Advice needed: Which SEC stadiums are the best to travel to?

[ShelbyvilleCathead]

I have been a UK fan for a long time now. I have season tickets, but the only away games I have ever been to are Vandy and Louisville. I have already made plans to attend the Vandy game this year. Due to not having an huge amount of funds at any given time, I could really only afford 1 away game a year. Next year I want to start picking one away game (not Nashville) a year to go to. Being the diehard fans I know this site has I wouild like suggestions on which stadiums should be priority #1 to go to. My physical therapist is a Bama/Cat fan. She says watching a game in Tuscaloosa is awesome, and as much as she hates Auburn she said they have just a great college football enviroment to watch a game. Just wanted some insight from real Kentucky Football fans on where and what their best road game experiences came from. Thank you and

GO CATS!!!

[BOURBON TOWN CAT FAN]

I would say William Brice in Columbia. I lived in Columbia from 2000-03. It's a nice town and the tailgating atmosphere is second only to Kentucky's. If you go, you have to go eat at Carolina Wings and Ribs on Gervais St.

[Coldstream]

Been to a lot of stadiums in the south. Far and away, these are great experiences as a college fan:

1) LSU (hear the roar like no other place)
2) Alabama (die-hard fans that rival the likes of Texas)
3) Ole Miss (have a tradition where girls from sororities have a candle-lit vigil night before home game)
4) Georgia (love the crowd woofin' on Georgia kickoffs, tailgates are awesome in the early fall)
5) Tennessee (hate their fans and team but they have a great venue complete w/ houseboats parking on the river)


Been to Vandy as well but it is very bland compared to these.

[SBCatMan]

While I have not been to any of these sites, it is my IMPRESSION that the only real BAD place in the entire SEC is Mississippi State. Just about anyplace else is bound to be a pretty good time.

[Kentucker]

Arkansas - absolutely beautiful
Georgia - So loud it hurts your ears
LSU - Makes Georgia sound downright quiet
Bama - They won't treat you well. Be on your guard for rednecks!
Auburn - Wanna get into a fight? Just say Jordan-Hare Stadium sucks!
Florida - Oh, my. They're rabid.
Tennessee - Ugly. Orange everywhere.
Miss State - I can't find Starkville. Not sure I'd be a back door virgin after I did.
Ole Miss - Everybody's drunk by game time.
USC - They have this stinky, stinky BBQ they'r so proud of.
Vandy - Yawn.

[BOURBON TOWN CAT FAN]

"USC - They have this stinky, stinky BBQ they'r so proud of. "

I agree, I never liked Maurice's mustard based BBQ, or any mustard based BBQ that is popular in SC.

[Kentucker]

Actually, I was thinking of the vinegar based pork BBQ. It looks partially digested and smells as bad.

[bwright]

I have only been to Bama and Florida so I can only comment on those.

Bama- Great atmosphere. Contrary to what I expected, the people there were very friendly. I would say atleast 5 different tailgate crews invited us for something to eat on our way to the stadium. We went to a couple bars close to the stadium, and while they were a bit more hostile, they weren't all that bad. Well, atleast until some fool thought he should stand up at the Hounds Tooth(I think that is the name) and do the C-A-T-S cheer. He was literally thrown out and deservedly so in my opinion. Inside the game we were treated like the enemy, which is exactly what I expected.

Florida- Great town. I am pretty sure it was the Purple Porpoise(sp) where we ate and they tried to kill us. We went in wearing our UK gear and ordered Hot Wings. We got some OH MY GOD MY LIPS ARE ON FIRE Wings instead(and I love hot food). I am convinced that was the cook showing his humor. On game day there was nothing but arrogance from their fans. They think they have the greatest everything. That year Abney ran a couple kicks back and we nearly won. On the radio after, much like Louisville, their fans said we weren't good, they were just bad.

I would say that the experience at Bama was much better and the fans there are much more knowledgeable.

[SBCatMan]

This is not exactly on target, but ...

I was in the hotel business for 11 1/2 years here in South Bend. Needless to say, I ran into fans from all across the country and dealt with fans from all across the country. By far -- BY FAR -- the classiest fans I ever dealt with were from Tennessee and Alabama. I know that will not be a popular comment on this board, but it wasn't even close.

And the worst fans? Clemson.

[ShelbyvilleCathead]

Love all the replys so far, hope they continue to come in.

[gerntz]

Till today, have only been to FL & TN. The area around BHG Stadium was great both times. Inside I've no been overly impressed. Vol Stadium is neat to look at but it really should seat about 90K vs. the 107K they cram in there.

[jwade]

Here are your choices for 2008. Schedule is tentative with one more game to be added. The game to be added will be non-conference and, most likely, a home game.

Aug 30 Louisville Away
Sep 6 Open
Sep 13 Akron Home
Sep 20 Open
Sep 27 Temple Home
Oct 4 Alabama Away
Oct 11 S Carolina Home
Oct 18 Arkansas Home
Oct 25 Florida Away
Nov 1 Miss State Away
Nov 8 Georgia Home
Nov 15 Vandy Home
Nov 22 Open
Nov 29 Tennessee Away

I've been to 4 of the 5 choices, all except Florida. IMO, you can't go wrong with either a Bama trip or a UT trip. If I had to pick one or the other, I'd go to Bama because they rotate on on off the schedule every few years. UT in Knoxville, on the other hand, will always be there every other year.


Jim

[JawadtheChinchilla]

Yeah, I did Starkville for the first game of the season with ESPN. The only stadium (and this is purely venue only) that is worse than MSU is the Orange Bowl. As far as atmosphere, Starkville is quite bad. The next game I do is Kentucky at South Carolina :D. I'm looking forward to seeing Williams-Brice.