Holder: Stroke of genius?
OSU will not relax its Bedlam ticket policy, and I applaud that stance. If you’re going to implement a controversial system, stick to your guns.
OSU’s policy of not selling individual-game tickets to the Nov. 29 Bedlam game seems to insure a less-than-capacity house at Boone Pickens Stadium, since OSU sold only 39,000 season tickets. OU will get its usual allotment of 5,000 tickets or so, but that leaves 15,000 or so tickets unsold unless someone wants to pay season-ticket prices for one game.
But what if they do? The season has set up like a dream for the policy. Both teams are in the top 10 and still in the running for not just the Big 12 title, but the national championship, too.
If OSU beats Texas Tech today, it likely will go into Bedlam with at least a chance of the Big 12 title, though tiebreakers could cloud the issue. If OU beats Tech on Nov. 22, same scenario, and the Sooners’ path to Kansas City figures to be even easier through the tiebreakers.
If both state schools beat Tech, it figures that the Bedlam game is for no worse than a BCS berth, perhaps the Fiesta Bowl.
Now think about where that puts OSU’s Bedlam tickets. Straight into premium land. The Bedlam game would rise to amazing status; perhaps the second-most important OSU-OU game ever, behind only 1984, when the teams entered ranked 2 and 3. And who knows where OU and OSU could be slotted on Thanksgiving if both win out?
OSU athletic director Mike Holder could come out looking like a genius, if there’s a run on Bedlam tickets. The tickets aren’t cheap; they range from $245 to $419 each, but the less expensive number requires a minimum purchase of four.
With the economy, there are all kinds of fans on both sides of Bedlam who can’t afford such prices. But there also are all kinds of fans on both sides of Bedlam who can afford the tickets and might succumb to the temptation to not miss history.
I don’t think Boone Pickens Stadium will be full for Bedlam. I also don’t think it will be OSU’s smallest crowd of the season. I believe some fans will pony up the season-ticket price. If the Cowboys and Sooners keep winning, I think it will be more than some.
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