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WES2006AG
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Furlock Bones said:

yep. parents would let us kids cruise all over the concourses there and it never felt crowded. (probably because it wasn't).
Best friend growing up had season tickets to the Oilers and by far my fondest memories are his parents letting us roam the concourse all game and telling us to just meet them back at the tailgate when it was over. Different times.
Milwaukees Best Light
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MAROON said:

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

I miss being able to drive into the parking lot of the dome and walk directly in the stadium.

You get there a couple hours early, you could park first row directly in front of the Astrodome and walk right in.

It was a different experience.

You'd walk into the dome and it was like walking around in a dark bowling alley. It was really dark in the concourse of the dome.

It had a futuristic glow. Like you were inside a spaceship.
really good description of the Dome.

One thing the Texans have done that is light years ahead of the Oilers was to encourage tail gating. Traffic to get to Texans games is a breeze (even in the years when they sold out). Oilers traffic was the worst of possibly any stadium in the country because most tried to arrive just before kickoff and everyone left as soon as the game was over because no one was tailgating.

We would arrive way early with both the Post ad the Chronicle and sit in our seats for two hours and read the Sunday papers. and rink a nice dome foam for pre-game,


There was Oilers tailgating. Bud killed it off to make people go inside and buy beer from him.
Stat Monitor Repairman
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I remember reading articles in the Post/chron as a kid about a controversy about beer sales at the dome and people getting too rowdy.

Seems like they implemented a policy to cut off beer sales at a certain point in the game to try and prevent chaos.

Seems lime there was some sort of specific incident that caused it but don't remember the details.
AgCPA95
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Stat Monitor Repairman said:

I remember reading articles in the Post/chron as a kid about a controversy about beer sales at the dome and people getting too rowdy.

Seems like they implemented a policy to cut off beer sales at a certain point in the game to try and prevent chaos.

Seems lime there was some sort of specific incident that caused it but don't remember the details.

At the noon kickoffs NOBODY was in their seat as they had to wait until noon to serve on Sunday.
Chewy
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Saw on the Twitter Machine the Oilers played their last game at the Dome 25 years ago today. Can't believe it's been that long.
W
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Stat Monitor Repairman said:

I miss being able to drive into the parking lot of the dome and walk directly in the stadium.

You get there a couple hours early, you could park first row directly in front of the Astrodome and walk right in.

It was a different experience.

You'd walk into the dome and it was like walking around in a dark bowling alley. It was really dark in the concourse of the dome.

It had a futuristic glow. Like you were inside a spaceship.
no doubt one of the best things about the Astrodome was the parking arrangement. It was a no-brainer. Never had to "plan" where to park. Never had to worry about there not being a space.

it was the biggest negative of the Astros' moving downtown
Chewy
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This moment technically belongs to the Tennessee Titans my ass:

scd88
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I loved the HOUSTON Oilers.

**** Nashville and Tennessee. Posers.
spadilly
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Academy has had a decent selection of Houston Oilers shirts and hats lately. Probably sells better than Texans gear these days.
Ciboag96
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Anyone who calls my new Luv Ya Blue Houston Oilers hoodie "retro" gets an immediate palm chop to the esophagus.
agproducer
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Stat Monitor Repairman said:

I remember reading articles in the Post/chron as a kid about a controversy about beer sales at the dome and people getting too rowdy.

Seems like they implemented a policy to cut off beer sales at a certain point in the game to try and prevent chaos.

Seems lime there was some sort of specific incident that caused it but don't remember the details.


I remember as a kid reading the Chronicle every day, even in the off-season, searching for every article to read about the Oilers. When I was young, Oilers players would play charity basketball games in the off-season. I got to tag along on the team bus to Conroe one time, then sit on the bench with the guys. I have an old school Oilers cap with autographs from Haywood Jeffires, Ernest Givins, Steve Jackson, Cris Dishman,. William Fuller and Johnnie Meads. 13 year old me thought that trip was the coolest ever. And I still have the cap.
scd88
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That's bad ass. You're young, though. Is old timers grew up with Elvin Bethea, Dante, Earl, Dr. Doom - Robert Brazile, Curly Culp, Mike Renfro...

Renfro - that was a CATCH in Pittsburgh. The red who called it incomplete was Donald Orr. I still despise him; probably the one person on this planet who has I'll will towards the guy if he's still alive.

I'm not bitter or anything...
agproducer
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Young is relative. I was too young to enjoy the Bum days. I was old enough for Glanville then Jack Pardee and the Run and Shoot. I miss those teams. They were fun and interesting, not the hot garbage we've had for the last 20 years on Kirby.
scd88
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Stagger Lee, baby. Glanville was the guy who left a will call ticket for Elvis for every game.

Good times back then; lots of personalities. The Dome was a piece of shlt for football (and in general after the scoreboard was taken down and seats added) but it was our piece of shlt.

Houston, in general, was great back then.
Hub `93
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My sister got me a sweet Oilers longsleeved T for Christmas. She found it on some website that has lots of old school shirts. It made my Yuietide.
Jackal99
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spadilly said:

Academy has had a decent selection of Houston Oilers shirts and hats lately. Probably sells better than Texans gear these days.
The one on Kirby and 59?
maroon barchetta
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scd88 said:

Stagger Lee, baby. Glanville was the guy who left a will call ticket for Elvis for every game.

Good times back then; lots of personalities. The Dome was a piece of shlt for football (and in general after the scoreboard was taken down and seats added) but it was our piece of shlt.

Houston, in general, was great back then.


Glanville left tickets for people besides Elvis. He left them for "the great one", Jackie Gleason, when they played in Miami.
Frok
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Funny how time changes perspective. The Oilers were ridiculed as much as the Texans are now back in the 90s because they always choked. In back-to-back years they choked to Buffalo and Kansas City. Then they went 2-14 and demanded a new stadium.

Bud Adams was the most non-fan friendly owner there was. The games were routinely blacked out and he prevented tailgating in the parking lot.

The name and colors were far superior to the Texans. Plus the Texans haven't had many great players or moments yet. Andre Johnson and JJ Watt and that's it.


cajunaggie08
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The blackouts were an NFL rule at the time which stated you needed to sell 85% of your stadium's seating in order for the game to be broadcasted. Obviously it was a rule from an era where more money was made from ticket sales than tv rights. Bud could have "bought" the remaining seats or tarped off seating to change the official capacity but he didnt care. He wanted to show the NFL that Houston didn't support his team and needed to move.
maroon barchetta
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Frok said:

Funny how time changes perspective. The Oilers were ridiculed as much as the Texans are now back in the 90s because they always choked. In back-to-back years they choked to Buffalo and Kansas City. Then they went 2-14 and demanded a new stadium.

Bud Adams was the most non-fan friendly owner there was. The games were routinely blacked out and he prevented tailgating in the parking lot.

The name and colors were far superior to the Texans. Plus the Texans haven't had many great players or moments yet. Andre Johnson and JJ Watt and that's it.





I never understood how Bud Adams could be wealthy enough to own an NFL franchise but couldn't get a decent toupee.
Chewy
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His daddy gave him his businesses and money much like the current owner.
spadilly
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Sugar Land for sure, but their website has some stuff as well.
AgCPA95
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cajunaggie08 said:

The blackouts were an NFL rule at the time which stated you needed to sell 85% of your stadium's seating in order for the game to be broadcasted. Obviously it was a rule from an era where more money was made from ticket sales than tv rights. Bud could have "bought" the remaining seats or tarped off seating to change the official capacity but he didnt care. He wanted to show the NFL that Houston didn't support his team and needed to move.
Correct. IIRC it also to be by something like Thursday at noon or the blackout stood which I guess was a leftover rule from when some games were just not televised even for the road team. Randall's and Gallery Furniture seems to be the most common good Samaritans who would buy up the remaining inventory or at least enough to hit the threshold by the deadline and would then give them away.
03_Aggie
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AgCPA95 said:

cajunaggie08 said:

The blackouts were an NFL rule at the time which stated you needed to sell 85% of your stadium's seating in order for the game to be broadcasted. Obviously it was a rule from an era where more money was made from ticket sales than tv rights. Bud could have "bought" the remaining seats or tarped off seating to change the official capacity but he didnt care. He wanted to show the NFL that Houston didn't support his team and needed to move.
Correct. IIRC it also to be by something like Thursday at noon or the blackout stood which I guess was a leftover rule from when some games were just not televised even for the road team. Randall's and Gallery Furniture seems to be the most common good Samaritans who would buy up the remaining inventory or at least enough to hit the threshold by the deadline and would then give them away.


I don't recall it being a complete blackout. Just a blackout within a certain distance of the city. It was an effort to get butts in the seats as opposed to sitting at home and watching on tv.

I remember watching them out at our property (100 miles from Houston) while they were blacked out in town.
AgCPA95
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03_Aggie said:

AgCPA95 said:

cajunaggie08 said:

The blackouts were an NFL rule at the time which stated you needed to sell 85% of your stadium's seating in order for the game to be broadcasted. Obviously it was a rule from an era where more money was made from ticket sales than tv rights. Bud could have "bought" the remaining seats or tarped off seating to change the official capacity but he didnt care. He wanted to show the NFL that Houston didn't support his team and needed to move.
Correct. IIRC it also to be by something like Thursday at noon or the blackout stood which I guess was a leftover rule from when some games were just not televised even for the road team. Randall's and Gallery Furniture seems to be the most common good Samaritans who would buy up the remaining inventory or at least enough to hit the threshold by the deadline and would then give them away.


I don't recall it being a complete blackout. Just a blackout within a certain distance of the city. It was an effort to get butts in the seats as opposed to sitting at home and watching on tv.

I remember watching them out at our property (100 miles from Houston) while they were blacked out in town.
You are correct. I remember being able to see games at my grandparents up in the hill country before heading home on Sunday afternoons.
BoxingAg84
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This song instantly brings me back to my childhood. Going to the games hearing this song, seeing Crazy George beating on his drum etc. I still remember the smell of the Astrodome and how great the french fries were. Getting sad typing this.


maroon barchetta
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BoxingAg84 said:

This song instantly brings me back to my childhood. Going to the games hearing this song, seeing Crazy George beating on his drum etc. I still remember the smell of the Astrodome bathroom troughs/wall urinalsand how great the french fries were. Getting sad typing this.





FIFY
Stat Monitor Repairman
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Quote:

I still remember the smell of the Astrodome and how great the french fries were. Getting sad typing this.
If I could go back to the dome right now,

I'd get me one of those Hot Smokey hotdogs.

I put me a nice strip of onions and relish from that little wheel you turn.

Then I'd ease over to that spicy mustard they had.

I'd probably get me a nice coca-cola with that thick syrupy tase.

You get a coke at the dome, 1/4 of that was straight syrup out the machine.

The syrup was so thick your shoes would stick to the floor.

There aint no coke you can buy today that had that dome coke flavor.

spadilly
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S
Something special about peeing in the old Astrodome troughs. Turned a boy into a man real quick.
Hub `93
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Ghost91
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Stat Monitor Repairman said:

When I was young, Oilers players would play charity basketball games in the off-season. I got to tag along on the team bus to Conroe one time, then sit on the bench with the guys. I have an old school Oilers cap with autographs from Haywood Jeffires, Ernest Givins, Steve Jackson, Cris Dishman,. William Fuller and Johnnie Meads. 13 year old me thought that trip was the coolest ever. And I still have the cap.


Yep. They played a charity basketball game out in Katy when I was growing up in the 70's. After the game, there was a dinner for them hosted by the local Lion's Club. My dad was in the LC so I got to go.
I have a picture of me standing next to Carl Mauck and he's wearing a ball cap that says, "The Ayatollah ain't never met Carl Mauck".
I guess that places the event at around 1979/1980.
T Durden
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You gotta top that off with an Italian ice. Those things were the best thing they had going.
Hub `93
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I have an autographed basketball from one of those games. It was signed by White Shoes, Dr. Doom, Ronnie Coleman, Mauck, Tim Wilson, Dave Carter, and Jeff Groth.
Jugstore Cowboy
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spadilly said:

Something special about peeing in the old Astrodome troughs. Turned a boy into a man real quick.
I don't know why, but I feel dirty reading this. Maybe just a little dirty, like someone else's piss splashback on your jeans or shoes. Maybe something worse .
BoxingAg84
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Anybody old enough to remember when the Astrodome employees dressed like space cadets?



 
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