The old narrative that Minnesota fans won't travel was knocked down some by very good turnouts in El Paso for the two Sun Bowls (I was only at the 2003 game).
On Nashville/ MCB:
By 2002 the Gopher fans were annoyed by the lack of progress by Mason a couple of bad years that included a massive 2nd half collapse in Miami vs North Carolina State (wasted a great T. Redmond rushing effort- foreshadowed 2006 Texas Tech). The momentum of 1999 was lost.
I went to all three Music City Bowl games Minnesota played in. I love Nashville (not a country music fan at all) and had a great time in 2002, 2004, and 2005. After going there for those games now I like listening to old Meryl Haggard and Kris Kristoferson songs, I confess.
Minnesota attendance was weak all three games in Nashville for different reasons. This time it would be different.
There were no expectations in 2002 and the Arkansas game caught all off guard.. It probably was the best attended of the three games by Gopher fans due to drive distance from all over, and some relief about making a bowl game again. It was good weather and it was a fun game to witness. The Arkansas fans were decent enough.
The 2004 Alabama game was an outlier in that the Alabama fans sold out the stadium and there was no secondary market, plus Alabama was not very good. It would have been hard for all but a very committed Gopher fan to get to that game (I was there) Maroney and Barber were at their best this day and it was magical. The fact that the team had Barber and Maroney back and did not do more that year did kill a lot of the enthusiasm from the casual fan. The Alabama fans were great to talk to in the beer line and watching from the varioius vantage points.
It was really warm that day, and hitting the Roberts Western World Bar on lower Broadway was the second best part of the day, and during all three visits. The Alabama fans were actually the best thinking back to interactions after the game on lower Broadway.
The 2005 game vs. Virginia to me was the worst since we lost and the shine came off that 2005 season pretty fast, attendance was not great, even though it was OK. Maroney played but was not really the same after his hamstring injury at Indiana, and sure enough we blew the game late. Virginia was sort of an up and coming team at the time and they earned the win. It was the worst of the three games for me. To make it worse the UVA fans were a bunch of Ivy League wannbe, elitist, preppy turds, no fun at all.
Nashville was getting pretty popular with tourists even 20 plus years ago but apparently it has gone to warp speed the last ten years, so prime hotels downtown are going to be much more expensive as NYE approaches, but ......
I will 100 percent go back this December if it is possible.
