Josh Dooley
Guest
Unpopular Opinions: Ohio Stadium is not a top-5 college football experience
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Relax, relax. The Shoe is fantastic and a top-5 weekly venue. But for certain marquee matchups, big night games, and one-offs, there are a handful of better environments.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about what we would do if we were in charge of our favorite position group, team, conference, or sport. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”If I Was in Charge” articles here.
As sports fans – or I guess people in general – we all have opinions that stink. That’s why they say that opinions are like... Well, you know the rest. And it’s true, right? Even the most arrogant, stubborn individuals on the planet have opinions that are just plain bad. Or wrong.
So there is no sense in ignoring this undeniable truth. Or getting upset about it. Instead, we should just embrace and possibly even laugh about it. Which is what LGHL is doing this week. And being the company man that I am, I decided to really commit to the bit. I wanted to give you, the reader(s), an Unpopular Opinion the likes of which you’ve never seen or heard... Ok, that’s probably a bit much. But I did make an effort to go off-menu.
Without further ado, my unpopular opinion (realistically speaking, I have many) is that Ohio Stadium AKA The Horseshoe or simply The Shoe is not a top-5 college football stadium/venue.
At least not when it comes to hosting marquee matchups, night games, one-offs, and/or special occasions. In other words, attending a run-of-the-mill game in or at The Shoe is not a top-5 CFB experience.
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Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
Now, before I go any further, I’d like – nay, I need – to apologize to my Buckeye brethren and sistren (yes, it’s a real word): I am truly, truly sorry, and I ask for your forgiveness. I take no joy in writing this piece. But allow me to explain...
First of all, I love Ohio Stadium and do believe that it is a top-5 week-to-week venue. What I mean by that is that if you love college football and/or the Buckeyes, or you have season tickets, or you want to bring friends and family to a game, or you just want to guarantee yourself a great gameday experience, then The Shoe is always going to deliver. It’s big, it’s beautiful, it’s historic, it’s loud, it’s just an amazing place to be.
However, if one is looking for a CFB-related bucket list experience, then I would say that there are at least five venues better than the nearly 102-year-old stadium located at 411 Woody Hayes Drive in Columbus, Ohio. There just are. Although, I will sort of contradict myself here and say that The Shoe is really, really tough to beat when Ohio State hosts Michigan. But I still believe that there are (at least five) better experiences to be had elsewhere.
**I should point out that I have only attended a handful of non-OSU CFB games in a handful of stadiums, so take my unpopular opinion with a grain of salt. But I stand by it.
Here are my top five CFB venues (atmosphere/game-specific), in no particular order:
To be clear, I am fully aware that it is Rose Bowl Stadium. But I will always refer to it as just the Rose Bowl. For my money, the Rose Bowl is the most beautiful CFB setting in existence. Night games are great, but the sun setting during an afternoon marquee matchup is even better. Who cares if UCLA stinks, the Bruins’ home stadium is iconic.
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Photo by Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Night games at Tiger Stadium are pure electricity. But I can’t pinpoint one reason why; I think it’s just the combination of everything. Regardless, Death Valley at night seems louder, more rowdy, and more raucous than any other stadium in CFB, so that’s why it gets a spot in my top-5.
Begrudgingly, I had to put a different Big Ten venue in my top-5. But there is simply no denying that night White Out games go extremely hard in the paint.
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Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
Sure, there are older, bigger, louder stadiums, but Notre Dame’s is (the most?) synonymous with college football. It is steeped in history and tradition, and every game at “The House that Rockne Built” seems like an event. In that way, Notre Dame Stadium is like Madison Square Garden... Iconic.
Two words: Enter Sandman. The Hokies taking the field to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” for a night game is absolutely, unequivocally, without a doubt the coolest freaking thing in CFB. I won’t hear anything to the contrary. VT might not be a good team, but I get chills just watching them run out of the tunnel. For now, I can only imagine what that’s like in person.
So there ya have it. That wasn’t so bad or unpopular, was it? I didn’t badmouth or eviscerate Ohio Stadium. And I certainly didn’t make a case for “The Big House” as a top-5 CFB venue. I just happen to think that there are at least a handful of other stadiums and/or sites that provide a better one-off experience than The Shoe.
Don’t shoot the messenger, folks. I think we all know that it’s true.
But still, Go Bucks!
Continue reading...
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Relax, relax. The Shoe is fantastic and a top-5 weekly venue. But for certain marquee matchups, big night games, and one-offs, there are a handful of better environments.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about what we would do if we were in charge of our favorite position group, team, conference, or sport. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”If I Was in Charge” articles here.
As sports fans – or I guess people in general – we all have opinions that stink. That’s why they say that opinions are like... Well, you know the rest. And it’s true, right? Even the most arrogant, stubborn individuals on the planet have opinions that are just plain bad. Or wrong.
So there is no sense in ignoring this undeniable truth. Or getting upset about it. Instead, we should just embrace and possibly even laugh about it. Which is what LGHL is doing this week. And being the company man that I am, I decided to really commit to the bit. I wanted to give you, the reader(s), an Unpopular Opinion the likes of which you’ve never seen or heard... Ok, that’s probably a bit much. But I did make an effort to go off-menu.
Without further ado, my unpopular opinion (realistically speaking, I have many) is that Ohio Stadium AKA The Horseshoe or simply The Shoe is not a top-5 college football stadium/venue.
At least not when it comes to hosting marquee matchups, night games, one-offs, and/or special occasions. In other words, attending a run-of-the-mill game in or at The Shoe is not a top-5 CFB experience.
Now, before I go any further, I’d like – nay, I need – to apologize to my Buckeye brethren and sistren (yes, it’s a real word): I am truly, truly sorry, and I ask for your forgiveness. I take no joy in writing this piece. But allow me to explain...
First of all, I love Ohio Stadium and do believe that it is a top-5 week-to-week venue. What I mean by that is that if you love college football and/or the Buckeyes, or you have season tickets, or you want to bring friends and family to a game, or you just want to guarantee yourself a great gameday experience, then The Shoe is always going to deliver. It’s big, it’s beautiful, it’s historic, it’s loud, it’s just an amazing place to be.
However, if one is looking for a CFB-related bucket list experience, then I would say that there are at least five venues better than the nearly 102-year-old stadium located at 411 Woody Hayes Drive in Columbus, Ohio. There just are. Although, I will sort of contradict myself here and say that The Shoe is really, really tough to beat when Ohio State hosts Michigan. But I still believe that there are (at least five) better experiences to be had elsewhere.
**I should point out that I have only attended a handful of non-OSU CFB games in a handful of stadiums, so take my unpopular opinion with a grain of salt. But I stand by it.
Here are my top five CFB venues (atmosphere/game-specific), in no particular order:
Any big game at the Rose Bowl (UCLA)
To be clear, I am fully aware that it is Rose Bowl Stadium. But I will always refer to it as just the Rose Bowl. For my money, the Rose Bowl is the most beautiful CFB setting in existence. Night games are great, but the sun setting during an afternoon marquee matchup is even better. Who cares if UCLA stinks, the Bruins’ home stadium is iconic.
Night game at Tiger Stadium AKA “the real Death Valley” (LSU)
Night games at Tiger Stadium are pure electricity. But I can’t pinpoint one reason why; I think it’s just the combination of everything. Regardless, Death Valley at night seems louder, more rowdy, and more raucous than any other stadium in CFB, so that’s why it gets a spot in my top-5.
Night White Out game at Beaver Stadium (Penn State)
Begrudgingly, I had to put a different Big Ten venue in my top-5. But there is simply no denying that night White Out games go extremely hard in the paint.
Any big game at Notre Dame Stadium (ND)
Sure, there are older, bigger, louder stadiums, but Notre Dame’s is (the most?) synonymous with college football. It is steeped in history and tradition, and every game at “The House that Rockne Built” seems like an event. In that way, Notre Dame Stadium is like Madison Square Garden... Iconic.
Night game at Lane Stadium (Virginia Tech)
Two words: Enter Sandman. The Hokies taking the field to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” for a night game is absolutely, unequivocally, without a doubt the coolest freaking thing in CFB. I won’t hear anything to the contrary. VT might not be a good team, but I get chills just watching them run out of the tunnel. For now, I can only imagine what that’s like in person.
So there ya have it. That wasn’t so bad or unpopular, was it? I didn’t badmouth or eviscerate Ohio Stadium. And I certainly didn’t make a case for “The Big House” as a top-5 CFB venue. I just happen to think that there are at least a handful of other stadiums and/or sites that provide a better one-off experience than The Shoe.
Don’t shoot the messenger, folks. I think we all know that it’s true.
But still, Go Bucks!
Continue reading...