Covert Ops - Odunze at Oklahoma

DHD said:

Did UT today. We couldn't get onto the football field as it was surrounded by construction. The entire campus had a very urban feel ... in fact, it reminded me of UW. It was nice, very clean and the architecture was impressive, most notably the sniper tower ... err ... clock tower. Frankly, the best view of the stadium was from I-35 as we headed north away from Austin. It's a raised freeway and runs parallel to the campus, so you can look directly inside of the entire facility. I was surprised, because watching on TV really never gives you the feel that the place is close ... maybe 300 yards ... from a major freeway.

Then we headed to Waco. I won't bore you with details about Chip and Joanna's place in this post, but in the old days my dad would have called their place "a fuckin' tourist trap". I hope Chip and Jo (that's what I like to call them) invest well, because once their TV show flames out, you'll never know that place exists.

However, Baylor University is VERY impressive. The entire campus looks like it was built yesterday. Immaculate, flat, large and uniform. If Hollywood was going to use a cookie-cutter campus for a movie or TV series, this would fit the part perfectly. They also have, by a wide margin, the best bookstore/merch.

We left the main campus and crossed the Brazos River to make our first attempt to gain access to the football field. We spotted about 10 students carrying boxes into an open concourse on the lower level of the stadium, so we approached them and used the "soft sell" method. "Hey, we're tourist and we'd LOVE to see your football field ... do you think you could show us?". They would not commit, but they did check with their supervisor who was polite enough to come out and tell us "no".

From there, we cruised the perimeter of the facility until we ran into some guy on a smoke break who noticed me and said, "hey ... UW!". We stopped and made conversation and he said that he used to work at WSU. I bit my tongue and didn't condemn him, but instead asked if he had a way for us to get to the field to check it out. He said he couldn't do that because he wasn't authorized, but he referred us to "Miss Peggy" at the President's Entrance and he said that she would most likely help us out.

So, we backtracked to find "Miss Peggy" and ease into her office. I did my best smooth talk, "you must be Miss Peggy" with my best smile, hoping she'd bite on my faux humility. I referenced "WSU guy" and told her that he thought she could help us "sneak" a look a the field. (Keep in mind that we are the ONLY non-employees wondering around the stadium complex ... it's hardly a tourist attraction). She says, "no" and makes it clear that she is not authorized to do that. Dead end with Miss Peggy.

(It was very clear that NO ONE does anything at Baylor University without getting permission first ... unless ... it's a rape and/or murder that has been sanctioned, aided, abetted and/or concealed by Art Briles or Dave Bliss. If it's rape or murder, then by all means, no permission necessary).

This experience turned into a teaching moment for me as a father. I was able to demonstrate to my daughter that there were times for permission and then, there were times for covert action. We slipped into covert operator mode.

Through stealthy movement and a low-key determination, we were able to find an open maintenance gate to get onto the football field. We were in the midst of a work crew that was just finishing up installing new turf. We did the "look like you know what you're doing" routine and none of the maintenance guys said a word. (Mostly, those poor guys were so hot that they gave no shits as to what was going on around them ... running off trespassers did not fit withing their job descriptions).

From field level, that stadium is very impressive; however, like the rest of the campus, it's almost so clean and so cookie-cutter, that it lacks character. If you didn't see the logo on the field or on the scoreboard, you'd have no idea what school played in that stadium. The stadium is separated from the campus by the Brazos River, which gives it a unique look; however, it is a solid hike for the students to get from the main housing area to the stadium and to do so, they have to use a walking bridge over the river. (More opportunities for secluded rapes, I guess.)

Headed home tomorrow and hope to have some pics up over the weekend sometime.