In South Carolina, the verdict is published by the Clerk of Court. In other words, when a jury has reached a verdict, the Clerk of Court, not a member of the jury, announces the verdict to the courtroom.
But in every jury trial – whether criminal or civil – there is no mistaking that the jury, and only the jury, is the finder of all facts.
Starting in August and running throughout the season, I will be writing a weekly column called The Verdict - presented by the Goings Law Firm. And much like a jury, I will try to base my findings and opinions on facts. But unlike a jury, I want to hear from the gallery, both what I got right and what I got wrong.
The Verdict is in: What Makes The Great American College Football Stadium?
For Christmas, my dad bought me Tom Coyne’s “A Course Called America.” If you’re a golf fan, even a casual golf fan like myself, it’s a great read. (In fact, I liked it so much, I got Coyne’s “A Course Called Ireland,” as well.)
The book chronicles Coyne’s travel throughout all 50 states searching for the greatest American golf course. (His favorite South Carolina courses? Two Aiken rivals: Aiken Golf Club and Palmetto Golf Club.) On his search for the great American course, Coyne weighs a variety of variables when determining what makes a golf course exceptional. He discusses a course’s layout and architecture, the accessibility of the course and how much it costs, the clubhouse food, the difficulty of the course, and how friendly the people/members are at the club, just to name a few.
Reading Coyne’s book got me thinking: what makes the great college football stadium?
Of course, I love Williams-Brice Stadium and gamedays in Columbia. But for this post, I wanted to touch on other stadiums and other gameday experiences when trying to find the great American college football stadium. When thinking through all the stadiums I have been to in the past, I decided to hit on these categories and these programs, but as always, I want to hear from you. In your opinion, what makes for the great college football stadium experience? As for me, here’s what I came up with.
Tailgating: Ole Miss
The night before, I didn’t sleep at all. The air mattresses were taken. The beds were filled. So, I slept on the beer-stained love seat. (I’m sort of kidding, my hosts were great.) I woke up literally three hours later hungover and tired. The thought of standing out in the early-September Mississippi sun didn’t sound too appealing. And despite all of that, The Grove was something to behold. It’s a collection of food, drink, shade (between the tents and the oak trees, you can hide from the sun if you want to), hospitable fans, and good music. Gamecock fans love to tailgate. Ole Miss fans perfected the tailgate.
Pregame/Field Entrance: Tennessee
For the record, nothing fires me up more than allowing the Mighty Sound of the Southeast to whip me up into a frenzy right before 2001, but Tennessee does their pregame just as spectacularly. Throughout the entire pregame, you can feel the anticipation growing and growing and growing. There are many cool moments in the Vols’ ten-minute pregame. At 4:15, Tennessee plays the opposing team’s fight song, which is immediately followed by Rocky Top. At 6:10, the band starts its march back towards the home tunnel, as the band forms the “Power T” (my favorite part). And then at the 8-minute mark – goosebumps. I’m not a Tennessee fan, but I can watch this a million times and still get fired up watching it. I have witnessed it twice in person, and it lives up to the hype. Here is a link for the entire Tennessee pregame, which I highly suggest watching to fully appreciate the entrance.
In-game Atmosphere: Penn State Whiteout
Y’all know I am an SEC Football homer. But part of the reason I am an SEC homer is because the SEC does college football so much better than any other conference. My love for the SEC was a byproduct of my many years of searching for the most passionate and loud atmospheres, with the biggest and coolest stadiums.
I’m also not one of those fans who ignores the great cathedrals of the Big Ten while beating my SEC chest. The Big Ten has some programs that are the closest thing to the SEC when it comes to in-game atmospheres, and one of the best atmospheres I have ever attended was the Penn State Whiteout.
It’s not that it is necessarily louder than other stadiums I have been to. (Georgia’s Sanford Stadium recorded louder decibel ratings the week following this year’s Penn State Whiteout.) And it’s not that it is necessarily more intimidating than other stadiums I have been to. It’s the fact that it never stops.
Thinking about sitting down for a play or two to rest your legs? Think again. There is no sitting during the Penn State Whiteout. There is no eating. There is no going to the bathroom. All you can do is stand, often in the freezing rain (at least when I’m there), and yell for three hours. Anything less and you should have given your ticket to someone else. What makes the Whiteout special (besides how cool it looks when 100,000+ fans all dress in white) is that it is constant and never-ending.
Setting: West Point
Army plays their football in the most idyllic setting. If you ever have a chance to go to a game at The United States Military Academy, do it. Watching football off the banks of the Hudson River in mid-October while the leaves change is something else. And do yourself a favor and show up early and go to the “Cadet Review” on The Plain.
Best Seats: Wofford’s Veranda Lot
The Veranda Lot is a parking lot in the south endzone of Wofford’s Gibbs Stadium. It’s shaded by trees much like The Grove in Oxford, but what makes the Veranda Lot truly special is that it oversees the entire stadium. The Veranda Lot is a beautiful mixture of tailgating and watching football. Want to grab some chicken and a cold beer? Just walk a few steps over to your tailgate. Want to watch some live, in-person Southern Conference Football? Grab your lawn chair, find an open spot on the hill behind the endzone, and make yourself at home.
Best Tradition: Alabama’s Rammer Jammer
If Alabama fans are chanting “Rammer Jammer” at you, it means your team lost and their team won. As you can imagine, many rival fanbases of Alabama hate “Rammer Jammer.” But “Rammer Jammer” is the perfect blend of tradition and smack talk. My junior year in high school, I visited Alabama for the 2011 Arkansas game. (That was back when Arkansas was a top-15 team and it was the CBS Game of the Week.) Alabama pulled away in the second half and beat Arkansas. I was ready. I yelled Rammer Jammer as if I was a fifth generation Alabamian who has traveled from Mobile to Tuscaloosa a hundred times in my life to watch Tide football. It was awesome.
Postgame: Athens, Georgia
I know a lot of Carolina fans hate Athens on gameday because of how they were treated by Dawg fans. I have a simple solution. Don’t go to Athens for a Carolina game. Because if you go to Athens as a neutral observer who just wants to enjoy an SEC Football weekend, Athens is a great spot. It’s a great spot Friday night before the game, as well, but most SEC towns are fun the night before battle. Athens is perfect for postgame because instead of sitting in your car waiting for traffic, you can walk half a mile and wait things out at one of the many great bars or restaurants Athens has to offer. And if you want to bark at a small child walking by who is not wearing Georgia colors, you’re more than welcome to do so because that’s what you do as a Georgia fan.
So, there you go. If you take Ole Miss’s tailgating, Tennessee’s pregame, Penn State’s atmosphere, Army’s backdrop, Wofford’s set up, Alabama’s “Rammer Jammer” chant, and Georgia’s postgame options, you might be able to build a college football stadium that could rival Williams-Brice. Maybe.
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