Some Notes From Our Gameday Experience
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Getting There
- Our family of three hit the road for Lexington just a few minutes past 9am. There was quite a bit of traffic heading south. In particular, was the number of service trucks heading south, presumably for storm relief. Those crews have some long days and nights ahead of them.
- The traffic flow around the stadium was extremely slow. We noticed more road cones seperating, or blocking off lanes, that we had not seen in previous years. They have some kinks to work out before the larger crowds for the SEC games arrive.
- Our Orange Lot has changed a bit. When we parked at the back end of the lot we noticed that there are now outlets towards Nicholasville Road , which didn't exist last year. While it did help clear the lot faster, the traffic getting to the interstate was still just as bad.
- On the walk to the stadium I couldn't help but notice a ton of empty spots in the Blue lot. I pointed this out last season, and perhaps it has been this way ever since parking required K Fund donations.
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Inside Kroger Field
- When it is just me with my wife, we tend to arrive just minutes before kickoff. On this day, with our young son, we arrived about 20 minutes prior to take in some of the pregame action. As the band played My Old Kentucky Home there was a video tribute to Glenn Campbell, Talbott Todd and Troy Gentry…a very nice touch.
- On the topic of the video displays, why do we have to wait until between quarters to get a stats update? The video ribbons and scoreboard have been there a few years, but I've always wanted them to be used for more than just advertising.
- The Kroger Field lettering on the turf did not bother me for one moment. I hardly noticed it.
- The football we displayed on the field bothered me for more than one moment. The Cats have a lot of work to do. For the second week in a row I lost my mind on a short yardage situation when I felt we would just be better off getting right under center and pushing forward. HAMMER THAT DANG THING UP IN THERE! Drives me nuts.
Overall, it was an enjoyable afternoon spent at Kroger Field. The noon kickoff is a double edged sword. Those are the games that are generally more family friendly, but we have a hard time getting there early enough to let our 8 year old enjoy things like the Coca Cola Fan Zone. Fortunately, the weather was nice and we spent the majority of our scaled down tailgate tossing football in the Orange Lot. The folks at UK have some traffic issues to work out before the Florida game. Let's hope the team gets things worked out too. It would make for a crazy environment for that Florida game at night. Let's finish this up with video of the Cats' intro on to Kroger Field.
