Category: Big Ten

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IOWA – KINNICK STADIUM

This is a classic example of a place where sports dominate the entertainment category. Pre-game tailgating is fantastic, and the buzz on the streets in Iowa City is all about the team. Many fans point out visiting colors and start their battle cries and chants. Walking up to Kinnick Stadium, you see a beautiful brick façade that lines the outside. Rows of corn greet visitors to the main entrance along with a statue of Hawkeye hero and 1939 Heisman trophy winner, Nile Kinnick. The entire experience is midwestern perfection and one of the best college football stops in the country.

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Game 286: Miami (OH) @ #20 Iowa

I always get excited when I am able to put Kinnick Stadium on my schedule. I know I’m going to have an incredible day. Midwestern hospitality saturates the scene, and that was especially evidenced by the “Hawks To Go” tailgate whose members invited me in and showed me why they were named winner of the Best Hawkeye Tailgate Contest. My experience involved learning the history of the tailgate, which started in 2005. I also was taken on a tour of all the Hawkeye autographs on their trailer from all the Iowa greats that visited over the years. We took a shot to christen our visit to the tune of the I-O-W-A chant and received a pin commemorating the moment. As they inject all this passion into Hawkeye gameday, they have also taken in thousands of dollars in donations for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. I felt blessed to start my gameday off in this way.

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Game 281: #3 Notre Dame @ Northwestern

The glint of the golden Irish helmets have not reflected off the light in Evanston since 1976. Notre Dame and Northwestern have met often in the past, but home games for the Wildcats were typically shifted to Soldier Field. The purple invaded South Bend four years ago and shocked the Irish in overtime. That same magical feeling was hovering over tailgates around Evanston and over Ryan Field as an undefeated Notre Dame team spilled out onto the Wildcats’ home field.

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Game 279: Illinois @ #20 Wisconsin

Four seasons. One game.
There is no better way to describe the weather at this Badger homecoming game. A chilly spring like rain fell just before kickoff, which led to dry, cool, gray autumnal skies. An unexpected torrent of wintry snow then whipped wildly around Camp Randall, which gave way to a sunny summery sky. Actually, that was just the first half, and it unleashed havoc on both offenses. Illinois struggled most miserably as Wisconsin forced five turnovers in four seasons.

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RUTGERS – HIGHPOINT STADIUM

Established in 1766 as Queens College, Rutgers is older than the United States. History is a big deal around here as nods to the original Queen’s College can be seen in logos and landmarks around campus. That sense of history also spills onto the football field as Rutgers played in the first ever collegiate football game in 1869, thus earning the title The Birthplace of College Football. A statue commemorating that 6-4 victory over Princeton stands proudly outside HighPoint Stadium- an icon on the Rutgers campus.

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Game 277: Illinois @ Rutgers

Right before kickoff, as though it were a rally cry, one hopeful Scarlet Knight fan hollered, “There is only one team worse in the Big Ten than Rutgers – Illinois!” Well, the game would prove that even that was not true. In a stadium where a sign held up by one student mockingly reads, “1869 National Champs,” many fans have been feeling the sting of joining the Big Ten.

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