Houston, good job this weekend. We were out in Dallas on Saturday — in the pouring rain — and saw a pumped-up UH team demolish Southern Methodist University.
The game started off with a UH touchdown, but from there things got complicated. Play was suspended for over two hours because of lightning and inclement weather.
It was SMU’s homecoming, and the stands were packed with screaming SMU sororities and fraternities before the stadium was evacuated.
For two and a half hours the rain poured down on the field. Underneath the stadium people were wet, tired and cold — and they were told they couldn’t leave and come back, forcing attendees to choose between football and comfort. Many people chose the latter and left for somewhere that wasn’t leaking water by the gallon.
After the rain delay was finally lifted, the stands were nearly empty; almost every SMU fan decided to leave.
Houston fans were more resilient.
Maybe it was travelling in Dallas — maybe it was just determination — but nearly every single Cougar fan stayed for the entire game, delay and all. It took almost eight full hours before the clock finally expired, but people were screaming and standing up the entire time.
The crowd population was actually (if you can believe it) in Houston’s favor. There were more Cougars at the game than SMU fans once the game finally started again. The Cougars salvaged their hopes for a Conference USA championship Saturday — but UH fans also proved their worth, showing that there are quite a few hardcore Cougar followers.
The Daily Cougar has written quite a bit about how many fair-weather fans this University has, but now we know the real truth — there are definitely a good number of people ready to give UH a real representation at games. It’s refreshing to write about how well-supported our football team is — and to know that some people take this campus seriously.
Let’s just make sure that the trend continues, and that the Cougars can once again rise up to be C-USA champions. There’s nothing better than good fans supporting a good team — whether the team is in good times or bad.
