UT and OU fans gear up for the Red River Showdown
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - We're now counting down the hours to the AT&T Red River Showdown. Tailgates are expected to start bright and early.
Friday night, University of Texas and University of Oklahoma fans started kicking off the festivities that surround the event.
"Everybody descends on Dallas for the Red River Shootout," UT fan Doug Rice said. "Nobody else gets that for the biggest game of the year."
"Going to the fair.. having the corn dog before the game and just rooting on for the Sooners to beat Texas is the best thing of the whole year," OU fan Krystal Hunsucker said.
As UT and OU football fans arrived in Dallas, they said it's the perfect city for the AT&T Red River Showdown, sitting perfectly between Austin and Norman.
"It's amazing to show up and right at the 50-yard line and have Texas and OU split the field, there's a mutual hatred and respect for each other," UT fan Pete Forsberg said.
200,000 people are expected to pack into Fair Park. This will be the 90th year the Cotton Bowl has hosted the event.
The economic impact for the City of Dallas and Fair Park is expected to be significant.
"This year has been a lot better than last year," UT fan Leo Avila said. "Last year was hard trying to find staff for the hotels, so coming off the pandemic and unemployment, it's just getting people staffed, but this year has been a lot better."
Heading into tomorrow, both teams are unranked with matching 3-2 records, which should make this an interesting game.
Gates open at 7 a.m. at Fair Park. Kickoff is at 11 a.m.
