Goal: To thoroughly experience gameday at every FBS college football stadium. STADIUM COUNT: 113/134
Prince comes to mind when I consider the recent history of Wisconsin’s visits to Ryan Field – the Badgers haven’t partied there since 1999. In the four games Wisconsin has played in Evanston this century, all have ended with Badger players sulking. Kudos to the Wildcats for maintaining an undaunted approach in the clashes with their neighbors to the north. Purple reign, Purple reign. I told you – it all reminds me of Prince.
Fans flooded Madison like a monsoon for another football Saturday. Red lit up the streets, and the skies only rained sunshine and warmth upon the UW campus. Badger game days make an already vibrant town burst at the seams with a fervent electricity. Cram your car into a makeshift parking lot amongst the surroundings of Camp Randall’s residential neighborhood. Grab a beer and a brat at union south. Snap a quick double selfie with Bucky (it was his birthday today after all). Take in the sounds of the UW marching band. It’s game day.
125th year of Pitt football. 3 wins. 0 losses. 57 varieties. Heinz Field was ready to host a Panther team off to a strong start and primed to take on an Iowa team coming off a horrible home loss to rival Iowa State.
Heinz Field: Home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Panthers. Typically, I am fervently against universities that choose to play their home games in a pro stadium. Shifting the action off campus robs gameday of the authentic pageantry that makes college football special. However, Pittsburgh makes it work. The Panther football program has enough tradition, fan following, and connection with the city to keep the Pitt magic alive.
Doyt L. Perry Stadium, fondly named “The Doyt,” is the home of Bowling Green football. The construction is rather typical for a Middle American Conference arena. It’s small, yet cozy and certainly comes with devoted fans, making this place uninviting for visitors. In 2007, they tore out the north grandstand and made room for the modern and impressive Sebo Athletic Center, which houses offices, locker rooms, band seating and luxury suites. This newer addition clashes somewhat with the original structure that completes the rest of the stadium. But, the charm of “The Doyt” still remains.
One of the hot topics of the 2014 football season has been the collapse of the Big Ten conference. No team was able to win the marquee games of the nonconference season, and worse yet, they have been losing games that should have been walks in the park. Last week for instance, two Mid-American Conference foes upset Big Ten teams when Northern Illinois toppled Northwestern and Central Michigan clobbered Purdue.
Surely, this week would be better, right?
The College Football Tour tailgate was surrounded by hues of Husky red and Wildcat purple…and swarms of bees. If NU was playing Georgia Tech, we could chalk it up to irony. Instead, it was plain annoying. However, it didn’t sting our enthusiasm on this gorgeous day in Evanston for the battle of “Who’s the best in Illinois?” With the Fighting Illini struggling for relevancy and the Wildcats scrambling to crawl out of the losing-streak quicksand they put themselves into last year, Northern Illinois has surfaced at the top with an opportunity today to make it official.
Continue reading “Game 217: Northern Illinois @ Northwestern”
Any college football fan is proud of Michigan Stadium. It is the largest football stadium in the world with a capacity of 109,901. However, most games surpass 110,000.
2007. Opening Day. Ann Arbor, Michigan. FCS member and largely unheard of against the fifth ranked powerhouse Wolverines. The game began with hope and anticipation for a championship season for Michigan and ended with the biggest upset in college football history. That game changed the trajectory of both programs, mostly for the Mountaineers.
There are certain gems along the college football landscape, and one of the finest sits amongst the urban sprawl of Atlanta. The Georgia Institute of Technology houses the oldest active stadium in the sport. Open in 1913, Bobby Dodd Stadium has hosted some of college football’s most memorable moments and historic sports figures. The stadium’s namesake, Bobby Dodd, is celebrated for his high levels of success. The coach of the year trophy is named after him. Coach John Heisman (yes, THAT Heisman) is so revered that his name now adorns one of sports’ most coveted trophies.
Continue reading “GEORGIA TECH – BOBBY DODD STADIUM at HISTORIC GRANT FIELD”