Baylor Stadium Update: 11/28/13

Only one game left at Floyd Casey Stadium!  Next season the Bears will be playing at their fabulous new stadium on the Brazos.  On Thanksgiving Day, we stopped by on the way to Salado to get some pics of the stadium in progress.

This is new since we last stopped by: a bridge over the sailgating lagoon.  The game day experience will be terrific here, second only to great Baylor football.

Baylor Stadium Watch 10/19/13

Saturday's blowout of Iowa State was the last Homecoming game to be played at Floyd Casey.  It was a record crowd that would have more than filled the new stadium.  Start planning now to get your season tickets for next year!  It's not out of the question to expect that every game next year will be a sell out.

 Construction is moving right along on the new home of the Bears!

 My #1 Baylor buddy is excited about the new stadium.  Will he run in the Baylor Line?  March in BUGWB?  Or go to school somewhere else altogether?  Those decisions will be coming much sooner than I like to think about. . . .

 Work has begun on the pedestrian bridge to the stadium.  This is one of the many cool features that will set Baylor Stadium apart.

Baylor posted some cool ariel shots on Facebook.  Here they are, in case you missed them:

This weekend Elliot, Drew, my dad and I will be heading to Lawrence for Baylor's next win.  Some of those guys remember the scare last time (RG3 had to lead a record comeback in the 4th quarter to squeak out a win).  I think they will prove they can play on the road like the can in Waco.  Baylor wins 63-17.

Sic 'em!!

Baylor Stadium Watch: 10/5/13

On the way into town for the latest Baylor blowout, we made our usual stop at campus for a peek at the new Baylor Stadium.  It's moving right along and looking good! I didn't take a picture of them, but the pilings for the pedestrian bridge are going in.  

With the buzz the team is generating this year, and the enthusiasm of the fans, I don't anticipate anything less than a sellout every game next year.  I'm thinking that 45,000 seats won't be enough!  

Rumor has it that ESPN representatives were on hand to see the progress this week.  I see a College Game Day in the very near future. . . .  This is going to be a great game-day locale.  It's a great time to be a Bear!

Sic 'em!

Checking out the competition: TCU

Baylor didn't play today, and Kelly's parents had TCU tickets they weren't using, so Zippy, our buddy Ethan, and I headed over to Amon G. Carter Stadium to see what the Horned Frogs could do against SMU in the Battle for the Iron Skillet.  We saw some pretty sloppy football.  We left at halftime, after which the weather got really sloppy.

The football team runs out through the band and show girls.  That's pretty cool, but I like the Baylor Line better.

I think Zippy and Ethan had a good time.  They got their snacks before kickoff, and when they were done with their snacks, halfway through the first quarter, they were ready to go home.  I wasn't surprised at all; as we were walking to the stadium, Zippy was already asking how love we "have"to stay. 

TCU did a complete rebuild of Amon Carter a couple years ago.  I love this feature, the stairs the width of the band section leading onto the field.  I think I have seen the same feature in the drawings of the new Baylor Stadium.

Amon Carter is a great stadium.  The concourses are wide open, so you can see the game from many of the concession areas.  Elliot and I also went to the Grambling State game last year.  Since it was not very well-attended we moved around, watching from both end zones, the highest seats on the west side, and from the big donor seats near the field.  There's really not a bad seat in the house.  Baylor Stadium will be better, with the covered seating, and a more symmetrical look.





So yes, TCU's stadium is great, but Baylor's will be better.  More importantly, TCU's team is pretty good, but Baylor's is better.  TCU looked downright terrible in the first half.  Boykin was 7 of 16 in the first half, and TCU was down 10-7 at halftime.  The bright spot was the defense.  SMU's offense is dismal, and TCU's defense is stout.  SMU had negative rushing yards in the first half and ended up with only 16 for the game.  Without SMU's Gilbert throwing 4 interceptions, this game could have been a lot closer.

I cheer for TCU as my hometown team, and I want them to win all their games--when they're not playing Baylor.  But the memory of Baylor's meltdown against TCU last year in Waco still stings.  This year will be different.  My early prediction (they don't play until Thanksgiving weekend) is that Baylor will win by at least 3 touchdowns.

Baylor Stadium Watch: 9/21/13

On the way to the ULM game last week, we had to stop by and check out the progress.  By the way, every time we stop by, we meet up with at least one other Baylor fan doing the same.  The enthusiasm is high for this stadium!  Lots of progress is evident on the east and west side stands.

These guys have seen some changes over the years!  They live in north Waco, but grew up in neighborhoods that no longer exist, taken over by the expansion of Baylor's campus.  I don't know much of the history, but I hope Baylor has been a good neighbor as they have bought up the surrounding neighborhoods.  I know some of the neighbors on the side of the river with the stadium are unhappy with the changes.

Another view.  Even in its partially finished state, you can already tell that this will be a beautiful stadium.  There are many larger football stadiums, and it's inevitable that there will be stadiums built with more bells and whistles and innovations, but I don't know that any will rival this one in beauty and setting.

For real-time stadium updates, pictures, and stadium information, be sure to check out http://baylor-stadium.com/

And this BaylorFans.com thread is regularly updated with pictures: http://www.baylorfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249108

Game 3: Baylor 70, Univ. of Louisiana-Monroe 7

The wind kept the flags flapping, and factored into
some of the kicking and passing game.

Another weekend of football, another big blowout in Waco!  I don't know about you, but I am having fun watching Baylor's offense rack up the points and the defense shutting down the competition!  It's an historic season so far, and as the competition gets tougher, Baylor just keeps on getting better. 

Elliot, Drew, Uncle Brian.  He's hard to see because of the camo.

Saturday was about as perfect a day for football as we could ask for.  Breezy and 81 at game time, and the shade hit our seats right around kickoff.  Nice!  In spite of the perfect day, Zippy chose to stay home.  I even bribed him with snacks and the privilege of choosing the restaurant!  So Elliot and I took off for Waco alone.  We picked up Uncle Brian and Drew and headed to Touchdown Alley to partake of a Fuddrucker's burger, courtesy of the Baylor Alumni Network.

Before the game, we stopped to check out the statue of Grant Teaff outside the stadium.  Teaff was the coach in all of my formative years, from earliest memory up to my time on campus.  After a long string of dismal years and mediocre coaches, I think we finally have a successor to Teaff.  Art Briles has returned a winning tradition to Baylor, and he seems to share Teaff's emphasis on character and faith.  When will Briles pose for his statue?

The interlocking BU is hard to see from this angle.

I am guilty of not giving the Baylor University Golden Wave Marching Band enough love.  But watching them march in, forming the interlocking BU a the BAYLOR spell out is awesome.  Honestly, I usually head to the Bear Club for a snack at halftime, but this week I watched the show.  The marching was pretty amazing!  These kids work their tails off, and I should be ashamed for not sticking around for the halftime show each week!

Elliot and Drew have grown up watching Baylor football.  They both talk about going to college somewhere else, but it's hard to imagine them not wearing a Baylor Line jersey and running onto the field in the new Baylor stadium!

Mom and Dad were out of town this weekend, but there were plenty of Mastins to fill the seats.  Laura and Brian were there with all their girls, Lisa and David came, and of course Mark's family.  Thankfully there were a few empty seats around us.

And of course, this is the greatest sight of all!  Baylor exactly matched not only the score from last game, but also the number of offensive yards!  A double school record.  So, heading into Big 12 play, Baylor leads the nation in scoring, yards per game, quarterback rating, passing yards per game, and is second in points against.  If they can keep this kind of dominance up, there will be no stopping the Bears this year!

I guess Elliot was a bit tired on the ride home.  He took off his shirt to use as a pillow.  Don't worry, Elliot, Baylor has a bye week again this weekend, so you can get some rest.

Sic' em!!

Baylor Stadium Watch: 9/7/13

Things are moving right along on the new stadium!  We stopped by after Baylor's 70-13 victory over Buffalo, imagining plenty of future victories in the new Baylor stadium.  It's not a huge change from last week; it does look like they are putting in the seating area in the east side stands. 

This second picture was taken downstream a bit from where the first was taken, closer to where the bridge will be.  There are pilings in the river for the bridge, and you can see the grey concrete on the right where the bridge will end up.

Elliot granted me permission to take a picture of him with this cool bear.  It's in front of the law school, which will be a high-traffic area on game day next year!

These Baylor fans can't wait until game 1 in the new Baylor stadium!  But first, ULM on 9/21.  Sic 'em!

Baylor Stadium watch: 8/31/13

On the way into town for the Baylor v. Wofford game on Saturday, we stopped by Fort Fisher for a view of the new stadium.  It's looking great!

In one short year, we'll be walking across a bridge right about here, or just a short distance downstream, to the new stadium for game 1!  Can't wait!