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re: Top 5 Stadiums - SEC Stadium Tour
Posted on 7/20/26 at 11:14 am to Gunga Din
Posted on 7/20/26 at 11:14 am to Gunga Din
quote:
However I'd be curious if any Texas fans have any stories about why the Cotton Bowl seating is the way it is and always has been.
I've always wondered why it is what it is. Naturally you'd think Texas would sit on the south side and Oklahoma the north.
I'm curious the reason as well.
3
Posted on 7/20/26 at 11:47 am to stuckintexas
quote:
Skip Austin.
Damn good beer garden almost in the shade of DKR though....it gets crowded but they do a damn fine job of making it work on Gameday. Scholz Garden. Its a blast on game day or not....
Posted on 7/20/26 at 12:39 pm to cadillacattack
quote:
I have it on good authority from Mizzou’s fans that Norman sucks
It does.
Rodo
Posted on 7/20/26 at 12:41 pm to hookem33
Pretty hard to have a good experience at the CB when the kickoffs are at 11 am.
Rodo
Rodo
Posted on 7/20/26 at 1:30 pm to TopGoon1964
South Carolina needs to be on the list. It is perennially under rated as a stadium experience. And in the last 15 years they've made very significant improvements to the tailgate scene around the stadium. And unless you are a UGA or Clemson visiting fan, they are very friendly and courteous.
Posted on 7/20/26 at 1:36 pm to deeprig9
quote:The big black mark against Williams-Brice is its off campus location. Still a good road trip (good places to stay and eat downtown), but if just road tripping to see great college experiences, I would have it lower on the list than it might otherwise be due to being located in the middle of the fairgrounds in an unattractive part of town.
South Carolina needs to be on the list. It is perennially under rated as a stadium experience. And in the last 15 years they've made very significant improvements to the tailgate scene around the stadium. And unless you are a UGA or Clemson visiting fan, they are very friendly and courteous.
Posted on 7/20/26 at 1:39 pm to hookem33
quote:Best guess: Texas didn't want the end with the tunnel. They have to give OU a few hundred seats in the north endzone to compensate, and I would imagine that the OU fans who get those seats aren't necessarily excited about being stranded in a sea of burnt orange.quote:I've always wondered why it is what it is. Naturally you'd think Texas would sit on the south side and Oklahoma the north.
However I'd be curious if any Texas fans have any stories about why the Cotton Bowl seating is the way it is and always has been.
I'm curious the reason as well.
Posted on 7/20/26 at 2:05 pm to twk
According to AI
Im still trying to picture the exits they are talking about but then again we were talking 100 years ago
quote:
Interestingly, no one really "won" the right to choose.
The historical record doesn't show Texas or Oklahoma making a formal first choice. When the rivalry moved permanently to the Cotton Bowl in 1929, the schools and game organizers simply settled on a permanent arrangement:
Texas fans on the north side
Oklahoma fans on the south side
One widely accepted explanation is that the arrangement made practical sense:
Texas fans generally approached Fair Park from the north side of Dallas.
Oklahoma fans typically entered from the south side, after traveling down U.S. 75/Central Expressway and other routes into the fairgrounds. Over time, those fan locations became tradition rather than something either school "owned."
Im still trying to picture the exits they are talking about but then again we were talking 100 years ago
Posted on 7/20/26 at 3:56 pm to TopGoon1964
I have not been to USC, Florida, UK, A&M, Missouri, OU
Ranking purely on in game atmosphere with some adjustment due to time, weather and game quality
1. LSU
2. Auburn
3. UGA
4. TN (although this was an 11 am game in the rain between two shitty teams. I’d love to go back for a night game with a better matchup)
5. Arkansas
6. Bama
7. Ole Miss
8. Vandy
Ranking purely on in game atmosphere with some adjustment due to time, weather and game quality
1. LSU
2. Auburn
3. UGA
4. TN (although this was an 11 am game in the rain between two shitty teams. I’d love to go back for a night game with a better matchup)
5. Arkansas
6. Bama
7. Ole Miss
8. Vandy
Posted on 7/20/26 at 4:03 pm to Mstate
Off the stadiums I've been too and as a Tennessee Homer id say in no particular order the must see's are neyland, bama, a&m, lsu and florida.
Posted on 7/20/26 at 6:34 pm to dallastiger55
quote:
You have no idea what you’re talking about.
Ah. I defer my years of experience at the game to yours. There is WAY more available shade on the OU side while the Texas side just gets roasted.
Posted on 7/20/26 at 9:26 pm to twk
quote:
The big black mark against Williams-Brice is its off campus location. Still a good road trip (good places to stay and eat downtown), but if just road tripping to see great college experiences, I would have it lower on the list than it might otherwise be due to being located in the middle of the fairgrounds in an unattractive part of town.
Is there an attractive part of Columbia?
Posted on 7/20/26 at 9:39 pm to AwgustaDawg
quote:
Scholz Garden. Its a blast on game day
If Scholz is what you think is a blast, I feel sorry for you.
This post was edited on 7/20/26 at 10:09 pm
Posted on 7/24/26 at 8:25 pm to hookem33
There is a book about OU Texas game called Annual Madness. I think the seating for the game was done so the fan bases would cross paths (at least symbolically). OU comes down from the north but sits on the south side. Vice versa for Texas.
Posted on 7/25/26 at 2:35 am to TopGoon1964
The best stadums in the SEC are gerally considered
LSU
Tennessee
Florida
Georgia
Auburn
Aggies
No clue about Texas and OU..but would expect it is comparable to those.
LSU
Tennessee
Florida
Georgia
Auburn
Aggies
No clue about Texas and OU..but would expect it is comparable to those.
This post was edited on 7/25/26 at 2:37 am
Posted on 7/25/26 at 7:00 am to TopGoon1964
10 years ago I would have put us near the bottom but CDC has done a great job improving the overall gameday experience.
unfortunately the parking situation will always keep us from the top tier when it comes to game day experiences. Austin PD loves handing out parking tickets should you be lucky enough to find a parking spot within a mile of DKR.
We haven't been in the SEC long enough for me to have an informed opinion but I did enjoy the game at Bama a few years ago. The fans there were friendly and welcoming, even after we won the game and we had a lot of fun pre-game.
I will be going to the game @ Baton Rouge this season. Dad's family is from the area so I know it well but I've never been to a game there.
unfortunately the parking situation will always keep us from the top tier when it comes to game day experiences. Austin PD loves handing out parking tickets should you be lucky enough to find a parking spot within a mile of DKR.
We haven't been in the SEC long enough for me to have an informed opinion but I did enjoy the game at Bama a few years ago. The fans there were friendly and welcoming, even after we won the game and we had a lot of fun pre-game.
I will be going to the game @ Baton Rouge this season. Dad's family is from the area so I know it well but I've never been to a game there.
Posted on 7/25/26 at 7:07 am to Murph4HOF
quote:
When South Carolina is even halfway decent (7-5 or better), Williams-Brice Stadium is in the Top 5.
hard disagree.
I've been to every stadium in the league (many of them dozens of times) except for UF, OU, and ATM, only because we literally have not played at any of those stadiums (was too young to go to gainesville in mid-90s).
UGA, Bama, LSU, AU, Tenn I would all put ahead of SC. Wiuthout having bene there, I would ASSUME that UF and ATM are probably ahead as well. My only experience with Texas was in 2024 and for understandable reasons it was a morgue most of the game so probably didn't get a good feel for that one.
Now all of the above is NOT to take a potshot at SC and say their crowd sucks. It doesn't. It's just that this conference has a shitton of heavy hitters so there's a lot of competition for a "top 5" in anything.
Posted on 7/25/26 at 9:14 am to TopGoon1964
Neyland Stadium
Texas A&M
Death Valley
South Carolina
Auburn
Florida
Texas A&M
Death Valley
South Carolina
Auburn
Florida
Posted on 7/25/26 at 9:42 am to twk
quote:The area has gotten much better. There has been a lot of new added, and it sits beside the fairgrounds not in the middle. You haven't been in a while I guess. It's within walking distance of the campus (I know I walked it many times) and like every other stadium it has a mixed bag of fans, alumni and students filling the stadium. The atmosphere is way beyond most stadiums.
due to being located in the middle of the fairgrounds in an unattractive part of town.
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