Home Sweet Dome

There is something special, mysterious even, about the south end of the playing surface inside the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

In a span of only 11 months, three epic, big time college football games were decided within the 20-yard line, facing south, staring dead on at the thousands of bodies in UTSA’s loyal, passionate, rowdy, and beloved student section which as of late has evolved into something one would expect to see only from the most established blue blood schools of college football.  

A championship was won, a legendary catch occurred, and most recently a three-overtime heartbreak was had. Each respective event was laced with dramatic twists and turns that can not be scripted, all of which concluded in the south portion of the historic venue in which the UTSA Roadrunners call home. Each of these had all the feels. An all-inclusive, electric, pageantry filled college football experience that to most was a pipe dream only a decade ago became a real, tangible thing.

The catch that won the West, which is the first of these three events, was compared by many to arguably the Alamodome’s most defining moment, which in San Antonio is known as The Memorial Day Miracle. These events so significant to the city of San Antonio will live forever in sports lore happened in the same arena, in the same spot, and even in front of some of the same fans twenty years apart. Both completely unlikely, answered prayers in the form of a tipped touchdown pass and a falling out of bounds three-point heave which propelled both teams to championship rounds. Both instances resulted in first ever titles for UTSA last fall and of course your San Antonio Spurs back in 1999.

Interesting comparison, sure. Coincidence? Perhaps. Or could it even be possible the spirits of Alamodome glory past helped tip that ball into Oscar Cardenas hands last November? 

Now that is some food for thought, talk about home field advantage. Is it really that crazy to think that something beyond our human powers control the fate of a sporting event? The Boston Garden for example was notorious for wild, unexplainable things happening that would turn the tide of a game. Did Davy Crocket himself bury his lucky rabbit’s foot in the soil where the dome now sits? I don’t know, your guess is as good as mine. 

When the Alamodome was built, the goal was to lure an NFL franchise to the Alamo city. That still has not and likely never will happen. Maybe the powers that be had other ideas. Something out in the universe knew that big stage football would come to the 210, just not the form of an NFL franchise. Something more unique, something bigger, something that would be built to last.

That something, is the UTSA Roadrunners. And if what we have seen thus far through the decade of existence and most notably the past several games are any indication of what is in store then boy oh boy are we in for one hell of a ride. 

The Alamodome was made for UTSA football, only no one knew it back in 1993. It is a match made in college football heaven, and the day will come when sell outs are a regular occurrence every Saturday in the Fall on Montana Street.  

So, buckle up Roadrunner Nation, because it has only just begun. 

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