Owen Field capacity set at 25%

NORMAN — Greg Immel has been sitting in the same spot for OU football games for 45 years — back row in the north end zone.

“Some people would say they're not the best, but I wouldn't trade my seats for anything,” he said. “I can stand up, lean against the wall.”

But Immel, who has been to all but three Sooners home games since 1975 and road games when he can pull off the trip, won't be at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium this season.

Wednesday, OU announced it planned on allowing fans at 25 percent of capacity and gave ticket holders the option to opt in to attend games this season — if capacity allows — or push back their purchase to next season.

Immel elected to opt out.

“I don't have a problem with the plan other than I'm 54 years old, I work at a hospital so I am already at risk on a daily basis, so I don't want to add to that in what should be my time of enjoyment,” Immel said.

But plenty of other fans are pressing forward and hoping they can watch OU football in the stadium this year.

Like plenty of families, fall Saturdays centered around Sooners football are a routine for Jeanie Richie.

She's been going to games since the mid- 90s. Being from the Tulsa area and living in Fort Worth, Norman was a good halfway point to spend time with her parents and enjoy a day at a game.

Richie's parents, who are in their upper 60s, called her late Wednesday night and told her they'd decided to opt in. Richie said she wants to be safe, especially given her job as a physical therapist, but also wants as close to a normal fall as she can get.

“I'm a believer that routine is good, for anybody — players, vendors, the parking attendants,” Richie said. “I'm thankful to be in a job where it's not been affected, but there are a lot of people that have been. Not having the season would have a humongous ripple effect.”

Matt Bowling is typically among the first in the stadium on game days.

“Our tailgating is waiting on the gates to open,” the OU student said. “We're part of a group that will show up an hour before the gates open to get in the front row.”

But Bowling is passing this season.

“It's just not worth it,” he said.

Bowling suspects he'll watch the games on TV, but even that feels a bit weird to him.

“I don't think football is a good idea period right now let alone with fans in the stands,” he said. “We've been doing a great job with testing and protocols, which is great to see, but you wonder what's going to happen when all of the students come back.

“You're looking at a whole new set of issues. … I hope I'm wrong because a lot of people's livelihoods are on the line here.”

Bowling said it would take an effective vaccine or a decline in cases over a “significant” period of time before he felt comfortable attending games again.

While Wednesday's announcement was mostly met with a positive reaction, nothing is set in stone.

“Things are so fluid right now, things change within hours, even minutes,” Norman resident and season-ticket holder Andrew Hewlett said. “But I think right now there's some relief that hey, maybe we get to watch this in person this year.”