Snouthorn
I was contacted by my rep to meet for the purposes of discussing my thoughts on the program and what changes I thought would improve the fan experience. I will give you the highlights of the meeting.
First, my rep is former player Tre Newton. He is a great guy and I really enjoyed my meeting with him. I told him off the bat that I have been a member of the LHF for 15 years and I have received more requests for input this year than I had in the prior 14 years total. He said Patterson is trying to turn the LHF into more than a ticket broker. He wants more fan involvement. Things like meet the players day, etc. Here are the highlights:
Expect to see more of a sports bar like theme in the club sections. More tvs, etc. They are looking at seat service.
You will see the same thing at the touchdown and champions club
In terms of seat priority, he wants to get away from just the amounts donated. He wants to reward loyalty for OU and away games.
I asked him what is the biggest difference between DD and Patterson. He said Patterson is all about the money AND the athlete. He wants this to be the most profitable brand but he also knows that cannot happen if you are not taking care of the athlete and fans. If the fans don't like the experience, we are in trouble. DD basically thought the UT brand was experience enough. Spoke highly of both men.
I told him I thought the stadium experience was lacking as compared to other places. The jumbotron was a joke as is the intro video. This is a time to showcase to recruits who we are and we show them nothing. I also told him the number of commercials at the game was over the top, and the music selection sounds like it is still being chosen by DD and his 90 year old friends.
I also said that stupid rocket man should be turned into some sort of skeet contest.
He said that he hears about the jumbotron and music (as well as commecials) the most. Patterson knows it is really bad and he wants to change it. So I expect some good things there.
One thing that I found encouraging is how well CS is being received among the players. Tre said it is really amazing to watch how these guys have bought in and how they really believe in him.
Overall it was great just to hear that they actually want to know what can be improved.
One last thing that may interest a couple of you, beer should be a done deal. It has worked out well and I would not be surprised to see it soon.
