Best Away Game Experience for Iowa fans

ChosenChildren

ChosenChildren

Well-Known Member
What is the best road venue for Iowa fans? Here would be my vote:

1. the Shoe (seeing them dot the i is worth the trip alone)

2. The Big House (Michigan fanfare and Hail to the Victors as the Block M rolls down the field - awesome)

3. Camp Randall ("Jump" and the 5th quarter - fabulous and hilarious

4. West Lafayette - the steam whistle will drive you nuts

5. Cyclone stadium when we kick their worthless butts

6. Memorial Stadium in Lincoln - this will be great (been there twice)
 
State College, PA. Penn State. Not only is Beaver Stadium awesome, but tailgating for 12 hours before the game, and then seeing all the Penn State people flee like the place is on fire after the Hawks beat 'em,


Awesome.
 
My take on the away stadiums I've seen Iowa play at:

tOSU--best environment in the Big-10 for sure if not the nation. Heiney Gate rocks. Been there twice...for the infamous 31-6 rout and last year. Take Kinnick and add 35% more people...LOTS of red. Fans were gracious.

Illinois--been there more than any other away venue other than NW. Seen the Hawks win and lose, win and lose. Town sucks, stadium is OK...student section is best in Big-10. Fans weren't rude (surprisingly).

MSU--went there last year for my first time. Stadium is OK...huge campus...student section very active. Nice drive from Chicago. Very little tailgating. Fans were decent.

NW--my fave away venue regarding watchability...seen 8 games there. Decent food, seats are all decent...seen losses and wins (saw the one-point loss in 07 and saw Chuck Long toss 6 TDs there in 85).

Purdue...ugh...sterile environment around the stadium. Not much tailgating. Rude fans. Hate going there....but did see Long beat Everett in 85.

Bloomington....worst FB atmosphere in the Big-10. Small stadium...not much fan action...seen Iowa both lose and win there. The BB stadiums looms over the FB stadium....you can feel Knight watching from in there somewhere.

Minnesota...ugh...indoors....only thing good was the plethora of Iowa fans. Went once...Iowa won.

Wisconsin...been there twice....saw Iowa win twice. Only a tick behind Columbus for a rockin good time. Say what you want....they can party in Mad-town.

Cyclone stadium...went there once as a kid...watched ISU lose to Colorado. Never been back...nuff said.

Sun Devil Stadium....watched Iowa get spanked 44-7. Unique stadium built into rocks...lots of Hawk fans.

Orlando...pitiful stadium in the middle of a ghetto (literally)...dirty, run down...ugh. Orlando...not much there that interested me.

Tampa...best venue for a bowl game I've been to...on the water, clean, cold beer....chicks everywhere....been there 3x....two Hawk wins and one loss.

JAX...overrated....actually cold in the winter...not much nightlife when I was there in 83.

Folsom field....Boulder rocks...town parties....great backdrop to the stadium...(never saw Iowa play there becuz they haven't, but have seen ISU play there twice)
 
PSU is a great trip as State College is a great college town for sure, but OSU is a great stadium and tradition certainly cannot take that away from the Buckeyes. Madison is a great city and best tailgate I think. Really not a bad road trip in the Big Ten each University has something unique. But my favorite would have too be Madison.
 
Madison gets my vote. I've been several times and win or lose it's always a blast. State Street Brats rules... I mean a bar with a huge grill that cooks brats... unreal.

My roomates brother went to school there so we actually watched a few games in the student section and had a blast.
 
The only Iowa game I have been to where I cheered for Iowa was a game at Wisconsin in the mid 90's when I was a kid. My uncle lives by Madison and took us (he is a Badger fan). It was cold so he gave us Wisconsin stocking hats and gloves. Towards the end of the game Iowa made like a 50 yard FG to win a close game. The people around must have thought we did not understand football since we were wearing Wisconsin stuff but cheering when Iowa made that late FG.
 
Swarm2Kinnick said:
State College, PA. Penn State. Not only is Beaver Stadium awesome, but tailgating for 12 hours before the game, and then seeing all the Penn State people flee like the place is on fire after the Hawks beat 'em,


Awesome.
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Yep, everything he said. I was there for the game last year, got to see the infamous White Out, and got to see ~100,000 people quietly sulk into the night after the game. Getting to see Clayborn block that punt and the reaction of the Iowa section I was in is a memory I'll never forget. I get goosebumps just thinking about it :D But yeah, tailgating there is awesome, and most of their fans are friendly, good-hearted people. I never expected to get invited to a PSU tailgate that day, but I had a couple people ask us to come over and have a beer with them. Oh, and that stadium is pretty awesome to be in.
 
LunchBocks said:
Getting to see Clayborn block that punt and the reaction of the Iowa section I was in is a memory I'll never forget. I get goosebumps just thinking about it :D
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That was probably the most exciting play I've ever witnessed that did not take place in the last minute or two of a game. It was like lightning struck the Iowa section. After going down 10-0 and being behind for three quarters, with that one play the Iowa fans came to a sudden and simultaneous realization: "The Hawks are gonna win this!" It was beautiful!
 
SDK46 said:
My take on the away stadiums I've seen Iowa play at:

tOSU--best environment in the Big-10 for sure if not the nation. Heiney Gate rocks. Been there twice...for the infamous 31-6 rout and last year. Take Kinnick and add 35% more people...LOTS of red. Fans were gracious.

Illinois--been there more than any other away venue other than NW. Seen the Hawks win and lose, win and lose. Town sucks, stadium is OK...student section is best in Big-10. Fans weren't rude (surprisingly).

MSU--went there last year for my first time. Stadium is OK...huge campus...student section very active. Nice drive from Chicago. Very little tailgating. Fans were decent.

NW--my fave away venue regarding watchability...seen 8 games there. Decent food, seats are all decent...seen losses and wins (saw the one-point loss in 07 and saw Chuck Long toss 6 TDs there in 85).

Purdue...ugh...sterile environment around the stadium. Not much tailgating. Rude fans. Hate going there....but did see Long beat Everett in 85.

Bloomington....worst FB atmosphere in the Big-10. Small stadium...not much fan action...seen Iowa both lose and win there. The BB stadiums looms over the FB stadium....you can feel Knight watching from in there somewhere.

Minnesota...ugh...indoors....only thing good was the plethora of Iowa fans. Went once...Iowa won.

Wisconsin...been there twice....saw Iowa win twice. Only a tick behind Columbus for a rockin good time. Say what you want....they can party in Mad-town.

Cyclone stadium...went there once as a kid...watched ISU lose to Colorado. Never been back...nuff said.

Sun Devil Stadium....watched Iowa get spanked 44-7. Unique stadium built into rocks...lots of Hawk fans.

Orlando...pitiful stadium in the middle of a ghetto (literally)...dirty, run down...ugh. Orlando...not much there that interested me.

Tampa...best venue for a bowl game I've been to...on the water, clean, cold beer....chicks everywhere....been there 3x....two Hawk wins and one loss.

JAX...overrated....actually cold in the winter...not much nightlife when I was there in 83.

Folsom field....Boulder rocks...town parties....great backdrop to the stadium...(never saw Iowa play there becuz they haven't, but have seen ISU play there twice)
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Wow, you have been around the block. I would have to agree with you on the Outback Bowl, what a cool place for a bowl and Clearwater Beach is awesome. It by far trumps the other bowls I have been too, Alamo Bowl (San Antonio is really cool though) and Orange Bowl (really dont care for Miami)
 
hamiltoncounty said:
Wow, you have been around the block. I would have to agree with you on the Outback Bowl, what a cool place for a bowl and Clearwater Beach is awesome. It by far trumps the other bowls I have been too, Alamo Bowl (San Antonio is really cool though) and Orange Bowl (really dont care for Miami)
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Alamo bowl was awesome, you could walk to everything. And the city is real cool.
 
CFHawk said:
Alamo bowl was awesome, you could walk to everything. And the city is real cool.
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The riverwalk and the city are both really cool, park the car at the hotel when you get there and dont get in it again til you leave. Just saying the Alamodome is a dump compared to watching the game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, not to mention the beach a few miles away from Tampa in the winter time;)
 
SDK46 said:
Orlando...pitiful stadium in the middle of a ghetto (literally)...dirty, run down...ugh. Orlando...not much there that interested me.

Tampa...best venue for a bowl game I've been to...on the water, clean, cold beer....chicks everywhere....been there 3x....two Hawk wins and one loss.
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Agree on both counts there. The stadium in Orlando is nestled in a neighborhood that's got a bad case of tooth decay. Nothing there but scum, and we were pretty much hurrying to our car as fast as we could so we could just get the heck out of there after the game (Iowa/LSU).

The Tampa stadium is far and away superior, but of course it's an NFL stadium. I live in Tampa only about 10 minutes from there, and I can tell you that the stadium is in an area that has plenty of shopping and restaurants, etc. Plenty to do down there, unlike the Orlando stadium where all it has is run down residential areas, etc. Still, the Tampa stadium is in a neighborhood where I would exercise a little caution about straying too far off the beaten path, but the wife and I go down that way for dinner, etc. alot, and we don't feel like we're really ever in danger. Again, we stay away from the side streets and we don't have any issues.

The Outback Bowl is a much better experience than the Cap1 bowl, IMO.

The only other actual road venue I've been to is @ISU. My brother went to school there back in the 90's, and we had tickets to a game on Parents Weekend. We got to sit in the rain and watch one of Jim Walden's teams scrape past somebody like Ohio U. Stadium was ok I guess, but attendance sucked, weather sucked, and the game was kinda boring. Wasn't much fun. At all.
 
Yea i know how much iowa fans love the metrodome and the little lovenests you make in the bathrooms :eek:)

If you come to lincoln you will have a great time. Stadium doesnt get to rockin unless its a colorado or a oklahoma or a texas. But you guys might see that there as well. The most friendly, down to earth blue collar people you will ever meet. Offer you some beer and some brats. Not a roudy tailgateing area party but after the game the bars are always full of fun.
 
cloneu said:
The only Iowa game I have been to where I cheered for Iowa was a game at Wisconsin in the mid 90's when I was a kid. My uncle lives by Madison and took us (he is a Badger fan). It was cold so he gave us Wisconsin stocking hats and gloves. Towards the end of the game Iowa made like a 50 yard FG to win a close game. The people around must have thought we did not understand football since we were wearing Wisconsin stuff but cheering when Iowa made that late FG.
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Nobody cares, go back to your own board, clown.
 
While I've never been to a Hawk game in San Antonio, I have stayed there four times and the RiverWalk rocked. I could see how a bowl game there would be great. Too bad they dumped us for the old Big-XII.

I forgot one...Soldier Field for the Northern Illinois game. Chicago Park District was woefully unprepared for the number of people attending....hardly a trash can or port-a-potty to be found outside the stadium...buses were not running on time from downtown...awful. Inside, we drank our section out of beer by halftime (literally)....we found ourselves going down a level, then walking around until we found vendors. If we play there again, we need to do a letter writing campaign to ensure enough trash cans, port-a-potties and beer!
 
LunchBocks said:
Yep, everything he said. I was there for the game last year, got to see the infamous White Out, and got to see ~100,000 people quietly sulk into the night after the game. Getting to see Clayborn block that punt and the reaction of the Iowa section I was in is a memory I'll never forget. I get goosebumps just thinking about it :D But yeah, tailgating there is awesome, and most of their fans are friendly, good-hearted people. I never expected to get invited to a PSU tailgate that day, but I had a couple people ask us to come over and have a beer with them. Oh, and that stadium is pretty awesome to be in.
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I was in the upper deck on the end where Clayborne ran back that punt, me and my uncle were the only two hawk fans up there and we were going nuts. When PSU came out and threw that opening touchdown, you could literally feel the stands move up and down, I defiantly thought that the stadium was going to collapse, but it all turned out alright.
 
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