Monday, July 28, 2008

Ranking the ACC Stadiums

I have been to half of the football stadiums in the ACC. For someone who lives West of the Mississippi, I consider this to be an accomplishment. Therefore, in fairness, I'll give two sets of rankings. The stadiums I've been to will be ranked on ambiance (10%), tailgating (30%) and game experience (60%). The ones I haven't been to will be ranked on team's home record (1%), perception (9%) and bias (90%). Oh, all grades are objective. Enjoy. Hopefully by the end of 2008 I can add North Carolina and Florida State to the list of stadiums I've been to.

ACC Stadiums I've Been To:


1. Virginia Tech - Lane Stadium
- In reality, this is probably a toss-up with Clemson, but I'm a Hokie, so guess which one's getting moved to the top of the list? The tailgating is better at Tech in my opinion, but the bar scene is better at Clemson. Lane's louder, but Memorial has more energy, if that makes any sense at all.


2. Clemson - Memorial Stadium
- I wish we played at Clemson every other year. I also wish I could get the chance to visit Memorial Stadium for a non-VT game and root for Clemson. This place is what college football is all about.

[/huge gap]


3. Boston College - Alumni Stadium
- Tailgating was fine, atmosphere was fine, Boston's a great town. Surprisingly involved student section.


4. Georgia Tech - Bobby Dodd Stadium
- It didn't help that their team got shellacked, but the crowd at Bobby Dodd Stadium was subdued for most of the night. Tailgating is fair.


5. Wake Forest - Groves Stadium
- It's small and those of us in the Tech section were packed in like sardines. The stadium looks like a smaller version of Lane before it was renovated.


6. Miami - Dolphin Stadium
- The 'Canes didn't exactly pack the Orange Bowl the last two seasons. I've been to two Orange Bowls and while the stadium itself is nice, I can't see this being a very good place to go watch a regular season game. They do sell beer there, so cheers!

ACC Stadiums I Haven't Been To:

1. Florida State - Doak Campbell Stadium

2. NC State - Carter-Finley Stadium

3. Maryland - Byrd Stadium

4. North Carolina - Keenan Stadium

5. Virginia - Scott Stadium

6. Duke - Wallace Wade Stadium

3 comments:

ACC Football said...
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Chris Martin said...

Even though Bobby Dodd Stadium is in need of some fixing up, it is one of the great old stadiums.

Eagle All Access said...

I'm curious, why is the student section at Alumni Stadium "surprisingly involved"? Did you not expect the students to be loud?