Many OSU fans will make the journey to Lubbock this weekend for OSU’s game against Texas Tech. Some students said their away-game experiences are among their most powerful college memories.
As millions watch the OSU Cowboys play the No. 2-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders this weekend, scarlet and black will cover the majority of Jones AT&T Stadium.
But there will be a group of students, alumni and fans who make sure OSU orange is well represented.
They have made arrangements over the past few weeks to be in Lubbock this weekend to cheer on the Cowboys.
Dave Walsh, Texas Tech’s assistant athletic director of ticket operations, said they are expecting about 2,000 OSU fans to make the commute.
He said he believes those who do will be in for a treat.
“All of our Big 12 games have gone down to the last play,” Walsh said.
“Fans should get to see a good game where they will want to stay late and watch the whole game.”
Grad student Kyle Porter said he has attended several away games as a student at OSU, including the game against Texas this year and the Georgia game last year.
“It’s fun to see other college towns,” he said.
“Schools like Texas and Georgia have a lot of tradition, and when the game starts, they always have their stadiums packed.”
The cost of traveling to these games might not be as much as one would think.
Porter and a few of his friends started making arrangements two weeks ago for their trip to Austin.
By finding free lodging with friends and family and getting free tickets from students they know at UT, they were able to keep the total cost of the trip, including food and gas, to about $100 per person.
Porter’s experience at opposing fields has also helped him see how national powerhouse
programs such as Georgia and Texas got reputations as such great places to watch a football game.
“Their fans just seem really fervent about following their team and packing the seats,” he said.
“At OSU, we still have people filing in to the stadium five, 10, even 15 minutes into the game … even when we’re 8-1.”
Junior Bailey Slough has also attended a few away games in the past years.
“It surprised me how dedicated most of our fans are,” she said.
“There was a huge group of people at Texas that filled up the whole visitors section.”
Slough said she thinks there’s something different about traveling to away games to cheer on Oklahoma State.
“I think it’s something that everyone needs to experience,” she said.
“You feel a lot of pride in your team when you’re somewhere else and not at your house.”
The trips to other schools don’t have to be all-weekend affairs either.
Slough’s trip to Austin only lasted a day, so she was able to keep the cost even lower.
Another thing that worried Slough was the risk of being heckled by the opposing fans.
Her group of friends got tickets from Texas fans and had to sit on the home side of the field, as opposed to the visitors section.
“I didn’t want to overstep any boundaries and make the other fans mad at me,” she said.
“But it seemed like the fans understood if we were just cheering our team on and didn’t mind as long as we weren’t obnoxious and rude.”
She said her experiences on the road cheering on the Cowboys are some of her most powerful memories from her time at OSU.
“There are so many people, and it’s so loud and we’re playing so well,” she said.
“It really makes me proud to be a Cowboy.”
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