By Tree
I realize this seems a little late, but it takes awhile to put all this great (hah) data together. It was a very good year and I saw some great games and individual performances. I also had a chance to witness Clemson’s epic fail. Enjoy the roundup in easily digested nuggets:
The Games
- Total Games Attended: 13 (14 if you include Delaware)
- Best Team Seen: Florida State, National Champions
- Final AP Top Twenty Teams Seen: 6 – FSU, South Carolina, Clemson, UCF, UCLA, USC
- Worst Team: FIU
- Bottom Ten Teams Seen: 2 – FIU, UMass
- Best Game Seen: Fresno State 41 Boise State 40, 9/20/2013
- Worst Game Seen: Fla State 51 vs Clemson 14, 10/19/2013 (At Clemson for godsakes!)
- Bowl Game Teams Seen: 17
The Players
- College Award winners seen:
- Heisman, Walter Camp, O’Brien: QB J. Winston FSU
- Doak Walker: RB: A. Williams BC – simply a beast in the game I saw
- Rimington: C B. Stork FSU
- Groza: K R. Aguayo, FSU
- Lott: LB A. Barr, UCLA
- All Americans: 15
- Other studs: Clowney SC, Bortles UCF, Carr Fresno State
The Facilities
- Best Stadium: Neyland Stadium, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- Worst Stadium: FIU Stadium, Florida International, Miami
- Easiest Stadium to Get To: Bowling Green: right off the Interstate
- Hardest Stadium to Get To: Clemson: Traffic up the wazoo and nowhere to park
- Best Concessions: USC: LA Coliseum: endless local selections – fresh food everywhere
- Worst Concessions: UMass (Gillette Stadium): A discarded pizza box would have been better than the rock hard fried dough I got.
- Best Souvenir: $20 for a sweet Blue Hens Hoodie
- Worst Souvenir: $10 UMass beer cozy
The Costs
- Total Season Spend: $2,600; Ave per Game: $186
- Most Expensive Ticket: Clemson – $197.45 for nosebleed seats off of stub hub!
- Cheapest Ticket: Old Dominion – Free in a catered corporate box
- Average Ticket Price Paid: $35, ex Clemson $19
- Average Savings on Scalped Tickets: $23 saved per ticket
- Best Savings on Scalped Ticket: USC , saved $45 over face value
Miscellaneous
- Miles Driven: ~2,800
- Miles Flown: ~7,000 (Boston, LA, Orlando)
- Three Game Weeks: Two – Fresno State/USC/UCLA & UCF/FAU/FIU
- Best Fans: Tennessee – Couldn’t have been nicer
- Worst Fans: UCLA: But I am not sure the drunk on the subway platform was at all representative of the Bruins
- Most Attractive Fans: USC hands down – no contest
- “Does your mom know you are wearing that?” fans: Tie – FAU and East Carolina
- Most Pleasant Surprise: UCF Experience – extremely well done across the board. Nice facility, free parking and vibrant fan base.
- Factoid interesting only to me: I have seen UCF play three times and they have always won big.
- Most Questionable Random Google Ad on SoManyStadiums.com site: Asian Brides site?!?