down, and "Touchdown Cougs!" in the way it is belted is unique. PA last weekend felt more "corporate/NFL-like"
-WSU definitely feels more intimate
-Butch/cheer squad is a catalyst for cheers, and this wasn't as prevalent at my game

Where did you go?

 

[CougSinceBirth]

Where did you go?

They legitimately might be back this season: UT.

 

[Coug90]

They legitimately might be back this season: UT.

Nice! Yeah surprising how well they are doing

 

[How_did_this_happen?]

Nice! Yeah surprising how well they are doing

They'll lose a game they shouldn't. It's Sark after all.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

They'll lose a game they shouldn't. It's Sark after all.

I thought the KU game would be a boogyman game, but they smacked them right in the face in the 2H.

If they get through Red River with a W, they're going to be a tough team to beat.

 

[95coug]

WSU has never put any effort into the gameday experience, that used to be a pretty common conversation here. In the first year or two of Moos they said he had visited a bunch of stadiums and saw what they did, and the AD was making plans to bring things here, but that never happened.

Going on 40 years of going to WSU games, I continue to be utterly mystified that they don't have Ferdinand's in the stadium. Seriously, how hard would it be to bring over a couple crates of grabbers?

By the way, get used to longer lines at the gates. The ticket scanners seem to work a little better now, for the most part, but the use of metal detectors is going to expand and become permanent.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

I thought the KU game would be a boogyman game, but they smacked them right in the face in the 2H.

If they get through Red River with a W, they're going to be a tough team to beat.

It will be interesting to see how they play against KSU. Not counting COVID football, their last five games with KSU have come down to one score. KSU has beaten Texas the last four times that they played when the 'Cats finished with 9+ wins. Of course, four of KSU's eight win seasons happened because they lost to Texas. I'd put my money on Texas at the moment.

Texas will likely be favored to win all of their remaining games by at least one TD if they can beat the Sooners.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

It will be interesting to see how they play against KSU. Not counting COVID football, their last five games with KSU have come down to one score. KSU has beaten Texas the last four times that they played when the 'Cats finished with 9+ wins. Of course, four of KSU's eight win seasons happened because they lost to Texas. I'd put my money on Texas at the moment.

Texas will likely be favored to win all of their remaining games by at least one TD if they can beat the Sooners.

Agree with this. KSU was the other game I circled as a boogyman-type of game.

BYU and KSU I think will be tough outs (TTU as a rivalry game, too), but I think they have the players this season to have a big run, assuming they get through OU this weekend.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

WSU has never put any effort into the gameday experience, that used to be a pretty common conversation here. In the first year or two of Moos they said he had visited a bunch of stadiums and saw what they did, and the AD was making plans to bring things here, but that never happened.

Going on 40 years of going to WSU games, I continue to be utterly mystified that they don't have Ferdinand's in the stadium. Seriously, how hard would it be to bring over a couple crates of grabbers?

By the way, get used to longer lines at the gates. The ticket scanners seem to work a little better now, for the most part, but the use of metal detectors is going to expand and become permanent.

I haven't been back to Pullman since the 2018 Arizona game, so I have no clue how smooth (or not) things are now.

UT has local vendors (Stubbs, Austin Pizza Co., etc.) as options. I can't understand why WSU hasn't been able to rope in local vendors...still. Re: Ferdinand's, I agree with you on having a couple of portable freezer set ups with some grabbers would be such an easy sell (although, with knowing how Ferdinand's quirky hours have been for years, that's likely more on them). Isn't there a local pizza place in Pullman/Moscow/Spokane that they could get for more slices? Same with burgers.

They had a branded UT Yeti deal for $45 that comes with any drink of choice (beer included, but not cocktails) for free/included. And the cocktail cups were branded and keepable, too. These seem like easy, simple ideas to implement.

The scanners were easy. We were through security and scanning our ticket in under one minute (don't even recall metal detectors). I didn't really tour the rest of the stadium as we happened to walk up right to the gate where our tickets were, but things seem to flow quickly.

Oh, the bathrooms: there was basically zero wait time, there's a ton of real estate. Pre-game and halftime were super quick. WSU has never figured that out, sigh.

 

[Loyal Coug1]

I haven't been back to Pullman since the 2018 Arizona game, so I have no clue how smooth (or not) things are now.

UT has local vendors (Stubbs, Austin Pizza Co., etc.) as options. I can't understand why WSU hasn't been able to rope in local vendors...still. Re: Ferdinand's, I agree with you on having a couple of portable freezer set ups with some grabbers would be such an easy sell (although, with knowing how Ferdinand's quirky hours have been for years, that's likely more on them). Isn't there a local pizza place in Pullman/Moscow/Spokane that they could get for more slices? Same with burgers.

They had a branded UT Yeti deal for $45 that comes with any drink of choice (beer included, but not cocktails) for free/included. And the cocktail cups were branded and keepable, too. These seem like easy, simple ideas to implement.

The scanners were easy. We were through security and scanning our ticket in under one minute (don't even recall metal detectors). I didn't really tour the rest of the stadium as we happened to walk up right to the gate where our tickets were, but things seem to flow quickly.

Oh, the bathrooms: there was basically zero wait time, there's a ton of real estate. Pre-game and halftime were super quick. WSU has never figured that out, sigh.

Well the last round of improvements were tremendous, but that was what 15 years ago? The Ferdinand's thing is a killer idea. They could sell those little bags of Cougar Gold as well.

 

[Coug90]

WSU has never put any effort into the gameday experience, that used to be a pretty common conversation here. In the first year or two of Moos they said he had visited a bunch of stadiums and saw what they did, and the AD was making plans to bring things here, but that never happened.

Going on 40 years of going to WSU games, I continue to be utterly mystified that they don't have Ferdinand's in the stadium. Seriously, how hard would it be to bring over a couple crates of grabbers?

By the way, get used to longer lines at the gates. The ticket scanners seem to work a little better now, for the most part, but the use of metal detectors is going to expand and become permanent.

The funny thing is for the masses of people who go get beer at half, they just let you walk back in without checking anything. Yup you don’t have to have a ticket if you want to wander on in and watch the 2nd half! Bring whatever booze you want in too cuz they don’t check shit at half. It’s like wearing masks into and out of a crowded restaurant to prevent Covid!

 

[95coug]

I haven't been back to Pullman since the 2018 Arizona game, so I have no clue how smooth (or not) things are now.

UT has local vendors (Stubbs, Austin Pizza Co., etc.) as options. I can't understand why WSU hasn't been able to rope in local vendors...still. Re: Ferdinand's, I agree with you on having a couple of portable freezer set ups with some grabbers would be such an easy sell (although, with knowing how Ferdinand's quirky hours have been for years, that's likely more on them). Isn't there a local pizza place in Pullman/Moscow/Spokane that they could get for more slices? Same with burgers.

They had a branded UT Yeti deal for $45 that comes with any drink of choice (beer included, but not cocktails) for free/included. And the cocktail cups were branded and keepable, too. These seem like easy, simple ideas to implement.

The scanners were easy. We were through security and scanning our ticket in under one minute (don't even recall metal detectors). I didn't really tour the rest of the stadium as we happened to walk up right to the gate where our tickets were, but things seem to flow quickly.

Oh, the bathrooms: there was basically zero wait time, there's a ton of real estate. Pre-game and halftime were super quick. WSU has never figured that out, sigh.

Some things are somewhat more smooth now.

When they originally went to ticket scanners at the gates, but were still issuing paper tickets, the things hardly ever scanned properly. It was probably 50% of the time, the attendant tried a couple times and then just told me to go ahead. Now that they've gone digital, scanning seems to be better.

Vendors have never been great. They had roughly the same 4-5 food vendors in the fieldhouse for years. I haven't been to the fieldhouse this year but I heard they're down to 2. There's been quite a bit of continuity in the stadium too, they have the basic concessions, a sausage vendor, a popcorn vendor, a churro stand, Pizza Hut, Subway, and the WSU carvery with BBQ sandwiches. There was also coffee and caramel apples. Last season, there was also a gyro place next to the churro stand, and the Bookie has had a small space for a pop-up store too. The gyro place was good, but isn't back this year. The carvery was good when they came in (probably 2018-ish), but they're not good enough to pay the current $15. And they share their credit card POS with 2 other vendors, so that creates long waits at all 3. The sausages are good, but also getting to the upper end of their reasonable price point. Pizza Hut and SUbway weren't in the stadium the first game, I don't think Subway made it back at all.

They also used to have a pre-game in the CUB ballroom, with the carvery and also burgers/dogs. The times I went there, it was always pretty busy. Not there anymore. They brought in the bounce houses sometime around 2013-14. They were gone in 2022. They came back in 2023, but now you have to sign a waiver before kids can enter. Not sure if it's still free.

Still no alcohol in the stadium. At least, not officially. In the fieldhouse, it's typically been relatively straightforward, with 5-6 beer options. Not sure about this year.

Bathrooms aren't too bad. There used to be long lines, but when they added the bathrooms on the south concourse - mid 2000s, I think - it helped quite a bit. Still some line if you go right at the peak times, but I don't. Where I've seen the delay is that there's only one "family" bathroom, so if you're wrangling multiple small kids, you might have to wait.

Metal detectors were being piloted this week, they were only on the "no bags" line at the main gate (which kind of doesn't make sense). Didn't create a delay, but there were some people who got pulled aside for wanding and didn't necessarily get out of the way. That's going to be expanded, and it's likely that all entries will pass through metal detectors next season - football and basketball.

In general, at WSU you can't really tell that there's a game until you're within a stone's throw of the stadium. Campus isn't involved. They don't bring vendors. There were some great ideas tossed around here years ago - BBQ on the mall or track, invite wineries for events with Cougar cheese, invite some of the regional breweries. Hell, invite anyone to create more of a game atmosphere.

 

[425cougfan]

I haven't been back to Pullman since the 2018 Arizona game, so I have no clue how smooth (or not) things are now.

UT has local vendors (Stubbs, Austin Pizza Co., etc.) as options. I can't understand why WSU hasn't been able to rope in local vendors...still. Re: Ferdinand's, I agree with you on having a couple of portable freezer set ups with some grabbers would be such an easy sell (although, with knowing how Ferdinand's quirky hours have been for years, that's likely more on them). Isn't there a local pizza place in Pullman/Moscow/Spokane that they could get for more slices? Same with burgers.

They had a branded UT Yeti deal for $45 that comes with any drink of choice (beer included, but not cocktails) for free/included. And the cocktail cups were branded and keepable, too. These seem like easy, simple ideas to implement.

The scanners were easy. We were through security and scanning our ticket in under one minute (don't even recall metal detectors). I didn't really tour the rest of the stadium as we happened to walk up right to the gate where our tickets were, but things seem to flow quickly.

Oh, the bathrooms: there was basically zero wait time, there's a ton of real estate. Pre-game and halftime were super quick. WSU has never figured that out, sigh.

With you on all of that, but UT isn't all that comparable to WSU and Austin isn't all that comparable to Pullman. UT has all kinds of money and resources and Austin has all kinds of companies, local restaurants and vendors, etc. Among those resources at UT, though, are smart, driven people who have actual accountability who do stuff that makes sense. I'll give you that WSU doesn't seem to have those and never has.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

With you on all of that, but UT isn't all that comparable to WSU and Austin isn't all that comparable to Pullman. UT has all kinds of money and resources and Austin has all kinds of companies, local restaurants and vendors, etc. Among those resources at UT, though, are smart, driven people who have actual accountability who do stuff that makes sense. I'll give you that WSU doesn't seem to have those and never has.

100% agree it's a bit of apples to oranges with UT/Austin to WSU/Pullman.

It would make sense to try to get anything local involved from Pullman/Moscow/Spokane/Lewiston. Hearing there is only two food options in the field house seems ridiculous. WSU should be doing whatever they can to sell that experience, because if they end up in the MWC, a subpar experience is going to keep people home.

 

[425cougfan]

100% agree it's a bit of apples to oranges with UT/Austin to WSU/Pullman.

It would make sense to try to get anything local involved from Pullman/Moscow/Spokane/Lewiston. Hearing there is only two food options in the field house seems ridiculous. WSU should be doing whatever they can to sell that experience, because if they end up in the MWC, a subpar experience is going to keep people home.

Yeah, with you on that for sure. Not like they couldn't use everything they can to sell tickets to most games now, either.

By the way, glad you liked the UT game. I have been to a couple (I live just west of Austin) and was struck by that feeling you described of it just being so impersonal / corporate. It's hard to put a finger on until you're there. It's just such a massive sea of humanity that it's a very different experience than we had at WSU.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

Yeah, with you on that for sure. Not like they couldn't use everything they can to sell tickets to most games now, either.

By the way, glad you liked the UT game. I have been to a couple (I live just west of Austin) and was struck by that feeling you described of it just being so impersonal / corporate. It's hard to put a finger on until you're there. It's just such a massive sea of humanity that it's a very different experience than we had at WSU.

I was trying to describe it as I wrote it out here, and I'm glad to know it made sense/you felt similar. It really is a vastly different experience than WSU.

If you ever want to grab a beer, let me know. I have no idea if there is even a WSU home base bar here.

 

[COUGinNCW]

With you on all of that, but UT isn't all that comparable to WSU and Austin isn't all that comparable to Pullman. UT has all kinds of money and resources and Austin has all kinds of companies, local restaurants and vendors, etc. Among those resources at UT, though, are smart, driven people who have actual accountability who do stuff that makes sense. I'll give you that WSU doesn't seem to have those and never has.

I just read an article that said the UT system was getting 2.3B/year for their endowment (which totals close to $250B) from a royalty from a sand operation supplying the fracking industry. Night and Day with WSU.

 

[wsudefense]

Who would be in charge of bringing food vendors and changing the game day atmosphere. What is the holdup or someone needs to light a fire under someone’s ass.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

Who would be in charge of bringing food vendors and changing the game day atmosphere. What is the holdup or someone needs to light a fire under someone’s ass.

The head of the AD should be figuring this out, with their operations (Shawn Deeds) and marketing teams + Learfield sponsorship teams.

But I digress...

 

[Loyal Coug1]

Who would be in charge of bringing food vendors and changing the game day atmosphere. What is the holdup or someone needs to light a fire under someone’s ass.

The buck stops with Chun. Just add another tick to the list of reasons I don't care for him. One or more of you should send a note to Chun and Deeds. The Ferdiands thing, an absolute no-brainer, could be installed in a moments notice. Don't forget the little bags of Cougar Gold.