RE: Opinions from visiting fans.
Made all the trips this year but one (to Paulson for the Eagles matchup with Savannah State). Got the frequent flier miles to prove it, lol.
First trip ever to NC State, USA, NMSU and Navy ... return trips to Ga Tech (though never as an opposing fan) and to Texas State.
I'll stick w/ just the Sun Belt trips:
USA - Hadn't been to the Mobile area since I was in the Air Force in the late 80's and on TDY at Keesler, thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the stay downtown. Best part about this trip was it was our first Sun Belt game, and while the crowd was light it was quite refreshing to see their fans out tailgating and having a great time much like we do in Statesboro. Outside of Appalachian State, the entire SoCon is a collection of drab tailgating scenes. Above average pressbox, but nicer than I was expecting given the age of the facility, though at first I forgot that the Senior and GoDaddy Bowls took place there.
NMSU - Again, small crowd but loved the entire area. I had been through most of central, north and east Texas through the years, but never the El Paso area and enjoyed the ride up to Las Cruces, as that was the only part of NM I hadn't been to either. Hoping they get in soon as full members and if so I'll work that into a nice long weekend baseball trip. Aggie Memorial Stadium was pretty nice, though the pressbox needs some major work. I'd have to say in all my travels the last 28 years on the road covering games it is one of the worst, only Delaware and William&Mary were worse. Stadium reminded me of ODU's Ballard Stadium a little bit, which is weird since they were constructed nearly 40 years apart. Met a former player and his family in the lot and ate some great food. Love that aspect of road travels.
Georgia State - My first trip to the dome was in 1992 when Steve Young and the 49ers massacred the Falcons on MNF 41-3. What a somber evening I spent in the nosebleeds section as a poor kid right out of college. I hadn't been back until we played Georgia State. Different vantage point from the field & pressbox, different results, different experience. Tailgating was great, lots of Southern fans in the Yellow Lot and it had the same feeling of overtaking the north lot in Chattanooga's Finley Stadium. Did see the Georgia State fans assembled in one lot close in (can't remember which color lot), but had three high school kids with me so we didn't venture beyond heading to their seats. I'd like to see Georgia State turn their situation around but the dome is really not the ideal place for that to happen. One major disadvantage is even the close seats are a ways back from the action. I don't normally like end zone seats, but I think those might be the closest ones in the place to the field the way it is configured. Next time my son will be a sophomore @ Southern and he'll be on his own, I hope to do a little more exploring on the tailgating scene.
Texas State - Saved the best experience for last. Flew into San Antonio early Friday, visited a friend, drove up to Austin mostly on backroads (the interstate was jacked up around Kyle with a 18 wheeler leaking fuel apparently), ... drove into San Marcos to do a dry run to the stadium. Apparently everyone was getting off the interstate there as well, or I hit a bad time for traffic, lol. Found the stadium, headed north eventually on Stagecoach Rd or something like that, just headed north and remember getting back on the interstate around Buda (?). Got into Austin about an hour before the team, hit the bars and had fun downtown. Hadn't been to Austin at night except many moons ago when I was 18. Did pregame radio so my tailgating experience was non-existent this go-round. Enjoyed it immensely in 2005. Nice pressbox, very cordial staff, very impressed with the changes to the stadium since 2005, disappointed in the crowd turnout for what was a beautiful evening, was expecting more students with such a large student body. Food highlight of the trip was a Saturday 10am visit to Black's BBQ for an early pre-game lunch. Ride back to San Antonio was uneventful, wished I had booked a later flight back but otherwise a fun trip and already looking forward to a return visit.
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