College Football Fans Chopper In To Championship Game
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NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A big game deserves a big entrance… at least almost two-dozen college football fans thought so! All of those ticket-holders arrived at Monday night's College Football Championship game by private helicopter.
The flights were an experiment conducted by Uber, an app-based transportation company. Now company officials say the trial run may have been a little too successful.
It was a first for Dallas. Uber offered to fly passengers from Dallas Love Field to within walking distance of AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The company won't say how many people requested the helicopter, but they admit demand was more than expected.
If you're going to 'Jerry's World' why not arrive like Jerry himself and make your own touchdown? At leas that's the feeling Ohio State fan Craig Plappert had.
"It's something Jerry [Jones] would do, right?" he asked. "Go big or go home!"
Oregon fan Marco Piemonte was of the same mindset. "When in Rome… now it's when in Dallas," he said laughing.
Uber teamed up with Epic Helicopters to offer something new.
Uber general manager Leandre Johns explained, "We thought about, 'what's a different way to get to the stadium?' Being able to see the stadium as you're flying in. Seeing Jerry's World, flying in from that perspective is kind of unheard of."
Uber started booking flights at 11 o'clock Monday morning. Although the price was $350 a person the service was almost instantly overwhelmed.
Piemonte said he was ready to battle for a space. "We knew at 11 o'clock we had to click, click, click!"
Ohio State fan Amit Doshi explained, "We stayed persistent for half an hour it seemed like. We just kept hitting the refresh button."
Uber briefly pulled the offer, but re-posted it and within 30 minutes was sold out. There were about 20 people in all who got a reservation.
Football fans that made the cut were excited. "We were giving high-fives. Oh yea, we were stoked about it. We thought we scored a touchdown or something."
The flight from Dallas Love Field to AT&T Stadium takes about 12 minutes flat. Oregon fan Allie Favia thought the price was a bargain. "I don't want to sit in traffic."
Brian Dunaway, with Epic Helicopters, said he realizes the experience is often reserved for the rich and famous. "The big shots are using helicopters, but today we're finding these are really just dedicated fans."
Oregon fan Jesse Seely said it was a once in a lifetime opportunity that just couldn't be passed up. 'It's real simple. It's a bucket list. When can you say you took an Uber chopper from a private airport to watch the Ducks win?"
The helicopter ride was one-way only. The passengers will leave the game in an Uber car.
Officials with the company said that after the response on Monday they will probably offer the promotion again.
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