max the wonder dog wrote:Am I right to assume the 27,000 reflects a big bump in season tickets as well as increased student interest?
I would say so. The crowd was in place uncharacteristically early. At kick, the bottom bowl was basically full.
Looking at my pics, I'd guesstimate the students entirely filled 3+ sections of the lower bowl not including the band. So that's got to be a 2X or more increase, right?
Speaking of the Mustang Band, they looked and sounded GREAT -- I counted 102 in the band, including a 20-person drum line. So, I believe that's a substantial increase. We may not look like a big state school by any means, but the band looked good. Playing the theme from Dallas was brilliant.
The larger spirit squad likewise also looked great! They had enough to put a group in each of the 4 corners entertaining fans.
As a self-diagnosed audio snob, I've suffered through garbage PA since the DP. Not so anymore. Ford was not only rocking', it also SOUNDED good.
You can get through the line and checkout with a cold beer or water in hand in less than 2 minutes. This is not hyperbole.
In general, I'm going to have to give whoever worked on gameday somewhere between an A and an A+ on the improvements. Hopefully we'll run out of fireworks every game!