Michigan State (Big 10) 2008, 2012

College:  Michigan State (Big 10)

Year:   2008, 2012

Games:   2008 Michigan State 25 Wisconsin 24, Michigan State 17 Boise State 13

Rating:  7 out of 10

Cost:  Moderate

Tickets:  Difficult for a big game

Stadium:    Stadium was redone and is really nice. 

Description:  This is a good, solid Big 10 experience right up there with Wisconsin. Atmosphere is excellent for a big game, they have an excellent crowd.  Tailgate is the highlight, one of the best I’ve been to.  It's fun but not obnoxious, well organized, easy to get in and out of the game.   

 Plenty of camping nearby if you want to go to a game on the cheap, which we have done.  We ended up camping about 45 minutes south in Northeastern Indiana at Pokagon State Park (click on "view College Football Trips in a larger map" link).  My only complaint is that there is not a lot going on outside of the actual game. Not many places to go out for a beer especially for such a massive campus.

Don’t Miss:  Top of the hour shot.  Halftime show of the dogs catching Frisbees.
If you want to make it part of a larger trip:  Quite a few great brewpubs within a couple of hours drive if you want to combine your football trip with a Beercation.  Ann Arbor is nearby, Detroit isn't too far. Chicago is four hours away. Mackinaw Island and the UP are about six hours away.

Avoid:    Trying to find a decent bar in East Lansing

Attendees:  Bones, Polychronopoulus, Col Hans Landa

2008 Wisconsin Game:
 http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=283060127

2012 Boise State Game:

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=322440127

California (PAC 12) 2008

College:  California (PAC 12)

Year:   2008        

Games:   California 24 Arizona State 14

Rating:  8 out of 10

Cost:  Moderate

Tickets:   Easy

Stadium:   One of the best, if not the best

Description:  This college game was the focal point of our trip and with good reason.  This is one of America’s iconic Universities and stadiums and the experience and stadium did nothing to disappoint.   We stopped at a great bar before the game but I can’t remember the name. The stadium was redone in 2011 so it’s a pretty high priority spot to return to, will have to hit both Stanford and Cal for “The Game” or for a back to back trip.

Don’t Miss:  The walk through campus up the hill to California Memorial Stadium.  Spend a night hanging around Berekely and another couple of days drinking your way through SF (an underrated drinking town), Tightwad hill
If you want to make this part of a bigger trip:  Let's see...Oakland, San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, Redwood National Park, Napa Valley, Silicon Valley....

Avoid:    Drinking Sierra Nevadas at noon, getting too much of a buzz on and being hungover in the second half

Attendees:  Bones, Polychronopolus


Game Recap:  http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=282780025

*Washington (PAC 12) 2008

College:  Washington (PAC 12)

Year:   2008        

Games:   Stanford 35 Washington 28

Rating:  8 out of 10 (but gets an astirik because it was half assed)

Cost:  Moderate

Tickets:   Not sure

Stadium:   Husky Stadium is one of the best, might be the best.  Renovation just completed in 2012, 

Description:  Took a week-long trip along the coast of the Pacific Northwest in 2008.  We went to a game at UW almost as an afterthought because UW was so bad at the time.  I believe they went winless and it was the end of the Ty Willingham era.  They were playing Stanford who was pretty bad as well (beginning of the Harbaugh era though).  We ended up sneaking into the game at halftime. 

The campus, stadium and the set up around it are really as good as humanly possible.  There was an excellent brewpub near campus (Big Time Brewery) that had excellent pizza. The campus is top notch, the city is top notch.  We really need to go back and do this one right, it’s also the only game I don’t have a ticket stub (because we weren’t paying 60 bucks to watch a winless Husky squad).  Polychronopolous did live up to his name for once, making fun of a couple of girls in the parking lot.  If you are into pinball at all you need to stop by Shortydogs (see map)

Don’t Miss:  Tailgating with some Seattle stoners in the parking lot before the game, walking through campus, Shortydog pinball bar, waking around UW campus
If you want to make this part of a bigger trip:  Seattle and the surrounding area, Vancouver BC is 3 hours north, Portland is 3 hours south. 

Avoid:    Picking a year to see UW football when they finish winless

Attendees:  Bones, Polychronopolus

Game Recap:  http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=282710264

IHSA High School Championships (2008)

Year:    2008

Games: 

Rating:   8 out of 10

Cost:  Low

Tickets:   Easy

Description: At this point most states have an March Madness style high school football championship.  Being a Masshole, this was completely new to me when I moved to Illinois in 2005.  In Illinois they play the championships games in Champagne Thanksgiving weekend.  Truth be told it's probably the best football that stadium sees all year!

Overall it's a good time, anyone who likes or played HS football in Illinois should go once. The 7A and 8A games are all going to have multiple major college recruits playing.   I saw the second best defensive battle I've ever witnessed  in 2007 when Lake Forest beat Wheaton Warrenville 7-3.   I think we went to this event 3 years in a row and stopped because we were tired of being cold.  In the future I would like to check out the same version of this game in Detroit or Indianapolis (domed venues).  

Attendees:  Bones, Polychronopolus, Dave

Records:  http://www.ihsa.org/SportsActivities/BoysFootball/RecordsHistory.aspx