My Pac 12 tour

[HooahVol]

As previously mentioned I am still in the Army Reserves to build up my retirement points. Every 3 years or so they call me up for a 90 day BOG. My number was up and they have me at Madigan Army Hospital in Tacoma, WA. To the other military guys no worries, this is not top secret and does not help our enemies in any way telling them a Family doc is back filling an Army Hospital. I decided to take advantage of my time here and went to both the Oregon and Washington Spring games. In case anyone is interested here are a couple of photos and thoughts. The first two pics are from Oregon. Amazing facilities. Small by SEC standards (52000) but very nice. Very easy to park. Very easy to get around. You can buy a beer from concessions (I did not see any drunk people btw, definitely less than at Neyland where everybody gets wasted at the tailgates). I also got up close to Mariota who was visiting as you can see.

Washington was an OK place. A little bigger (74000) but still tiny by our standards. I did get to see Jacob Eason (#10 in the photo) as a Huskie. I wonder if I am the only person in the country who has seen Eason live in both an UGA and a Huskie uniform? Eason looked big. Not quite as big as Herbert, Oregon's QB, who is a beast, but NFL ready.



I do like how Washington left one end of their stadium open so you can see the water and their Navy (they are the only other school to have one like us). I wish we had done that but realize it would be less seats.



Anyway, I hope I did not bore you to tears with the "what I did this summer" thread. Maybe one person will find it interesting.

One final thought though. It was painfully obvious football is not king in the West. Oregon had about 25000 people at their spring game. Washington had maybe, and I am being generous, 10,000. Washington is favored to win the Pac 12 next season so it is not like they are in a bad place. We finished last place in the SEC and still had 52,000 show up. I just don't see the Pac-12 being a legitimate contender or ever making the money the SEC and Big 10 schools make. It really does just mean more to us.

 

[Hoosier_Vol]

I love seeing non tv pics of other stadiums and arenas with real fan perspectives and reviews! Thanks!!!

 

[05_never_again]

One final thought though. It was painfully obvious football is not king in the West. Oregon had about 25000 people at their spring game. Washington had maybe, and I am being generous, 10,000. Washington is favored to win the Pac 12 next season so it is not like they are in a bad place. We finished last place in the SEC and still had 52,000 show up. I just don't see the Pac-12 being a legitimate contender or ever making the money the SEC and Big 10 schools make. It really does just mean more to us.

People poke fun at that slogan and the TV spots for it, and the TV commercials in particular are cheesy, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. College football is popular in a bunch of different places, but there's just something different about college football in the southeast/Texas. It is embedded in the culture of those parts of the country to an extent that it isn't anywhere else.

Anybody read Clay Travis's book Dixieland Delight? The first SEC stadium he went to on his tour was Neyland. 2006 Cal game. His wife went with him, and it was her first Tennessee/SEC game. She is a Michigan alum and of course has been to a bunch of Michigan games. After the game he asked her how the environment and fans compared to Michigan. She said that the loudness of the stadium and overall atmosphere were very similar, but at Michigan there is a subset of their fanbase that really likes football and attends the games, but they look down upon fans who they deem to be "too into" the game. At Tennessee, fans have varying levels of enthusiasm, but there isn't a subset of the fanbase that looks down their nose at people they deem to be too excited about the game.

 

[HooahVol]

I will have to get Dixieland Delight. One thing I noticed too about the fan enthusiasm is when I go to a Tennessee spring game everyone around me is talking shop. How do the new recruits look? How was that player that was injured last season look? How is the new QB transfer, etc. You can tell the fans have done their homework and, for the most part, are very knowledgeable about the team and the game. I did not hear any of that at those two games other than one Washington fan say Eason was bigger than he thought.

 

[05_never_again]

I will have to get Dixieland Delight. One thing I noticed too about the fan enthusiasm is when I go to a Tennessee spring game everyone around me is talking shop. How do the new recruits look? How was that player that was injured last season look? How is the new QB transfer, etc. You can tell the fans have done their homework and, for the most part, are very knowledgeable about the team and the game. I did not hear any of that at those two games other than one Washington fan say Eason was bigger than he thought.

Best way I know how to describe it (and how I have described it to people who aren't from the South) is that people who don't even like football...like football. There are a lot of people who don't follow recruiting, spring practice, participate in the offseason banter about preseason predictions or coaching hot seats, etc., but on a football Saturday will tune into a game in a social setting and probably have a team that they at least sympathize with. Engaged couples who might not even like football don't get married in the fall, or get married on a particular team's bye week - I've told that to people before and they think I'm kidding.

College football is part of the culture in the South in a way that it isn't any place else.

 

[ATC_VOL]

Dixieland Delight is a pretty interesting book and worth a read for those that like checking out different stadiums.

We were able to attend our game at Oregon in 2013 and they have a pretty cool set up pre game in the indoor football facility. We went by Oregon State’s stadium the day before the game and I thought the home side of their stadium was pretty nice, with chairback seating for everyone.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

That’s an Awesome trip . I’d love to visit some of those schools. I always enjoy watching the late fall games at the Oregon and Washington schools and last year in Pullman when it was pouring snow was great.

 

[GoDucks349]

Did you get over to see the new track facilities? It will seat 12,900 and is expandable to 30,000. Will be hosting the 2020 World Games.

 

[GoDucks349]

I was at the gym lifting during the Spring Game. Watched some of it during my workout and recorded it for later viewing. Not much exciting during the Spring Game as Cristobal kept things pretty much under wraps from prying eyes. Oh, and we do love our football, we just love a lot of other sport as well whether its participating or watching. So yea, we have small crowds by SEC standards.

Also, just got a verbal from 6'6", 202#, 4 star QB Jay Butterfield yesterday. As a junior at Liberty High, he passed for 3,294 yards with 43 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Kid needs to hit the weight room.

The Ducks’ class is ranked No. 1 among Pac-12 programs and 12th nationally by 247Sports.