The Sooner Geek

Note: Sorry this is so late, with my previous post I hope it’s understandable why this was delayed.

Last night my wife, myself, and a couple friends attended our first Yard Dawgz and AFL game. We were given great seats by the Yard Dawgz, we arrived early enough to see all the pregame activities and get an overall feel for how the game would work.

My first thoughts were on how this would differ from the traditional game that I’ve enjoyed. First thing I noticed was the field  of play was the same size as a hockey rink, 85′ long x 200′ long. The field is divided into 8 yard deep endzones and a 50 yard field (half the length of the traditional field). The large nets at the ends of the fields also confused me at first, I realized the center section was for field goals but couldn’t figure out a purpose for the large net sections on either side. On the first kickoff, it was obvious, the kickers don’t hold back so that the ball doesn’t go too far, they just nail the nets and the returner has to catch it off the nets and go from there. Here’s a diagram of the field I found online:

The pregame started, I guess, with the opposing teams being introduced. I say “I guess”, because with all the other things going on and the fact that it wasn’t focused on we didn’t realize it until it was nearly done. None of us could understand the PA, after a while we thought it may be a factor of the arena being low on attendance for that game. I was honestly surprised about that, because I had read that the OKC team had led the league in attendance one year and was 3rd another. The pregame went on and several Harley type motorcycles came in and circled the arena, lined up and revved there engines before leaving, then the dance team performed. It finished with the team being introduced.

The game seemed very interesting and exciting if I would’ve been able to get into it. Maybe it was our seats and those around us, but it was very hard to even focus on the game. The heckling of the visiting team by a very loud (but hilarious) fan was both annoying and enjoyable. Annoying because he was in between me and the game, but it was just about the funniest stuff I’ve heard as far as heckling goes in a long time. There was also always a mascot doing something, in the stands or running from one end of the field to the other on a segway, just a combination effect that did it’s best to take my attention away from the game nearly every minute of it.

The few big plays I could focus on were awesome and exciting. I think I would’ve really enjoyed the game if I was a few rows back and more around midfield, but it was still an enjoyable experience overall, just wish it was more about the game than the sideline distractions. I do plan on attending more, I love supporting local sports.

Another random thing about the Cox Center, more than the game. The scoreboard would be much better if it was dropped down from the ceiling and was easier to see, where it’s currently installed and where we were sitting it was just awkward to see a replay or find the score and time left.