What road stadium have you attended with the best atmosphere?

[tide96]

While not technically a Road Stadium, the old Cotton Bowl for the Texas-OU game was always a blast with the Texas state fair right outside. I just wish that kickoff wasn't at 11am local.

after that, I like LSU for the rowdy fans but they can get really nasty.

I did Ole Miss for the first time this year and while fun, I think that the grove is overrated. It might have been on of the first centrally located tailgating spots, but I think spots like the Quad have caught up.

Michigan is pretty neat with all of the endless house parties leading up to the stadium. I have never seen to many games of beer pong going on in one place.

 

[wisten]

I would have to say the Rose Bowl (non-sec) or LSU (sec)

 

[AUTigers001]

I liked LSU... they started all that "Tigah bait" stuff -- which was a bit annoying, but if you engaged their fans they were actually very personable and just wanted to talk about football. More than a couple of tailgaters gave us a beer and some food as we talked about who might start at a CB position or why we haven't seen Mix that much in the lineup... I enjoyed it a lot.

I have always been treated very well at Tennessee, too. In 2004 I left in the middle of the fourth qtr -- still after many of the Vol fans did... but several of them congratulated me on the way out.

My last trip to Vanderbilt was awful -- Vandy was 4-0 and beat us... to make it to 5-0. The stadium was sold out -- probably about 50% each side. I'd say that at least 70% of the people there were WAY too drunk to negotiate the stadium steps. I got fallen on once... and saw several people stumbling both up and down the steps. Haha... it was sad and funny at the same time. Couple that with all the really mad Auburn fans and it made for a horrible experience. (I think it was that game that got Otis fired in the middle of the week...)

I've never been to BD -- so I can't talk about that.

 

[rtjpearse12]

1.LSU
2.Michigan - dad is from there
3.Ole Miss
4. Florida
5. UT

 

[rtjpearse12]

If you think the horse troughs are bad, go to Wade-Davis, or Scott Field or whatever it is they call it now in Starkville now. They don't even have the troughs. You just pee on the floor into a concrete ditch.

Yeah ive been a few times i guess they just like Peeing on the ground in miss.

 

[J4Bama]

I've been to all of the SEC stadiums with the exception of UGA (and it's just a few miles down the road) and I would say LSU for SEC and the Rose Bowl for bowl games.

 

[RamJamHam]

The Grove this year sufferered from WAY too much rain. I wouldn't judge by this year at all. It's always one of the nicest places, and when it's warm and the sun is shining on all those Ole Miss co-eds . . . .

 

[Vinny]

I've been going to Alabama games for over 20 years and have still never seen or heard Ramp Lady. I believe she exists; I just don't know how I've missed her.

We missed her too. For next time. Which ramp does she occupy?

 

[Lost in TN]

One of the best experiences is Nebraska vs Notre Dame. Nebraska fans are great and there is no pressure since you want both teams to lose....

 

[Saban14]

One of the best experiences is Nebraska vs Notre Dame. Nebraska fans are great and there is no pressure since you want both teams to lose....

I definitely don't want Nebraska to lose. They are one of my favorites. I think many Bama fans like Nebraska a good bit, much like OU and PSU. Notre Dame, however....

 

[mittman]

...
Most disappointing -- Michigan. It was definitely a wine and cheese crowd. Saw Northwestern beat them the year they went to the Rose Bowl. That would've been like Vanderbilt beating us. The crowd did nothing to help push the team, as they were in a dogfight. They didn't seem to be too upset about it. Our fans would've tried to fire our team up. Theirs did nothing.
...

I'll have to second this one. Bryant Denny got pretty quiet for awhile. But this place was moribund. I saw the battle for the brass spitoon (or something like that) against Indiana several years back. They were sitting on their hands :frown:

 

[mittman]

Miss State, they really have their act together with gameday traffic, parking and such. We parked for free in 07 in some Research Park and were shuttled by bus near the stadium. After the game, we were back at our car and on our way.
Posted via Mobile Device

I agree with the organization. The stadium is smallish, but the enclosed areas behind the sky decks are very nice. Good smoked sausage dogs. The fans are definantly into the games. Usually the game is not bad either.

If you think the horse troughs are bad, go to Wade-Davis, or Scott Field or whatever it is they call it now in Starkville. They don't even have the troughs. You just pee on the floor into a concrete ditch.

I guess this must be down on the lower sections. The sky deck rest rooms are not bad.

 

[thetideinmd]

i've been to UMd, VT, clemson, GT, louisville, UK, tenn., psu, army and navy.
EASILY the best pre-games are army and navy.
umd and clemson 25 ears ago when both programs ruled the acc. they both had smaller stadiums and the fans were into it.
psu fans were ALOT of funny. (and the Tide Rolled!)

 

[37bamagrl]

Well I was centered in on normal road games.....no doubt easily the best atmosphere I have ever seen away from Bryant-Denny (well and including BD) was Jan in the Rose Bowl. That game at the Mecca of college football with all that was on the line against a storied Texas program. There is just no way to get bigger I don't think. And the atmosphere there showed it.

 

[GoBama#1]

I've been going to Alabama games for over 20 years and have still never seen or heard Ramp Lady. I believe she exists; I just don't know how I've missed her.

She does exist. I saw her up close at the 2007 UGA game while tailgating. It just must be luck, being the right place at the right time. We saw her ten feet away on the Quad, and were like "holy ****, its the ramp lady" and we got her picture.

I am sure you have been to far more games than I have, due to location.

 

[Nittany Ed]

Think I may have a diferent perspective on road trips, since the only 2 I have been to in the South are Bama and Georgia.

Nebraska...very knowledgable and friendly. Great atmosphere.

Wisconsin...State St. brats and Lienenkugels beer. Friendly fans with the exception of the fraternity kids that line the walk towards the stadium.

BYU...Great setting, with snowcapped mts. next to the stadium. Also no alcohol = no a-holes.

Michigan...went this past season. As others have said not really a lot of enthusiasm. Maybe their 2nd straight losing season had something to do with that. But fans were nicer than......

Ohio State...Big stadium with a lot of electricity. Most people were nice, but my experience is that most schools have their share of a-holes who have usually drank too much, and like to hurl profanities. OSU is no exception to that rule, unlike Nebraska and BYU.

Iowa...probably the school that most reminds me of PSU. A college town that wouldn't be there if the school wasn't. Very underrated, I had a great time, and we lost. (we've been doing a lot of that lately with the Hawkeyes.)

Tied for Worst:

Pitt...I think Pittsburgh is a great city, have been there numerous times, but the college and their old stadium were the pitts. Full Disclosure: PSU and Pitt were bitter rivals until we joined the Big 10, so there is no love lost between the schools or the fanbases.

Syracuse...The Carrier Dome has all the charm of a Nazi War Bunker, without the glitter. And how can a stadium named after an air conditioning company NOT have air conditioning?

My favorite Bowl Game was the Superdome. I was 19, it was legal to drink at the time, and Bourbon St. made for some pretty good tailgating. BTW, we beat UGA for Joepa's first Nat'l Championship. How can I top that?

 

[exiledNms]

UT's pretty cool, although it's hard to be objective...would prolly be a cooler experience as a neutral party & not as a Bama fan on Bama gameday.

UF's pretty wild. I went when they were just AWFUL, and yet they still filled the joint up & made *lots* of noise.

MSU's not bad, although the lil-bro syndrome comes out quickly. 20 years ago when we moved to MS, I had them as my in-state SEC school to support & not UM; then I had 20 years of vast exposure to both fanbases. Totally flipped my in-state allegiances.

UM's pretty good. Of course, what I like most about UM games is hanging w/ exiled, jr. the UM pharmacy student...And for the record, the song "From Dixie With Love" played by the band was a great pre-game song. (I never yelled "The South Will Rise Again" though... )

AU...far too cult-like too quickly.

OOC...exiled, jr. & I had a BLAST @ Nebraska. Great fans, great team intro, lots of fun...very knowledgeable & respectful folks. "Oh, you're from Hattiesburg; we love watching USM"..."Oh, you went to Bama? Man--were you there in the Bryant era? You were?? That must've been AWESOME"...(etc.)

On my bucket list of stadiums to attend:
--LSU on a Saturday night, but not for a Bama game
--Penn State
--Air Force
--West Point
--Navy

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Inside the SEC, it's just tough. Soooo much history and too many drunk jerks (with the exception of Vandy). I'm not sure I've been to a road game in the SEC that was anything other than an exercise in endurance.

Outside the SEC, I've been to Notre Dame -- really cool stadium, even if it is old. The expansion several years ago helped, but they really need more bathrooms.

Went to Michigan in the mid-80s, and was thoroughly disappointed. True, a lot of history happened there, but the building itself has zero character. It was just a big bowl with aluminum seating. The student section did have some good cheers -- bawdy and creative, but not profane.

Been to the Rose Bowl twice. Outside the stadium is great -- everything you see on TV. Once you spend an hour in line for bathrooms, concessions and getting through those truly dangerous tunnels, go up aisles that are too narrow to seats with too little room between rows (and I'm 5-10, 155 --if it's too tight for me, it's too tight), the experience is fine. I really think it's way overrated, probably because if you're not dealing with all the other stuff, it is so pretty.

My favorite, though, was Norman, Oklahoma. Classy fans, great game (even though we did lose). Some really cool memories of our crowd staying in the stands after a painful loss -- we were so close to pulling the big upset -- and chanting Roll Tide...Roll Tide....Roll Tide for what seemed like 15 minutes. Even the Oklahoma City paper commented on it the next day.

 

[Shortround]

We missed her too. For next time. Which ramp does she occupy?

The expansion is going to block the last of the ramps. So who knows?

 

[tortfeasor]

I"m going to go with LSU.