After watching Game 3 of the World Series on Friday night at the Rangers new ballpark (more about that in a future post), I woke early on Saturday and returned to the area to see the Rangers old ballpark. Globe Life Park has been turned into a multi-purpose venue and now hosts football games among other events. This day saw the Abilene Christian Wildcats taking on the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in a Southland Conference battle. I'm not going to talk much about the stadium, as it hasn't changed much. One notable difference is that the offices that used to belong to the Rangers now house Six Flags, which has a theme park nearby.
The main difference from a fan's point of view is that there are seats added in the old outfield that are actually quite comfortable and better than the old seats as they face the field directly.
Fellow traveler Mark joined me and we had seats down low, as you can see below, with a better view of that new seating area.
Those were not good for actually watching the game, so we moved around. In one breezeway, we saw a reminder of the games cancelled due to the pandemic. The XFL will be back though, so who knows, maybe I will see another game here eventually.
A view from the left field corner is below. Bleacher seats are here and in the opposite corner and these are great for watching plays at the goal line, as you will see later.
Below is the view from the new seating area. Definitely better to sit here if you ever happen to find yourself at a football game at GLP.
The view from the right field end zone is below. These seats were almost empty as they are completely in the shade. Only the lower bowl was open, but with just over 5,000 in attendance, there was no problem finding socially distanced seating.
That's about it. Always sad to see an MLB ballpark no longer in use, and they really didn't need to build a new one, but at least the old one is still around for a while at least. If you are in Arlington for an event at AT&T or GLF, check the GLP site as well as you might be surprised by an event like I was.
The Game
SFA came in at 2-3 while ACU was 0-2 but favoured by 3 points. Both teams wear purple and white, with SFA donning the purple jerseys on this day. The game got off to an ugly start with 2 fumbles and 3 penalties in the first 90 seconds. We spent about ten minutes down low before moving up, as the action was too hard to see when at the other end of the field, as you can see below.
Things settled down after that and both teams scored touchdowns on long drives. Late in the 2nd quarter, SFA had driven to the ACU 6. A questionable blindside block penalty drove them back to the 21 and although they got to the 11, they attempted a field goal. It was blocked and the ball fell into the hands of Ryan Stapp who ran 85 yards for a very uncommon blocked FG-TD. A 10-point swing just before the half.
The third quarter saw just a FG from SFA and so it was 14-13 entering the final frame and the 49.5 under looked secure. Then the craziness started. After SFA had a short punt from their own end zone, ACU's Jermiah Dobbins ran for 27 yards and followed that with a 10-yard touchdown to make it 21-10. SFA added a field goal to get within 5, and when ACU fumbled on their first play, SFA had a chance for the lead, but turned the ball over on downs.
But ACU went 3-and-out on the following drive and SFA took over with 6:25 remaining. They then engineered a brilliant 11-play, 51-yard drive, with QB Trae Self completing an 8-yard pass to Xavier Gipson (#19 below, look for the football on the way to the end zone) to make it 22-21.
Self then could not score on the 2-point conversion (below) so it remained a one-point game.
On their next possession, ACU quarterback Peyton Mansell combined with Kobe Clark for a 78-yard pass and run and then Mansell scampered in for the 2-point conversion (below). 29-22 ACU.
SFA started from their own 33 with 1:31 left, and on the second play of their drive, Self connected with Miller for a 62-yard pass and run play that was immediately followed by a touchdown and suddenly the game was tied at 29. Overtime! SFA won the toss and elected to defend. ACU could not get a first down from the 25 and kicked a FG. On their possession, SFA ran for 9 yards and then Mansell tossed a short pass to tight end Chad Aune who rounded the corner and crossed the line right in front of me. This highlight made SportsCenter and you can see my hand raised as Aune crosses. The Lumberjacks win 35-32 and celebrate below.
SFA coach Colby Carthel was diagnosed with COVID a week ago, but he was on the sideline today and ended up stripping off his shirt for the Gatorade bath, which became the story of the game. Not the blocked FG-TD, or the incredible finish. That's why sports media is so unreliable for these smaller games as they are only looking for the sound bite.
But for me, it was the incredible fourth quarter that made this the most memorable college football game I've ever seen. Not that I have seen very many. Both TCU and SMU were home on this day and prices for those games were quite high with neither game particularly entertaining, so I am glad I chose this one. Sometimes it is the lesser lights that turn out to be the brightest.
Notes
At the corner across from Globe Life Field (easy way to remember which is the current park - Field = Future, Park = Past) is a sign TE_AS. You are supposed to make the X, as I did below. Thanks to Mark for explaining it to me and taking the picture.
The craziness was contagious as GLF saw a wild ending to Game 4 of the World Series that night. Sadly, I did not have tickets to that game, but will see Game 5.
Best,
Sean
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