Commerce Street...Downtown Dallas..

[bdshull2001]

I've only been twice to the annual Friday night ritual. Once as a high school senior(1970). I walked the sidewalks and have never seen so many slurring drunks in my lifetime, and that was the Sooner fans. Most of the Texas fans were passed out in the gutter....LOL

I seen a couple of fights and saw the police get involved. Back in the good ole days they arrested hundreds from both sides. I guess this is not a big deal fast forwarding to 2015. I can see the PC people and or gang activities(guns) pretty much shutting this down. Am I correct? You never hear about it anymore.

Anybody have any stories?

 

[John Otterstedt]

I used to go yearly. Went once about 5 years ago to see if it was the same, it still goes on. It didn't seem as crazy but a lot of that has to do with the design of the West End. Half of the bars and restaurants have gone out of business or moved. The entire end of the street has lost its tenants. There's not much reason to congregate down there anymore.

 

[da wiz]

In The 60s, Cruising Commerce was the thing to do...Driving, or walking, it was the place to be on the night before the game. It was one of those 'Seemed like a Good Idea at the Time' experiences, but, given a year to get over it, most Fans, of a certain age, went back the following year. The Street was packed; The Sidewalks, even more so.

We decided to drive the route. We had a convertible, good friends in the back seat, and plenty of time, which we knew it would take to inch our way from one end of 'Party Street' to the other. My husband was wearing his Orange Bowl Watch, one of his personal treasures. He stuck his arm out, flashing the Hook 'em Sign, one too many times. An aggressive texas fan grabbed his arm, jerked the watch off, and ran. Pursuit was impossible. We did stop at the first sign of a Policeman, and reported, with zero hope of that helping. He took our name and contact info', and that was all we could do, except go have another round and bemoan the loss of the beloved watch.

Fast forward about a month...A small package arrived in the mail. Inside was 'The Watch'. No message...No return address...Just The Watch. What are the chances of that? Anyone who ever walked that walk knows the elbow-to-elbow packed crowd...Stabbings, one year, even a fatality, fights on every corner, arrests being made one after another and somehow, the thief was found and The Watch recovered...

Fast forward to September, 2013...Oklahoma @ Notre Dame...OUr most recent chance for revenge against our former nemesis. In an exciting game, The Sooners prevailed! My youngest son sent me this picture, along with the message..."I never doubted we'd win...I was wearing 'The Watch'"...

 

[YourCrimsonNightmare]

That's a great story SS!

I used to hit Dallas annually for the game, but generally avoided the Friday night mayhem on Commerce. One year the demand for tickets vastly exceeded the demand (both teams were legit title contenders), and I spent hours trying to get just one ticket to the game with no success.

The game was about to start, everyone was in the Bowl, and I was getting ready to retreat to the Food Pavilion to watch the game on TV. As I was walking away, a man in Sooner gear approached me, headed for the gate, and asked me if I was a Sooner fan. I had been prepared to pay more than a hundred dollars for ANY ticket. Anyway, I told him that I was a big Sooner fan, and he said he had one ticket available because his wife - he was a doctor from Missouri - was not feeling well and decided to skip the game. He gave me the ticket for free, and we sat at the 49-yard line on the Sooner end for the game.

The ticket was free. Too bad the Sooners couldn't win the game! I still had a great time, except for the Horn fans that were spitting on exiting Sooner fans down below them as they exited the stadium...

 

[da wiz]

That's a great story SS!

I used to hit Dallas annually for the game, but generally avoided the Friday night mayhem on Commerce. One year the demand for tickets vastly exceeded the demand (both teams were legit title contenders), and I spent hours trying to get just one ticket to the game with no success.

The game was about to start, everyone was in the Bowl, and I was getting ready to retreat to the Food Pavilion to watch the game on TV. As I was walking away, a man in Sooner gear approached me, headed for the gate, and asked me if I was a Sooner fan. I had been prepared to pay more than a hundred dollars for ANY ticket. Anyway, I told him that I was a big Sooner fan, and he said he had one ticket available because his wife - he was a doctor from Missouri - was not feeling well and decided to skip the game. He gave me the ticket for free, and we sat at the 49-yard line on the Sooner end for the game.

The ticket was free. Too bad the Sooners couldn't win the game! I still had a great time, except for the Horn fans that were spitting on exiting Sooner fans down below them as they exited the stadium...

Another Good Story, YCN. You were definitely Right Place/Right Time! In this day, of chasing dollars, that random act of kindness would be even more of a rarity...Your seat mate did a Great Job of paying it forward...Thanks for sharing!

 

[ETU]

In The 60s, Cruising Commerce was the thing to do...Driving, or walking, it was the place to be on the night before the game. It was one of those 'Seemed like a Good Idea at the Time' experiences, but, given a year to get over it, most Fans, of a certain age, went back the following year. The Street was packed; The Sidewalks, even more so.

We decided to drive the route. We had a convertible, good friends in the back seat, and plenty of time, which we knew it would take to inch our way from one end of 'Party Street' to the other. My husband was wearing his Orange Bowl Watch, one of his personal treasures. He stuck his arm out, flashing the Hook 'em Sign, one too many times. An aggressive texas fan grabbed his arm, jerked the watch off, and ran. Pursuit was impossible. We did stop at the first sign of a Policeman, and reported, with zero hope of that helping. He took our name and contact info', and that was all we could do, except go have another round and bemoan the loss of the beloved watch.

Fast forward about a month...A small package arrived in the mail. Inside was 'The Watch'. No message...No return address...Just The Watch. What are the chances of that? Anyone who ever walked that walk knows the elbow-to-elbow packed crowd...Stabbings, one year, even a fatality, fights on every corner, arrests being made one after another and somehow, the thief was found and The Watch recovered...

Fast forward to September, 2013...Oklahoma @ Notre Dame...OUr most recent chance for revenge against our former nemesis. In an exciting game, The Sooners prevailed! My youngest son sent me this picture, along with the message..."I never doubted we'd win...I was wearing 'The Watch'"...

Senior, you are special. Love all the personal memories you share with us.

 

[phillinois]

In The 60s, Cruising Commerce was the thing to do...Driving, or walking, it was the place to be on the night before the game. It was one of those 'Seemed like a Good Idea at the Time' experiences, but, given a year to get over it, most Fans, of a certain age, went back the following year. The Street was packed; The Sidewalks, even more so.

We decided to drive the route. We had a convertible, good friends in the back seat, and plenty of time, which we knew it would take to inch our way from one end of 'Party Street' to the other. My husband was wearing his Orange Bowl Watch, one of his personal treasures. He stuck his arm out, flashing the Hook 'em Sign, one too many times. An aggressive texas fan grabbed his arm, jerked the watch off, and ran. Pursuit was impossible. We did stop at the first sign of a Policeman, and reported, with zero hope of that helping. He took our name and contact info', and that was all we could do, except go have another round and bemoan the loss of the beloved watch.

Fast forward about a month...A small package arrived in the mail. Inside was 'The Watch'. No message...No return address...Just The Watch. What are the chances of that? Anyone who ever walked that walk knows the elbow-to-elbow packed crowd...Stabbings, one year, even a fatality, fights on every corner, arrests being made one after another and somehow, the thief was found and The Watch recovered...

Fast forward to September, 2013...Oklahoma @ Notre Dame...OUr most recent chance for revenge against our former nemesis. In an exciting game, The Sooners prevailed! My youngest son sent me this picture, along with the message..."I never doubted we'd win...I was wearing 'The Watch'"...

Fantastic story SS.
You really should consider writing a novella...call it 'SS journal of Sooner greatness'.

I think it would sell quite well actually.
Think about it.

 

[da wiz]

Fantastic story SS.
You really should consider writing a novella...call it 'SS journal of Sooner greatness'.

I think it would sell quite well actually.
Think about it.

fitty...I would have to do that as a 'Jane Doe' to put in all of the Stories, about Fun People, and NOT so Fun People, who would prefer to remain Anonymous, just as I do...Those WERE the Days, My Friend...

 

[phillinois]

fitty...I would have to do that as a 'Jane Doe' to put in all of the Stories, about Fun People, and NOT so Fun People, who would prefer to remain Anonymous, just as I do...Those WERE the Days, My Friend...

Oh, I for one get the anonymity requirement...oh my.
All your 'characters' would have to be fictional, otherwise you'd be writing checks to everyone you mention.

A good publisher can help you navigate all those pitfalls as I understand the business, which isn't much mind you.
I say...do it!
Your last career!

 

[Andrew Owens]

Man I love these stories told by our storied fans. Keep them coming.

Senior and YCN, great stories and thanks for sharing.

 

[tallahasseedawgs]

Back in the early '50s (yeah, I'm that old) one of dangers of being on Commerce street was the possibility of being struck by a mattress thrown from the upper stories of the Baker and Adolphus.

 

[phillinois]

Back in the early '50s (yeah, I'm that old) one of dangers of being on Commerce street was the possibility of being struck by a mattress thrown from the upper stories of the Baker and Adolphus.

Yep, I remember the reports of TVs thrown out of the windows down to the streets. Ouch...

 

[ETU]

Commerce Street had never been for the meek....at least since 1967, my first trip. But I finally called it quits one year in the '90's...I can't even remember the exact year, but Gary was the HC. My wife and I were walking the Commerce Street "loop" with friends that we've been coming to the game with for years when some young, drunk UT ******* said something directed to us that I can't repeat. It was so filthy and so unRRRlike...unlike anything I've ever heard in all my years attending the game.....in front of a Dallas cop. For a brief moment I almost did something stupid, but felt my wife's tug, and walked away. Luckily. We had talked many times how bad it had gotten and mentioned to our friends that we weren't enjoying the experience anymore. But they were diehards, and I guess we weren't. So we kind of broke up with our high school classmate group going back almost 30 years and have never been back to Commerce.

 

[ouslyk]

I was at the game with my young daughter 20yrs or so back sans tickets which were rare and expensive. After about 2hrs we were outside a main gate and saw a limo pull up and a Sooner family got out. The scalpers rushed them offering $200 to$300 for any extra tickets they might have. The man brushed them away forcefully and denied having any. His young son got a confused look on his face and said "but Dad, I thought..." Dad shushed him at this point and hurried along. I let them clear the melee and told him I didn't want to bother him, but that I just wanted to see the game with my daughter. He immediately produced 2 tickets and offered them at face value. As we did the deal, the mob rushed back and offered top dollar. He refused, pushed them back and sold me both treasures for much less than the scalpers offered for one. I will always remember his character.

I had told my girl I would be able to get in for face value. She was at that age when kids start to wonder if ole Dad really knows much. I not only got us in for all I could actually afford, but managed to look good for my little girl.

 

[phillinois]

I was at the game with my young daughter 20yrs or so back sans tickets which were rare and expensive. After about 2hrs we were outside a main gate and saw a limo pull up and a Sooner family got out. The scalpers rushed them offering $200 to$300 for any extra tickets they might have. The man brushed them away forcefully and denied having any. His young son got a confused look on his face and said "but Dad, I thought..." Dad shushed him at this point and hurried along. I let them clear the melee and told him I didn't want to bother him, but that I just wanted to see the game with my daughter. He immediately produced 2 tickets and offered them at face value. As we did the deal, the mob rushed back and offered top dollar. He refused, pushed them back and sold me both treasures for much less than the scalpers offered for one. I will always remember his character.

I had told my girl I would be able to get in for face value. She was at that age when kids start to wonder if ole Dad really knows much. I not only got us in for all I could actually afford, but managed to look good for my little girl.

Excellent.

 

[ETU]

Wow, this thread has brought back great memories. I love OU - Texas week. B-O-O-M-E-R S-O-O-N-E-R!!