South Carolina (SEC) 2013

College: University of South Carolina

Year:   2013

Game: South Carolina 19 Florida 14

Rating: 10

Cost Index:  40 dollar ticket

Tickets:  Difficult

Stadium:  Williams Brice nails it on every level.  The architecture is interesting, I have no other stadium to compare it too in that regard (maybe Oregon State).  The atmosphere is FANTASTIC.  There is not a bad seat in the house, they don't try to overwhelm you with music and those stupid interactive games during timeouts. The fans had high football intelligence and were loud.  The women running around that place were the finest I've ever seen.  10 out of 10.

Description:  Going to games at Penn State prompted us to begin exploring other spots.  The hope being that other places are, if not exactly like Penn State, excellent in their own way.  This has been the case for several spots (LSU, Auburn, Iowa State) but no where is it more apparent than South Carolina.  This is one of the few places I can say is right there with Penn State.  The stadium is a mile or so south of campus in the middle of the state fairgrounds, which means there are tailgate lots on all sides.

Speaking of Penn State I spent 10 dollars on a book by Todd Blacklege called "Taste of the Town".  What a waste of money.  This book has to be the biggest piece of shit I've ever put my eyes on.  He directed us to a place called "Yesterdays".  It was the epitome of "average".  No complaints but I'm 100% certain we would have found a better place on our own.  I vow to bring this book on every future football trip and wipe my ass with the pages.

We ended up getting down there at about 3PM for an 8PM kick. We had a few hard ciders and ended up talking to some guys who were Florida fans, they were ok but their twat girlfriend engaged me in a condescending conversation about our groups travel habits.  Evidently it was beyond her limited intellect that a group of friends could travel to a football game in which they did not have a solid rooting interest.  I barely knew this twat and she was interrogating me on my travel habits, asking me where I've been this year in a tone that a person who's never been punched in the face asks....like she somehow had the secret to life.  I'm pretty sure her pussy of a boyfriend was embarrassed by her.  God I can't stand people like this, I mean she's from Florida which is embarrassing enough.  I had to toss London and Paris at her to shut her up, she had no clue what to say after that.  She was one of those dumb cunts that thinks because she has a 200 dollar haircut she's somehow 1) smart and 2) attractive.  She was neither.  I'm sure her travel agenda doesn't extent much beyond some shitty cruise or a shopping trip to New York.  Fuck her.

After dealing with this turd in the punch bowl we proceeded over to the stadium.  We had a little trouble scalping tickets but eventually we all got in.   The game was low scoring but it wasn't bad.  Florida had a great game plan and almost pulled off the upset.  Jadevon Clowney is the real deal, teams have to account for him on every play and he still affects the game.  Great player.

After the game we sat in the tail gate lot for a while. The parking and traffic management is the only real downside, I can't wait to go back again (may hit it for the opener next year against Texas A&M)

If you want to make it part of a lager trip: Clemson is nearby, as is Greenville, Atlanta is a couple of hours away, not that far from Ashville and the Smokey Mountains, Charleston is about 4 hours away
Don’t Miss:  The all day tailgate surrounding Williams-Brice stadium

Avoid:   Parking on the backside of the stadium.  It might take you three hours to get out

Attendees:  Bones, Polychronopolus, Park League

Game Recap:  http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=333202579

Clemson (ACC) 2013

College: Clemson University

Year:   2013

Game: Clemson 55 Georgia Tech 31

Rating: 8

Cost Index:  20 dollar ticket

Tickets:  Easy

Stadium:  Clemson Memorial Stadium sits on the western edge of campus not too far from the Lake.   It's got some good tailgate lots on the east and west sides.  The hill is much smaller than it looks on TV.  Stadium is very similar to Milan Puskar both in size and design, which makes sense because both campuses are built into very uneven terrain.

I can't say that I thought the introduction was anything special (I know, I'm an asshole...college football blashpemy) but then again my friends and I kind of screwed it up by trying to watch it from the outside (see pics) instead of inside the stadium.  We didn't know it was only a 30 second event, though perhaps the "most exciting 25 seconds in college football" should have given it away.

Description:  We got into town on Thursday afternoon, got set up at the hotel and walked into the downtown Clemson area.  There was some life once we got downtown, we walked around a bit and settled on getting some pizza at "the Mellow Mushroom". (A note:  The Mellow Mushroom is an excellent chain, I've had great food there in the past and it was fine this time but there is no fucking reason to have a DJ booth in front of the place blasting shitty music.  NO ONE in the place wanted to hear that, it didn't do a thing for business. I have nothing against music but it doesn't need to be everywhere ridiculously loud at all times).  We scalped out tickets, hung around the tailgate for a bit.  We got great seats for 20 bucks and saw a decent game.  A lot of points were scored but Georgia Tech was not all that competitive.  After the game we had a beer at the Esso House (it was ok, nothing special) and brought our asses home.

On the way out of town we stopped at "The Smoking Pig".  The BBQ at this joint is EXCELLENT and was the high light of Clemson.

The difference between a big time spot and most of the other ones is at the big time spots you know a football game is happening miles away from the stadium and you have to work a little bit to get your tickets.  I never got that feeling at Clemson and this was the difference between this game and the game that we went to a couple of days later.  Both games were top 10 teams fighting for a BCS birth hosting a non ranked conference opponent.  At Clemson people were walking around giving tickets away.  Don't get me wrong, Clemson was fun but I would like to go back for a big game (like the Georgia one earlier this year).

If you want to make it part of a lager trip:  South Carolina is nearby, as is Greenville, Atlanta is a couple of hours away, there is a Lake about 500 yards from campus
Don’t Miss:  The Smoking Pig for some BBQ, The tailgate lot right next to the stadium.  Get a beer at the Esso house.

Avoid:   Loud music at the Mellow Mushroom

Attendees:  Bones, Polychronopolus, Park League

Game Recap:  http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=333180228

Texas (Big 12) 2013

College: University of Texas

Year:   2013

Game: Texas 35 Kansas 13

Rating: 9

Cost Index:  40 dollar ticket

Tickets:  Easy

Stadium:  Darrel Royal is one of the classic and most well known structures.  There's nothing really distinctive about it but the attention to detail put it up there against any of the others. The campus is very nice, integrates well with the city.

Description:  The city of Austin is one of the most unique cities going.  They practice what they preach: it's the most dog friendly city I've ever been too (it' s a no kill CITY --largest in the US, I love dogs so this is important to me), it's also very bike friendly, it's a great music city, a great food city and a great party town. The women are beautiful, every time you go out you see at least one stunning female.

The game was pedestrian but it wasn't a big time opponent.  I met some really nice people who took me over to the Alumni tent during half time (they let you out and back in at UT).  

The food trucks are important to note.  I ate at three while I was there, I probably saw over 50.  They serve amazing food and they are everywhere.  They partner up with the bars and just park them in the patios (almost every bar has a huge out door patio larger than the indoor space).  Hence why you can bring dogs to almost any bar that's not downtown.

I ended up in an area called Ranier street on the recommendation of a bartender.  It might be unique in the US (or even the world).  In 2009 it was a residential neighborhood and someone bought a house and turned in into a bar.  Now there are 15-20 houses turned into bars.  At the end of the street there is a food truck lot with Lulu's donuts.  There is a bar nearby with Via 313 Detroit style pizzia, might be the best pizzia I've ever had.

The city kind of overwhelmed the game, but that's ok with me. I had a great time.

If you want to make it part of a lager trip:  You are in Austin already, if you need more San Antonio is an hour south.  Texas hill country is an hour or so to the south west
Don’t Miss:  Just hanging around Austin and seeing how they do things there.  Biking around the city.  Ranier street, 6th street, Barton Springs, the Food trucks, the women.  

Avoid:   

Attendees:  Bones

Game Recap:  http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=333060251

Mississippi State (SEC) 2013

College: Mississippi State

Year:   2013

Game: Mississippi State Kentucky

Rating: 9

Cost Index:  20 dollar ticket, 13 to camp

Tickets:  Easy

Stadium:  Davis-Wade is a pretty decent structure.  It sits on south west edge of campus. From the outside it looks like a typical concrete behemoth but on the inside it's much more elegant.  It's seats 55,000 and is in the middle of an expansion.  It has a similar set up to Georgia where all the fans seated on the lower level can walk down by the field (the area between the fans and players is separated by hedges).   HAIL STATE!

Description:  HAIL STATE!  First, the drive from route 55 to Starkville is the prettiest I've been on for one of these trips.  Mile after mile of hills and rolling farmland.  Starkville is in the middle of the state and it's a very rural campus but it's not as difficult to get to as I originally thought.  The campus is impeccably manicured, the people are very friendly.  The tail gate looks big when you approach it but it's only on one side of the stadium so it's actually kind of small, especially by SEC standards. I know Ole Miss is the snob school in that state but they do have a better tail gate and a better crowd, which I'm sorry to say but it's true.

They do ring the cowbells ALL GAME.  It's pretty cool actually as it looks like some of the cowbells are really old, I think they've been doing it since the 30s.  The crowd was not great though.  I guess it's fall break so the student section was only half full.

Football Observation: Too many teams run an average version of the spread offense.  Teams would do well to recruit and execute a pro style attack as defenses are really starting to adjust to the spread.  Both Kentucky and Mississippi State run very average spread offenses.

If you want to make it part of a lager trip:  Memphis is about 3 hours to the north, Vicksburgh is about three hours to the west (excellent civil war park).  The Natchez-Trace parkway is nearby (this is a 444 mile scenic parkway between Nashville and Natchez).  Tuscaloosa is only 90 minutes away to the east, so if Mississippi State plays on a Thursday you could have a pretty good "Two Birds for one Stone" trip.  Atlanta is 4 hours

Don’t Miss:  Roadside BBQ

Avoid:   

Attendees:  Bones

Game Recap:  http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?id=332970344

Mississippi State Pregame

Cowbell