"Sooner Tsunami" Greets Season-Opening Watch Parties
When The OU Club of Houston met with the owner of a popular Houston sports bar in June, sentiments were encouraging. The proprietor said he had a perfect spot for a Sooner crowd at his newest location. That venue proved to be an upstairs patio with seating for about ten.
Nearly 100 Houston Sooners met for an August happy hour event at Christian's Tailgate, tabbed to be the site of The Club's 2013 football watch parties. Yet, when Oklahoma's season opener rolled around, the establishment was mired in a possible change of ownership and no one was able to offer any guarantee about what the future would hold.
Three days before OU's gridiron opener against the University of Louisiana at Monroe, Katch 22, the new sports-themed restaurant on Durham Drive opened its arms and doors to Sooner Nation. And local Oklahoma fans responded in record fashion.
More than 150 Sooners packed Katch 22 August 31 for The OU Club of Houston's first watch party of the year. It was standing-room-only on the premises well before the 6 p.m. kickoff. Seasoned watch-party veterans arrived early. Those who showed up just before kickoff were amazed by the site they found inside the establishment.
"Whoa!" said one long-time watch-party attendee. "This is amazing!"
For the first time in recent Club history, OU fans single-handedly packed a watch-party venue. Late in the 2012 season, Club tailgate events attracted a couple dozen diehard Sooners.
Such was definitely not the case to kick off 2013. In fact, The Club outgrew its official watch party venue before the season actually got underway.
"The turnout came as a surprise to all of us in The Club," said Tim Gregg, marketing and communications chair. "Changing venues at the last minute was a dicey proposition, but we did our best to get the word out. And the folks at Katch 22 were simply amazing."
And literally overwhelmed.
"Sooners need to realize that Katch 22 saved our season-opening event," Gregg said. "But their staffing for Saturday was already set. The restaurant had expected the usual slow Labor Day weekend. What they got instead was a bunch of raucous Sooners."
Luke B. Mandola, Jr., is co-owner of Katch 22 along with Kory Clemens, son of baseball legend Roger Clemens.
"The Boomer Sooners started showing up at 4:30 and by 5 p.m. I knew we faced a challenge. By 5:30 we had run out of room everywhere but at the bar. And yet, people kept coming and a lot of them stayed.
OU Club member Daniel Negron was one of the many who stayed and watched the entire game standing at the Katch 22 bar.
"This is great!" Negron said with a big smile on his face. "This is just like college. I couldn't be more pleased with the experience."
Someone else pointed out, "It's just like O'Connell's!" a reference to the famed Irish pub which sat just a block from Owen Field in Norman. "If you didn't get there early, you wound up waiting a while for your drink, but you didn't care because you were around hundreds of other Sooners."
Well said.
OU fans who showed up to Katch 22 too late for a table did have an alternative plan offered. Champps Americana, site of numerous OU watch parties in past years also showed the UL-Monroe game and nearly 100 more Sooners wound up congregating to watch the game there.
As OU prepares for its Big 12 Conference opener September 7, The OU Club of Houston finds itself in a unique situation. The Club already has outgrown its official watch party location.
"Katch 22 will continue to be 'ground zero' for our watch-party patrons," Gregg said. "We understand the restaurant was caught a bit unprepared for our crowd. We know they'll be ready to serve Sooners the rest of the season."
Gregg says that includes menu and drink specials, the addition of a big-screen television in the main dining room and a full compliment of servers and bartenders.
"Sooners looking for a more Game-Day feel to their watch-party experience will love Katch 22," Gregg added. "For those who desire a more relaxed and quieter setting, Champps will be a great location. Gregg also says The Club is exploring regional watch-party venues in the outer suburbs.
As crazy as OU's 34-0 opening win was for Houston Sooners who attended one of The Club's two watch parties on the final day of August, rest assured, the fun is just beginning!
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