Tennessee (SEC) 2015

College:  The University of Tennessee

Year:   2015

Game: Oklahoma 31 Tennessee 24 (2 OT)

Rating: 10
Cost Index:  Moderate
Tickets:  Moderate

Stadium:  Neyland Stadium

Let's start with Neyland Stadium....I think it's my new favorite.  I honestly can't believe they can put 100K people in there, by the size of the stadium you would think it's closer to 80k.  The place is loud, right up there with Penn State and Oregon.  I'm not sure of the correct adjective to use describing being there....maybe comfortable?   The fans aren't overly obnoxious, the place is loud and there are a lot of people but you never feel like you don't have enough room or that you are crammed in, which is rare for bench seating.

Outside the stadium is excellent as well.  Neyland is not one of those stadiums on the edge of campus.  It sits right in the middle of campus, next to the river.  The Volunteer Navy pulls up about 1/4 mile away (note:  you can rent boats there if you want that tail gate experience).  There is a bar down by the river called Calhoun's. Downtown Knoxville is nice, there isn't much to it, a few bars and restaurants in the Market Square area and a few more in Old Knoxville.   The only downside is Cumberland Street, it's kind of dumpy in stretches with the fast food joints and hotels.

This was a close game, not a great game. Tennessee is young and up and coming and should have won this game.  They dominated Oklahoma for most of it but they couldn't close them out.  To their credit, Oklahoma kept fighting and tied the game late. They did get the benefit of the whistle, especially on a questionable PI call (the only rule in football that we can't get right).

Before the game we were hanging out at City Brew, which is a huge brew pub in the center of Knoxville.  We were sitting with two other random guys watching the Jacksonville State vs. Auburn game (Auburn was almost upset) and these three Oklahoma fans (two guys and one woman) turn on a goddamn soccer game and sit down like we weren't even there, to the point the four of us just looked at each other and started laughing.  I'm used to rude behavior, most of the time I put up with it, but then this woman looks at me and says "Doesn't this make the whole game better?"  I told her "No, it doesn't" and by the reaction on her face you would have thought I called her mother a cunt.  Instead of apologizing she just starts blabbering on about how this soccer rivalry (Manchester United & LIverpool I think?) is like the Red Sox Yankees or some line of bullshit and all I could think of was "go walk into a bar in London right now and turn on an American football game and see how that goes over."  Eventually this shameless twat and her nullo husband and his friend left.  Note to women:  just because you convinced one guy to marry you does not mean that anyone else gives a fuck about your opinion or wants to listen to your incoherent ramblings.  Whenever Oklahoma loses this year I'll think of those three and how miserable they are, I'm looking forward to it. 

If you want to make it part of a larger trip:  Nashville, Virginia Tech, The Smokey Mountains, Rafting in West Virginia

Don't Miss:  The Volunteer Navy
Avoid:  Cumberland Street (at least the side by the hotels and strip malls)

Attendees:  Bones, Polychronopolus

Game Recap: http://espn.go.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400603868

Minnesota (Big 10) 2015

College:  The University of Minnesota

Year:   2015

Game: TCU 23 Minnesota 17

Rating: 7
Cost Index:  Low
Tickets:  Moderate

Stadium:  TCF Bank Stadium

Let's start this one with the city, or more accurately, the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.  I've always liked this area, I think I've been there three times over the past six years. The people are very nice without being overbearing.  The city itself is clean and there is plenty to do.  More importantly there is depth to the place.  I can't put my finger on it, I'm not sure if it's the Nordic influence or the cold weather culture, but it's there.  One other observation:  If Chicago is the western most east coast style city I would classify Minneapolis as the eastern most west coast city.  It reminds me of Seattle.

TCF Bank Stadium is a perfect stadium in what is the most perfect campus I've been on.  The only bad thing I can say is that maybe it's too perfect?  The buildings all match one another, almost like they were all built at the same time.  The atmosphere in the stadium was pretty good but I would stop short of calling it electric. This is typical at a school where football is important but it's not the most important sport.  Minnesota is a hockey school, that's their number one sport and they do it well.  I've been to a hockey game there, in scale it's closer to an NHL game compared to typical college hockey. The tail gate reflected this, it was decent but it was not at the caliber of what you would see down south.

The game itself was sloppy, you would not look at TCU after that game and expect a playoff team....but you can't read too much into the first week.  I do think Minnesota has a good defense and that had a lot to do with how TCU played.  Minnesota did not get any help from the refs, but they also shot themselves in the foot, particularly with a goal line fumble in the first half.  The Gophers were dominated by TCU's Terrel Lathan, evidently their starting LT is hurt.  With a little luck Minnesota could have stolen this game.

One note:  Minnesota's chief rival is Wisconsin, who has the best student section in the country (at least the best I've seen).  Minnesota's student section is good....and they have a great concept in "Do the Gopher" but they need to refine that and commit to it a little more.  

There is a chant that I could not make sense of:

http://tourtheten.com/minnesota/traditions/game-day-traditions/ski-u-mah-chant/#.Ve48zigVhBc

If you want to make it part of a larger trip:  The Boundary Waters, Minnesota State Fair

Don't Miss:  The University of Minnesota campus
Avoid:  The area around the stadium is ok but it's not typical of a college football party scene

Attendees:  Bones, #YankeesSuck, The President

Game Recap: http://espn.go.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400763398\