AT&T Stadium - host with the most?

[Shad Kline]

Now that we have seen a 6-man game played at the all mighty "Jerry's World", what are your thought and opinions of the palace? Likes? Dislikes? Compared to Shotwell? Etc.....

I absolutely had agrand time. I have been to many state championships, but this was my first time as a media person. The stadium was very large! I've been there before, watched 11-man games there and the size of the stadium still grabs my attention and leaves me in awe.
I feel they were very accommodating. The radio boxes were a long way up and I didn't like the odd placement of them being in a corner, but still very nice. The field, which has a cowboys game on it today, was marked well for the six man game. The temporary out of bounds lines were thick and looked well done, which is a lot better than previous games I have seen. The giant tv's were really helpful for those of us in the press rooms.... We didn't have to guess at who was running the ball because we couldn't see the numbers. Location was not ideal. The six ma. World tends to be heavier in the western part of the state. So abilene is better suited as far as location. The experience for the boys that got to play had to be amazing!!!! I think that it will help the competition by adding a chance to play there as an incentive to the boys.

Venue A+
Size (too big) B
Location B-
Admission price A-
Parking price C
Concession price D-
Accommodations A+
Radio booth A+
Experience for the players, coaches, cheerleaders, band A+++
Overall A

 

[Leman Saunders]

I would add these

UIL - A (GREAT JOB! Having a stat crew and a program that was made just for the six-man games (unlike the past few years) was AWESOME!)
Security - A+ (everyone was very nice and understanding and courteous!)
Press/Media facilities - A+
Press/Media accommodations - B- (to many different types of press passes that caused confusion and no free food up in the press box...guess Abilene spoiled us in the past!)

I don't know where you would grade this but I think for some a problem was not having enough entrances to the stadium open and not opening up on time/early enough.

 

[Leman Saunders]

I wish they did a press conference for the 2nd game like they did the first game...thought the Crowell kids enjoyed that!

 

[Leman Saunders]

The School Bands - A+++!

 

[Dale Miller]

I too was thrilled with going to The Deathstar for these games. Here is some of the good from my perspective:
Elements did not figure into an outcome
Fan comfort is outstanding
All UIL Championship games at a single venue
Looking at Granger's map, there is a definite influx of schools in the east to the Six-Man ranks

If the games really are about the kids, I dare say every player, cheerleader, band member, and parent would much rather be here than Shotwell.

 

[olderdragon]

Hornkeeper - Yes the lines were great. They used some type of paint that could be washed off. Actually had to redo the extrapoint line before game. It was on the 2 yard line (or 12 yard line for theBIg Field). They washed if off and then painted it on the 3 correctly. Sunday you could still kinda see the lines if you knew they were there. I have seen several games on the big field and this was by far the best temp lines I have seen on a big field. Also goal post were well done and well padded for safety. All in all thought everyting was well done. Thought the stadium staff did a great job for the players, coaches, officials and fans. Overall I would give them a solid A leaning toward an A+.

 

[PopRay]

How much is Jerry a charging for the facility?

 

[freeagent]

How much is Jerry a charging for the facility?

Somebody once told me that the UIL's deal with Jerry World for facility costs were more-or-less covered by the television rights fees paid by FSSW so basically the profit from gate and other income streams would be the profit for UIL (less, of course, their costs and monies paid to the participating teams).

 

[PopRay]

Sounds like a Win-Win situation then...

 

[olderdragon]

It was my understanding that UIL ask for bids to host the State Championship games. If that is the case then any city/school could bid. I do believe that the host site does have to host all the 11-man games. Have never seen anything showing if the 6-man is now included in this process. No matter what having the 6-man games at AT&T Cowboys Stadium put us on the map and IMO at the same level as everyone else in the state. I do know for sure there were a lot of UIL representatives on site and they did everything they could to make sure these games went off with out any problems.

 

[kbjoe1]

I think that it is sad that sixman is so easily fazed by the glimmer of big and bigger... we settle to play the state championship on an eleven man field... eleven man throws out a bone and we act as if we are thrilled just to play in their house haha all year long we fight for dignity at every turn then the playoffs come along and we turn into lap dogs... you have no reason to gripe when all year long and for years the U I L does not even recognize any of the stats that our young men fight and work hard for.... go ahead bow down to the jerry jones's and UIL of the world... there are so many wonderful fields that are being built and I have stood by a fence and watched the passion of a community come together and that is what sixman is all about
I know im the minority in this bunch but I travelled 4 plus hours to see Ira and Trock play on an eleven man field and multiple plays continued out past the playing field due to not being able to see the boundary lines ,, and about 3 to see Ira play GC on a great Robert Lee field.

I don't care for our young men having to play on a less than standard field and one that is an eleven man even at wally world oh I meant jerrys world is less than standard

 

[SixFan19]

kbjoe1, All we need is for one of these wind turbine six-man schools to add enough capacity to hold roughly 7500 fans. Then you can lobby for the UIL to hold the event there. I 100% agree that the game should be played on a Six-Man field. These are the crown jewel games for the sport and they deserve a cleanly marked field.

In the case of AT&T, it would be technically possible to modify the turf to allow for the game. The turf is in strips. You simply remove the turf from the 40 to the 40 and replace bringing one or both sides up. They did a good enough job with the sideline stripes, however the large white numbering and the end zone marking was definitely a distraction. It almost felt like they did just throw some breadcrumbs as the field looked like they had marked it up for a flag football tournament or something.

Having the games at AT&T was neat. Best facilities in the U.S. by far. It is an incredible place. Did having the games at AT&T help the sport in any way (recognition/respect)? NO... Does the distraction of a modified field (whether it be there or on any other 11-man marked turf) diminish the experience? YES... Does the fact that AT&T holds over 100K people and under 7K turned out make the following of sport look minuscule? YES (but it was a good showing all things considered).... Does having it at such a massive venue take away from the true spirit and intimacy of what six-man football is? YES! With all of that said, it was an amazing experience for the kids involved (football, bands, cheerleaders, ect) and on top of it being the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP, it will definitely be something none of them will ever forget.

 

[freeagent]

I realize that the house was basically set up for the main tenant who happened to have a ball game at 3:25 the next afternoon, but it would have been nice if the painted endzones could have been moved up to the six-man goal line.

I believe this can be done because I seem to remember that earlier this year, Notre Dame played in the Death Star and from what I remember, the end zones were done in Notre Dame and their opponent's colors. The next day, the Cowboys were playing and all the Cowboy/NFL markings were done. Now I realize that UIL and six-man aren't that big of a draw, but maybe if the Death Star remains the UIL home, maybe one of the future deals would be to make endzone markings with the UIL logo and slide it in where the sixman endzone would be.

I can live with the line. Was much easier to read than at Shotwell, especially since (1) they put the yard markers based on the six-man line and (2) the broadcast always had the line of scrimmage noted.

 

[Leman Saunders]

I have said many times...I wish the games were played at O'Brien or Paint Rock or some small school in some small town somewhere to keep that money in the six-man world...down side is seating wouldn't handle the crowd parking would be crazy and if the town had businesses they wouldn't be able to handle the influx of people...but if one could...it would be great

When it was announced that the games would be in Cowboy's Stadium I had several talks with Don Hardin about how I had mixed feelings about it...yes it is a great experience to the kids...and yes I think it shows how the UIL is treating six-man just like it treats all other classifications which they should and is great! But I told Don I think six-man is kind of the best kept secret in the sporting world and part of me wants to keep it that way...those who love and respect it should host it and the people who share that love would always go to the games...I don't want it to be a sideshow attraction for people who don't understand or care about the game...

So needless to say I have mixed feelings about having the game in Jerry's World...but in the end I think it is a good thing for the sport...I think once people see the game they respect it more as well as the kids who play it and the towns that support it! But then again...part of what makes the game beautiful to me is the atmosphere and backdrop of the small towns and hometown fields they are played on.

 

[Caprock kid]

Agreed! I just wish more smaller towns like you mentioned would do like Jayton and have small tournaments at historic fields in the first week. Since there is no more week 0.

 

[WV Backer]

I hear you kbjoe1 and I get where you are coming from but it sure was nice sitting in the 72 degree dome with padded seats as opposed to 47 degrees @ Shotwell. The drive was a lot further from San Angelo to Arlington than it would have been to Abilene but it was worth it to see Cowboys Stadium and some great sixman football. This is the fifth year in a row my buddy and I have made the trip to the championship games... hopefully one of these days we'll get to watch Water Valley playing.

 

[oldfat&bald]

Leman, I can totally understand your mixed emotions about the championship being played at the Death Star. The kids deserve to play on the biggest stage possible, but it sure takes away from part of what makes the sport truly great to make it just another sub-division of football.

 

[Coach Adams]

I didn't see the games, but I think that if the kids got a chance to play at a premier venue is a plus. Can things be done differently yes. But, it was the first year held at AT&T Stadium. 11-man people question the validity of sixman football not being real football all the time. Playing the game at the same location as the rest of the state championship games proves that it is the same game and equal to 11-man in the state of Texas. It gives the kids and coaches a goal not only to play in the state championship game, but one of the top football stadiums in the country. Once in a lifetime opportunity to step foot on that field to be able to play for a state title in sixman. Experience that should not be taken for granted.

 

[Leman Saunders]

Agree...it was great for the kids!

 

[flame]

The fact that our 1 A sixman kids got to play on the best NFL facility in the world should be enough said. It was a fantastic experience for everyone involved. Thanks to UIL who did a fantastic job. Congratulations to all 4 teams for reaching this event.

One point seems to be brought up about playing it in a small town? 1. No restaurants in any sixman town to handle 13,000 people wanting to eat. 2. No hotel facilities for people to stay at in 6 man communities.

The single site idea is perfect now.

I wish we saw single site at Semi-Finals and possibly Quarter Finals. Knowing ahead of time is awesome, no worries with locking down a facility and playing in dome takes away weather issues for the most part.

Watching the game live on the big screen was super with all the zoom in shots and instant replays, No High school can match this, especially in the quality and size of the screen. The screens are so small at Lowrey and shotwell you can barely see them and certainly no consistent replay and no live feed at all.

I never would have thought back in 1984 as I played my senior year that we would ever see 6 man football at an NFL stadium but I have lived to see it and it is AWESOME!

Our game continues to grow in popularity and in size.

Thanks to Granger for contributing to this growth and for the job you did in broadcasting.
Thanks to Leman also for you passion for the game and your contributions in so many areas.