Throughout the season, SIOC will travel to different schools and grade the tailgate scene in 10 categories. This week's stop: Dallas for the annual Red River Shootout.

Setting

The Red River Shootout brings fans from all over Texas and Oklahoma -- including this family (and their Sooner bus). Photo by Andrew Reed

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The Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma is hardly your typical college football scene. People travel to Dallas from all over both states. Rather than the standard swapping of home games, the contest is always held at the Cotton Bowl in the middle of the State Fair of Texas. That seems to suit everyone from both sides just fine. One Sooner told me, "I don't want those idiots in my town." I'm certain the feeling is mutual for Longhorns. Watching the fans stream into the fair in lieu of grilling and guzzling felt bizarre. For one week, though, I suppose it's OK to let someone else do all the work. Those that did spend time in the parking lots found few other revelers and generally just threw back a few beers before heading into the fair themselves.
Grade B

Knowledge of Fans

It was impossible to tell the difference between people there for the fair and those there for the game. Everyone wore crimson or burnt orange, whether they held game tickets or not. Consequently, there was a wide disparity in the level of college football interest and understanding. Most fans understood what was at stake in this game, but for many, any college football beyond the rivalry at hand remained outside of their interest.
Grade: C+

Yard Games

Not a lick of competitive yard fun was had in the parking lots, but all sorts of carnival games could be played inside the fairgrounds. Pop-a-shot, ring toss, and watergun races rewarded victors with stuffed animals. Apparently there's a chicken you can play in tic-tac-toe who always wins, but I couldn't find that booth. While it's always nice to interact with carnies and win a prize, yard games should really be free to all, so these unfortunately don't qualify.
Grade: Incomplete

Eye Candy

As this photo demonstrates, there's no shortage of eye candy among the Texas (and Oklahoma) student body. Photo by Andrew Reed

With two fan bases in town, there were twice as many female fans around to observe. Texas ladies sported burnt orange sun dresses and cowboy boots, quite the attractive ensemble. Oklahoma fans went more with the standard denim skirt and T-shirt. Both sides showed well enough that I heard no arguments or complaints from either side on this one.
Grade: A-

Eats

Had she been along for the trip, my mom would surely have referred to the State Fair of Texas' food offerings as a "gall bladder special." The dish of the day was deep fried everything. Here's a partial list of the more unique deep fried options: sweet potato pie, banana pudding, cookie dough, cheesecake, peach cobbler, coke, latte, guacamole bites, and peanut butter, jelly and banana sandwiches. Exactly how one goes about frying a latte is beyond me. Without question, the most popular item is a Corny Dog from Fletcher's. Their booth in front of Big Tex was mobbed the entire day. I never thought I'd wait in line for a corn dog, but I have to admit it was easily the best one I've ever had.
Grade: B

Drinks

Even though they serve it in a cup, a deep fried coke does not qualify as a beverage. In the parking lots, beer was pretty much the only thing anyone drank. One group of Oklahoma fans brought bag of wine, an enterprising idea since the box takes up room in the cooler. On the fairgrounds, beer could be purchased with cash or food tickets.
Grade: C

Cheers and songs

The neutral site did a lot to fuel the frequency and volume of the two main chants heard throughout the day. Oklahoma backers shouted "Boomer! Sooner!" in perpetuity. Longhorns responded with "Texas! Fight!" When they weren't hollering those, the two fan bases actually managed to come together in their affinity for yelling the word "sucks!" Of course, they couldn't agree on which team it applied to.
Grade: B

Superfans

These Texas fans love their Longhorns -- and have the body paint to prove it. Photo by Andrew Reed

Truly decked out fans were few and far between. The state fair gets awfully crowded and walking around covered in paint would probably lead to smearing innocent bystanders throughout the day. The few that did apply brush to skin did a darn good job. Some Texas fans got their inner cowboy on with hats, scarves and chaps. Nearly everyone else wore their team's colors. Oklahoma fans loved to don shirts poking fun at Texas, many with upside down Longhorns logo. The Texas fans insisted I mention that.
Grade: B-

Best Tailgate

Some Sooners rolled up in a converted school bus that featured a party deck, boomin' system and crimson flames on the hood. They've added something new to the vehicle every year with the latest being a gigantic flagpole where they fly the colors of all Big 12 teams. Inside, a table depicts the history of the bus, including each of the upgrades on a timeline.
Grade: A-

X-factor

Because the fans bases from each program were evenly represented, it created an environment with a lot more heckling and good-natured fun. Pregame chants actually meant something for once, and all these fans were forced to coexist on top of one another. Given some of the stories I've heard, I was surprised at how well everyone got along. Once the game ended, the Texas crowd fled the scene while the Sooners remained and rejoiced.
Grade: B+

Because both teams lost the week before, some of the luster was removed from the matchup. Both sides knew that another loss would effectively end their season in terms of both the national championship hunt and the Big 12 crown. Everyone told me that the losses made the scene more subdued than usual. But it didn't prevent people from eating corny dogs, drinking beer from paper cups, and yelling in unison. All in all, it was a unique experience. I leave Dallas knowing full well that this will probably be the last time I get to devour deep fried cookie dough from a cardboard racecar in such close proximity to prize-winning livestock.

To read more of Andrew Reed's tailgate reports, check out his Road Games blog.