Dedicated Fans Rework Travel Itineraries to Experience the Thrills of the Cotton Bowl in Texas!

With less than 24 hours remaining until the kickoff of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, supporters were heading towards DFW or at least attempting to do so.

As snow, sleet, and ice troubled the metroplex, many of the tens of thousands eager to attend the College Football Playoff Semifinal found themselves needing to reschedule travel plans or navigate through obstacles to support the Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes.

Teams were mobilized to treat and subsequently clear the streets around Arlington after hours of sleet and freezing rain on Thursday.

By the end of the day, Arlington Police reported responding to nearly two dozen significant collisions, noting that many took the advice to remain home and off the streets, or in the case of Cotton Bowl attendees, close to their hotels.

Arlington’s entertainment area was bustling with those who arrived sooner than anticipated, rescheduling flights or driving in a day ahead of time. For those who delayed, Thursday was beset by flight cancellations and delays as DFW and Dallas Love Field implemented ground stops.

Mekka Don, a former player for the Buckeyes, was among those who faced rerouting.

He mentioned that he left Ohio just before 6 a.m., flew to Detroit, was redirected from Dallas to Memphis, and ultimately found himself back in Detroit.

“Eventually, by the time we landed, we had been on that aircraft for eight hours, literally eight hours. No meals. No one was allowed to disembark, you know, it was chaotic, so we were all drained,” Don expressed.

12 hours later, he finally boarded a flight headed towards DFW. He noted that he was aware of several other former players and family members of current athletes struggling to make it in.

“If we can’t arrive there, you know, many of the Buckeye supporters don’t live in Dallas or in the Arlington vicinity, so a lot of us are traveling, so that’s certainly going to impact attendance and, you know, probably work to Texas’s advantage,” he added.

Don is now a rapper who composed a song performed at Ohio State games. He had to cancel a scheduled performance for Thursday night.