Visiting U of M for Purdue Game

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TexasAggie11

TexasAggie11

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Howdy Gophers,

I’m going to be in Minneapolis at a conference the week before your game against Purdue, and I decided to extend our stay through the weekend to be able to hang out on your campus for the game (my wife is travelling with me). I hope that you can clue me in to the must-see and must-do parts of a Minnesota gameday.

Our hotel is very close to campus, so during the week we would like to see the most interesting parts of campus – especially things that might not be open on Saturday. We are planning on visiting the McNamara Alumni Center, Coffman Memorial Union, the Armory, Pilsbury Hall, Dinkytown, Stadium Village, plus whatever is suggested here. If y’all have a real gopher that lives somewhere on campus, we would also like to see him/her.

For gameday, where are the best tailgating areas as far as friendly people are concerned? We won’t have a vehicle, nor any tailgating equipment with us since we are out of town. We would be looking for a place where we would have a good shot of being able to walk around and find some folks willing to trade beer or cash for food and hang out for a bit. Also, are there any pre-game activities or traditions we should be aware of to try to check out?

We probably won’t go to the game itself unless we happen to stumble upon some ridiculously cheap tickets, just because our trip is already expensive enough without adding another $150 to get in the game. Is there a ticket exchange set up anywhere or a place that the scalpers normally congregate? I saw that students can purchase guest passes – do these ever go up for sale (inexpensively)? I think we would be much happier in the student section where we could stand.

Finally, we do want to try to catch our game on television. What are the best sports bars around campus (or RV tailgate lots with big screens and satellites) where we might have a shot of watching A&M vs. Auburn? I know SEC football may not be the prime feature up there depending on what other games are going on at the time, so a place with multiple screens may be good.

Thanks in advance to any information you can provide about the above items, as well as recommendations of other fun things to see and do while in town.

Gig ‘em,

Kevin
 

You will be able to go the game for far less than $150. This message board has a Gopher ticket exchange forum, or you could try stub hub. There are plenty of scalpers around the stadium also.
 


There are Purdue tickets for $38 right now on Stub Hub.
 

A few topics to look up or I am sure some other Gopherholers will expand on:
Al's Breakfast
Ski U Mah tailgate lot on the north east end of the stadium (gopherlady where you at?)
Stub and Herbs for pre game brew
Big Ten has the best subs around
Scholar walk though Campus
Heck see if you can walk into Mariucci arena and see what Ice looks like.
The band pre and post game (swinging gates formation is awesome!)
Minnesotans are VERY friendly and although we don't have the tailgate atmosphere you guys have down south, you will definitely be offered some food and beverages.
 


Yeah, you'll definitely be able to find seats for less than $150. If we keep winning, tickets will be expensive, but if we lose you'll definitely be able to buy tickets for less than $30 on the street or on Stub Hub. Also, ALL seats at the Bank are good seats, so I wouldn't shy away from buying tickets because you think you'll be in the nosebleeds.
 

I've got some extra tickets to the Purdue game that I can sell you today for $40/each. PM me if interested. Also, check out Manning's on Como Ave for breakfast. It's a bit of a hike on foot but worth it. Free popcorn, great bloodys, 32 ounce scooners, etc.

Also, there is a liquor store in dinkytown only a few blocks from the tailgate lots if you are worried about finding tailgate beers. I recommend grabbing a few malt liquor 40s and wrap each in a paper bag. You will get your money's worth.
 

HouseOfHagen said:
I've got some extra tickets to the Purdue game that I can sell you today for $40/each. PM me if interested. Also, check out Manning's on Como Ave for breakfast. It's a bit of a hike on foot but worth it. Free popcorn, great bloodys, 32 ounce scooners, etc.

Also, there is a liquor store in dinkytown only a few blocks from the tailgate lots if you are worried about finding tailgate beers. I recommend grabbing a few malt liquor 40s and wrap each in a paper bag. You will get your money's worth.
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I like how you roll HouseofHagen!
 

I'm not going to be at that game, but you would think that someone here would just invite this nice visitor to their tailgate.

If I was rolling with my usual crew, I would just tell you the spot and time.
 



You could always hang around the stadium utill kickoff, at that point, any tickets the scalpers have left are going to decrease in price pretty quickly.

As far as things to do in Minneapolis, Minnehaha Falls would be a good place to take your wife. It's in the south-eastern part of the city and is easy to get to. You can't beat the price, it's free.
 

Yeah, you can usually find some to tailgate with. For the Syracuse game we saw a few Cuse fans walk by and my friend boo'd them. Apparently we were the first to do that. They ended up hanging with us for about the next 2 hours. It was a good time.
 

RodentRampage said:
You could always hang around the stadium utill kickoff, at that point, any tickets the scalpers have left are going to decrease in price pretty quickly.

As far as things to do in Minneapolis, Minnehaha Falls would be a good place to take your wife. It's in the south-eastern part of the city and is easy to get to. You can't beat the price, it's free.
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+1 on Minnehaha Falls. Easy to get to (Hiawatha Train access) and an absolutely great place to grab something to eat at Sea Salt.
 

Yes, check out the lakes too. And for nightlife, Northeast or Lynlake are both pretty fun spots.
 



Lots of great information in this thread. Thanks everyone. I may take my chances with trying to buy tickets on the street right before kickoff when the scalpers start to get nervous.

I saw Scholars Walk mentioned above. Any other suggestions for must-see places on campus?

Where/when does the band/team march into the stadium before the game? Is there a good place to view this? Do you typically have flyovers, and when are they held?
 

Props for visiting Pillsbury Hall in the most historic area of the campus!


See https://www.mygophersports.com/ArticleMedia/Files/FBGameDayGuide2012.pdf for pre-game festivities times.


The marching band pre-game show is a must see when attending football games (held 20 min prior to kick-off). One of the best, yet most underrated shows in all of football.


Plenty of cheap tickets are available on StubHub, come check out our stadium!
 

They should be doing victory walk at 830. After today's performance tickets will be 20-30 bucks each
 

Don't buy beer at gas stations, it's fake there (3.2%)... got to get it at the Liquor Store.
 

Sculpture gardens (giant cherry on spoon) are also really nice and fairly close. (right across the river) Also, any sports bar would suit your need for the A&M game. As long as it's on any of the ESPN networks, ABC, CBS, or FOX.
 

If your into natural history you will want to see the Bell Museum. Check Stub Hub this week and next prices for the Purdue game may dip.
 

Slightly off-topic, but I was looking at hockey tickets since it was mentioned above. Standing room only tickets go on sale this Tuesday - where is the SRO section at Mariucci? Also, would the game vs. US Under 18 be worth going to, or will it be lame since it is just an exhibition against high school kids?
 

Standing room tickets are all round the rink behind the top row - actually not a bad place to watch the game. However you'll likely also be able to get tickets out front from a scalper as well; as an exhibition game it will likely not be as well attended as say a league game or even a decent non-con game. I think the game would be worth your time (of course I'm biased) as the US Under 18 team is a collection of some of the best players of that age group from around the country. I recommend that you check it out - I don't think you will be disappointed.
 

mnsports255 said:
Sculpture gardens (giant cherry on spoon) are also really nice and fairly close. (right across the river)
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That's entirely misleading. Loring Park (and the sculpture garden) is entirely across the city from campus.
 

Due to the drought, Minnehaha Falls is currently "Minnehaha cliff full of dead fish at the bottom". Don't go there.
 

TexasAggie11 said:
Finally, we do want to try to catch our game on television. What are the best sports bars around campus (or RV tailgate lots with big screens and satellites) where we might have a shot of watching A&M vs. Auburn? I know SEC football may not be the prime feature up there depending on what other games are going on at the time, so a place with multiple screens may be good.
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There is a Buffalo Wild Wings directly across from the stadium. You'll for sure be able to catch the A&M game there.
 

TexasAggie11 said:
We probably won’t go to the game itself unless we happen to stumble upon some ridiculously cheap tickets, just because our trip is already expensive enough without adding another $150 to get in the game. Is there a ticket exchange set up anywhere or a place that the scalpers normally congregate? I saw that students can purchase guest passes – do these ever go up for sale (inexpensively)? I think we would be much happier in the student section where we could stand.
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The student section is general admission and they don't check your tickets when you enter the section ... so if you do, in fact, want to be in the student section, just buy the cheapest tickets you can find anywhere in the stadium. Once you are inside the stadium, nobody is going to stop you from entering the student section ... just sayin' ... :)

Also, I agree with other comments on here ... the pregame show is great and I highly recommend it.
 

TexasAggie11 said:
Thanks in advance to any information you can provide about the above items, as well as recommendations of other fun things to see and do while in town.
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Downtown Minneapolis is great, in my opinion... variety of things to see and do depending on your interests. The Twins season is over, but Target Field is worth seeing. Nicollet Mall, Sculpture Gardens, Stone Arch Bridge, Guthrie Theater / Hennepin Ave Theater District, Mill City Museum, Saint Anthony Main are all things to see and do around the downtown area. Again, depending on your interests, the Uptown lakes area is also great, IMO. Lots of unique/fun restaurants/bars in that part of town.

And yes, Minnehaha Falls is unimpressive now, given the drought we're experiencing.

I hope you enjoy your visit!
 

MplsGopherFan said:
The student section is general admission and they don't check your tickets when you enter the section ... so if you do, in fact, want to be in the student section, just buy the cheapest tickets you can find anywhere in the stadium. Once you are inside the stadium, nobody is going to stop you from entering the student section ... just sayin' ... :)
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Excellent to hear. This may be the way we go, because I would much rather enjoy the game in a place that gets a little rowdy and has some fun tradition. Speaking of that, is there anything I should know about the student section, such as customs, yells, cheers, etc. before I go, so I don't look like a noob? For example, at Kyle Field, students stand on the bleachers, but you step "off the wood" and "uncover" for the National Anthem and "The Spirit of Aggieland," and you would want to "hump it" when the yell leader raises his right hand with a 90 degree bend at the elbow. What sort of customs and traditions should I be aware of participating in?

I'm also excited about seeing the inside of your stadium. Populous, the firm who designed TCF Bank Stadium, has been retained to redesign Kyle Field. Currently, we are looking at a few options, the front runner of which includes a three-year, deck by deck renovation and construction of new south end zone seating projected to cost $450 million and increase our seating capacity to 103,000 (up from 82k official and 90k record capacity). Here is the one rendering that has leaked out, that is probably not anywhere close to the final version, but shows what they have in mind.

Current:
wbjBI.jpg


Proposed:
ZpMOX.jpg


Looking at pictures of TCF and other stadiums they have done, they seem to do pretty good work. I'm looking forward to seeing the details of their work firsthand in a game experience.
 

TexasAggie11 said:
Excellent to hear. This may be the way we go, because I would much rather enjoy the game in a place that gets a little rowdy and has some fun tradition. Speaking of that, is there anything I should know about the student section, such as customs, yells, cheers, etc. before I go, so I don't look like a noob? For example, at Kyle Field, students stand on the bleachers, but you step "off the wood" and "uncover" for the National Anthem and "The Spirit of Aggieland," and you would want to "hump it" when the yell leader raises his right hand with a 90 degree bend at the elbow. What sort of customs and traditions should I be aware of participating in?
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I've been meaning to respond to this. My little brother is going to Texas A&M for grad school so naturally they are my new favorite team in the SEC. From what I can tell Texas A&M has a boat load of traditions, chants, cheers, hand signs. So ours might seem a little mundane.

During kickoffs we jingle our keys (super intimidating), we sing the rouser on scoring plays, turnovers, halftime, etc. The phrase Ski-U-Mah doesn't get as much use as I think it should, but you'll hear that. Last but not least, sitting in the student section you will most certainly hear someone chant "Who hates Iowa" young and old, everyone will respond "We hate Iowa". It will not matter that we aren't playing Iowa, that we recently lost to Iowa, it probably won't matter if we are winning the Purdue game. That chant will break out several times at the least.


I know others have given you enough stuff to do. But on campus has a great museum, the Weisman Art museum, it's a funky building, but it's free and you can spend a good half an hour walking around inside, the second floor balcony has some great views of the city/campus too. Both dinkytown and campus are very walkable. If you ever get lost though, just ask someone. We are pretty nice.

gig em?
 

gophergrad said:
I've been meaning to respond to this. My little brother is going to Texas A&M for grad school.

gig em?
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Gig 'em.

What is your brother studying? I am a Vice President of the Graduate Student Council here at A&M, so there is a small chance we may know each other.
 

I would say the main tradition is the Swinging Gates at least for actions (where you would more or less stand out, at least). Essentially the Swinging Gates is the formation the band does as the color guard marches down the field to the Battle Hymn of the Republic. During this, the student raise their arm and go left and right, changing with the down beat. Pretty easy to get the hang of. Also works out conveniently for celebrating a series sweep in hockey.

I would also second the suggestion to attend a hockey game. The student section won't be quite the force it usually is, but it is day in and day out probably the most fun of all the student sections. Plus as mentioned before tickets should be pretty cheap on the street with the teams we are playing that weekend.
 

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