In a season with as much uncertainty as this one, to even contemplate going to an away game seems far fetched but when tickets for the SMU game appeared on Stub Hub two weeks ago, I figured why not? To make plans for such an adventure seemed almost revolutionary after 8 months of not leaving Shelby County but I was ready to search for some normalcy.

The drive to Dallas was perfectly uneventful. I was honestly surprised to see people complying with masks at the fuel stops we made along the way and the traffic load seemed like normal times. People seem ready to get back out in the world and live their lives.

We did book rooms at the team hotel and I was stunned at how empty the place seemed. The team stayed up in their areas and there were very few university folks around as well. You would not have known there was a football team staying there honestly. We went to dinner Friday night at a near by Pappadeaux’s and I was surprised at how empty that usually jammed restaurant was. Things in Dallas were open but like Memphis, not quite at full steam.

Saturday we were on SMU’s campus by 1:00 and parking was easy for a change. I guess that is what 25% capacity does. For the 1st time we saw most people not wearing masks. they had them but were either carrying or had them pulled down. I asked a Dallas police officer what the rules were, and he said if you are outside and not in a big group you are fine. We walked over to the Boulevard where SMU tailgating is usually in full swing (most times they never leave to actually go to the game), but it was completely shut down so we decided to go on into the stadium.

Masks were required for entry and underneath the stands everyone wore them. Full concession stands were operating along with drink carts and souvenir stands so it seemed pretty much business as usual. Distancing in the stands was accomplished by placing blue decals on the benches indicating where your ticket was good for. Another little detail they had was each of those decals had a QR Code on it if you wanted to donate to their athletic fund.

It became apparent quickly that once people came into the seating bowl, masks came off and with the bright sunshine and comfortable distancing in place, I felt very comfortable in that situation. People seemed aware and would mask up once they got in a crowd though.

The students were a different story and I just hope that the beer/white claw shower they gave TJ Carter and a game official in the first quarter do not come back and cause a problem. I have to give SMU credit for walking the perp out, but it wasn't until right before halftime, so the fact that it took so long was disappointing.

As far as the actual game, I was afraid that our long layoff and their having played 3 straight games would hurt us out of the gate and it really did. We were just not ready when that game started, but you could see us start to warm up to the occasion in the second quarter. To hold SMU to only 6 points in the second half was good and but for that last turnover, Memphis would have won the game. It really was reminiscent of the 2019 Temple game. All of our goals are still out there though; we must take care of our business because no one is going undefeated in the AAC this year.

So bottom line, we lost a tough game. But, I got to go on an away game road trip, which I would do again in a minute. And normalcy is still out there to be found, you just have to decide you want to go find it.

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