I live and work in Houston, but my in-laws live in Waco and I have season tix for BU football so I make it up there pretty frequently.
Waco is moving forward, although not at as fast a pace as many of us would like. Thanks to new retail development and a large downtown revitalization project, there is a lot more to do than when I was in school there a few years back. Here is a good website on stuff being planned downtown: http://heritagesquarewaco.com/
The gameday experience has gotten a lot better ever since Steele was fired back in 2003. The police don't care if you drink before games as long as you use a dixie cup, etc. There are some new bars in town that also add to the experience. That said, as someone who grew up in Alabama and has frequented many an SEC venue, we still have a LONG way to go. Briles has brought optimism to town - something that we haven't had in a long time.
As far as our team goes, we are mediocre. Better than years past, but still a few years off, IMO.
Offensively, we are starting a true Frosh QB )Robert Griffin) who is an amazing athlete. He is very fast but has a hard time reading defenses (as would any 18 year old QB in the Big 12). We have a freak of an athlete in Kendall Wright, who plays inside WR. After that, we have a receiver who is a world-class sprinter but drops passes like crazy (David Gettis). Our running game is getting better, but our O-line is not very good, sans Jason Smith, who Mel Kiper has as the #3 tackle on his big board.
Defensively, we have a good middle linebacker (Joe Pavelek) and that's it. I honestly think that outside of ISU, we have the worst secondary in the Big 12. If you guys can throw it will be a long day for us. Also, our two starting CB's got injured in last week's game!