Making the trip to Lubbock is not worth the hassle

Sept 15, 2012; Lubbock, TX, USA; The Texas Tech Red Raiders enter the field for the game against the New Mexico Lobos at Jones AT

If the Big 12 has one thing going for it, then it is definitely diverse atmospheres and Gameday experiences. Based off what visiting fans have told me, they enjoy their trip to Norman. They say the Sooner fans are classy for the most part and whether you like OU or not, Norman is a really good college town.

So is Oklahoma State in Stillwater. While a lot of OU fans may find the Cowboys fans obnoxious, they were some of the nicest people I had ever met when I went to Bedlam last Decemebr. They were hospitable and good people to chat with before the game, but the butt-whooping Okie State put on Oklahoma left a bittersweet taste in my mouth as I departed Stillwater.

Now I will be honest, I have only been to two Big 12 schools for a game — Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. However, the Big 12 just isn’t one big SEC-type group that has every fan pumping pom-poms and getting way too excited for 9-6 ball game.

Every Big 12 team adds their own flavor, but there is one school that brings about as many groans as an Oklahoma or Texas when it is scheduled as the home team.

If you haven’t guessed by now, I am talking about Lubbock. Now let’s get this straight, I am not hating on Jones AT&T Stadium, only critiquing it based off research and from various sources.

From what I can gather, the fans are some of the worst in the Big 12, if not the worst. Multiple people claim they throw batteries and coins at the opposing team, and while I have never witnessed it personally, former Sooner Eric Mensik called them the worst fans he had ever experienced while playing for OU.

Though, after Oklahoma’s 2007 meeting with Tech, Oklahoma City’s ABC affiliate KOCO5 shows the fans storming the field and a few being arrested. They must have done something to the players, because you can hear Lewis Baker telling a Red Raider fan getting arrested “that’s what y’all get.”

It just a crazy fan base, and what makes things worse is students get in free just by swiping their ID at the ticket gate. So anybody who is a Red Raider student can attend — whether you are a jerk or not.

For the fans traveling to Lubbock, just be warned. The fans are relentless, and they love their Red Raider football.

A family member of mine took his daughter to an Oklahoma-Texas Tech game once, and she could not have been more than 14-years-old at the time. Anyway, a grown man cheering for his beloved Red Raiders had the audacity to mock her for wearing an Oklahoma shirt without her saying anything to him prior to the man approaching her at halftime when Tech was winning

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This was at the 2007 OU-TTU game, and the fans in Lubbock were enough for my that family member to make it a point to never return to Lubbock.

So be cautious, Oklahoma fans. If you are sitting in the Sooner’s section, then you may be safe during the game. However, I would not want to be surrounded by Texas Tech fans, whether the Sooners are winning or losing.