Game Over

This is the end of Season One of BestGameDay.com. This was an exciting experiment that really showcased some of the best, and at times some of the worst, of college football.

I entered into this endeavor with one of the greatest partners you could ask for, Carl Smith of nGen Works in Jacksonville, FL. Seriously, those guys are the absolute best. nGen worked with me on every aspect of the website design and development. This absolutely could not have happened without their amazing efforts.

But, as the season draws to a close, I need to focus on my full-time job, my family, and sponsorships for next season. It’s expensive traipsing off to a college campus every weekend, scalping tickets, buying home team gear, staying in hotels, and trying the most popular local cuisine.

As a one-time experiment, it was the opportunity of a lifetime. As a career, it would be the best job on the earth.

So I will focus my efforts on sponsorships for the 2011 season. Hopefully, I will be able to increase my range beyond just a one-day car ride to take a look at some of the amazing gameday experiences across the country, like Arizona St, Michigan, Oregon, and more.

Thank you for your support, and I look forward to seeing you next year!

-Bryan

GradedA

There is No Place Like Nebraska

Every fiber in my body wants to give Nebraska an A+ for the gameday experience. I have never hidden the fact that I am a huge Nebraska fan, and that the love of the gameday experience in Lincoln is a huge part of why I am doing this website in the first place. But I have not been to a game in Memorial Stadium since I witnessed Black 41 Flash Reverse back in 2001.

And let me be clear, the gameday experience in Nebraska is spectacular. There are some of the greatest traditions in college football here on this campus. And also some of the most dedicated fans. But in taking a critical look at the entire gameday package, I was able to discover a few areas that could use improvement.

Getting to the Game

You may have heard the expression that Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska is the third largest city in the state on gameday. This is true, and means that a lot of people have to come a long way to get to the stadium on time. I made the 50 mile trek to Lincoln from Omaha with my high school buddy, Darrin and his pal Jason.

The problem with 80,000 fans descending on one city at one time with just one Interstate is that traffic can be a nightmare. Interstate 80 from Omaha to Lincoln is only two lanes, and when there is an accident, like the one that caused this delay, traffic can come to a complete stop. In the end, it took us about an hour and a half to make the 50 mile drive.

Parking

There is no feeling for a true Nebraska fan that is quite like that first turn off of the highway when you see Memorial Stadium standing there in the middle of Lincoln. The new facade, completed just a few years ago, stands as one of the tallest buildings in the city skyline.

As the highway passes the stadium, parking lots are scattered amid train tracks, the baseball stadium, under bridges, and in the Haymarket District. These lots are all reservation only lots, so we passed into downtown to look for other lots. The first lot we came to was just three blocks from the stadium and had plenty of open spaces. We looked briefly to see the price. $50! We decided to keep going. We ended up going a few more blocks and parking for only $20, so that was a big win right off the bat.

To our surprise, we found out that Darrin’s brother-in-law, Tobin, and his family were tailgating in that same parking lot. We hung out with them for a little while several of their group drank “red beers” which are basically beers with Bloody Mary mix in the bottom.

They knew the area well and pointed us in the direction of the parking lots where the big tailgates were going on.

HuskerMax Tailgate

The biggest and best tailgate that I saw all day was just a block away from where we parked. This was the site of the official HuskerMax tailgate party. HuskerMax.com is quite simply the best Nebraska Cornhusker website on the internet. I read it every morning, follow it on Twitter and Facebook, and never miss an update.

HuskerMax is a relatively new site, however. Up until about a year ago, David Max and Joe Hudson were associated with the website Huskerpedia.com. Joe worked on the Huskerpedia site since its inception. Most Husker fans know about this site and go there daily. But about a year ago, Max was let go, and the Pedia company claimed ownership of the content he and Joe Hudson had been producing since 1995. In fact, they sold the rights to all of the content to all of the Pedia sites they worked on, except for Huskerpedia, because they are fans.

Anyway, in short, there is a lawsuit, Max is owed more than $400,000. But after a few days of shock, Hudson and Max decided to start their own website again from scratch, building off the HuskerPedia template they had built. In one short year, HuskerMax.com has completely eclipsed HuskerPedia in content and quality.

So, when I saw the tailgate, I knew that I had to meet Joe or David. David greeted me like an old friend and happily told me about the history of the website, the tailgate, and his experience with the whole process. The massive tailgate, admittance by invitation and RSVP only, was host to at least 650 people at the time we were there. Sponsors for the event include Bacardi, Schroeder’s Smoked Foods, M&M Locker, and Direct TV. The food and drinks are all free and provided by the sponsors.

Jim, from M&M Locker was there while I talked to David. He told me that I needed to try one of his Jalapeño dogs. So, being obliging guests, we all did.

Absolutely delicious. I can’t lie, I actually had two and a tasty Fat Tire beer. I probably could have just stayed here and been content and gathered enough stories to write an entire column. Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rogers was there at the tailgate, along with several other former players. But, sadly, I knew that I needed to get out and explore the rest of the tailgate experience. But I will say this, those guys have one of the best, if not the best tailgate party I have ever been to. And if you are a Husker football fan, you need to bookmark HuskerMax.com today.

Also you can click here to view the HuskerMax slideshow of the tailgate including Johnny Rogers and fellow Omaha Central grad and Husker 2nd all-time leading rusher, Calvin Jones.

Get on the Bus

One of the trends that I noticed around the parking lots that struck me was the large number of painted buses. It seemed that in every aisle there was another short bus or RV completely decked out in the scarlet and cream colors of Nebraska. So I decided to check them out.

Nikki and Tony own this Big Red Machine. They actually bought it off of Craig’s List just this year and it’s their first season with it. The lot they are in offers electricity and HDTV to everyone who buys a season pass to the lot, so they don’t have to worry about bringing a satellite dish as is common these days.

Inside, the bus is decked out with a kitchen and plenty of room to sit. The couple was planning to go to the game, but said that they knew several people in the lot that weren’t going to the game and were just planning to watch it on TV.

At the Florida St. game, this same sentence saddened me, that people would prefer to watch at their tailgate than in the stands, but in Lincoln, this is a different story.

308 and Counting

This game was the NCAA Record 308th consecutive sellout for Memorial Stadium in Lincoln Nebraska. The last time a seat went unsold for a Nebraska home game was in 1962. On this day, Nebraska would be playing Big XII rival Texas for the last time.

Well, to be honest, to call it a rivalry is kind. Texas owns Nebraska. From the first time the two school met, when three touchdown underdog Texas and QB James Brown spoiled Nebraska’s shot at a National Championship in the inaugural Big XII Championship Game, to last year when officials put one second back on the clock at the end of the game to allow Texas the opportunity to kick a game-winning field goal, Texas has always found a way to beat Nebraska.

So on this day, fans were ready to say goodbye to the Big XII (Nebraska will join the Big 10 Conference officially on July 1, 2011) and send the Longhorns packing. So an estimated 75,000 people were on hand at the stadium WITHOUT TICKETS. That’s right. Aside from the 85,000 people in the stadium, there were an additional 75,000 people just partying in the streets, hoping to take part in the excitement. (spolier alert: it doesn’t end well)

So everywhere you looked, it was a sea of red.

Including here at this tailgate when I saw The Bolzen Beer Band, Dave and Brian, do their rendition of the Nebraska fight song, “There is No Place Like Nebraska.” It is truly unique.

Champions Club

One of the most recent additions to the Husker gameday tradition is the Champions Club.

This building may not look like it, but it’s Fort Knox. Every place that I have gone to this season, University officials have been warm and welcoming to let me come in and chronicle the experience. When I heard about the Champions Club, I talked to the two attendants at the gate and asked to speak with someone about getting inside for a few pictures. They immediately told me that they could not let me in. I assured them that I did not want them to do anything that would get them in trouble. I just wanted to speak with a supervisor, or someone who could explain the Champions Club to me.

A guy named Andy came out to greet me outside the front gate. I explained who I was and what I was doing, and he told me that he’d be happy to tell me anything I wanted, but there was no way I was getting in those gates.

For what it’s worth, I’m told that the Champions Club was opened in 2001 and is a private lot operated by the University. The building is climate controlled with plenty of restrooms, reserved parking spaces, and an on site caterer. In fact, if you fax in your order early in the week, you can have food delivered to your parking space at any specified time. Say you want chicken wings at 1:00pm. Fax the order in and, viola!

In case you are thinking that one of these spots may be the right answer for you, the parking spots are held on 10 and 25 year leases, so I guess some of those original 2001 leases may be coming up for renewal soon.

Rivalry Renewed

No, I’m not talking about the Longhorns, I’m talking about Shelby.

That’s right, this woman is my chief rival when it comes to Nebraska football! Actually, Shelby is a good friend going all the way back to Central High School in Omaha. But at our ten year high school reunion, the two of us were up for the award of biggest Husker fan. You have to understand that this is a major thing in a Nebraska high school. It’s not like you have ANY other team to root for in the state.

But Shelby beat me that day. And today, although she lives in San Francisco, she has season tickets, which I do not. She is a better Husker fan than me, through and through! I thought she had me beat in number of Husker tattoos, but it turn out we both have just one, each on our right shoulders.

Shelby, it was great seeing you. Go Big Red!

Traditions

Last week I was at Miami where the only traditions are getting drunk and throwing the “U’ sign while screaming “UUUUUUUU.”

Nebraska, on the other hand is rich with traditions.

I mentioned the red beer before. That’s been a Nebraska tradition as long as I can remember. Another Nebraska food tradition are the unique foods that are served on gameday. Inside the stadium, there are three main food options. Of course you have hot dogs. But these are no ordinary hot dogs, they are Fairbury brand hot dogs, and they are bright red. The second food that you see is a little atypical. Valentino’s Pizza is a midwest chain founded in Lincoln near the East end of the Campus. Valentino’s pizza is delicious, and you can have it delivered to your seat by the slice.

The final traditional food is the best of the bunch.

This is a Runza. 99% of you are asking what a Runza is. A Runza is a traditional German sandwich. It is a loaf of fresh bread with ground beef, cabbage, onion, and spices baked on the inside. They are absolute heaven. Other varieties of Runzas have American or Swiss Cheese and Mushrooms in them. But the regular old Runza is just about perfect. They also stay nice and warm on cold fall football days, so they double as a hand warmer, as well.

Outside of Memorial Stadium, you see people giving away red balloons.

These red balloons are held by the fans until the Huskers get their first score of the game. Again, sadly, this took way too long on Saturday.

Before the game, the Nebraska Marching Band warms up a crowd at the Embassy Suites downtown before marching to the stadium. Inside the stadium, they honor each of the four stadiums with a song, and then play the visiting team’s fight song.

There are several cheers that Husker fans yell in the stadium. But the two most prominent are GO! BIG! RED! and (One side of the Stadium) HUSKER! (other side) POWER!

Another one of the cheers is one where a single person, or small group yells out a drawn out Gooooo Biiiiiig Reee-eeeed!, after which everyone around screams GO BIG RED! This cheer can be heard in parking lots 3 hours before games at completely random times.

Before the Huskers take the field, the team gets together and says the team prayer. While the team is performing this ritual, a produced version of the Husker Prayer is displayed to the fans:

After this, the stadium silences as the first notes of the Alan Parson’s Project “Sirius” begin to pour from the loudspeakers. This is known as the Tunnel Walk. The video plays as the team walks from the locker room to the field. As the team passes under the final doorway before the field, they reach up and touch a horseshoe hanging at the top of the frame. The team rushes the field as the video ends, whipping the crowd into a frenzy.

And here’s how it all comes together.

Other traditions include the Blackshirts. This is the name given to the Nebraska defensive starters. This is the symbol of the blackshirts.

It’s also known as the skull and bones. So when the defense makes a big play, everyone in the stands “throws bones” like this to celebrate.

When the defense scores a three and out, people throw bones but add what looks like an “OK” symbol, but with the three fingers flayed. That symbolizes “three-and-out.”

After the Huskers score a touchdown (which didn’t happen until the fourth quarter on this day) fans wave their hands in the air back and forth in a move called “waving the wheat.” Unfortunately, I was not able to catch this on camera.

The Greatest Fans in College Football

I’m both proud and embarrassed by this sign. this stands above the main East Stadium entrance to Memorial Field. It was placed there by previous Athletic Director Steve Pedersen when the stadium remodeling project was underway.

The phrase is not one that Nebraska fans have placed on themselves. Legendary Coaches Bobby Bowden and Mack Brown have said it. Sports Illustrated has listed the Nebraska fans as the best in college football several times. This is for a number of reasons. The first is the sellout streak. Certainly that shows a level of dedication the is special.

But another is just good old fashioned sportsmanship. When you are in Nebraska, we try to treat you with respect and dignity. A phrase you hear often is “We’re glad you’re here, hope you have a good time,” or “Bad luck, but we hope you enjoy your stay.” I asked a number of Texas fans what they thought about the Husker fans, and they all said that the Husker fans, despite the animosity between the two teams, have been great hosts.

Another tradition that I intentionally neglected to mention earlier is one that exemplifies the nature of the Husker fans. After every Husker game, win or lose, the fans stay in the corner of the end zone where the visiting team goes to their locker, and give a standing ovation to the other team. Win or lose. And on this day, it was a loss: a devastating, gut-wrenching loss to the hated Longhorns. But when the game was over, the fans stayed and applauded the team that played better football and deserved to win, the Texas Longhorns.

Here’s some thing else about the fans at Nebraska. Here’s a picture of Sun Life Stadium in Miami with the Hurricanes down by three scores in the fourth quarter two weeks ago.

Now, here’s a picture of Memorial Stadium, with the Huskers down by three scores in the fourth quarter.

You tell me who has the better fans.

The Game

As is usual, I will not break down the game, but you can head over to HuskerMax where the have all of the gameday coverage here

One of the biggest complaints I have is the congestion in the North Stadium, where I sat. The entire North stadium is seemingly service by four gates and two bathrooms. I was in row 90, so when I needed to leave, I had to go down to row 30, out of the section, down a set of stairs, wait 30 minutes in line for the restroom, and then fight traffic getting back to my seat.

I smartly rented a seat cushion, because it’s the only way to preserve your “seat” space. The seats are bench style and very closely packed. But worse than that is the fact that the row themselves are so close to each other. I am 6’3” and when I sat all the way back in my seat, I had someone’s knees in my back, and yet me knees were still in the back of the person in front of me.

Another negative aspect of the “Sea of Red” as the fans are known, is that they are really not the loudest crowd in college football, or even particularly loud for their size. There are moments when the fans are very vocal, and the stadium is pretty noisy then. But there are extended periods of time when the energy level is low. This game exacerbated that fact because the Huskers were down, and down early.

The stadium is beautiful on the inside and out and has truly been renovated beautifully. The stadium also features one of the largest video boards in the world… in the North Stadium. Did I mention I was in row 90? Here was my view of HuskerVision.

But my view of the stadium was just fine.

The Grade

The Nebraska gameday experience is excellent. I know that as a fan. I know that comparing the experience to others this year. And I know it from talking to Texas fans who were at the game. Nebraska has more traditions than any school I have been to this season. And the fans are truly amazing.

But the stadium seating was a real issue for me. Especially since just this week the school announced that they are adding 5000 seats to the facility.

The area for the tailgating is also one aspect that kept this game from being an A+. While there were several good areas, there was nothing that compared to the Quad in Tuscaloosa, or what I’m told The Grove is in Oxford.

But all of that having been said, I am delighted to award Nebraska an A for their gameday.

GradedD+

I always feel bad giving any grade less than an “A”, but it is clear to me that despite some enthusiastic and exciting fans, the Miami Gameday experience is the least enjoyable I have has this season.

Getting to the Stadium

It started out poorly as I headed to Sun Life Stadium west of Miami. If you are not familiar with Miami geography, Sun Life Stadium is actually in Miami Gardens, nearly an hour away from the campus of the University of Miami. As I exited the Tollway, with the stadium in sight, traffic came to a complete halt. This was apparently due to the traffic merging at the toll booth, I thought.

But as I passed the toll gate I realized that the line stretched all the way from the Interstate, down a mile or so of access road, down an off ramp, and then another mile or so to the stadium parking lot. When I say that the traffic was standing still, I mean it literally. There were periods when the car did not move for five minutes at a time.

I attributed this amount of traffic to the fact that I heard that this highly publicised matchup between Miami and Florida St. was the first sellout of the stadium in several years. Perhaps the local authorities were not prepared for the sheer volume of people coming to the stadium at one time. Seems odd, but I’ll try to give it the benefit of the doubt.

In any case, this already seriously jeopardized my work. My traditional schedule is to get to the stadium area three hours or more before the kickoff. This was an 8:00pm kickoff and I got to this traffic line at 4:30pm. It was after 6pm when I finally parked.

Sea of Concrete

You don’t need to be familiar with Miami geography to know that the stadium is not in the middle of campus like most other stadiums. Instead of driving to the stadium past college bookstores, sandwich shacks and frat houses, you basically pull up to a gigantic sea of concrete, with Sun Life Stadium sitting in the middle.

I parked about a half mile from the stadium at the shore of the sea of concrete. The lot itself was already mostly full, and there were plenty of people around. But the most tailgating I saw was a group with a hibachi and a couple hot dogs.

Welcome to Miami

One of the rituals that I like to do for each gameday is to purchase a t-shirt of the team I am visiting. I root for the team in the game, and I do my best to get the truly local feel. Generally, I do this by stopping at one of the ubiquitous t-shirt vendors that are around every college football stadium in the country.

Except this one.

I scoured the parking lots for any sign of ANYONE selling Miami gear. Nothing. And this posed a major problem because, at the time, I was simply wearing a Chicago Cubs shirt. Mind you, I was not wearing anything that looked even remotely Florida St. in nature, just a blue t-shirt. But the type of fans that normally are very willing to talk to me about their gameday experiences, would not give me the time of day.

So, finally, I made my way to the stadium itself where there was the official team store. So, $25 later and another half-mile trek to my car, I was finally dressed out in a Miami t-shirt and ready to review the gameday experience, with just a little more than an hour to go before kickoff.

Hurricane Party

One advantage of walking to and from the stadium before really getting involved in tailgate discussions was that I had a complete opportunity to observe the atmosphere of the gameday. And honestly, it’s unlike anything I have seen.

The parking lot of Sun Life Stadium is more like a South Beach party than it is a college gameday. There are dozens of trucks with sub-woofers and loudspeakers pumping out house music with scantily clad men and women dancing in the truck beds, on the hoods, or even on the roofs. These groups gather massive crowds all around as people generally drink and grind like they are in a club.

It is at one of these parties that I met Jeremy. He’s a fan of the Canes that has been coming to games for about four years. He says he loves the atmosphere because of the dancing and music. He also said that beer pong and flip cup are two of the biggest pre-game rituals before Hurricanes home games.

Tasha, Julius, James and Ali came all the way from Delaware to enjoy the game. For Tasha, this was her first game, but Ali has been here several times. They all said that they, too, enjoy the party atmosphere of the tailgate.

A Disturbing Trend

OK, maybe I’m a purist. But something at this point was already bothering me about the gameday. People were eager to talk about the parties, the music, the dancing and the atmosphere. But at every other school I have visited, when I ask, “What makes gamedays here so special?” two things always happen. First, people always say, “It’s the [insert team name here], they’re the best team to watch in the country!” Second, they always talk about some sort of tradition… some sort of iconic chant, celebration, song that brings the fans and the team together.

In Miami, almost no one actually mentioned the team.

But beyond that, I specifically asked everyone I spoke to about traditions on gamedays. No one could think of any. I even went so far as to offer a suggestion to a few that Miami traditionally enters the field through a fog of smoke. Even that was met with lukewarm acceptance.

Attire

One of the aspects that I regularly report on, because guys do it when they talk about college football games, are the ladies. In the south, I have learned that ladies traditionally dress up in black dresses or something similar for college football games.

To continue the club theme, my impression was that the majority of women at the Miami game, not all, but the majority, were dressed to go to the club, not to a football game.

McDonald’s and Bacardi – A Winning Combination

Honestly, I was a little distraught thinking that there would be no traditional tailgating to be found. But at the end of a row very close to the stadium, I saw the telltale signs of a good old fashioned tailgate: multiple tents in a row with smoke coming off a grill.

It turns out, this tailgate is operated by a group of friends who all happen to be either current or former employees of either McDonald’s or Bacardi.

Erik is kind of the ring leader of the group. He got together with a group of guys he went to school with at Miami to start this tailgate about eleven years ago. Since then it has grown to be one of the biggest tailgates in the parking lot. But part of the secret to their success is in the ingredients.

“McDonald’s Quarter Pounder, cooked on a real flame… there’s nothing like it,” said Erik. So I knew that I had to give it a try.

I’m here to tell you that it was absolutely delicious. Erik is absolutely right. Since they have a signature food, I asked another one of the guys, Alex, if there is a signature drink for their tailgate.

“Cuba Libre… Bacardi Gold and Coke.”

So, in the interest of good journalism, I had to have one.

Yum!

Missing “The OB”

Christine was born and raised in Miami. She helps plan a tailgate and comes all the way to Miami from the Florida Keys on gameday. On this gameday, with a kickoff at 8:00pm, her day started at 7:00am.

Christine loves coming to the games and talks about the spirit of Miami fans. But she shared with me a bit of information that helped make the entire day seem to make a little more sense.

“It was different in the OB.”

The OB, or Orange Bowl, is where the Miami Hurricanes used to play all of their games. It’s where the team won five National Championships between 1983 and 2001. For years, the Hurricanes shared that stadium with the NFL Miami Dolphins. But in 1987, the Dolphins moved into the much larger and much more professional stadium that is now called Sun Life Stadium.

For 14 seasons, the Hurricanes were the sole tenant in the Orange Bowl, which was one of the most iconic stadiums in all of college football. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, the Hurricanes had a home winning streak of 58 games, which is an NCAA record. People told me about the way that the stadium would literally shake with excitement.

Asked what’s different about playing games here at Sun Life, most people gave the same answer: it’s more professional.

Getting into the Game

Another difference to the Miami Gameday is that there were not people selling tickets everywhere. I’m not just talking about the ticket brokers with signs that read “I Need Tickets” who really just want to rip you off, and then rip someone else of by reselling, I mean there were genuinely few people with extra tickets to sell.

I took this as a good sign that there was genuine excitement about the game and that it would be a great crowd. I eventually found a guy with one ticket to sell me, and at just a few dollars over face value at that. My ticket was in the upper deck, but the first row, so I expected it would be a fairly good seat. And I was right.

Gametime

The analogy that this atmosphere was more professional could not have been more accurate. Other potential adjectives would be “boring” or “sterile.”

As the per-game countdown drifted toward :00, I kept expecting an alma mater or a fight song. Neither was played. Loud music pumped into the stadium until the Canes finally emerged from their smoke machine to a roaring packed house.

One of the things that is definitely unique about the Miami games is that the stadium sells beer. Since the stadium is not located on a college campus, they are allowed to sell beer at the games. But I’m used to seeing drunk fans at games; that goes with the territory. I just didn’t realize that before the night was over I was going to need a drink.

As the game started, fans were very loud and threw the “U” sign with their hands that is the trademark of the team. It symbolizes the hurricane symbol “U” on the team helmets, and it also stands for the University of Miami, often simply referred to as “The U.”

And the crowd was very loud with apparently no empty seats in the house. Miami took the ball down the field and missed a field goal. Florida St. responded with a touchdown drive, and you could feel energy draining.

On the next possession, Miami fumbled and Florida St. returned the ball to the one yard line. One play later, the score was 14-0 and you could have dropped a pin in the place. By the time the first quarter ended, fans were berating the team.

It’s hard to describe the atmosphere, but I have described it to many like this: when you are at a stadium and the home team is losing, you sense despair, or the feeling that everyone is sharing in a personal anguish. In Miami, the mood was more like: “How dare you guys mess up our party by not winning?”

By halftime, Florida St. was in control of the game. After halftime, most of the fans went home. Here’s a few pictures of the stands early in the 4th quarter.

This is not a joke. These two Florida St. fans, Bree and Spencer, were louder than the entire section of Miami fans they were in the entire night. They drove from Tampa to get to the game and were excited to watch their team win a big game on the road.

Merciful Ending

By the time the game clock went to double-zero, I could not get out of this stadium fast enough. Fortunately, I did not have to wait in many lines because there were only a handful of people left in the stadium at this time.

But, the fans had one more surprise waiting for me as I got a workout walking another half mile to my car. Want to know another difference between a tailgate and a party? Tailgates generally have a food guy and a TV guy and a drink guy and a trash guy. You leave the spot like you found it. Here is what I saw all across the Sun Life Parking lot.

Absolutely disgusting.

The Grade

As I said, I don’t like giving any school a bad grade. I met some very nice people. Alex is a former Miami baseball player who, it turns out, I once watched in person at the College World Series in Omaha. Bob and Dottie, brother and sister, who sat next to me at the game could not have been nicer and definitely helped give me insight into the team and the stadium situation.

But the overall atmosphere is not college football. It may be just the type of party that some people like, but it’s not a college football atmosphere.

Perhaps it simply will take time: time for the Hurricane football program to return to previous greatness, or time for new traditions to evolve at Sun Life Stadium. But until then, I give the Miami Hurricane gameday grade a D+.

A good friend of mine, Paul, is a huge Miami fan and wanted to make sure that I saw this. It’s the intro video for the Miami Hurricanes, 2010. It looks really good. I am excited for Saturday night!

GradedA+

Alabama Gameday

This may be the easiest GameDay Grade that I have to write all year. I had never been to a football game in Tuscaloosa, AL before Saturday, and now that I have, I know what the gold standard is for college game days. Without question, I give Alabama the first A+ GameDay Grade.

I Should Have Seen It Coming

For what it’s worth, I definitely should have seen this one coming. From the moment that I updated my schedule last week to indicate that I would be visiting Alabama, I have been flooded with insight from people from Alabama, or people who have friends of family in Alabama. Every one said that I was in for an amazing time and that I was going to love it.

Several friends and co-workers connected me with their friends and family on the ground in Tuscaloosa to help me find my way. One woman that I have to give extra-credit to is Vicki Peeples. Vicki works at the University of Alabama, and her daughter, Natalie, attends school there. Vicki was a wealth of information for me days before I even hit the road.

She sent me a copy of the Dialog Extra, which is a faculty publication that highlights all of the events, alerts, and important information about the game day. I was not only impressed with the publication itself, but I was impressed with the University’s open message and encouragement for faculty to print and share the newsletter with any and all faculty who may not have had access to a computer or their email.

Vicki guided me into town with helpful information, emails, and texts about ticket availability. She personally helped make my game day experience a better one. But sadly, there were so many people enjoying the gameday, that by the time I made it to campus, cell lines were completely useless. Vicki and I exchanged several texts that were delayed hours at a time. Twice we just missed each other. But her passion and excitement for the Crimson Tide never faltered.

Why have I spent so much time talking about people instead of on the gameday experience itself? While you are about to see the pageantry, the tradition, and the excitement that makes an Alabama Crimson Tide gameday special, it truly is the passion of the fans that makes this a one of a kind experience.

Gameday Begins

The game between Alabama and Florida was an 8pm Eastern kickoff time. So I decided to make my way to Tuscaloosa that morning from Jacksonville. Six hours later, I was at my hotel in Montgomery. Between my car and my hotel room, no fewer than 5 people saw me and said “Roll Tide!” Mind you, I did not have an Alabama shirt on at this time. People are so excited; they just can’t hold it in.
If there was a low point to the day, it was the drive between Montgomery and Tuscaloosa. (twice) There is NOTHING in between those two cities. And now, with the gameday ahead of me, and the promise of a great meal to boot, the two hour drive seemed as long as the six hour one to Montgomery.

Pregame Meal

There is no question where you have to have your pregame meal for the Alabama Gameday. At least a dozen people told me that Dreamland BBQ was where I needed to go. So I pulled up to the legendary restaurant, to basically find a small shack. But this small shack was engulfed in the aroma of freshly smoked ribs, and surrounded by a sea of Blue and Orange. Clearly the Gator fans know about Dreamland as well.

I walked up to the front door only to find a line of people waiting to get in. The building is so small that people can only go in when someone comes out. The line was between an hour and two hours long. I did not have that kind of time! But it turn out that if you don’t mind sitting outside, there is an outdoor seating section with live music on the side of the building. So I did that instead.

I listened to some great 70’s and 80’s rock, and waited for my server. When she got there, my choices were: half rack of ribs, or a full rack. That’s it. Dreamland knows what they do well. So I decided to get the full rack (obviously).
I was so hungry that I ate the first section of ribs before I remembered to take a picture. The ribs are smoked outside right behind the restaurant and the outdoor patio. I watched as the racks came off the grill. They are served in sections of four, and pre-sliced so they are easy to separate. The ribs are served with a vinegar based sauce, which I normally am not a fan of, but this was very good.

The tables are basically picnic tables and first come, first served. So I shared the table with several other people I had never met, and had to somewhat embarrassingly continue to ask for the paper towel roll in the middle of the table. The ribs were absolutely fantastic, and I highly recommend them to anyone heading to Tuscaloosa for a game.

Off to The Stadium

From Dreamland it was time to get down to the stadium and start experiencing the gameday experience. I parked about a quarter mile from the stadium in a Boy Scout lot. On my way to the stadium, I passed a vendor selling Gator Tail. It turns out they do this for every home game. When they played Penn St. they served “Lion Tail” (large smoked sausage). The Gator was actually a combination of gator meat and sausage. I wanted to give it a try, but I was too full from the Dreamland.

Note to self: do not eat too much prior to heading to the next gameday.

Walking toward the stadium, people were very upbeat and enthusiastic. Not a minute went by without at least one person yelling “Roll Tide!” Women were dressed up for the game, similar to the experience I had in South Carolina. Except the dresses women were wearing were not limited to just black. Many women were wearing red dresses, and others were wearing houndstooth dresses. Houndstooth was very common among the men as well, from pants to hats like the houndstooth hat that legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant wore on the sidelines.

Student Section

As I made my way to Bryant-Denney Stadium, I noticed that there were thousands of people lined up outside of the stadium. This was at 4:00pm, a full three hours before the game was set to kick off. I approached a group who was polite enough to give me the low down on what was going on.

It turns out the student section in the stadium is first come, first serve. And there are only a limited number of seats. Once those seats are filled, students have to sit in the new upper deck of the south stadium. The stadium opens up two hours before kickoff, which would be an hour from this time. But already, there were at least 5000 students lined up and ready to get into the stadium.

I asked the group to tell me a little about what was going on for the tailgate. Their answers were all the same; I need to get to the quad.

The Quad

Up until this point, I would categorize my experience in Alabama as filled with great fans and an average tailgate experience. There were a few tailgates scattered between my parking lot and the stadium, but nothing that really stood out as a paragon of tailgating. It turns out there is a reason for that.

As I walked up the street from the stadium to find the quad, I immediately discovered exactly what tailgating in Alabama is all about. The quad is a giant green space in the middle of campus, several blocks long on each side. But there was very little green to see on this day. The quad is entirely covered by tailgate tents.

The University sells prime spots on the quad for a thousand dollars per year. After that, the space opens up to the general public on Friday. That’s when almost every other available inch of real estate is claimed by Crimson Tide fans looking forward to more than 24 hours of tailgating fun.

King and Mike have been tailgating at Alabama for more than 20 years. They have a rotating group of friends and family that join them for their festivities. They shared with me some of their delicious BBQ brisket. Fantastic! They have a HD Television with a satellite hook up. In fact, almost every single one of the tents has at least one television inside. Many have at least one. And then there’s the tent that belongs to this:

That’s right, three satellites feeding a group of televisions in one tent. They are serious about this, here.

In the middle of the quad is a wide open space perfect for throwing the ball or just running. There’s a kid zone with inflatable rides and other activities for the younger crowd. The entire atmosphere was one of relaxed excitement.
Aubrey Dubose and his friends share the traditional tailgate food: BBQ. Virtually every tent on the quad is featuring some form of BBQ. Aubrey was actually doubly excited for the game. In addition to being excited to watch the Crimson Tide, Aubrey was excited to watch his brother, JaMarcus, a member of the Crimson Tide football team.

The Other Game

College football fans know that there was another big game in the SEC this weekend. Tennessee was playing at LSU. The LSU Tigers were undefeated, while the Tennessee Volunteers limped into town after suffering several early defeats. The game was witnessed by virtually every person on the quad, since every TV was tuned to the game.

I stopped at a tent to watch the final minutes of the game. LSU, trailing 10-14, had the ball with under two minutes to play. LSU converted on a 4th and 14 at one point in the drive. Later, they drove the ball to the one yard line with only 26 seconds left. I watched with several Alabama fans who said “I can’t believe we are rooting for Tennessee.”

LSU shuffled several players in and out of the game. Finally, with only a few seconds left on the clock, LSU snapped the ball, but QB Jefferson was unable to handle the snap. Tennessee wins in a major upset. The roar of the crowd gathered on the quad was as loud as the roar in a stadium.

I walked away and made my way to the next destination, when I noticed that people were still huddled around the televisions. “What’s going on?” I asked. I was told that there was a penalty on Tennessee and that they were going to have another play.

I huddled around a TV with several other people. It was an amazing display of human telephone as I watched one person after another come into the tent, ask what was going on, and then stare in amazement. After several minutes of replays and discussion, they finally lined up for the NEW final play of the game. LSU scored a touchdown on the play, grabbing a 16-10 victory. Again, the collective groan of the assembled felt like I was in a stadium.

Walk of Champions

Two hours before every gameday, the Alabama Crimson Tide arrive on campus in what is called the Walk of Champions. Buses drop off the players at the North end zone where close to 8,000 fans wait on the lawn, the steps, the stadium walls… anything they can to catch a glimpse of the team as they arrive at the stadium. When the team does show up, led by their coach, Nick Saban, the crowd erupts in cheers. Here’s a look at the Walk of Champions from my vantage point.

Elephant Stomp

Approximately an hour before kickoff, the Million Dollar Band holds a pep rally on the quad. Then, they assemble behind the Alabama mascot, Big Al, and march to the stadium chanting “Roll Tide!”

Getting to my Seat

For the first time this season, I was a little concerned with getting a ticket. The week leading up to the game, prices on eBay and StubHub for the game were in the $400 range for the cheapest tickets. Walking around the stadium, I could already tell that those prices were inflated. A few hours before gametime, tickets were already in the $200 range. And by the time that I needed to secure a ticket for sure, I was able to grab a ticket for $100, which was $35 above face value.

So I started to make my way to my gate for the stadium when I saw this.

The Sports Illustrated Experience was right across from my gate. Inside were some games, some memorabilia and this:

That’s right, that’s me posing with the Heisman Trophy. Notice the style and the grace. I believe I might have a few years of NCAA eligibility left in me.

Once I entered the stadium, I was surprised that to get to my seat, I actually had to walk down into the stadium. The first several rows are actually below street level. But as I emerged from the tunnel, what I saw literally took my breath away.

The inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium is world class. For the lower section, you actually walk onto a promenade surrounding the field to get to your seats. You are separated from the sidelines only by an iron fence. The walls underneath seats are lined with shrubberies. The entire feeling is clean and energetic.

The entire stadium is just pristine. There are no ugly corners. The video boards are excellent. They include the advertisements in the video screen, so they can constantly be updated. The screens are mounted next to glowing “Alabama” and “Crimson Tide” signs. The message ribbons in the North and South end zone were also bright and well produced.

As the crowd got ready for the game, I noticed that the student section and the section that I was in created a virtual sea of pom-poms while the fans are cheering. I asked the guy sitting next to me, Andrew, if they were handing them out. It turns out that everyone has one of these pom-poms and brings them to every game. The effect is quite stunning.

Cheers

Alabama has a number of iconic cheers for their fans. The most famous is the “Roll Tide!” But there are several others for various occasions.
Kickoffs: ROOOOOOOLLLLLLL (ball kicked) Tide Roll!

• Pre-Game: (East Stadium) Ala! (West Stadium ) Bama!
• Multiple: It’s Great… To Be… From Alabama!
• Winning the Game:
  Hey Gators!
  We Just beat the Hell outta you.
  Rammer Jammmer
  Yella’ Hammer
  Give ‘em Hell Alabama.

This last cheer apparently got the team in trouble when the fans cheered it before a game was over a few years ago. And I’m told that some of the Alabama rivals, like Auburn, turn the cheer against the Crimson Tide when they beat them.

The Game

I don’t review the game itself. I leave that for ESPN and the 1,000 sites devoted to that task. But I will say that the fans stayed excited and involved in the game all the way until the end. Alabama ended up winning this game in a blow out, but there was excitement at the end of the game that matched excitement at the beginning of the game. I don’t know that I saw an empty seat, except for in the Gators section.

Final Thoughts

As I left the stadium, I heard fans chanting “Roll Tide!” I saw a boy not more than 10 years old tell his dad “We stomped the Chomp!” Several people mentioned they were going back to their tailgates for some postgame entertainment.

But for me, it was very late, and I had a two hour drive ahead of me to Montgomery, so I called it a night. But the experiences of the day stuck with me for the entire drive home. These fans are passionate. The excitement for this game actually had very little to do with highly ranked Florida coming in to town. It was more about the culture, the way of life that is Alabama Football.

I called and told my wife that if I did not already bleed Cornhusker red, I could easily see myself becoming a fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide. The entire gameday experience was flawless, and that’s why I don’t hesitate for a second to give it a grade of A+