Favorite AWAY game stadium to visit?

[FormerCawoodTrojan]

As an avid UK football fan, my buddies and I try to make a couple of road trips each year. This year, we will be going to @WKU (Nashville), @LSU, @USC, and @UGA. Previous years I've been to @Vandy, @IU (Couch days), @Auburn, @Bama (Tuscaloosa), @USC, @Ole Miss, @UL, @UGA, @UF, and @UT (MANY times). After this season, I'll only be missing @MSU and @Arkansas. Neither are high on my priorities. I have also been to these UK Bowl Games - Outback against PSU, Music City against Syracuse, FSU, Clemson (both), Liberty Bowl against ECU, and the Compass Bowl against Pitt. Through those bowl games I've had the 'luxury' of two of the worst stadiums still in use as well as two very nice NFL stadiums.

 

My question is, where have you been as a visitor and how do you rate it your trip in this or other criteria: The Night Before Action, The Tailgate, The Home Fans, The GameDay Traditions - stadium noise, etc, and the game itself.

 

Reg Season Trips - @Vandy - Night Before Action is fantastic. Love all the Nashville bars. The Tailgate leaves ALOT to be desired. The Home Fans - weren't really there. No Traditions really stood out. The games (2) that I went were very uneventful with lots of bourbon. @IU - About the same as @Vandy. Bloomington totally different than Nashville, but very fun college bars and attractive co-eds. Game was fun because Couch lit it up for 7 TDS. @Auburn - Night before was a lot of fun - as were all of the places - i'll go ahead and get that out there. Game day was awesome. Loud - energetic fans. A few jerks close to our seats, but mostly nice people. Great game thanks to Cobb and a big road victory. @Bama - loudest stadium i've visited and it wasn't close. Went twice - JLO game and then Hartline soph year. Awesome tailgate and very nice fans. Both games were good, well played games for the most part. @USC - Great all around trip, Cobb played brialliantly and had he got the ball on the 2 pt conversion and/or Hartline not got hurt we win that game IMO. Fun tailgate, had friends that own a condo at the University place where lots of alumni/former players hang out. Several current players played cornhole and hung out with us after the game. Later I found out that I was teamed up with the GM of a certain hotel that many student athletes lived at. :sssh: @Ole Miss - all except the game was the greatest road game ever. The Square, The Grove, the southern hospitality were all 2nd to none. GREAT time all around, except that HORRIBLE drive. @UL - miserable. Hot and miserable. We won, so that was good. @UGA - more bars than i've ever seen and the prettiest co-eds ever. Don't remember the game at all unfortunately. Too much fun before. @UF and @UT can both be forgotten. I was in Gainesville for Tim Couch's first start...I think we lost 627-2 if I recall. I got spit on, cursed at, laughed at, etc...was awful. Loud stadium. 2nd to Bryant Denny. @UT - I've been to games there since the 80's. First one was the last UK victory. I've been to more games than I care to remember. Some were absolute beat downs and others not so bad. Stadium is old and crappy. Walk forever to get there. I know tons of people that live in Knox so I always have a lot of fun the night before and morning/day of game, but I'd rather not discuss the games. Bowl games - Outback was special for many reasons. First bowl in my adult years...Tampa and Ybor City on New Year's eve with 50,000 UK fans around. Awesome stadium, great seats....I'll always remember the trip. First 3 Music City Bowls were very fun - the last one was misery. Cold as I've ever been. Liberty and Compass - well, those stadiums need to be condemend.

 

I've rambled long enough...I"m just so JACKED for football i can't help it. What are your guys thoughts? Agree/disagree? Different stadiums to discuss?

[dolamite]

May not fit your criteria since they don't play, BUT, Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA) does it for me.

[gchs_uk9]

The only road stadium I've been to for UK was at Ole Miss and it was very nice. Enjoyable atmosphere around the campus/area and very pretty surroundings.

[Clyde]

The only road stadium I've been to for UK was at Ole Miss and it was very nice. Enjoyable atmosphere around the campus/area and very pretty surroundings.

 

Agreed.

[History]

Wisconsin, LSU and Georgia are all cool venues.

[gchs_uk9]

Wisconsin, LSU and Georgia are all cool venues.

 

I would love to go to Wisconsin some time. LSU would be a fun trip as well. My wife and I had preliminary plans to go to Baton Rouge this season but we have a newborn that makes a trip like that impossible. Maybe we can make the trip when UK returns in 6-8 years.

[Clyde]

I would love to go to Wisconsin some time. LSU would be a fun trip as well. .

 

My son and some buddies are making the trip to LSU. Staying in the French Quarter.

[FormerCawoodTrojan]

My son and some buddies are making the trip to LSU. Staying in the French Quarter.

 

We are going down on Wednesday and staying about a block off of Bourbon St until Sat morning and then staying in BR after the game. I would also love to see a game in Madison. I hear it is awesome. I have some Hokie friends and I want to make it up there once too.

[tcjkbt]

What was the name of the book out a few years ago where a young lawyer from an SEC school wrote about the atmosphere at every SEC school on game weekend? I think it may have had "Dixie" in the title. It was a fairly entertaining book, I thought.

[HT721]

My son and some buddies are making the trip to LSU. Staying in the French Quarter.

 

 

Tell them to buy upper deck seats, don't wear blue, and don't cheer loud. I'm not joking in the least, LSU fans are notorious for throwing zip lock bags full of urine from the upper deck in to the visitors lower level seats, they also urinate on the visiting team from the upper deck as they get off the bus. I've known several people that have been on the bad end of this, and they will seriously beat you to death if you dear try and argue with one of them. LSU is an intereresting trip, but it can be a very bad experience as well, especially if UK were to somehow win, their fans would be looking to take it out on someone.

[HT721]

What was the name of the book out a few years ago where a young lawyer from an SEC school wrote about the atmosphere at every SEC school on game weekend? I think it may have had "Dixie" in the title. It was a fairly entertaining book, I thought.

 

Dixieland Delight by Clay Travis.

[HT721]

Places I've been:

 

Alabama: Was enjoyable, parking was horendous and the cemetary right behind the stadium seemed odd to me, but otherwise not bad. There are some bad seats here just because of the stadiums size. The museum and the statues in front of the stadium are pretty impressive though. Don't mess with the fans that look extremely redneck, they won't find you funny and might want to fight you, but unlike LSU they don't go looking for a fight.

 

LSU: Fans are absolutely insane, by far some of the most rowdey people you will ever meet. New Orleans is the only reason I will go, stay there commute over to Baton Rouge. Also never mention the corn dog smell (If you don't get this google it and read it on the Auburn websites that pop up).

 

Auburn: Easily my favorite road trip, I make it every other year if at all possible. Fans are very delightful and pleasant, beautiful town, good places to eat, and watching th eagle fly to midfield is one of the coolest things you will ever see.

 

Tennessee: Parking is horrible, no tailgating spot per se, orange, rocky top, and plenty of bad seats in the stadium.

 

Kentucky: Enjoy the stadium, nice tailgating place, and my wife really likes it.

 

Louisville: Very nice stadium last time I was there and parking was decent. I have to leave an asterick beyond any description besides those two things because it was a downpour the entire game I went to there.

 

Mississippi State: Town isn't steller at all, stadium is very old and if you are in the upper deck you will hike for 20 minutes after they take your ticket to get to your seats. When I've been to games where they weren't play Ole Miss (Kentucky and Tennessee) I was treated alright had a few jerks, but those are everywhere. If you go as an Ole Miss fan they will throw things at you, flip you off, and tell you to go reside with satan. Cowbells can get really annoying so I would take earplugs.

 

South Carolina: They need to learn about. this thing called sidewalks. We parked a mile and a half or so away on campus at a spot they were designating for game parking, walked the entier way on a very busy road without a sidewalk. Fans get really in to the games there, much like UT I don't get much of a campus feel when walking around at USC and I don't like that.

[CatsCatsCats]

I want to go to a Miami-UF game in the Swamp. I'd love to go to games at Michigan, Ohio State, USC, Notre Dame.

[swamprat]

The stadiums I've been to for USF away games.

 

Dolphin, Joe Robbie, Pro Player, Land Shark, Sun Life, ..., flavor of the year Stadium in Miami to see the U.

Papa John's Cardinal Stadium for UofL.

Mountaineer Field at Milan Pulskar Stadium for WVU.

Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium for FSU.

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium "The Swamp" for Florida.

The Cage in Miami for FIU.

Houchens Industries - L.T. Smith Stadium for WKU.

Nippert Stadium for Cincinnati.

Bright House Network Stadium "The Wok" for UCF.

 

My favorite is "Flavor of the Year" Stadium in Miami. Though not as nice as Raymond James Stadium, it is an NFL stadium that is a great place to watch a game. Easy to get into and out of.

 

My favorite college stadium is PJCS.

 

My least favorite is BHNS at UCF. It was built by a dry wall and framing company, and you can tell it.

[swamprat]

I want to go to a Miami-UF game in the Swamp. I'd love to go to games at Michigan, Ohio State, USC, Notre Dame.

 

Though loud, The Swamp is not all that and a bag of chips. I'd rather see UF-Miami in Miami. Much better stadium by far and the fan ratio would still be about the same.

 

I would love to go to the Big House and to what ever they call the Horseshoe now. We are going to East Lansing in 2013 to see the Bulls take on the Spartans, and if luck holds out, I will get my chance to see Notre Dame Stadium here in a few weeks.

 

We have been to 3 of the 8 opponent stadiums in the Big East. We can't go to any this year, but we plan to go to Dallas in 2012 for the TCU game and at least Syracuse in 2013.

 

We're saving Rutgers for last and that may be one we don't go to.