08-30-2014, 05:04 PM
Those of you watching the game on TV probably have no idea how miserable the game was from the stands. Palo Alto got up to 87 today, but it felt much warmer than that in the stadium.
I am one of those who has waxed nostalgic for the "good ol' days" when games were always played in the afternoon. I think this is the first game in the new stadium I actually attended in the afternoon--at least on an August afternoon. As much as I might have preferred afternoon games in the old stadium, I will never be nostalgic again for afternoon games in the new one.Â
This stadium is built for evenings or late autumn afternoons. The plastic seats get much hotter than the old splintery wooden benches, the metal superstructure gets much hotter than the old dirt, and the stadium is deeper and steeper which reduces the breeze.Â
The season ticket holders all seemed to stick around, but the neophyte families who brought their youngsters (they were free today) were leaving by halfway through the first quarter. I sat behind an extended family who brought about a dozen kids to the game. Several of them would not sit down on the scorching seats, and most of that family was gone by halfway through the first quarter. The concourse became increasingly crowded with people seeking shade--the standing room spaces behind the blue lines where you could watch the game from the concourse became prime real estate. The stadium looked about 3/4 full once everyone got settled in, but probably 1/2 full coming back from halftime and 1/4 full or less by the end. Of course, the complete shellacking of D.avis probably contributed.
In short, I have learned my lesson. Given the architecture of the place, I'll avoid afternoon games on hot days from now on. Give me a breezy, sunny day in the 70s in October or November--but otherwise I'll stick to the evenings.
Now, this has me deeply worried about next week and SC. It is scheduled for 1230. The students are not back and the red zone looked a little depleted today, the band was a shadow of itself that could barely make itself heard across an empty stadium. The heat not only drove people to the concourse and entirely out of the stadium, it also sapped enthusiasm and energy and the place was as quiet as I can every remember hearing it. SC will no doubt inspire better attendance and more noise, but this will be far from the home field advantage that we would have had later in the season in the evening.
The one consolation in all this was...the good guys played very, very well. So I left with a smile on my face--my sweaty, sunblock caked, dehydrated face ;)
I am one of those who has waxed nostalgic for the "good ol' days" when games were always played in the afternoon. I think this is the first game in the new stadium I actually attended in the afternoon--at least on an August afternoon. As much as I might have preferred afternoon games in the old stadium, I will never be nostalgic again for afternoon games in the new one.Â
This stadium is built for evenings or late autumn afternoons. The plastic seats get much hotter than the old splintery wooden benches, the metal superstructure gets much hotter than the old dirt, and the stadium is deeper and steeper which reduces the breeze.Â
The season ticket holders all seemed to stick around, but the neophyte families who brought their youngsters (they were free today) were leaving by halfway through the first quarter. I sat behind an extended family who brought about a dozen kids to the game. Several of them would not sit down on the scorching seats, and most of that family was gone by halfway through the first quarter. The concourse became increasingly crowded with people seeking shade--the standing room spaces behind the blue lines where you could watch the game from the concourse became prime real estate. The stadium looked about 3/4 full once everyone got settled in, but probably 1/2 full coming back from halftime and 1/4 full or less by the end. Of course, the complete shellacking of D.avis probably contributed.
In short, I have learned my lesson. Given the architecture of the place, I'll avoid afternoon games on hot days from now on. Give me a breezy, sunny day in the 70s in October or November--but otherwise I'll stick to the evenings.
Now, this has me deeply worried about next week and SC. It is scheduled for 1230. The students are not back and the red zone looked a little depleted today, the band was a shadow of itself that could barely make itself heard across an empty stadium. The heat not only drove people to the concourse and entirely out of the stadium, it also sapped enthusiasm and energy and the place was as quiet as I can every remember hearing it. SC will no doubt inspire better attendance and more noise, but this will be far from the home field advantage that we would have had later in the season in the evening.
The one consolation in all this was...the good guys played very, very well. So I left with a smile on my face--my sweaty, sunblock caked, dehydrated face ;)
