TCU football fans divided on losing in-and-out policy, united on beer sales at games
Tara Garner has been making the trek from Round Rock to Fort Worth for TCU home football games for the past 10 years, throwing a tailgate with a couple of her sorority sisters from the Class of 2001.
Garner and her friends braved the near triple-digit heat before TCU’s Saturday night season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, although she remained skeptical of the university doing away with its in-and-out policy.
After all, her tailgate is a short walk to the gates at Amon G. Carter Stadium, and her crew always took advantage of the in-and-out policy in prior years.
“I’m kind of on the fence about it because tailgating is a big part of the fan experience,” Garner said. “We always come out at halftime. Sometimes we go back in if it’s a close game, but if it’s a blowout, we don’t. We come back out here and enjoy our friendship.
“We’ll see. The verdict is still out. I can’t say whether I’m in support of it yet or not.”
Said Molly O’Brien, whose family has been running a tailgate close to the stadium for seven years: “It’s the first game, so we’ll see. It’s going to be interesting. We’ve always come out to grill and hang out and watch the other games during halftime, so we’ll see.”
That’s the reaction of several fans of the stadium’s new policy.
With TCU now selling beer at home football games, the university had to do away with the popular in-and-out policy.
TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati said the policy had to change for safety and liability reasons. No other stadium in the country that sells alcohol has an in-and-out policy.
“This was something necessary that had to come hand-in-hand with beer sales,” Donati told the Star-Telegram when beer sales were announced.
“I’m not trying to ruin your tailgate. We spend a lot of time and effort trying to ensure that our tailgaters get their money’s worth. We do give them a lot of time to experience their tailgate.”
Fans seemed lukewarm on the idea that being able to purchase beer in the stadium was a fair trade off in getting rid of the in-and-out policy.
“I don’t know,” O’Brien said. “If you’re going to pay the money to be season-ticket holders, I think you should be allowed to go in and out.”
But fans also understood the secondary benefit of a better atmosphere following halftime. Instead of fans lingering in the parking lots at their tailgates, they’ll be in the stands creating a better atmosphere.
Evan Lawson joked that he’s a “pitching wedge” away from the stadium from his tailgate. He took advantage of the in-and-out policy previously but has no complaints if it means improved home-field advantage.
“I’m all about getting fans in the stadium,” Lawson said. “If that means that I have to sacrifice a beer at halftime, that’s fine. It’s all about what goes on in there (the stadium). This is just a side piece.
“What goes on in there is important. Me being out here is not the main thing. It’s not going to affect me at all.”
And, hey, there’s another advantage.
“I haven’t watched the halftime show since I graduated,” said Mike McCown, smiling. “Now we’ll see the band and see it all.”
Every fan the Star-Telegram spoke to may not feel it’s a fair trade off by losing the in-and-out policy, but being able to purchase beer in the stadium drew zero complaints.
People were pleased with the price point — $7 for beer during the game, and $5 during a “Happy Hour” pricing from when gates open until 30 minutes before kickoff — and selection.
“I don’t know why it took us so long,” Lawson said. “I was in Austin last year for the TCU-Texas game. It was $9 a beer. These are $7 a beer, so we’re getting a discount compared to Austin.”
Said Garner: “That was a great decision.”
Garner laughed and added, “Now if they could just air-condition the bathrooms, they would be set.”
At the end of the day, the fans were ready for football season. There’s a buzz surrounding this year’s TCU team that features NFL talent on both sides of the ball.
“You wait 35 weeks a year to get to football season, and you wait for these 20 weeks,” Lawson said. “It’s the best part of the year. We try to be out here as much as we can. We support our Frogs.”