The OU football schedule can affect aspects of city life, including holidays, local businesses and schools’ athletics schedules, frustrating some Norman residents.
Norman Public Schools canceled classes earlier this semester for the Sept. 4 OU home game against UTEP. Recently, the city of Norman recommended families trick-or-treat on the day before Halloween due to traffic and pedestrian safety concerns for the home game against South Carolina on Oct. 31.
This change has created community frustration at the city for adjusting to OU’s football schedule, with Norman resident Michael Gamboa citing the game taking away from his children’s experience.
“That holiday has been set for a long time, and then when it comes down to a school intervening with a holiday, you know, it’s really sad, because I think about the children,” Gamboa said. “That’s the main line here. They’re always ready for the 31st, not the 30th, not the 29th.”
Gamboa has six kids, and has been living in Norman for over 20 years. He said his family's plan is to motivate their neighbors to stick with trick-or-treating on the 31st.
Not every resident is upset about the football schedule, with local Trevor Rogers saying he is happy with the trick-or-treating date change.
Rogers has lived in Norman his entire life, graduating from OU in 2015 and now working as a motorsports photographer and content producer.
Despite saying Halloween is his family’s “Super Bowl” due to having young kids, Rogers has no problem adjusting the holiday tradition to accommodate the football schedule.
“In fact, I’m very glad that they moved trick-or-treating off of the 31st. I think it’s a way safer option,” Rogers said. “It’s stressful enough being a parent, so I’m totally okay that they moved it off the 31st.”
Outside of being a Norman local, Rogers is especially familiar with OU football. His parents worked in what is now OU Athletics Communications, and he covered OU football for CBS Sports.
Rogers said that football games adjusting Norman life each fall has never bothered him due to his connection with the team and love for football.
“I got to cover OU football — got to cover three college football playoffs, and it’s a huge part of my life,” Rogers said. “I’m very grateful for it, and fall in Oklahoma is kind of really what it’s all about.”
For Norman residents who are less engaged with football, especially kids with Halloween plans, the schedule adjustments are a bigger deal. Norman High School senior Ada Martin had been looking forward to trick-or-treating with her boyfriend on Halloween, but because of the game, decided to work instead.
“It’s kind of mildly frustrating. I’m not too intrigued by football myself, and Halloween’s my absolute favorite holiday,” Martin said. “And I feel like it’s just really strange because … scheduling a football game on such a day is kind of frustrating.”
Martin has lived in Norman her whole life, and said that each fall, OU’s home football games affect her schedule.
“So it’s canceled school days. I’ve had to miss a shift or two,” Martin said. “And then sometimes I have things scheduled with family members that my family has had to cancel because the traffic’s really bad on home games.”
Local businesses are also having trouble navigating the Halloween game with their scheduled holiday events. Eric’s Toy Emporium, a city of Noble toy business and event organizer, has a show called Eric’s Toy Extravaganza scheduled on Halloween in Norman.
Eric’s Toy Emporium owner Crystal Hensley said she is worried for the traffic that will come along with the game, but that it could also benefit the show.
“You know, it might actually be a bigger show just because there’s more traffic in Norman. So we’re not quite sure how it’s going to go,” Hensley said. “We’re hoping for an awesome turnout.”
The show is at Cleveland County Fairgrounds off Robinson Street, a road that connects to I-35, the main north-south highway through Norman. To take advantage of this increased game traffic, Hensley is going to deck out the show’s entrance.
“We have a lot of Halloween decorations that’ll be outside of the building,” Hensley said. “So I do believe and hope that with all the traffic in town that people will be stopping.”
Hensley said she's had the date for this show scheduled since last year, and has run into similar scenarios of scheduling conflicts with games. Hensley said when this has happened before, they play the football game at their event for everyone to watch.
Norman Public Schools District Athletic Director T.D. O’Hara said OU’s home football schedule has affected high school athletics scheduling, specifically football and basketball events, with some games having to be moved to different nights.
“When OU played their Friday night game, you know Norman High … was scheduled to play at Westmore that night,” O’Hara said. “And we were able to move that to Thursday to avoid those conflicts and whatnot from the athletic side, but also just for the overall safety of all our students on that particular day.”
Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association playoff games are unable to be moved, as schools are required to play those events on certain days. If the game doesn’t have a required date, O’Hara says the next step is contacting the opponent.
“If it’s feasible, then also the other part of it is the opponent that you’re playing, and they have to agree a lot of times to move that,” O’Hara said. “So there’s a lot of moving parts. It’s not just an automatic thing. It’s more just working through it to see what options are available and what fits best for all the parties that are involved.”
O’Hara said the main reasons for moving high school games are the increased traffic from OU games and the safety of the students. O’Hara said needing to reschedule a game doesn’t happen very often, as typically the university and high school schedules don’t align.
The last time OU played a home football game on Halloween was against Kansas State in 2009, and the city also recommended trick-or-treating be pushed to the night before.
This story was edited by Spencer Windholz. Lauren Brogdon, Braxton Collett and Kennedy Johnson copy edited this story.
