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College football stadiums...

StaffWriter

StaffWriter

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TED CRUZ 2016
For those who don't know (or can't read), I am a huge Georgia Bulldog fan. Having grown up a Dawg fan all my life and a graduate of the University of Georgia, I have been to many stadiums in SEC country. However, I have not been to many stadiums outside the SEC. Axl Blaze, you seem to think The Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio is one of the best venues north of the Mason-Dixon line. I would like to hear about the stadiums you all have visited and what makes those venues special.
My list goes like this (most of them in the SEC, of course!)

1.) University of Georgia's Sanford Stadium. Not especially loud, but seats over 92,000 rabid fans and have been sold out every game for decades now. I even had my graduation ceremony in that stadium.
2.) University of South Carolina's Williams-Bryce Stadium.
3.) University of Florida's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (The Swamp).
4.) Louisiana State University's Tiger Stadium (Death Valley). The greatest venue I've attended, esp. at night. Soooo loud and intimidating. My favorite!
5.) University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium. Seats over 102,000 fans. Sits near the Tennessee River and is known for it's "Vol Navy"...tailgating by boat. How cool is that? ( I think Univ. of Washington also does this)
6.)Auburn University's Jordan-Hare Stadium. Also very loud.
7.) University of Mississippi's (Ole Miss) Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (aka The Grove). Smallish.
8.)University of Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium. Also seats 92,000 like UGA's Sanford Stadium, but seems bigger and better. Can't help but feel a part of history when visiting. Fantastic venue.

Have not been to Kentucky, Mississippi State University, University of Arkansas or Vanderbilt.

Non SEC Schools

9.)Georgia Institute of Technology's Bobby Dodd Stadium at Grant Field in Atlanta, GA. Small stadium in an urban environment (aka Between the Ghettos). Seats only round 65,000, with many empty seats. The only cool thing is to see the Atlanta, GA skyline.

10.) Clemson University's Memorial Stadium (aka Death Valley). I had season tickets to the Carolina Panther's Inaugural season, where they played their games at Death Valley. Very similar to Sanford Stadium, but only holding around 81,000 fans.

I've also been to the Georgia Dome, New Orleans Superdome, Raymond James Stadium (for the Outback Bowl Georgia v. Wisconsin in 2004 and to see the Tampa Bay Bucs play twice), which has excellent luxury box seats which were quite a treat!, and Georgia Southern University, which is a glorified high school stadium.

As you can see, I'm a big football fan, esp. SEC football. Almost all of my visits to these stadiums were for UGA games, after college (and before my drug habit) when I had the money to go. I want to hear stories about the legendary Horseshoe, Michigan's "Big House", USC's Rose Bowl in Pasedena. Anyone got any stories?

Gooooooo DAWGS! Sic'em!!! Woof! Woof! Woof! GATA!!!
SW
 
that is a hilarious youtube clip.

the biggest stadium I've been around was the Big House. never been inside, but it is awesomely huge. the trippiest part about the stadium is that it is built about halfway underground, so it doesn't look as big as it really is. it can be a damn intimidating place to play, it sucks that Michigan just ain't what they used to be. you guys talk about your 90, 000 seat stadium like they are something special, but in the Big 10 we know how to do it... well, big.

but I present to you... Ohio Stadium. aka the Horsehoe. it seats around 106, 000 people.

21ohio.jpg


I live across the street from this stadium, and it is obviously has a close place to my heart. what I like best about Ohio Stadium is that I will trudge over there at 10 AM when I wake up, hungry, sober, and without a ticket. next thing I know I am cruising with my fellow frat bros J-Mac and Chadwick and we will be drunk, full of good food, and somehow I will have a ticket and one hand up the jean skirt of some fine Alpha Chi Omega broad. but seriously, it is a hell of a stadium.

I feel bad for the visitors, because they most certainly get harassed (and sometimes violently). when visiting, it's best to be escorted with one Buckeye fan so he can throw off the masses (just hit me up with a PM, I care about your safety as your local moderator). when visiting, you will hear somebody shout "O-H" and if you don't respond with a hearty "I-O" in approximately 5 seconds - your sexuality will be questioned. thankfully, their haven't been many riots since about two years. those always pissed me off because you will find that your lawn furniture has been taken and thrown in a pile or in a trash can and lit on fire.

my favorite story surrounding what best describes going to an OSU game was when the Buckeyes lost to Texas and Vince Young in an epic battle of two great teams. this was when Heisman winner Troy Smith was just being tested, so a relatively no-name loser was in most of the game and he essentially lost us the ball game (Justin Zwick).

as soon as we lose, I look outside and my relatively calm, cool, and nerdy accounting major neighbor across the street runs to the nearest Catalpa tree with a baseball bat, and hits the tree while donning a grocery bag with a sad face on screaming "ZWICK SUX DICK" as loud as he possibly can.

honestly, I was a little scared and I wanted to hit up some phat keggers with my friends that I paid for, so we hit the main street that divides Columbus, north and south (High st).

only making it a couple blocks until we run into a big fight. for some reason, it looks like two Ohio State fans and their possies are fighting one another. there is a huge crowd of onlookers obviously entertained at the recent developments. seconds later, the cops show up to kill the buzzes of all us fun-loving bros and they spray the crowd with what looks to be water from a water hose.

all of the drunks relish in this opportunity to get wet on a hot Indian summer type September night. there are drunks literally splashing each other with water with shit eating grins on their faces.

until they realize that what they thought was water was actually pepper spray. moments later, the ground was littered hilariously with crippled drunks clutching their eyes and some drunks even still trying to fight some people. I cautiously step between what eerily remind me of corpses, batting away a stinging sensation in my eye.

I look down the alley right after this debacle and I see two people having blatant sex, the girl bent over her scarlet and grey knee socks. I gave my fellow bro a thumbs up and this is when I knew I was proud to be a Buckeye.​
 
the Shoe is bigger than Tenneessee Stadium... at least I think so? I suppose they both cover around 105, 000 - but you know how they absolutely pack people in for games.

much like the conference's play-calling, the Big Ten's camera angles are stuck in the 90s.
 
I've been to Ben Hill, Michigan Stadium, Memorial in Bloomington, The Coliseum in L.A, Ryan Field in Chicago, Memorial in Champaign, and I can say without question the best venue is 'The Shoe.

Not only does it have the size and history, but the building itself is a fine example of architecture, something many others have mentioned don't Neyland Satdium is a simple double deck stadium, big yes, impressive architecture, nope. And Michigan makes me think when they built they said " Let's make the stadium as big and cheaply as we can.

Ben Hill has nice size and quirky architecture, the only reason it's inferior to OSU's is tOSU seats over 105,000, and it not just a simple design like Tenn or Mich.
 
Seriously, I want to get a tetanus shot before going to Neyland Stadium at Tennessee. I've looked at some pics of the Horseshoe at OSU and I have to say it looks very impressive. Looks like they used to throw the Christians to the lions in there! Very cool. Kinda reminescent of Soldier Field. Thanks for the visuals, Axl. Sounds like college towns have very similar parallels. I wanna hear more!
 
Pander Bear, did Ohioans murder your mom or something? I can sense that you have a deep hatred for Ohio. Why?
 
^ one could say the same for any football school worth its own weight in crystal footballs, down South.

Ohio just cares about football, is all I can say. way too much.
 
the amount of times I have heard this in my life is shocking. makes me feel like I am doing something wrong, yet doing something right
 
Nice pic. I was there for that game and I don't think I've ever EVER heard Sanford that loud. And for some reason, it's hard for it to get that loud at Sanford.
 
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