2025 Road game

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IrishGoph55

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So now that the UCLA game is over, which seemed to be the road destination trip of choice this season. What’s everyone’s plan for next season? Gotta be Oregon right? I’m from LA still prob drive up to Berkeley as well. Would be fun to go to Northwestern to see em play in the temp stadium……. But Oregon is my for sure trip next season.
 

Oregon is a cool place for a game. I wasn’t blown away by it though.

@ tOSU a fun opportunity for fans as well.
 

The game at Cal could be fun. Spend some time in SF beforehand - or even a Napa Valley tour.

Regarding an OSU trip? FWIW - here is my report from last year's game:

If you have never been to Ohio Stadium, it might be worth one visit for the “experience.” I have gone to several games over the years and will not be returning anytime soon. In Ohio Stadium the amount of "bench space" for your seat is 18" - the average male has a shoulder width of 21-22," not to mention what the average "butt-size" must be. When I found my seats at the OSU game, the guy next to me must of taken up over 2 seats of bench space (and he wasn't the only one). He knew the drill, got there early and never moved. My buddy and I were left with about a foot of space for the two of us. Talked to the ushers - they just shrugged their shoulders. Standing the entire game (much of it in the aisle) during a 37-3 beatdown from the Buckeyes was about as miserable experience at a football game that I have been a part of.
 
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We had a great experience at Ohio State. This was back in 2009 and it happened to be the game Eric Decker had his season ending foot injury. We drove and it was a really fun road trip. Stopped at the U.S. Airforce Museum, loved that, and had great food in Columbus both Friday and Saturday nights. After the game we ate at a little burger/beer joint called the Thurman Cafe. People everywhere were nice. One old fella in our hotel elevator wanted to talk at length about old Gopher stars of the 60's. He knew more about that era of Gopher football than I did. All in all everyone was super nice. A couple might have even crossed the line into being a bit patronizing.

At the Thurman Cafe - highly recommend it and its massive unique burgers. No reservations accepted there and nearly no hope of getting a table. But, we were determined so we were doing the best we could squeezing in where we could. Out of nowhere, some younger OSU fans that had also been at the game got their table and one of them walked right up to us and said they'd be happy to "host" us at their table. I wasn't really into making friends after losing Decker in yet another Brewster loss but having one of our kids with us (he was 11 at the time) and considering we'd be jammed in there for at least a couple hours before getting a booth/table got me in the mood to compromise. We had an amazingly good time with those people and I think my wife is facebook friends with one of the gals to this day. We ended up spending the whole evening with them and they went a long way toward changing my impression of Ohio State fans in terms of ranking them closer to the top of the B1G than the bottom, overall.
 









probably Cal. OSU was fun prior even if we got shit kicked. Nice pub scene and overall they don't care enough about us to be anything other than hospitable (though that may change if we won). Oregon's campus is beautiful and cool to see, esp if you are into Track and Field and want to see the stadium and their campus running trail. Cal I've never been to and will likely be a competitive game. We may as well continue the Cali takeover.
 

Probably northwestern. Would be good with either their lakeside temp stadium or wrigley just for the experience, I know it’s a shit field for football
 

Cal, Oregon, Iowa for sure.

Potentially Northwestern as well if the game is in the temp stadium.
 




cemba99 said:
The game at Cal could be fun. Spend some time in SF beforehand - or even a Napa Valley tour.

Regarding an OSU trip? FWIW - here is my report from last year's game:

If you have never been to Ohio Stadium, it might be worth one visit for the “experience.” I have gone to several games over the years and will not be returning anytime soon. In Ohio Stadium the amount of "bench space" for your seat is 18" - the average male has a shoulder width of 21-22," not to mention what the average "butt-size" must be. When I found my seats at the OSU game, the guy next to me must of taken up over 2 seats of bench space (and he wasn't the only one). He knew the drill, got there early and never moved. My buddy and I were left with about a foot of space for the two of us. Talked to the ushers - they just shrugged their shoulders. Standing the entire game (much of it in the aisle) during a 37-3 beatdown from the Buckeyes was about as miserable experience at a football game that I have been a part of.
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I went to Cal for the last trip there and had a great time. Ended up talking with Marion Barber, Jr. for about half a quarter -- he was incredibly gracious, granted the game was over by that point. Berkeley has a great game day experience. You can get there via BART and there are plenty of bars nearby. You might even stumble into Adam Duritz. Or he might stumble into you.
 




cemba99 said:
The game at Cal could be fun. Spend some time in SF beforehand - or even a Napa Valley tour.

Regarding an OSU trip? FWIW - here is my report from last year's game:

If you have never been to Ohio Stadium, it might be worth one visit for the “experience.” I have gone to several games over the years and will not be returning anytime soon. In Ohio Stadium the amount of "bench space" for your seat is 18" - the average male has a shoulder width of 21-22," not to mention what the average "butt-size" must be. When I found my seats at the OSU game, the guy next to me must of taken up over 2 seats of bench space (and he wasn't the only one). He knew the drill, got there early and never moved. My buddy and I were left with about a foot of space for the two of us. Talked to the ushers - they just shrugged their shoulders. Standing the entire game (much of it in the aisle) during a 37-3 beatdown from the Buckeyes was about as miserable experience at a football game that I have been a part of.
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Man, I am glad you warned me about this. That sounds so frustrating!
 


cemba99 said:
The game at Cal could be fun. Spend some time in SF beforehand - or even a Napa Valley tour.

Regarding an OSU trip? FWIW - here is my report from last year's game:

If you have never been to Ohio Stadium, it might be worth one visit for the “experience.” I have gone to several games over the years and will not be returning anytime soon. In Ohio Stadium the amount of "bench space" for your seat is 18" - the average male has a shoulder width of 21-22," not to mention what the average "butt-size" must be. When I found my seats at the OSU game, the guy next to me must of taken up over 2 seats of bench space (and he wasn't the only one). He knew the drill, got there early and never moved. My buddy and I were left with about a foot of space for the two of us. Talked to the ushers - they just shrugged their shoulders. Standing the entire game (much of it in the aisle) during a 37-3 beatdown from the Buckeyes was about as miserable experience at a football game that I have been a part of.
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Agree. We went there last year and sat in the end zone where a lot of Gopher fans were sitting, amongst a sprinkling of OSU fans here and there. Three fans on the "larger side" had extended themselves all the way into our 3 seats, which were at the end of the row, butted up against a railing. I asked the lady on the end to move down. She grumbled and scooched her fat ass down about 10 inches and then grumbled some more. I thought "shit, I'm in for a long day". Luckily for us about 15 minutes before kickoff a svelt family of three came in and told the Rotund 3 that they were in the wrong seats. They were supposed to be one row ahead. That row was already tight and I can only assume that's why the Biggies moved into our row before we got there (which pisses me off, because "hey!, no one is sitting here right now, let's take these!", right?...but I digress). Only two of the Rotund 3 moved down and I felt sorry for the fans that flanked them as the row got even tighter. I'm not sure where the third one went but I didn't care, I just settled in for good old-fashioned Buckeye ass-whooping.

Also, on the opposite side of the railing next to us was an aisle going down all the way to the field. Throughout the game there were several people in that section that just stood in the whole aisle because it was too tight. One minor fracas broke out near us when the standers were yelling to everyone in their row to move down so they could sit in their two end seats. They pretty much got no help. They got an usher to come over to help deal with the problem...he mumbled something to the row of people, they all ignored him, then he just looked at the two, held up his hands and said there was nothing he could do. Those people stood the entire game. Pathetic.

All and all, I am glad I went, it was cool to check Ohio Stadium off my list and to see that many people in one arena, but I won't ever go back. As far as stadiums go for the average fan, Ohio Stadium was nothing special. Almost everything is out of date and cramped, and dirty. For all I bitch about concession workers and security at Huntington Bank Stadium, we have a damn nice stadium!
 

Sat near Ohio State fans at our last home game with the Buckeyes. They really liked our stadium even though it was on the smallish side of what they are accustomed to. We do have a nice stadium
 

FredCoxRocks said:
Agree. We went there last year and sat in the end zone where a lot of Gopher fans were sitting, amongst a sprinkling of OSU fans here and there. Three fans on the "larger side" had extended themselves all the way into our 3 seats, which were at the end of the row, butted up against a railing. I asked the lady on the end to move down. She grumbled and scooched her fat ass down about 10 inches and then grumbled some more. I thought "shit, I'm in for a long day". Luckily for us about 15 minutes before kickoff a svelt family of three came in and told the Rotund 3 that they were in the wrong seats. They were supposed to be one row ahead. That row was already tight and I can only assume that's why the Biggies moved into our row before we got there (which pisses me off, because "hey!, no one is sitting here right now, let's take these!", right?...but I digress). Only two of the Rotund 3 moved down and I felt sorry for the fans that flanked them as the row got even tighter. I'm not sure where the third one went but I didn't care, I just settled in for good old-fashioned Buckeye ass-whooping.

Also, on the opposite side of the railing next to us was an aisle going down all the way to the field. Throughout the game there were several people in that section that just stood in the whole aisle because it was too tight. One minor fracas broke out near us when the standers were yelling to everyone in their row to move down so they could sit in their two end seats. They pretty much got no help. They got an usher to come over to help deal with the problem...he mumbled something to the row of people, they all ignored him, then he just looked at the two, held up his hands and said there was nothing he could do. Those people stood the entire game. Pathetic.

All and all, I am glad I went, it was cool to check Ohio Stadium off my list and to see that many people in one arena, but I won't ever go back. As far as stadiums go for the average fan, Ohio Stadium was nothing special. Almost everything is out of date and cramped, and dirty. For all I bitch about concession workers and security at Huntington Bank Stadium, we have a damn nice stadium!
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Pretty much every sporting venue in the Twin Cities is really nice, with the exception of Target Center. I spend a lot of time at Mariucci Arena, Target Field, and Allianz Field and they are all amazing.
 

BleedGopher said:
I'll be at the Oregon and Cal games. I can't wait!

Go Gophers!!
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Likely the same for us. Did Cal last time, the stadium was godawful, but has since been rebuilt. If you have time, go to the Chinatown area in the AM when everything is being delivered. The Alcatraz tour is pretty cool, but it’s pretty cold!

The Oregon coast is amazing. Portland is not.
 


Went to the 2006 game at Cal. The Gopher seats were near one end zone and were old, wooden benches, with peeling paint and lots of splinters. Surely the place has been renovated since then. In the game itself, The Gophers scored first. The Bears forgot about Matt Spaeth and he took a cross field pass from Cupito about 50 yards down to the 5-yard line. We had a converted linebacker named Alex something who bulled in on the 3rd try. A chant of "You can't stop us" began. Turns out they could. We had no answers for Marshon Lynch or DeSean Jackson and got beat something like 42-10. On the walk back to the BART we had to walk past the fraternity houses. Boy, did they let us have it!
 

Just booked our hotel for the Cal game, which is the only away game date confirmed (Saturday, September 13). We’re thinking of a road trip down and drive the coast one way and the interior the other.

We’ll go to the Oregon game as well.
 



Noodling with the idea of Cal.... Telling my politically liberal season tickets buddy that he needs to visit his "homeland" as my selling point... :LOL:
 
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I want to do Oregon but also my brother goes to Cal so I feel like I have to do that too.

Will probably prioritize Oregon as I'm trying to hit every Big Ten stadium, and if I can make a quick trip to Cal I will try to swing that.
 

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