Hey, you know that annual UT-A&M game that’s not going to be played again any time in the near future? Let’s bring it to Reliant Stadium!
Why not have Texas and Texas A&M meet at Reliant Stadium every Thanksgiving? It would be a bigger draw than the bowl game played here each December. While many of the fans would be local alumni from both schools, a good number would travel to Houston for the big game. Depending on how the ticket draw is managed by the schools, one plausible scenario could have the schools’ top athletic donors, along with the students of both universities, receiving top priority for tickets, similar to how the Texas-Oklahoma game operates. This almost certainly would mean a huge chunk of the fans would come from outside the Houston area.
Think of the added revenue for hotels, restaurants and retailers around the week of the game. And the national television coverage wouldn’t hurt, either. The eyes of Texas, indeed America, would be ours for three-plus hours. While New York City has the nation’s attention every year with its famous Thanksgiving parade, there’s no reason Houston couldn’t capitalize on the football passions of Longhorns and Aggies. We could revitalize a tradition, and have an annual national television audience all to ourselves.
I view this as an almost-bowl game for our city, with each school’s band taking part in the city’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and perhaps even the Uptown holiday celebration. (Are you paying attention, area merchants?) The upside is huge, and has many potential local tie-ins.
Yes, I agree that if UT ever decides that it wants to play A&M in football again that it would be a boon for the city of Houston if you could convince them to play it here. Why they would want to give up a home game every other year, and what benefit they would derive from that arrangement, is apparently left as an exercise for the reader. But hey, wishes are free, so knock yourself out. I trust you’ll forgive me if I don’t mark any dates on my calendar just yet.
I don’t see this happening. UT giving up +30,000 extra seats for a home game in Houston’s Reliant Stadium and lose a home field advantage in Austin. Someone would have to throw a lot of money at UT. Silly money.
Of course, AM would scamper over to that Houston deal in a heartbeat. I see their SEC adventure being an extremely painful and humiliating experience for many years to come.
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