Pre-Game Observations
January 02, 2008 06:53 PM | General
Posted by John Antonik: Jan. 2, 2007 (6:54 pm)
The University of Phoenix Stadium is probably the nicest football facility I’ve ever been in. All new stadiums are nice, but none are quite as nice as this one. The listed capacity of The University of Phoenix Stadium is 73,000.
Like most new pro stadiums, the press area is located in the corner of the end zone above the navy-blue-painted West Virginia end zone. Both 50 yard lines are reserved for club seating.
The press meal was a combination of marinated chicken, ribs, mixed vegetables, noodles, salad and a brownie. I haven’t eaten this many vegetables in one week in my life.
On the drive down I-10 to the stadium I noticed a couple of University of Phoenix buildings not too far from The University of Phoenix Stadium. My guess is those buildings must house their servers.
The University of Phoenix Stadium is also the host site for this year’s Super Bowl. This is the second time in the last four years West Virginia has played a bowl game in the host city for the Super Bowl. The Mountaineers lost to Florida State in the Toyota Gator Bowl in 2005.
Heavy Phoenix traffic caused the team bus to be delayed by about ½ hour. Oklahoma players were already stretching out and getting loose on the field when the West Virginia team bus arrived.
The team uniform combination for tonight’s game is white jerseys and blue pants. Both of West Virginia’s most recent bowl victories against Georgia in the 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl and against Georgia Tech in the 2007 Toyota came with this uniform combination.
The WVU marching band is located in seats behind the West Virginia end zone just below our vantage point. The Oklahoma band is located just across from the The Pride of West Virginia in the same end zone.
It will be interesting to see if interim coach Bill Stewart leads the team out onto the field or if he holds back and lets the seniors go first.
CSTV All-Access subscribers can watch the 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl press conference in its entirety following the game by clicking HERE.
Pre-game observations from University Phoenix Stadium …
At 4:54 local time the roof was still open to blue skies.
I-10 goes directly to Los Angeles and takes about 6 ½ hours to get there from Phoenix.
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