I know KP has taken exception to my 'Alabama has the best and worst fans', but I think something that gets missed in the bigger picture is that I think my own favorite school, ND, is in my own top 5 list of best/worst fans. Unlike Alabama, where college seems to be the dividing line, ND is not that way at all. I've known alumni who are terrible fans and subways. At the same time, they are also a very close #2 in the best fans category. Really, I wish there were a better way for us to police the situation (I am sure good Alabama fans feel the same way), but there just isn't. Thankfully, this young man saw through the negativity.
Corey, I agree that there are good and bad Alabama fans, it's just i don't hear you tell many good Alabama fan stories. I, too, wish we could police the bad ones. If we could there would be a large tree still living in downtown Auburn! :lol:
True but posting about every good Alabama fan would result in me constantly posting about something that should be expected. It's like giving a grown man a high 5 for being a decent human And it's true, we'd still have a tree down in Auburn, but then again look at the classiness Auburn replaced it with... in true Auburn fashion But not to get to far off the subject, ND has some God awful fans. If you ever just sit and read the comments on the Facebook threads of private ND groups, sometimes it's all one can do not to jump through the screen.
True but never posting about any good Alabama fan yields the opposite effect. I am repeatedly embarrassed by idiots that profess to be fans of the University of Alabama, but I am also impressed by many more with their passion for and knowledge of the game. :?
I'll bet you don't have fans who sell their tickets by the thousands to the opposition's fans, resulting in 1/4 to 1/3(or more) of the stadium being the color of the opposing team on national TV. Now THAT's embarrassment. :x
As college football becomes an increasingly high priced spectacle I think fans view a trip to the stadium as much more than a football game. It is a pilgrimage, a crusade that begins on a Friday, ends on Sunday with a non-stop binging in between. The student body has become part of the show. ESPN writes the plots. Fans travel through time zones to get there. We congratulate ourselves if we can get a room within a 25 mile radius. We have planned this trip for months and often have spent four figures to make it happen, so when it finally arrives, we feel entitled. We have the ability to eat and drink for hours and hours leading up to kickoff so by the time the whistle blows we are ready for full contact, no holds barred debauchery where nothing is off limits. The pros led the way in this choreographed bad behavior and exessive cost but it has found a home in college campuses as well. And if fans do not have ample opportunity to debase themslves at the game we have electronic forums that allow us a chance for self-humiliation and personal attacks as well. After all, we paid for it.
It's nothing new...I look back years ago at some of the nastiness on the Prodigy Boards. At times it was so unbelievably bad you hadda think that some folks were just pretending to be such assholes. But it was entertaining. :wink: :roll:
While George's post is incredibly on point, I would still invite you guys to take in an Alabama game if you get the chance. I think some of the modern (read last 10 years) developments to the 'on campus experience' have taken away that warmness that was once felt on the campus, it's still there, it's just more spread out. The fans are absolutely wonderful. The kids are kids. I have posted this before, but the stadium during the march in of the teams is like sticking your head into a jet engine it's so loud. It's a lot of fun with good people. I'd say it's not quite the ND experience, but it's pretty close. That's pretty high praise coming from me if I must say so myself. From my experiences, a lot of campuses offer their own thing or fun. The only 3 places that I thought were absolutely terrible were Georgia Tech, USC and Auburn. Tech was just a **** show of harassment, a too spread out campus and a ridiculous walk down to the stadium (which increased exposure to harassment.) USC is tailgating in a parking lot in a South Central LA ghetto. You can head to the west side of the stadium, but there's a chance someone will steal your **** while you're over there. Even if you park on the East side, anything left out after the tailgate will be stolen by the time you get back. You'll get pan handled, shaken down and bothered for money by some of the locals, although I've heard the campus PD has cracked down on that. Their students are pretty obnoxious. The campus is pretty but it's across the street so you don't really get to take much of that in. Auburn is actually quite gorgeous. Their fans are rude, absolutely hate ND for some reason and have shown a willingness to be very aggressive at times. It's a **** show... the campus is pretty though. Just my opinions though.. We should have a stadium reviews thread that we can leave posted at the top for future seasons
I have only been to 3 stadiums....so far, well actually 4. Legion Field in Birmingham. Birmingham is where I was born, and Alabama played half of their home games there for years. There was very little tailgating because of the urban setting with no college campus. I do remember being in the stadium waiting on the team to come in the field. No jumbotrons, no music over the "sound system, just the voices of the crowd. When the team ran onto the field the noise was overwhelming but Coach Bryant followed the team and slowly ambled across the field and the noise went to a higher level and it stayed that way until he reached the sidelines. The excitement made your heart race. The next stadium i went to was Bryant-Denny in Tuscaloosa. It has evolved over the years but tailgating and walking the quad, Denny Chimes, the Million Dollar Band doing the Elephant Stomp. Really a lot of fun. Inside the stadium, the big screen videos of great plays and players before the games always gives me chill bumps. The last stadium is Byrd Stadium at the University of Maryland. It was nice,clean and functional. This was a long time ago but not any of the excitement of the Alabama games. I did drive by the University of Maine stadium back in the 70's. It was about the size of the Wetumpka High School stadium. No kidding.
I've been to quite a few stadiums, but the one I'll always remember is Michie Stadium at West Point. What a beautiful setting and impressive student body. If you ever get a chance go, you won't be sorry you went.
Aw Gip... A few years ago the Aggies had a series with Army. I was SOO excited that we were going to be able see a game in that Stadium. Late in the summer before the game... they moved it to the Alamodome in San Antonio. I've never been so disappointed. :cry:
Gipper, never been there. Would love to go someday. Know several people who speak about the experience like you did. Side note: All these years, I thought the stadium name was pronounced "Mish-ee". During this year's Army-Navy game, while making a run to the store, I was listening to the West Point broadcast on ESPN in my van. I learned that the correct pronunciation is "Mike-ee".
Notre Dame <t>Well it appears Elko will indeed be back at ND next season. There seem to be some offers coming his way from other programs but Kelly says he’s staying.</t>
I also saw that Kelly feels pretty good that Tillery, Coney, Adams, and St. Brown will all be returning. Probably won't know for sure till after the bowl game I would think. I wouldn't be surprised though if say Adams was leaning towards coming back, but had some spectacular bowl game performance and flipped to the NFL off of that. So we'll wait and see. I really hope that Tillery and Coney come back. I would like Adams back as well, but I do think we have enough backs that his leaving wouldn't be that critical. St. Brown needs to come back, he didn't do much this year whether it's him or his QB or combination, I wouldn't think he'd be a 1st day (rnd 1-3) draft pick and likely 5th round at best and maybe undrafted unless he blew everybody away with a combine performance.
St. Brown is not a physical receiver and in the NFL , the last time I looked, physicality is a prerequisite. I would rank the four players' readiness and draftability as follows: 1. Tillery 2. Adams 3. Coney 4. St. Brown
I'd agree George, the only thing he has that the NFL likes is that he's a big receiver but he's has average speed for a WR. I could see him having a Darius Walker experience, declare for draft, not get drafted, try to make a roster but never sticking around and after a couple of years moving on.
Well my brother in law has come up with more than great (ie. expensive) tix for the bowl game. I've now gotten an invite to a reception Sun. night at Lou Holtz's house. Looks like I'm going to have to wear long pants and stuff.