College: Florida State University
Year: 2014
Game: Florida State 31 Notre Dame 27
Rating: 9
Cost Index: High
Tickets: Difficult but there were some available outside the stadium before the game
Cost Index: High
Tickets: Difficult but there were some available outside the stadium before the game
Stadium: Doak Campbell Stadium
Description: Where do we start with this one? I suppose a preface would be that this is yet another area of the US that isn't easy to stumble across. We've been wanting to get to this one since the beginning but it's been a while since FSU was really good so we put it on the back burner. When we looked at the schedule this year and saw the defending National Champion playing with the reigning Heisman Trophy winner hosting Notre Dame we figured the time was ripe. We figured Notre Dame would be decent, we did not think they would be undefeated or that this would be one of the better games of the year.
We flew in and out of Pensacola, which was surprisingly nice. It was much nicer than Panama City and Destin which looked a lot more like tourist traps. The whole region is pretty laid back, not over developed. We spent Friday driving from Pensacola over to the Apalachicola National Forest. We finally found a proper camp ground at Camel Lake which is in the Apalachicola Forest. It was an hour away from Tallahassee but for 10 bucks a night you can't beat the price. The gentleman running the campground's name was Dennis and he claimed to play Linebacker for LSU from 1958 to 1962. He also claimed to be the Louisiana wrestling champion and he said that he played for the Dallas Cowboys after impressing Tom Landry with a once handed catch in open tryouts. I choose to believe all of Dennis's stories.
On Saturday we made our way to Tallahassee about noon time. It took us a while to find parking but we eventually found a lot that happened to be right near Voodoo Dog. Voodoo Dog is one of those good burger/hot dog joints you find in a lot of college towns. Fairly priced food, focus isn't on health but the offerings were creative and tasty. Tallahassee was getting crowded so we found some seats at the The Brass Tap and hung out there for the next few hours. We had our share of drinks and watched the end of the noon games and most of the 3:30 slate. Really good day for football. K-State upset Oklahoma. TCU dominated Oklahoma State.
About 90 minute before game time we started our trek through the tail gate lots to Doak Campbell (pics below). The tail gate was very, very good but not in the top echelon of your better SEC and Big 10 tail gates. I will say that FSU treats the concept of the Native American mascot about as well as possible. They do their best to honor it, though I did learn that a Seminole was not a tribe per se, rather a term for Native Americans s who fought back against the white settlers. I honestly don't know what to think of Native American mascots at this point but the pomp and circumstance around the Seminole seems sincere.
During pregame we wondered why Florida State didn't seem to have a lot of the traditions of other schools. No conference championships from the early part of the century, no ring of honor or anything along those lines. We were also wondering who Doak Campbell was and why he had such a huge presence. As it turns out FSU was all women until the 50s. They didn't field a football team until 1954 and weren't any good until Bobby Bowden got there in the mid 70s.
Doak Campbell is one of those best of both world stadiums in that it's older but has recently been renovated. It is not quite as loud as the top level loudest venues (Oregon, Penn State) but it is a very good home field advantage. Crowd was hospitable, not obnoxious at all. My only complaint: the video boards were horrible. Given all the money they have they should upgrade that part of the experience.
The game itself was a heavyweight slugfest. Notre Dame dominated the line of scrimmage in the first half. Florida State made just enough plays to stay in it (down 17-10 at halftime). Florida State came out and took control in the third quarter. Both teams traded body shots until Notre Dame got the ball back with about 3 minutes left and made their way down the field. Evert Golson (who has balls the size of my head) converted a 4th and 18 to keep the drive alive. It looked like Notre Dame was going to score in the final 30 seconds and win but Florida State does what Florida does best this year and hung on for the win. Just a great, great game. The whole reason why we spend our time and money going to these games was validated in a great 12 hour experience.
After the game Polychronopolis and I spent a couple of days meandering around the Florida coast. We found a great little town called Apalachacola and an even better state park right on the beach: St. Joseph's Pennisula State Park. We spent a couple of days drinking Oyster City beer and eating at the Owl Cafe.
Description: Where do we start with this one? I suppose a preface would be that this is yet another area of the US that isn't easy to stumble across. We've been wanting to get to this one since the beginning but it's been a while since FSU was really good so we put it on the back burner. When we looked at the schedule this year and saw the defending National Champion playing with the reigning Heisman Trophy winner hosting Notre Dame we figured the time was ripe. We figured Notre Dame would be decent, we did not think they would be undefeated or that this would be one of the better games of the year.
We flew in and out of Pensacola, which was surprisingly nice. It was much nicer than Panama City and Destin which looked a lot more like tourist traps. The whole region is pretty laid back, not over developed. We spent Friday driving from Pensacola over to the Apalachicola National Forest. We finally found a proper camp ground at Camel Lake which is in the Apalachicola Forest. It was an hour away from Tallahassee but for 10 bucks a night you can't beat the price. The gentleman running the campground's name was Dennis and he claimed to play Linebacker for LSU from 1958 to 1962. He also claimed to be the Louisiana wrestling champion and he said that he played for the Dallas Cowboys after impressing Tom Landry with a once handed catch in open tryouts. I choose to believe all of Dennis's stories.
On Saturday we made our way to Tallahassee about noon time. It took us a while to find parking but we eventually found a lot that happened to be right near Voodoo Dog. Voodoo Dog is one of those good burger/hot dog joints you find in a lot of college towns. Fairly priced food, focus isn't on health but the offerings were creative and tasty. Tallahassee was getting crowded so we found some seats at the The Brass Tap and hung out there for the next few hours. We had our share of drinks and watched the end of the noon games and most of the 3:30 slate. Really good day for football. K-State upset Oklahoma. TCU dominated Oklahoma State.
About 90 minute before game time we started our trek through the tail gate lots to Doak Campbell (pics below). The tail gate was very, very good but not in the top echelon of your better SEC and Big 10 tail gates. I will say that FSU treats the concept of the Native American mascot about as well as possible. They do their best to honor it, though I did learn that a Seminole was not a tribe per se, rather a term for Native Americans s who fought back against the white settlers. I honestly don't know what to think of Native American mascots at this point but the pomp and circumstance around the Seminole seems sincere.
During pregame we wondered why Florida State didn't seem to have a lot of the traditions of other schools. No conference championships from the early part of the century, no ring of honor or anything along those lines. We were also wondering who Doak Campbell was and why he had such a huge presence. As it turns out FSU was all women until the 50s. They didn't field a football team until 1954 and weren't any good until Bobby Bowden got there in the mid 70s.
Doak Campbell is one of those best of both world stadiums in that it's older but has recently been renovated. It is not quite as loud as the top level loudest venues (Oregon, Penn State) but it is a very good home field advantage. Crowd was hospitable, not obnoxious at all. My only complaint: the video boards were horrible. Given all the money they have they should upgrade that part of the experience.
The game itself was a heavyweight slugfest. Notre Dame dominated the line of scrimmage in the first half. Florida State made just enough plays to stay in it (down 17-10 at halftime). Florida State came out and took control in the third quarter. Both teams traded body shots until Notre Dame got the ball back with about 3 minutes left and made their way down the field. Evert Golson (who has balls the size of my head) converted a 4th and 18 to keep the drive alive. It looked like Notre Dame was going to score in the final 30 seconds and win but Florida State does what Florida does best this year and hung on for the win. Just a great, great game. The whole reason why we spend our time and money going to these games was validated in a great 12 hour experience.
After the game Polychronopolis and I spent a couple of days meandering around the Florida coast. We found a great little town called Apalachacola and an even better state park right on the beach: St. Joseph's Pennisula State Park. We spent a couple of days drinking Oyster City beer and eating at the Owl Cafe.
If you want to make it part of a larger trip: Maybe Gainsville, New Orleans or Jacksonville but it's a stretch. This campus is pretty isolated.
Don't Miss: Voodoo Dog, Pregame rituals before kickofff
Avoid:
Avoid:
Attendees: Bones, Polychronopolis
Game Recap: http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=400547767
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