I don't get out much...

[Jimdish255]

So it was kind of a surprise to see how reasonable it is to put a travel package together for the SMU game in September if you leave from NY and plan early. Anyone here ever attend a game there?

 

[BlueWhiteKid]

I went last time we played there. Not much of a stadium experience.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Not much of a stadium experience.

For SMU's socialites, that would be because the game is on the Boulevard.

 

[HuskyHawk]

For SMU's socialites, that would be because the game is on the Boulevard.

Damn. That is awesome. And the girls. Wow. We're not in Storrs anymore Toto.

 

[31GuardTrap]

Texas State Fair starts that Friday. Cowboys are home on Sunday vs LA Rams. My 3 worlds are colliding. I will be there.

 

[huskypantz]

I have not been to the stadium but you can have a good time in DFW. I took my family down there for a week for a business trip. Stockyard in FW and FW downtown, grapevine to FW steam train, dallas zoo, dallas aquarium - plenty of additional distractions.

 

[Jimdish255]

OK lots of good reasons to head down and for real cheap. Gotta do at least one roadie a year and I expect the team will be establishing it's identity as the season goes on.

 

[huskypantz]

OK lots of good reasons to head down and for real cheap. Gotta do at least one roadie a year and I expect the team will be establishing it's identity as the season goes on.

There are some good threads on the boneyard about DFW/dallas. Use the search fxn, good info there. Tremendous.

 

[Redding Husky]

I've had SMU season tickets on and off since 2000 (when the stadium opened) and I've lived here since 1986.

First recommendation: walk around the campus; it's beautiful. September games can be hot, hopefully it's a night game. Bring sunglasses if it's a day game. Look for a crowd around 15,000- 20,000. You'll be on east side, looking into the sun. But seating isn't strictly enforced and you can move anywhere. The stadium is nice, clean, and spartan (don't expect Jerry World). Food is average at best. Beer is sold. Tailgating is fun, but I haven't found it to be extremely open and friendly. Wearing UConn gear may get some interest. Most SMU fans know absolutely nothing about Connecticut or UConn, except "basketball championships, cold weather, Pilgrims, and lighthouses"

Tourist spots (most already mentioned):

1) the George Bush Presidential Library, on the SMU campus.
2) the Sixth Floor Museum, re: the Kennedy assassination.
3) AT&T Stadium, about 30 miles to the west in Arlington. You can take a tour. Games are ridiculously expensive. The cheapest seats (very top row) for the Patriots in 2015 were $295. Standing room tickets were $112. Other teams are slightly less expensive.
4) Cowtown ... near downtown Fort Worth. You can take an old steam train from Grapevine to get there in the morning and leave in the late afternoon. It's about an hour each way.
5) Sundance Square, downtown Fort Worth. Good restaurants.
6) Dozens of museums and great restaurants all over the metroplex. Don't eat Italian or seafood while you're here. Go for steak, Texas barbecue, Tex-Mex, or Mexican.
7) The Texas State Fair. If it's open, this would be near the top of my list. If you're old enough (like me) to remember the Danbury State Fair, expect Danbury on steroids. It's very cheesy, but fun. You'll want a shower afterward. It's not in the best section of Dallas. I'd try to stay on the fairgrounds property.

The Dallas Morning News publishes a weekend guide with restaurant ratings and things to do with their Friday edition.

They used to say the South ends in Dallas and the West begins in Fort Worth. It's a fun place to be.

 

[UConnNick]

I've had SMU season tickets on and off since 2000 (when the stadium opened) and I've lived here since 1986.

First recommendation: walk around the campus; it's beautiful. September games can be hot, hopefully it's a night game. Bring sunglasses if it's a day game. Look for a crowd around 15,000- 20,000. You'll be on east side, looking into the sun. But seating isn't strictly enforced and you can move anywhere. The stadium is nice, clean, and spartan (don't expect Jerry World). Food is average at best. Beer is sold. Tailgating is fun, but I haven't found it to be extremely open and friendly. Wearing UConn gear may get some interest. Most SMU fans know absolutely nothing about Connecticut or UConn, except "basketball championships, cold weather, Pilgrims, and lighthouses"

Tourist spots (most already mentioned):

1) the George Bush Presidential Library, on the SMU campus.
2) the Sixth Floor Museum, re: the Kennedy assassination.
3) AT&T Stadium, about 30 miles to the west in Arlington. You can take a tour. Games are ridiculously expensive. The cheapest seats (very top row) for the Patriots in 2015 were $295. Standing room tickets were $112. Other teams are slightly less expensive.
4) Cowtown ... near downtown Fort Worth. You can take an old steam train from Grapevine to get there in the morning and leave in the late afternoon. It's about an hour each way.
5) Sundance Square, downtown Fort Worth. Good restaurants.
6) Dozens of museums and great restaurants all over the metroplex. Don't eat Italian or seafood while you're here. Go for steak, Texas barbecue, Tex-Mex, or Mexican.
7) The Texas State Fair. If it's open, this would be near the top of my list. If you're old enough (like me) to remember the Danbury State Fair, expect Danbury on steroids. It's very cheesy, but fun. You'll want a shower afterward. It's not in the best section of Dallas. I'd try to stay on the fairgrounds property.

The Dallas Morning News publishes a weekend guide with restaurant ratings and things to do with their Friday edition.

They used to say the South ends in Dallas and the West begins in Fort Worth. It's a fun place to be.

Were you at the game in 1989 when we were way ahead by two or three touchdowns and let them come back to win it by one point, 31-30 I think it was? At that time we were 1-AA, but that was their very first season after the death penalty punishment by the NCAA. It was obviously an evenly matched game at that time.

 

[Redding Husky]

Were you at the game in 1989 when we were way ahead by two or three touchdowns and let them come back to win it by one point, 31-30 I think it was? At that time we were 1-AA, but that was their very first season after the death penalty punishment by the NCAA. It was obviously an evenly matched game at that time.

Yes, I was there and it was 31-30. I was a grad student at SMU in 1989. My ex-wife and I sat in the UConn section. I wore a UConn t-shirt and an SMU cap. I had torn loyalties, but in the end I had to go for my undergrad school (UConn).

It was a frustrating game. SMU came back with a couple TD's late with the help of some ref calls. Down here, they call that game "The Miracle on Mockingbird". I almost got into fight with a drunk SMU student from New Jersey. That was at the old Ownby Stadium. After that, SMU used the Cotton Bowl as their home field for about 10 years until Ford Stadium opened in 2000.

 

[Jimdish255]

Were you at the game in 1989 when we were way ahead by two or three touchdowns and let them come back to win it by one point, 31-30 I think it was? At that time we were 1-AA, but that was their very first season after the death penalty punishment by the NCAA. It was obviously an evenly matched game at that time.

That SMU game was televised I think. It was just after their return from the Death Penalty. Still we were supposed to lose but should have won. And yes Im old enough to remember the Danbury Fair, but spent a lot more time at the races. Had family and friends involved. The Fair should be updating their schedule soon.

 

[Redding Husky]

That SMU game was televised I think. It was just after their return from the Death Penalty. Still we were supposed to lose but should have won. And yes Im old enough to remember the Danbury Fair, but spent a lot more time at the races. Had family and friends involved. The Fair should be updating their schedule soon.

We could actually hear the Danbury Races from our home in Redding. I miss those days.

Yes, the game was televised in Dallas and Connecticut. No one had any idea what would happen. We were up something like 23-7 at the half but couldn't hold on.

 

[UConnNick]

We could actually hear the Danbury Races from our home in Redding. I miss those days.

Yes, the game was televised in Dallas and Connecticut. No one had any idea what would happen. We were up something like 23-7 at the half but couldn't hold on.

We were living in Florida at the time and it was pre-internet, so about the only thing I knew was that we lost. I think there were some scores being shown periodically because it was SMU's first season back from the death penalty, so the game had some notoriety nationally due to their then recent past. While that was all going on back in 1986, Texas Gov. Bill Clements, who was an SMU alum and sort of the ringleader of alums paying the football players, was actually quoted as saying, even after they were put on probation the first time, that they didn't feel like they could renege on their contracts with the players to pay them, because it wouldn't have been fair to the players. I remember thinking how astounding it was to hear a sitting U.S. Governor make such a statement regarding his own part in the malfeasance. He said that about a week after getting elected to his second term. By then the NCAA had already dropped the hammer on the second investigation, and everybody kind of knew what was coming in terms of the dreaded death penalty punishment. It seems grossly unfair now that because of what happened to SMU football the NCAA will apparently never use the death penalty again, so they have become a sort of sacrificial lamb and the test case for all other wrongdoers. No wonder nobody pays any attention to the NCAA rules anymore.

 

[Redding Husky]

We were living in Florida at the time and it was pre-internet, so about the only thing I knew was that we lost. I think there were some scores being shown periodically because it was SMU's first season back from the death penalty, so the game had some notoriety nationally due to their then recent past. While that was all going on back in 1986, Texas Gov. Bill Clements, who was an SMU alum and sort of the ringleader of alums paying the football players, was actually quoted as saying, even after they were put on probation the first time, that they didn't feel like they could renege on their contracts with the players to pay them, because it wouldn't have been fair to the players. I remember thinking how astounding it was to hear a sitting U.S. Governor make such a statement regarding his own part in the malfeasance. He said that about a week after getting elected to his second term. By then the NCAA had already dropped the hammer on the second investigation, and everybody kind of knew what was coming in terms of the dreaded death penalty punishment. It seems grossly unfair now that because of what happened to SMU football the NCAA will apparently never use the death penalty again, so they have become a sort of sacrificial lamb and the test case for all other wrongdoers. No wonder nobody pays any attention to the NCAA rules anymore.

The Southwest Conference and all of college football was like that. Eric Dickerson drove around SMU with the Pontiac Trans Am that Texas A&M bought him. All of the conference schools were doing that. The difference? SMU had a hostile local media. The media in Austin would NEVER report anything bad on the Longhorns.

 

[UConnNick]

The Southwest Conference and all of college football was like that. Eric Dickerson drove around SMU with the Pontiac Trans Am that Texas A&M bought him. All of the conference schools were doing that. The difference? SMU had a hostile local media. The media in Austin would NEVER report anything bad on the Longhorns.

At that time, it was great sport in the SWC to rat on your fellow conference members to the NCAA. I'm sure UT got ratted on by many other schools. The difference is the fix was in then, and probably still is for them with the NCAA.

 

[Jimdish255]

Another tidbit which I just signed up for is a ticket/pregame package through DFW Alumni. Not sure if it is geared towards us travelers but seems like a nice way to meet up with the local supporters.

Welcome to the Neighborhood: SMU vs. UConn Football Pregame and Game Tickets

Some of the other info has been great on this thread will take advantage.

 

[husky8273]

Another tidbit which I just signed up for is a ticket/pregame package through DFW Alumni. Not sure if it is geared towards us travelers but seems like a nice way to meet up with the local supporters.

Welcome to the Neighborhood: SMU vs. UConn Football Pregame and Game Tickets

Some of the other info has been great on this thread will take advantage.

Ok, but not on the right Boulevard

 

[Redding Husky]

Update on Dallas area barbecue ... in June 2017, Texas Monthly came out with a list of the top 50 barbecue restaurants in Texas. Eight are from the Dallas area. Many are new, showing Dallas is beginning to take barbecue seriously (it's always taken a back seat to Central Texas). Three of the eight are in Dallas. The other five are about 20 to 45 minutes from SMU. Here they are, in no particular order:

Cattleack Barbecue (Dallas, opened in 2013)
Lockhart Smokehouse (Dallas, 2011)
Pecan Lodge (Dallas, 2010)
Hutchin's BBQ (McKinney, 1978)
4T's Bar-B-Q (Forney, 2010)
Waxahachie Bar-B-Cue (Waxahachie, 2013)
Top 5 BBQ (DeSoto, 2016)
Heim's Barbecue (Fort Worth, 2015)

I'm partial to my hometown place, Hutchin's. It's in an older part of town (although not dangerous by any means). It has a great atmosphere and an all-you-can-eat price of about $21.50, including a soft drink or iced tea. But if you're staying near SMU, there's really no need to leave Dallas. I'd like to link the article. I'm on a phone and I'm not sure how to do that. I'm sure if you Google "Texas Monthly Top 50 barbecue restaurants" it will appear.

When deciding what to order, many people stick with the "holy trinity" of Texas barbecue ... ribs, brisket, and sausage. Other meats are available.

 

[TheDrifter75]

Update on Dallas area barbecue ... in June 2017, Texas Monthly came out with a list of the top 50 barbecue restaurants in Texas. Eight are from the Dallas area. Many are new, showing Dallas is beginning to take barbecue seriously (it's always taken a back seat to Central Texas). Three of the eight are in Dallas. The other five are about 20 to 45 minutes from SMU. Here they are, in no particular order:

Cattleack Barbecue (Dallas, opened in 2013)
Lockhart Smokehouse (Dallas, 2011)
Pecan Lodge (Dallas, 2010)
Hutchin's BBQ (McKinney, 1978)
4T's Bar-B-Q (Forney, 2010)
Waxahachie Bar-B-Cue (Waxahachie, 2013)
Top 5 BBQ (DeSoto, 2016)
Heim's Barbecue (Fort Worth, 2015)

I'm partial to my hometown place, Hutchin's. It's in an older part of town (although not dangerous by any means). It has a great atmosphere and an all-you-can-eat price of about $21.50, including a soft drink or iced tea. But if you're staying near SMU, there's really no need to leave Dallas. I'd like to link the article. I'm on a phone and I'm not sure how to do that. I'm sure if you Google "Texas Monthly Top 50 barbecue restaurants" it will appear.

When deciding what to order, many people stick with the "holy trinity" of Texas barbecue ... ribs, brisket, and sausage. Other meats are available.

You can get bbq at a gas station in Texas and be sure to have better fare than 98% of the rest of the country. I'm not joking, Rudy's is a chain, usually at a Shell station from what I've seen with more than decent bbq when compared to anywhere else. Highly recommend trying out at least one of those listed in Texas Monthly. I never liked brisket til I had it in Texas.

 

[Chief00]

SMU is in a very nice section of Metro Dallas called Highland Park - plenty to do. Lots of fun.

 

[Redding Husky]

You can get bbq at a gas station in Texas and be sure to have better fare than 98% of the rest of the country. I'm not joking, Rudy's is a chain, usually at a Shell station from what I've seen with more than decent bbq when compared to anywhere else. Highly recommend trying out at least one of those listed in Texas Monthly. I never liked brisket til I had it in Texas.

"Rudy's" is good, and I think "Hard Eight" is even better. They're both chains that are above average but not elite.

I've heard that "Hard Eight" refers to the eight seconds a bull rider must ride to reach the bell.

 

[HartfordHank]

You can get bbq at a gas station in Texas and be sure to have better fare than 98% of the rest of the country. I'm not joking, Rudy's is a chain, usually at a Shell station from what I've seen with more than decent bbq when compared to anywhere else. Highly recommend trying out at least one of those listed in Texas Monthly. I never liked brisket til I had it in Texas.

Rudy's cream corn is amazing. They also have great breakfast burritos

 

[whalerfan]

I love Rudy's and will take it anytime. Saying that I prefer the stores closer to Austin over the one I went to in Allen (Dallas area).

 

[UConnNick]

I love Rudy's and will take it anytime. Saying that I prefer the stores closer to Austin over the one I went to in Allen (Dallas area).

We went there once. They served me a piece of meat that was almost nothing but fat. When I took it back and complained they sort of laughed it off. They'll never see us in there again.