How is the tailgating scene at Big Ten venues?
- Thread starter JonDMiller
- Start date
Amen 2 that. My pleasant experience at Columbus can be summed up by 2 instances.
First, (unfortunately I had A ticket in the student section, with my McNutt jersey on) and of course some trashed student told me I didn't belong there, and that it didn't matter if I had the ticket to the seat he was sitting in. The rest of the students basically told him to shut the F-up & he moved. By all means, if I was in the Iowa section I would expect the first to happen & HOPE that the second would happen.
Second, I had some guy, probably 65+ come over to me as we were walking out of the game and he said to me "I've been to every OSU game in Columbus in over 40 years, and that was far and away the best one"
Great time, and well worth the drive.
NO KIDDING!!!
The first time I went into a store and THOUGHT I could buy beer at 10pm I was very, very, very sad to find out that I could not.
Not to mention the fact that they serve beer at the student union?!?! I personally don't have a problem with it but you can't have it both ways.
My first experience with this was when I was in Madison @ a scientific meeting (which if you have never been to one, is boring as all hell). I stopped at a gas station about 10:15 on the way back to the hotel to grab a sixer, and the people in the store looked at me like I was robbing the place when I grabbed the beer out of the fridge. I ended up having to buy $6 beers at the hotel; total buzzkill.
Last year in Madison, we were told numerous times and by numerous people that we couldn't stand on the sidewalk with a drink (we had parked in a yard and backed up to the sidewalk). We saw several cops walking around the neighborhood and we're told that they had written several tickets.
It was a fun time overall but the atmosphere was a little "oppresive". To me, it wasn't nearly as much fun as IC.
It was a fun time overall but the atmosphere was a little "oppresive". To me, it wasn't nearly as much fun as IC.
I live in Madison, and attended games Iowa games in 2001, 2003, 2005, and '09. The tailgating scene here is VERY overrated. There is almost no parking near the stadium, the parties are had by UW students living near Camp Randall whose tolerance for opposing fans is directly proportional to their intoxication. Many local bars offer free bussing to Camp Randall to offset the lack of parking/tailgating options. Further, the student section barely shows up by halftime. For one of the "GREAT" scenes in college football, I think it very underwhelming.
I've also been to games in the Dome, NW, and Illinois. I actually thought Illinois has the best (see lax) tailgating policy, their RV lot opens at 6 pm the night before the game, and they allow using it as a camp site. Too bad its Champaign!
I've also been to games in the Dome, NW, and Illinois. I actually thought Illinois has the best (see lax) tailgating policy, their RV lot opens at 6 pm the night before the game, and they allow using it as a camp site. Too bad its Champaign!
+1
I lived in MillyYucky for 5 years and would travel with co-workers to Madison for the Iowa/Wisky game every other year. Yes, they were all Badger fans & GRADUATES. The 2005 game had an afternoon start and they all thought I was crazy for wanting to start tailgating by 8am. (75 miles from Milwaukee to MadTown so 8am is pretty early.) They were all thinking about showing up about 2-3 hours before the game, which they thought was crazy enough. Suffice to say, all of the tailgating efforts fell on my lap at that point.
To show them how real tailgating was done I loaded 7 of them (Wisky fans) into an RV the following year and drove them down to I.C. We parked in the commuter lot on Friday night which was basically empty when we went to bed at 1am. At 6:30am I awoke them by playing the Iowa fight song on the CD player. They all thought I was joking that it was time to get up to start drinking. When one of them actually looked out the window to see all of the people in the lot his comment was "Holy ****!! You people are insane but this incredible!" It was damn cold that morning too but they all woke up and had a great time...and we still do a home-n-home every year even though I no longer live there. Yeah, they've stepped up their tailgates in Madison based off of what we do in the I.C.
Couldn't agree more racer. The culture of drinking in Wisconsin is nothing like I've ever seen before. I believe the State thinks it curbs drinking by shutting down liquor/beer sales at their stores at 9pm. However, I've found that that law actually encourages people to go out to bars and taverns and drink...and then drive home. The MKE paper had a year-long story about how many people are affected (killed) by drunk drivers...but people don't blink an eye when it comes to going out for drinks after work EVERYDAY and then driving home. It's kind of sad actually.
They also have a tavern league of sorts which, if I'm not mistaken, allows underage kids to drink so long as they're accompanied by a parent/adult. How's that for imbedding the drinking culture? They're also very proud of the fact that they have more bars per capita than any other state in the country. Very proud.
