Outback's Bloomin' Onion 1 lands in Norman

By Michael Kinney

When No. 5 Oklahoma faces off with No. 2 Texas Tech Saturday night, the eyes of the college football world will be focused on Norman.

However, while the 83,000 thousand fans in Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium will have their eyes glued to Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Tech's Michael Crabtree, they'll be shadowed by a Bloomin' Onion.

The Bloomin Onion 1, the blimp belonging to Outback Steakhouses, will be circling the stadium throughout the game providing aerial television coverage for ABC.

Despite its being a night game, the Onion 1 crew has no worries about not being seen.

"It's a lighted ship," John McCaskill said. "There are two 1,000 watt light bulbs inside that light up the entire blimp. You can see it for miles away. Can't miss it."

The blimp has been parked at Max Westheimer Field since Tuesday and will not take off until a few hours before the Saturday's kick off.

The Bloomin' Onion 1 travels across the country providing overhead camera shots for a variety of sporting events. McCaskill and the rest of the 14-person crew stay on the road with the blimp and have not been home in eight months. But they do not have too many complaints.

"It's a different life," McCaskill said. "I started on blimps when I was 20. I am 34 now. You get paid to travel the country. Can't beat this job. It's a fun life."

The Onion 1 began the college football season Sept. 13 in California for the USC/Ohio State game. Since then they have been making their way south, working mostly Big 10 games.

On the crew's original schedule, the blimp was supposed to be in Tampa making an appearance at the University of South Florida game this weekend. But two weeks ago, they received a different flight plan.

"We changed schedules a couple of times this year," McCaskill said. "Not knowing which teams are going to come up and some teams fall. We have had a couple of No. 1 and No. 2 teams fall that we were supposed to do. The next week we change our mind and we go do something else."

That was the case after the Red Raiders dismantled Oklahoma State two weeks ago and the Sooners rolled through Texas A--M. What was already expected to be an important game increased its national appeal and forced the Onion 1 to change course.

However, one of the downsides to altering their schedule on last minute notice is dealing with weather issues. With a blimp that is 48 feet tall and 132 feet long, weighs 1,000 pounds and is full of helium, thunderstorms, high winds and rains are not welcome sights.

Unfortunately for the Onion 1, Oklahoma weather can change on a dime. And Saturday's forecast is not expected to be picnic time.

"We are pushing the limit as far as weather fronts coming down," McCaskill said. "This is the time of year all the cold fronts are coming down, which bad weather is associated with. We try to stay away from cold. Snow is not our friend. The blimp is lighter than air, so when you have got snow on, it's going to weigh it down. Keep it crashing to the ground."

But the crew knows the significance of the game around the nation. They will head out to Florida Sunday morning, which is a three day trip. By the time they leave they hope they will have covered one of the best games of the year.

"This is a big game," McCaskill said. "This is why we are here. This is why we provide aerial footage. Got to do the big games. Go above and beyond."

Michael Kinney 366-3537 mkinney@normantranscript.com