Red River Rivalry & Cotton Bowl Review

I had the privilege of watching the Red River Rivalry in 2009 as the Texas Longhorns defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 16-13. For the record, this is the only sporting event I've been to where I didn't sit down the entire time other than at halftime.

Though the Sooners lost, the place was electric all game long for me. And yes, the game was sloppy with eight turnovers as well as Sam Bradford re-injuring his shoulder, but no one will ever convince me that the Red River Rivalry and State Fair of Texas isn't worth the hype every year. I will quickly tell you otherwise.

I sat in a section with mainly Oklahoma alumni which I found most were very friendly. I actually didn't have much trouble with the Texas fans. The buzz before and after the game was everywhere in the Dallas area. I had seats six rows from the field behind the Oklahoma band as I cheered for the Sooners to win. Also, I was very close to the tunnel where players and coaches from both teams come out of.

Though I wished for a different outcome, I was finally able to do something I wanted to do since I was in elementary school living in Midwest City, Oklahoma in the 1980s. It was worth the wait to see this game.

This turned out to be the last time Sam Bradford would play on the football field. Landry Jones did struggle, but the running game never got going either after having -16 yards when you factor in 21 yards lost on two sacks. Defenses on both sides decided the outcome as they controlled the line of scrimmage. It was a very physical football game which is expected in this rivalry. Hunter Lawrence was more reliable as a kicker in this game as he kicked the game-winner to keep Texas undefeated.

The Cotton Bowl was a very nice experience for it being the first I attended there. I hope they can keep the Red River Rivalry game there for many years to come.

After the game, I toured around the State Fair of Texas. As expected, it was very crowded, so I didn't get a chance to get on the ferris wheel. However, I bought a few souvenirs as well as food while checking it out for a couple of hours.

My review:

The bad: I couldn't attend the ESPN College GameDay show because of how long it took me just to park for the game. I left around 6:30am to be there for the show, but I didn't get parked until almost 9:30am. I finally was able to make it to my seat after 10am. That's really my only complaint about the experience of going to this game. Oh, and the Sooners lost.

The good: Once you get a ticket for the game, your admission to the State Fair of Texas is covered or free in other words. There are many things for everyone to enjoy even if you're not really into college football.

Overall: The atmosphere at the game can't be really described in writing. You would have to go to see it for yourself. If you're patient and can deal with large crowds as well as parking issues mentioned above, you should most definitely go to the Red River Rivalry. The food is very good at the fair. Everything is done bigger in Texas.

The game marked a Cotton Bowl record for attendance as well as in the Texas-Oklahoma rivalry as 96,009 fans were on hand.

Check out Red River Rivalry Pics for more of my shots of the 2009 game.