I know I’m old fashioned…

JJacket said:
Most upsetting to me was how their interior OL was allowed to just wrap up Biggers play after play with no call. They could not block him. They could hold him though and the refs allowed it.
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I remember one egregious hold where one of our pass rushers was held from behind, grabbing the jersey. Not sure if Biggers. The play ended up being a defensive hold on Tech.
 
Buzzkill1974 said:
We were down 22 until garbage time. Every loser team blames the refs. 8/79 v 10/100. Yes, bad calls, but they were calling shit all game. We bitched about the officials after ND, VT, UGA and Vandy. Repratedly losing games isn’t because of the zebras.
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How often do you see the booth guys (one of which is a mutt) AND the "rules expert" go against the call on the field - not once, but twice in a 5 minute span?

These were a bit more egregious than usual.
 
gtfan088 said:
I've actually thought before that Key doesn't do a good enough job of working the officials, so it was refreshing to see him go off on them for objectively bad calls.
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100% Thought it was a tweaked intentional approach. His post game comments were a bit cryptic, but I took it to mean he was not just letting his emotions control his actions. There were some TV shots of him talking to officials outside of blown calls. I think he's going to be super proactive about establishing a dialogue and rapport with the guy in the white hat before kickoff.
 
vapspwi said:
It’s not as though they didn’t send out multiple emails telling people to arrive early due to crowds, though. And there were plenty of walkable parking options available a couple of weeks before the game.

Certainly things could be improved by the bowl (and the rain didn’t make things any easier). But maybe plan ahead a little more, or just go to the symphony where there aren’t any lines.

JRjr
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Getting there early didn't help. Bought parking two weeks ago and the closest was half mile away (which was later "sold out" but when I got back after the lot was about half full).

I got to the Battery-like area over three hours before the kick. Every restaurant was packed with long waits. Waited 2+ hours for a table. Heard from multiple people that the venues were understaffed with some having just one bartender.

Went to get in and the line was ridiculous. They were so overwhelmed they did not scan tickets. Didn't buy concessions because I go to the games to watch them, not to wait in line for a hot dog. When it was time to leave, the exit at the southwest corner was closed - either walk to the Vandy side of the stadium or the northwest end using the narrow concourse.

It was like the entire setup was unprepared. This game was the fourth largest crowd they ever had so it wasn't their first rodeo.

Legion Field is about two miles away, located in the middle of a residential area. How they took the lessons of hosting up to 83K at Legion over the decades and created 47K Protective Stadium needs to be made into a study so other cities don't make the same mistakes.
 
justafan said:
Kind of embarrassing when our fans at the game were booing the ref's call on an obvious facemask against us. Maybe they didn't show it on the jumbotron. Make sure it was actually a bad call before you boo.

The kick-catch interference was a bad call and deserved the boos
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They DID show the replay of the face-mask sham, on the jumbotron, and it CLEARLY showed the Vandy player grabbing our man's facemask, not the reverse. That's when the "refs, you suck" chant erupted throughout the stadium. Even a Vandy friend of mine who was there, couldn't offer any explanation other than "karma", but he wouldn't explain what that word was supposed to mean.
 
vapspwi said:
It’s not as though they didn’t send out multiple emails telling people to arrive early due to crowds, though. And there were plenty of walkable parking options available a couple of weeks before the game.

Certainly things could be improved by the bowl (and the rain didn’t make things any easier). But maybe plan ahead a little more, or just go to the symphony where there aren’t any lines.

JRjr
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I arrived in B'ham 3 1/2 hours prior to kickoff and at the stadium (after FINALLY finding a place to eat that wasn't jam-packed) 2 hours prior to kickoff, there was a line of hundreds of people trying to get in the south gates. What nobody had apparently been told was that were no lines at all for the north gates. Fortunately for me, since I use a hiking stick when I go to any game, someone drving a golf-cart insisted I get in, and she took me to the north gates. I got in immediately, while the rest of my group had to stand in that line for at least 20 minutes. We made a mistake in not leaving through the north gate at the end, but ending up in the mob trying to get out the south gate. The entire experience was a mess. Would I go again? Yes, but I have learned now from experience and not from any pre-game info I was provided.
 
justafan said:
I remember one egregious hold where one of our pass rushers was held from behind, grabbing the jersey. Not sure if Biggers. The play ended up being a defensive hold on Tech.
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Yes. It was the play where the ref picked our DB, and he held the WR.
 
ClydeBrick said:
The jumbotron did not show a face mask against GT, it did show a face mask from the Vandy receiver.

If we did it then it should have been offsetting penalties. But that was not the ref's agenda
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I knowwe got some bad calls but vandy had 8 penalties for 80 yds and we had 10 for 100 yds.Were their penalties non-consequential or what? vandy fans must be bitching also
 
aeromech said:
I was at the game up until we got told to leave due to lightning in the area (actually told to seek cover in area that would likely hold about 1/10th of the people there). This game was first I have ever attended where to PA announcers were actively razing the refs, not just once; but repeatedly; that is how bad the officiating was. It was stuff like "This GT fan wins the Cunecuh Sausage giveway. This is one thing the refs can't take away from you." and "Come sign a card with Santa for our drive, Santa won't throw a flag at you". There were other comments over the PA that I'm sure the refs will make some sort of objection to; but it was that clear that the refs were blowing calls.

Personally I don't have any grudge against Vandy or their fans; but those calls ruined would could have been a good game. Those were some awful calls that really take away from the enjoyment of the game. My personal experience is that the B'nam Bowl game experience blew chunks. About a 2 hour drive in the rain, to a parking deck a mile from the stadium, to take a shuttle that drops you off about 1/4 of mile from the stadium, to miss kickoff with a few thousand other fans because of the line backed up to get into Protective Stadium which apparently only has 1 entrance, to watch that officiating S*** show only to be told to leave before the end, and then walk back to the car in the rain because the line for the shuttle is over 1000 yards long. I'll stay home if GT ever gets sent there again.
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The one positive part of the experience was we could walk under the expressway bridge from the parking lot to the stadium and back to stay dry.
 
I think part of the parking issue was it was a work day so they didn't allocate the full deck to the games. My prepaid deck was "sold out" but an entire level was empty and after the game it was clear many cars were parked there for the work day and not the game.
 
ClydeBrick said:
Getting there early didn't help. Bought parking two weeks ago and the closest was half mile away (which was later "sold out" but when I got back after the lot was about half full).

I got to the Battery-like area over three hours before the kick. Every restaurant was packed with long waits. Waited 2+ hours for a table. Heard from multiple people that the venues were understaffed with some having just one bartender.

Went to get in and the line was ridiculous. They were so overwhelmed they did not scan tickets. Didn't buy concessions because I go to the games to watch them, not to wait in line for a hot dog. When it was time to leave, the exit at the southwest corner was closed - either walk to the Vandy side of the stadium or the northwest end using the narrow concourse.

It was like the entire setup was unprepared. This game was the fourth largest crowd they ever had so it wasn't their first rodeo.

Legion Field is about two miles away, located in the middle of a residential area. How they took the lessons of hosting up to 83K at Legion over the decades and created 47K Protective Stadium needs to be made into a study so other cities don't make the same mistakes.
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Wife, son, and I got there about 12:40. Some of my tailgate buddies were at the bar in Mugshots and told us we could easily get to it as well. So we wormed through the crowd to the bar, took two seats because people were leaving when we got there. I ordered us all beers. But then I remembered my wife doesn’t drink k beer, so I had to drink hers for her.

Another person left next to us so I grabbed that chair too. Then @coit showed up so I gave him two of our seats because they would t take you order unless you were sitting in a chair.

Got to the stadium and pretty much waltzed in on the sly without our tickets even being scanned.
 
Supersize that order mutt said:
They DID show the replay of the face-mask sham, on the jumbotron, and it CLEARLY showed the Vandy player grabbing our man's facemask, not the reverse. That's when the "refs, you suck" chant erupted throughout the stadium. Even a Vandy friend of mine who was there, couldn't offer any explanation other than "karma", but he wouldn't explain what that word was supposed to mean.
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I believe you. We were in alternate realities because the fans at the stadium were apparently getting replays showing an offensive facemask and on TV I think we might have only seen the defensive facemask. So both players grabbed facemask and it got called on us (of course).

I think the way to avoid that bad call is just to not commit a facemask, rather than count on a ref seeing both facemasks.
 
JJacket said:
Most upsetting to me was how their interior OL was allowed to just wrap up Biggers play after play with no call. They could not block him. They could hold him though and the refs allowed it.
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Yeah, there was one play in particular where there were two players clearly visible in the backfield - Biggers heading for the QB with his arms in the air, and a Vandy guy behind him holding on for dear life. No call, and might have even been a flag against us for something else.

What’s galling was that Vandy was jawing and playing chippy from the start - refs should have been keeping an eye on that, but instead they just kept doubling and tripling down on GT penalties. Things don’t happen in a vacuum.

JRjr
 
ClydeBrick said:
Getting there early didn't help. Bought parking two weeks ago and the closest was half mile away (which was later "sold out" but when I got back after the lot was about half full).

I got to the Battery-like area over three hours before the kick. Every restaurant was packed with long waits. Waited 2+ hours for a table. Heard from multiple people that the venues were understaffed with some having just one bartender.

Went to get in and the line was ridiculous. They were so overwhelmed they did not scan tickets. Didn't buy concessions because I go to the games to watch them, not to wait in line for a hot dog. When it was time to leave, the exit at the southwest corner was closed - either walk to the Vandy side of the stadium or the northwest end using the narrow concourse.

It was like the entire setup was unprepared. This game was the fourth largest crowd they ever had so it wasn't their first rodeo.

Legion Field is about two miles away, located in the middle of a residential area. How they took the lessons of hosting up to 83K at Legion over the decades and created 47K Protective Stadium needs to be made into a study so other cities don't make the same mistakes.
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Parking half a mile away is nothing. Do people expect to be able to park on the field?

No entry line at the northwest corner gate, which was right by my seats in 145. Did anybody think to try a different gate?

I dunno, my requirement is to get to the stadium and watch the game. I don’t care about pregame activities or going to a restaurant by the stadium. My requirements were met. It kinda seems like some people are crying over relatively mild, avoidable inconveniences, like having more people at a football game than at the Huntsville Symphony.

JRjr
 
vapspwi said:
Parking half a mile away is nothing. Do people expect to be able to park on the field?

No entry line at the northwest corner gate, which was right by my seats in 145. Did anybody think to try a different gate?

I dunno, my requirement is to get to the stadium and watch the game. I don’t care about pregame activities or going to a restaurant by the stadium. My requirements were met. It kinda seems like some people are crying over relatively mild, avoidable inconveniences, like having more people at a football game than at the Huntsville Symphony.

JRjr
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The bassoon player wiggled during the concert it took away from my experience.
 
Got to Birmingham around 11am. Went to Good People Brewing. Place became increasingly packed with GT fans. Only had one bartender, but she busted her tail and was great. Pizza place next door was awesome. Tortugas. Manager there said he thought the bowl game was actually on a different day and quickly called in for extra help. Forgot to get parking in advance before they sold out, but left for the stadium around 130 hoping to find another lot. Friend got let into orange lot for $30 so headed that direction. Found free street parking just outside lot. Quick walk to stadium and 10 min wait or so in line. Was in the stadium about 15 min before kickoff. Game sucked. Refs sucked. Left during the downpour and got completely soaked on the way back to the car. Think I am still drying off.
 
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