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Advice needed for a Dutch College Football fan
Posted on 6/6/14 at 3:33 am
Posted on 6/6/14 at 3:33 am
Good Morning,
Let me first introduce myself, my name is Byron and I'm probably the biggest College Football fan in The Netherlands.
Since 2005 i'm folowing College Football religiously. The first game I saw was Vanderbilt@Florida.
After that game I started searching more and more information about College teams, stadiums, fans and traditions. The more i looked into it, the more i fell in love with this game!
Here in The Netherlands soccer is # 1 #2 #3 #4 till # 501, the only thing we see here is the Superbowl(which i follow since my first visit to the US in 2000.
After watching more College Football games on the internet, I ordered my first College Football game dvd from a company in Europe who sold these.
This was the famous USC@Notre Dame game 2005 (The Bush push). Since that dvd, my collection has grown to more then 150 game dvd's from 1984(Miami vs Boston College) till 2010( then the company stopped selling the games, I still hate them for that, cause my collection can't expand anymore)
Beside all the games dvd's I own, I even have a small College Football man cave in my living room. It contends 8 danbury mint college football stadiums, good football books, 2 autographed footballs, an autographed seat from old Notre Dame stadium, the I Will Give My All For Tennessee sign and some other collectibles/memorabilia.
After owning a season ticket for the Amsterdam Admirals(NFL Europe), I wanted to see College Football games in person. In 2011 I went with my girlfriend to Florida and after paying 150 dollar per ticket I went to the Florida State @ Florida game. Walking into one of the greatest stadiums in College Football almost brought tears to my eyes. The game was not that good, and also the atmosphere was not as good as I had expected.
Now for the part where I needed advice, My girlfriend and I are getting married. In 2015 we will go to our honeymoon in Florida. We are planning to make 2 trips to College Football games and while I know a lot of the teams, stadiums and traditions I would like to get some advice from you guys!
We stay in Orlando and we want to drive to the games, so we thought to drive a maximum of 8 hours. That will leave my options to a game from Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Clemson and Miami(cause Nebraska plays a game there 19 september).
We are looking to driving to the university town/city on friday and leaving for Orlando on sunday. What teams offer us the best gameday/weekend enviroment from good football teams, tailgaiting, nice people, Stadium atmosphere, shopping(collectibles/memorabilia/prints from the teams) and good BBQ joints!
I'm sorry for my English, but I hope everyone understood it!
Kind regards,
Dutch College Football fan(Byron)
Let me first introduce myself, my name is Byron and I'm probably the biggest College Football fan in The Netherlands.
Since 2005 i'm folowing College Football religiously. The first game I saw was Vanderbilt@Florida.
After that game I started searching more and more information about College teams, stadiums, fans and traditions. The more i looked into it, the more i fell in love with this game!
Here in The Netherlands soccer is # 1 #2 #3 #4 till # 501, the only thing we see here is the Superbowl(which i follow since my first visit to the US in 2000.
After watching more College Football games on the internet, I ordered my first College Football game dvd from a company in Europe who sold these.
This was the famous USC@Notre Dame game 2005 (The Bush push). Since that dvd, my collection has grown to more then 150 game dvd's from 1984(Miami vs Boston College) till 2010( then the company stopped selling the games, I still hate them for that, cause my collection can't expand anymore)
Beside all the games dvd's I own, I even have a small College Football man cave in my living room. It contends 8 danbury mint college football stadiums, good football books, 2 autographed footballs, an autographed seat from old Notre Dame stadium, the I Will Give My All For Tennessee sign and some other collectibles/memorabilia.
After owning a season ticket for the Amsterdam Admirals(NFL Europe), I wanted to see College Football games in person. In 2011 I went with my girlfriend to Florida and after paying 150 dollar per ticket I went to the Florida State @ Florida game. Walking into one of the greatest stadiums in College Football almost brought tears to my eyes. The game was not that good, and also the atmosphere was not as good as I had expected.
Now for the part where I needed advice, My girlfriend and I are getting married. In 2015 we will go to our honeymoon in Florida. We are planning to make 2 trips to College Football games and while I know a lot of the teams, stadiums and traditions I would like to get some advice from you guys!
We stay in Orlando and we want to drive to the games, so we thought to drive a maximum of 8 hours. That will leave my options to a game from Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Clemson and Miami(cause Nebraska plays a game there 19 september).
We are looking to driving to the university town/city on friday and leaving for Orlando on sunday. What teams offer us the best gameday/weekend enviroment from good football teams, tailgaiting, nice people, Stadium atmosphere, shopping(collectibles/memorabilia/prints from the teams) and good BBQ joints!
I'm sorry for my English, but I hope everyone understood it!
Kind regards,
Dutch College Football fan(Byron)
36
Posted on 6/6/14 at 3:46 am to DutchCFBfan
The two best games in Gainsville in 2014 will be LSU on Oct 11, and South Carolina on Nov 15. The LSU game is a yearly game that is usually fun, close, and will be a great atmosphere. The Georgia game is a huge rivalry that I think is played in Jacksonville every year, EverBank Field.
This post was edited on 6/6/14 at 3:52 am
Posted on 6/6/14 at 3:53 am to DutchCFBfan
When you will be in Orlando?
Posted on 6/6/14 at 3:55 am to abellsujr
Thanks for your answer!
I will be going in 2015( around 15 september till 5 october 2015), not in 2014. I know the schedules have not come out yet for most teams, so for the specific games I have to wait till october i thought.
It's not only about the best games, but certainly also for the other things I mentioned(tailgating, nice people, stadium atmosphere, just the overall weekend experience).
I will be going in 2015( around 15 september till 5 october 2015), not in 2014. I know the schedules have not come out yet for most teams, so for the specific games I have to wait till october i thought.
It's not only about the best games, but certainly also for the other things I mentioned(tailgating, nice people, stadium atmosphere, just the overall weekend experience).
Posted on 6/6/14 at 3:58 am to abellsujr
quote:
The two best games in Gainsville in 2014 will be LSU on Oct 11, and South Carolina on Nov 15. The LSU game is a yearly game that is usually fun, close, and will be a great atmosphere. The Georgia game is a huge rivalry that I think is played in Jacksonville every year, EverBank Field.
He said 2015 though.
Posted on 6/6/14 at 4:01 am to DutchCFBfan
quote:IMO. Probably one the best tailgating games of the year, and it will be there in 2015.
The Georgia game is a huge rivalry that I think is played in Jacksonville every year, EverBank Field.
ETA: Just saw that you won't be there at that date. We'll see what else we can find.
This post was edited on 6/6/14 at 4:24 am
Posted on 6/6/14 at 4:02 am to DutchCFBfan
Well, you'll miss the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville (31 Oct.)
You'll be there for FSU/USF, but that's kind of a snoozer, plus, you know, ACC.
South Carolina plays Central Florida in Columbia on the 26th of September, but it's out of conference and maybe lame. USC does get pretty excited though, but Columbia is supposedly meh.
That's all I can think of for now. The schedules will be a lot easier to figure out as the times get closer, the only games really scheduled now are out of conference unless I missed the date announcements.
ETA: Real advice, find a good SEC game somewhere within the drive time at Georgia, USC, Florida, and (I guess) Auburn. Auburn's probably within your range.
You've got a decent shot of getting a good game out of any of those schools on those dates as long as Richt hasn't lost control and Florida's not in their first year post Muschamp. Also, Spurrier should be alive.
You'll be there for FSU/USF, but that's kind of a snoozer, plus, you know, ACC.
South Carolina plays Central Florida in Columbia on the 26th of September, but it's out of conference and maybe lame. USC does get pretty excited though, but Columbia is supposedly meh.
That's all I can think of for now. The schedules will be a lot easier to figure out as the times get closer, the only games really scheduled now are out of conference unless I missed the date announcements.
ETA: Real advice, find a good SEC game somewhere within the drive time at Georgia, USC, Florida, and (I guess) Auburn. Auburn's probably within your range.
You've got a decent shot of getting a good game out of any of those schools on those dates as long as Richt hasn't lost control and Florida's not in their first year post Muschamp. Also, Spurrier should be alive.
This post was edited on 6/6/14 at 4:09 am
Posted on 6/6/14 at 4:08 am to DutchCFBfan
Go to New Orleans instead.
Posted on 6/6/14 at 4:13 am to Mizzeaux
Yes, FSU is not really an option for us, even the missus did not really liked FSU!
South Carolina is a good team with a sometimes rocking atmosphere, but we both don't like the fact their stadium is 3 miles off campus. We would like an on campus stadium, for the tailgating and walking on campus.
We're looking for a great all around atmosphere!
From what I saw at Florida, I think Auburn, Georgia and Alabama have more of an atmosphere I would like to experience. But that's where I need you experts for!
South Carolina is a good team with a sometimes rocking atmosphere, but we both don't like the fact their stadium is 3 miles off campus. We would like an on campus stadium, for the tailgating and walking on campus.
We're looking for a great all around atmosphere!
From what I saw at Florida, I think Auburn, Georgia and Alabama have more of an atmosphere I would like to experience. But that's where I need you experts for!
Posted on 6/6/14 at 4:17 am to DutchCFBfan
Alabama goes to Georgia in 2015, not sure of the date. The Florida and Tennessee game will be in Gainsville in 2015. There is a good chance these will be in October. It's hard to make a good determination before the schedule is released, but these will both be good games to attend. LSU and SC play in SC in 2015, also. The fans are usually fired up for this game. Good SEC game=Good atmosphere
This post was edited on 6/6/14 at 4:30 am
Posted on 6/6/14 at 4:37 am to DutchCFBfan
Posted on 6/6/14 at 7:02 am to DutchCFBfan
UF would be my first choice, but Athens is not that far a drive and has a beautiful campus and stadium. Would be worth checking out their schedule when it comes out.
Posted on 6/6/14 at 7:25 am to DutchCFBfan
Your best best will likely be alabama at Georgia. The schedule has not been officially set, but the game will likely be somewhere between September 12th and October 10th. Orlando to Athens is roughly a 6 hour drive but it's pretty much all US Interstate the entire way up.
Athens is widely regarded as one of the best all around college towns in America, I'd suggest googling or doing some research but it is almost unanimously voted near the top. Also, I'm sure your wife (and you!) would love it. There is a little downtown area directly across the street from the north end of campus that covers about 4 blocks E/W and 4 blocks N/S. It has probably 30 bars in that area, with restaurants, boutiques, shops, etc. You could spend the day/evening there Friday, enjoy yourselves all day Saturday, have a nice breakfast/bruch Sunday then head back to Orlando. Athens has a nationally renowned music scene (many great bands got their start there playing the 40 Watt or Georgia Theatre), the bar selection is so massive that there is surely something to meet every whim you have, and one of our restaurants was voted a few years ago as the #1 restaurant in the state of Georgia.
As for the game itself, it will be mega-hyped. Alabama has been the most elite, premier team in college football the last 5 years. The last time the 2 played it was for a trip to the national championship and wasn't decided until the last play. The time before that was in Athens, which we lost, so our fans will be super fired up. It will almost assuredly be the best national game of the day, whichever day it is on.
Unfortunately, UGA will probably not be really great, as we will be losing basically our entire offense and have a brand new QB and WRs. Our defense should be pretty stout though.
Athens is widely regarded as one of the best all around college towns in America, I'd suggest googling or doing some research but it is almost unanimously voted near the top. Also, I'm sure your wife (and you!) would love it. There is a little downtown area directly across the street from the north end of campus that covers about 4 blocks E/W and 4 blocks N/S. It has probably 30 bars in that area, with restaurants, boutiques, shops, etc. You could spend the day/evening there Friday, enjoy yourselves all day Saturday, have a nice breakfast/bruch Sunday then head back to Orlando. Athens has a nationally renowned music scene (many great bands got their start there playing the 40 Watt or Georgia Theatre), the bar selection is so massive that there is surely something to meet every whim you have, and one of our restaurants was voted a few years ago as the #1 restaurant in the state of Georgia.
As for the game itself, it will be mega-hyped. Alabama has been the most elite, premier team in college football the last 5 years. The last time the 2 played it was for a trip to the national championship and wasn't decided until the last play. The time before that was in Athens, which we lost, so our fans will be super fired up. It will almost assuredly be the best national game of the day, whichever day it is on.
Unfortunately, UGA will probably not be really great, as we will be losing basically our entire offense and have a brand new QB and WRs. Our defense should be pretty stout though.
This post was edited on 6/6/14 at 7:27 am
Posted on 6/6/14 at 7:33 am to DutchCFBfan
I am absolutely no help on where you should go but your english was better than a lot of what is posted on here and I hope you have a nice trip wherever you decide to visit. Congrats on the marriage. 
Posted on 6/6/14 at 7:37 am to DutchCFBfan
you are going to have to wait a while until schedules are final for 2015, in order to make the best decision.
This post was edited on 6/6/14 at 7:38 am
Posted on 6/6/14 at 7:41 am to DutchCFBfan
Best Alter ever. 
Posted on 6/6/14 at 7:42 am to DutchCFBfan
quote:
South Carolina is a good team with a sometimes rocking atmosphere, but we both don't like the fact their stadium is 3 miles off campus.
Well screw you too then
Posted on 6/6/14 at 7:43 am to Mizzeaux
quote:
South Carolina plays Central Florida in Columbia on the 26th of September, but it's out of conference and maybe lame. USC does get pretty excited though, but Columbia is supposedly meh.
Blasphemy.
Posted on 6/6/14 at 7:45 am to boddagetta
quote:
Best Alter ever.
I am skeptical myself. Posted on 6/6/14 at 7:51 am to piggilicious
quote:
I am skeptical myself.
Why?
Seems like a lot of work/backstory for an alter. Plus, what would be the payoff? Most alters either come out flaming their arse off, or pretend to be a fan of another team and just come off as an idiot on purpose.
This guy seemed genuine, and I'm not really sure what the angle would be for an alter?
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