Horned Frog fans and spirit squads celebrate the first football game of the season through tailgating and pregame festivities.
"In the fall of 1981, we were in the Southwest Conference and football was fun. I never missed a home game, even though we lost a lot of games. We always had fun going to games though tailgating wasn't invented yet. The stadium today embodies so much more power and spirit than it did when I was still at school here, and it is amazing to see how far we have come as a university and community." –TCU graduate Connie Richards, class of 1982
"Who would have ever thought we would say one day, 'We just won our first game in the Big 12.' Our small university has made such big changes and improvements, I am even more proud to be a Horned Frog today. The TCU community should be filled with pride, and the number of people wearing purple will only get bigger from here." –TCU graduate Suzanne Robertson, class of 1980
"It's great for the program: money and national recognition. I think it's good. It's where we should be. [The stadium] looks fantastic. The only slight I have is it takes away from tradition. I won't be able to come back in 5 years and have the same stadium." – Senior political science major Alec Hayes
"I think it's an exciting time for TCU. Since I'm a transfer student, this was a perfect time to transfer, since we're joining the Big 12."- Junior strategic communication major Stephanie Reyes
"It was very patriotic and a great way to start off the season with the jets flying over. They're going all out for the opening game." – Reyes
"TCU moving into the Big 12 with its inaugural season with the new and nostalgic Amon G. Carter stadium is a long time coming. It feels like 180 degrees from the dark ages of the 90s. Although some fair-weather fairies left the Grambling State game at half time in the footsteps of a sad tradition of the past, this fades in comparison to the pride we feel as Horned Frogs, and what we have wanted to show the country for so long. We are worthy and we will most certainly win." –Senior nursing major Kent Roeger
"It's definitely exciting because I feel like we've always belonged in the Big 12." – TCU graduate David Johnson, 1996
"[The jet was] so loud it made your hair stand on end." – Johnson
"I am excited about our football team being in the Big 12 this year because there is such better competition in this conference. When you went undefeated in the Mountain West conference you had a small chance of getting to a bowl game. But now, winning in the Big 12 would definitely get us to a bowl game." – Junior sociology major Trey Teakell
"It's harder to find people because it's a lot more people. I'm not used to the two sections, but I like that there's more people.” Senior history major Kyle Wilson
"I'm excited for all the new teams we get to play." – Freshman music performance major Natasha Costello
"It's really pretty. It's very purple." – Freshman biology major Meghen Goulet
"One of the reasons I chose to come to TCU was because it's a small school, but we still get to compete in this brand new, gorgeous stadium and play against well-known teams. The spirit the Big 12 has brought to our school makes it that much better." –Freshman pre-major Hailee White
“In the past, I didn't go to a lot of games. I cheered my first year and the stadium looks a lot better." – Junior nursing major Patricia Bush
"It's a good way to start off my junior year." – Bush
"I like how they use the fireworks. It's different from last year." – Sophomore nursing major Grace Yang
"The TCU community is way more spirited ever since our arrival into the Big 12 and our new and improved stadium has been built. It's a totally different feeling now getting ready for games compared to last year. More people actually want to go, and better yet stay until the end of the game, especially since we have night games now and we're not dying as much in the heat." – Sophomore strategic communication major Katlyn Bauer