Arizona Football: Where Were You Zona Zoo?
By Brad Malone
This past weekend Arizona Football showed why Rich Rodriguez always preaches ‘Hard Edge’ and ‘Next Man Up.’
The Wildcats looked like a different team against Oregon State. Thanks to the return of Anu Solomon and some coaches tinkering to the linebacker corps, the Cats had little trouble against the Beavers.
But boy was it hot.
Oct 10, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats running back Jared Baker (23) runs the ball during the third quarter against the Oregon State Beavers at Arizona Stadium. Arizona won 44-7. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
This fan was born and raised in Tucson, but one thing I will never adapt to is the Tucson summers. I dislike the Old Pueblo heat as much as I do Sparky.
In Arizona Stadium, my buddy and I sit near the top of the east side upper deck, in the Bob Uecker seats. If you are under 35 and don’t get that reference, that means we have bad seats. We can see the whole field and have an excellent view of the Jumbotron, but the players look just a bit larger than ants.
I don’t know how hot it was, but by the second quarter I was ready to get out of the scorching sun after spending $300 on liquids. My buddy had the great idea of moving into empty seats on the west side of the stadium in the second half.
The west side was crowded, but we found a pocket of empty seats where we settled. The shade made all the difference and the final two quarters were quite pleasant with a cool breeze flowing past us.
I’m a wimp and by the looks of things in the second half, a lot of Tucson could be considered a bunch of wimps too.
When I got to the shade, I looked across at the almost vacant Zona Zoo. It looked worse than the Cats lowly attended Spring football games.
It wasn’t just the Zona Zoo, the upper deck on the east side was also vastly empty.
Arizona Wildcats
When the game started the east side upper deck wasn’t packed but it had a nice collection of fans. From what I could tell at the same time, the Zona Zoo was less than capacity on the north and south sides.
I want to know where all these people went.
Did they follow our lead and head to the west side for the shade? There were not too many empty seats on the west side in the second half, so maybe some of these folks filled in the empty spaces like us, or fled for shade above the new north end zone seats.
Since it was Parents Weekend, were the students sitting with their parents on the west side? This is my colleague Shereen Rayan‘s theory since her daughter came to sit with her and her husband on the shady side of the stadium.
Did the students leave the game at halftime to party? There is a nasty rumor going around that college kids like to drink.
Did the upper deck and Zona Zoo go to see ‘The Martian’? It was number one at the box office again this weekend.
If that is what happened, I can’t entirely blame them. It’s my favorite film of the year so far, until that other one comes out (please don’t let me down J.J.)
I haven’t met anyone who hated the movie so far, but if you did not like the film I’m assuming you are one of those people that tells everyone that you don’t like the Beatles.
In two weeks, when Washington State comes to town, we will see if the mass exodus happens again. This time, it will be Homecoming. Homecoming weekend means that a ton of alumni will return to the Arizona campus for the game.
Parents Weekend has come and gone, so one would think the Zona Zoo will be full again. Keep in mind, they tailgate at 10:00 a.m., so they can get in line at 11:00 a.m. to sit in the Zona Zoo, and then they sit in line or the stands in the heat until 1:00 p.m when the rest of the fans fill the stadium. That’s dedication if you ask me.
Oct 23, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Movie actor Matt Damon in attendance during game one of the MLB baseball World Series between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
The game will once again be at 1:00 p.m., a time that the team and their coach Rich Rodriguez relish.
I’m hoping for a more San Diego type day.
Let us know what you did at the game.
Did you leave? Stay? Find Shade? Go and see the film ‘The Martian’? Were you mad at the Zona Zoo?
The bottom line is the Cats are now 1-2 in conference play and have a great chance of winning some games the next few weeks. Arizona has six more games, all of which are huge. Don’t count out our Cats just yet. Basketball can wait.
Next: Week 6 Arizona Football Journal: Cats Shut Down Beavers