Howe: Ranking the Big Ten Football Stadiums

[Hawkfnntn]

Wish I could say I've seen a lot of them but I haven't been to a game at anywhere other then Kinnick… I suck.

Well I have been to Arrowhead. I saw Iowa get killed by KState in like 99 or 00 I think it was. It was like 120 degrees in the stands and fans were dropping like flies. I saw one dude get hauled out. Their were a lot of idiots drinking like fish dehydrating. That wasn't the most fun I'd ever had by any means

 

[Xerxes]

Wish I could say I've seen a lot of them but I haven't been to a game at anywhere other then Kinnick… I suck.

Well I have been to Arrowhead. I saw Iowa get killed by KState in like 99 or 00 I think it was. It was like 120 degrees in the stands and fans were dropping like flies. I saw one dude get hauled out. Their were a lot of idiots drinking like fish dehydrating. That wasn't the most fun I'd ever had by any means

That was brutal. That game and the NW game in 1996 were the worst weather games I've been to for the opposite reasons. And in both games we stayed until the bitter end.

 

[Ree4]

The stadiums are all great. The atmosphere just changes based on the year and the caliber of the team playing there. There are redeeming factors about all of them. Yeah, Illinois fans are pretty apathetic right now and yeah, they absolutely botched what was a stunning piece of architecture when they redid it, but Red Grange played there. Nebraska's stadium has the charm of a Wal-Mart, but it's hard to discount the amount of history that place has seen. Northwestern's stadium is great, it has a loveable loser charm about it and it's got mass transit close and a great view of the Lake.

All of college football is like that. There's just something magical about it - the whole sport. The stadiums aren't disposable like what they've done with the NFL and there is so much history at pretty much all of them and even if it is like that little shitbox in Ames, even the people who go to games there can rehash all the great moments, like that one time they almost beat Iowa and that other time when they almost beat Nebraska and that other time when they did beat Oklahoma State and kept them out of the natty. They are shrines to our country's excesses - we are so blessed that we live in a country where colleges have the money to build stadia with tens of thousands of seats, most of which get used 7 times a year. It doesn't exist anywhere else in the world.

And it doesn't matter where you go so long as you aren't acting like a pompous jackass wearing an opposing team colors (particularly an in-state rival's) you can roll in a total stranger and make fast friends with a dozen folks crushing beers and grilling brats on a Saturday morning. Sure, there are some asswipes in any crowd that size, but by and large, coast to coast, there ain't anything better than college football or NASCAR tailgating in terms of the friendliness of the average fans. And outside of college football and NASCAR, great tailgating really doesn't exist. The NFL tailgating game is soft compared to NCAA and there are waaaaay too many "NFL is serious business" jackasses who have room temperature IQs who will fight or assault you. Cowboys fans, Eagles fans, Bears fans. I wouldn't want to tailgate around any of those jackasses. Maybe Buffalo fans would be okay, but that's it.

Was going to give you a like until you brought in the cars that turn left for three hours!

 

[Hawkfnntn]

That was brutal. That game and the NW game in 1996 were the worst weather games I've been to for the opposite reasons. And in both games we stayed until the bitter end.

Yeah that was by far the hottest game I'd been to and we were there the whole game.. The coldest I'd been to at Kinnick was against Nebraska. It was 2014 or 15 I think. We lost it and it was just so bad. Nothing worse then freezing your balls off for 3 hours and making the long walk back to your car to fight traffic to go home. Ugh..

 

[Ree4]

Yeah that was by far the hottest game I'd been to and we were there the whole game.. The coldest I'd been to at Kinnick was against Nebraska. It was 2014 or 15 I think. We lost it and it was just so bad. Nothing worse then freezing your balls off for 3 hours and making the long walk back to your car to fight traffic to go home. Ugh..

Yeah I was there for that game, was 2012 in my recollection, the first time we played Nebraska at home since they joined the Big 10. I just looked it up, it was about 28 degrees with a 25 MPH wind (gusts of 39 MPH) at kickoff.

https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/ia/iowa-city/KIOW/date/2012-11-23.

After about an hour of tailgating my buddy and I walked back to the Myrtle lot and sat in my car for 20 min to warm up. I had to leave around halftime and meet my wife at the ER b/c my kid had RSV and had to stay at the hospital a couple days. I wasn't that sad to leave, was a shitty game too.

On my birthday in 2013 I went to the Michigan game and it was cold as shit, not terribly windy though.

"Temperature at kickoff was 19 degrees, which KCRG's weather team recorded as the coldest game in Kinnick Stadium history. The previous low for any Iowa home game was in 1923 -- six years before Kinnick Stadium opened -- when Iowa beat Northwestern 13-6.

"My hands get cold real fast and as soon as I caught one pass my hands were freezing," Iowa running back Damon Bullock said. "It was crazy."

https://www.thegazette.com/2013/11/23/game-report-iowa-24-michigan-21

Had hand warmers in my shoes and my toes were still freezing. Even wore ski-goggles to the game which was actually pretty effective. We were going to leave at halftime down 21-7 but decided to stick it out - glad we did. I think I ended up drinking from like 9 am to 2 am, was pretty fun. I swear we went to Shakespeare's at least two different times that day

 

[okeefe4prez]

Was going to give you a like until you brought in the cars that turn left for three hours!

Whether you like NASCAR or not, the tailgating is legit.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Yeah I was there for that game, was 2012 in my recollection, the first time we played Nebraska at home since they joined the Big 10. I just looked it up, it was about 28 degrees with a 25 MPH wind (gusts of 39 MPH) at kickoff.

https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/ia/iowa-city/KIOW/date/2012-11-23.

After about an hour of tailgating my buddy and I walked back to the Myrtle lot and sat in my car for 20 min to warm up. I had to leave around halftime and meet my wife at the ER b/c my kid had RSV and had to stay at the hospital a couple days. I wasn't that sad to leave, was a shitty game too.

On my birthday in 2013 I went to the Michigan game and it was cold as shit, not terribly windy though.

"Temperature at kickoff was 19 degrees, which KCRG's weather team recorded as the coldest game in Kinnick Stadium history. The previous low for any Iowa home game was in 1923 -- six years before Kinnick Stadium opened -- when Iowa beat Northwestern 13-6.

"My hands get cold real fast and as soon as I caught one pass my hands were freezing," Iowa running back Damon Bullock said. "It was crazy."

https://www.thegazette.com/2013/11/23/game-report-iowa-24-michigan-21

Had hand warmers in my shoes and my toes were still freezing. Even wore ski-goggles to the game which was actually pretty effective. We were going to leave at halftime down 21-7 but decided to stick it out - glad we did. I think I ended up drinking from like 9 am to 2 am, was pretty fun. I swear we went to Shakespeare's at least two different times that day

The wind makes it 10 X worse...

 

[Xerxes]

Yeah that was by far the hottest game I'd been to and we were there the whole game.. The coldest I'd been to at Kinnick was against Nebraska. It was 2014 or 15 I think. We lost it and it was just so bad. Nothing worse then freezing your balls off for 3 hours and making the long walk back to your car to fight traffic to go home. Ugh..

Yep. That NW game was pretty cold and it was so windy as anyone who's ever been to Kinnick has experienced that in November. I bundled up for that game more than I ever have and it didn't matter. All told it took about 3 and half hours to get from the parking lot back to CF. And I couldn't get warm.

Funny side note. The very next week we went back to Kinnick to watch Iowa play Wisconsin. Turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. No coat required. Iowa in November.

 

[AFAcademyHawk]

One big omission - Lucas Oil! I have been three times (including the gut punch of 2015) and had a first-class experience every time. To-go beers in downtown Indy, great energy from both fan bases all day, and then watching the game in December indoors makes for quite the experience. Hopefully the Hawks return soon.

In all seriousness, I have direct ties to Northwestern, Michigan, and OSU and think they are all great in their own ways. Northwestern for access to Chicago and the "home away from home" feel, Michigan for tailgating on the golf course and the beauty of Ann Arbor in the fall, and OSU for Script Ohio and the general outrageousness of that fan base (little is sweeter than seeing angry OSU fans in mass waiting to cross those tiny bridges over the Olentangy to the parking lot).

 

[Seth53]

One big omission - Lucas Oil! I have been three times (including the gut punch of 2015) and had a first-class experience every time. To-go beers in downtown Indy, great energy from both fan bases all day, and then watching the game in December indoors makes for quite the experience. Hopefully the Hawks return soon.

In all seriousness, I have direct ties to Northwestern, Michigan, and OSU and think they are all great in their own ways. Northwestern for access to Chicago and the "home away from home" feel, Michigan for tailgating on the golf course and the beauty of Ann Arbor in the fall, and OSU for Script Ohio and the general outrageousness of that fan base (little is sweeter than seeing angry OSU fans in mass waiting to cross those tiny bridges over the Olentangy to the parking lot).

Agreed. The 2015 Lucas Oil Field experience was amazing, right up to the final 20 seconds. I have also been to the Outback Bowl 3x (excellent venue, etc), Cap-1 (for 'the play'....then it was a crap stadium in a ghetto), and Tempe for the Insight Bowl ...decent enough stadium. Have seen Iowa play there twice and lose there twice (the other being the 44-7 demolition game).

I'll add....the two hottest games I've been to...#1--2005 opener vs Ball State. Throw back day and the poor cheerleaders had to wear those wool outfits. #2--2007 opener at Soldier Field vs NIU. We drank our section out of beer by half-time. The folks at Solder Field set the standard on how *not* to host a college football game.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Hottest game I attended was the 1988 Colorado game. Air temperatures were in the low nineties and it had to be at least 110 on the old artificial turf.

Coldest game was 2002 Wisconsin. Probably around 25 at game time but sunny with no wind.

Throw in the wind and 1987 Minnesota and 1988 northwestern were probably the most miserable even though temperatures were in the thirties. Bone chilling with that wind howling.

 

[hawkdrummer1]

Hottest game I attended was the 1988 Colorado game. Air temperatures were in the low nineties and it had to be at least 110 on the old artificial turf.

Coldest game was 2002 Wisconsin. Probably around 25 at game time but sunny with no wind.

Throw in the wind and 1987 Minnesota and 1988 northwestern were probably the most miserable even though temperatures were in the thirties. Bone chilling with that wind howling.

@ Minnesota in 1980 was brutal. The field was basically frozen dirt and rocks. Last game at the old stadium for IOWA

 

[Seth53]

Hottest game I attended was the 1988 Colorado game. Air temperatures were in the low nineties and it had to be at least 110 on the old artificial turf.

Coldest game was 2002 Wisconsin. Probably around 25 at game time but sunny with no wind.

Throw in the wind and 1987 Minnesota and 1988 northwestern were probably the most miserable even though temperatures were in the thirties. Bone chilling with that wind howling.

I do remember that 88 game. Colorado pulled it out in Kinnick 24-21.

 

[Seth53]

Most miserable weather I sat through was the 1997 loss @ Northwestern, 15-14. Snowed off and on, windy, then it would spit a mixture of rain/snow. Our FG kicker missed like three FGs that day.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

I went to the KState game KF's first year in Arrowhead. The boys were in All Black. It was close to 100 on the field. People were passing out in the stands. They didn't miss much of a game either.,..

 

[ohhawk]

Most miserable weather I sat through was the 1997 loss @ Northwestern, 15-14. Snowed off and on, windy, then it would spit a mixture of rain/snow. Our FG kicker missed like three FGs that day.

I remember shoveling snow off the seats that morning prior to the game. That game would get my vote as well. Partied with some NW fans who were deep frying fish of all things.

 

[Fryowa]

Coldest game was 2002 Wisconsin. Probably around 25 at game time but sunny with no wind.

Northwestern 2018 was the coldest I've ever been at a football game.

22 degrees at kickoff and a 15 mph wind.

Add losing to Fat Pitzgerald and his ridiculous pet monkey Alex Spanos and it made me question ever watching a game in person again.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Northwestern 2018 was the coldest I've ever been at a football game.

22 degrees at kickoff and a 15 mph wind.

Add losing to Fat Pitzgerald and his ridiculous pet monkey Alex Spanos and it made me question ever watching a game in person again.

Coldest Iowa game I recall was the 2015 Nebraska game in Lincoln. The bleachers were covered in ice. I was in the upper deck. There was a brisk wind right in my face. It was in the 20s with a stiff wind.

But if we're talking coldest at any football game, mine had to be a Bears game in December or January. I went to a Bears-Giants game in late December one year where last minute tickets were only $10. My god, that was cold. I also went to a few playoff games. I forget which one it was, but it was in mid January and I thought I was going to die. Once the Lake gets cold (it actually stays somewhat warm until late November) Soldiers Field is just effin' miserable. I'm pretty sure Lambeau and Soldiers are the two coldest places in the continental United States where huge crowds gather outdoors.

 

[ohhawk]

Been to all BIG stadiums several times except RU & MD. Certainly some stadiums more impressive than others but they all have their pluses & minuses in my opinion.


.

 

[RobHowe]

Most uncomfortable time at an Iowa game was the Pinstripe Bowl. That shit was ridiculous.