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What do you find to be the better game day experience (1 Viewer)

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  • NFL game

    Votes: 18 16.1%

  • College game

    Votes: 94 83.9%
  • Total voters
    112
Capella

Capella

Footballguy
In general, what do you find to be a better experience to attend? A college football game or an NFL game? Not discussing the actual talent on the field - any reasonable person knows the NFL obviously has superior talent. 
 

I am sure there are a few NFL stadiums that are great experiences - arrowhead, Seattle, Green Bay and a few others maybe, but the 5 I’ve been to have all been very boring, staid experiences with even the same music playing and similar graphics to get the fans riled up. I find nothing exciting about the actual game day experience at all. College however has bands, unique stadiums, cool halftime shows and a more invested crowd. Imo. 

 
I've had season tix for both the Dolphins and the Bucs. I've also attended games in Seattle, the Meadowlands and Atlanta. But one venue and gameday experience blows all of those away:

New Orleans superdome!!!!! The fans there party like no others before the game, during the game and after the game (regardless of who won).

 
The other factor is I don’t care nearly as much about the other games in college. I go to my teams games which I love and don’t think I’m missing much. 
 

NFL I go sometimes and enjoy it, but you miss Redzone, fantasy, gambling, DFS, etc because the other games are on at the same time. I find going to the game to be an even trade off with losing the “NFL Sunday”.

 
College and it’s not close, although the be fair I’ve only been to a handful of Lions games and none of them were remotely meaningful
 

i might change my tune if we’re talking a lions playoff game, but if we’re just comparing Michigan vs Northwestern against Lions vs Arizona or something like that college hands down

 
The hierarchy in general (your favorite team being involved raises the game a few steps)

College rivalry games (it just doesn't get better than Army/Navy, Alabama/Auburn, UM/OSU, etc)

BCS championship

Super bowl

BCS playoffs

NFL playoffs

Key late season games in college

Key late season games in NFL

Major conference college games

NFL

small college games

 
I’ve never really been to a major college football game that I can recall, but I have little doubt that it is a much better experience.  I suppose the old days at the Vet might have rivaled it.  I don’t know if my memory is clouded, but going there as a young kid, it seemed like a wild experience.  100 times different than the linc.

 
I went to an Auburn game last year with a buddy who is an Auburn grad and a huge fan. It blew me away. I’m a Cardinals’ season ticket holder, and the only thing that matched that Auburn game were some of the Kurt Warner playoff games way back when.

 
Being a season ticket holder in the NFL has to be a slog.  Between the preseason games and the many 1PM games.  Night games at either level are a lot better and it is much more common for the good college football programs.

 
whatever raises my tribal blood pressure the most. i wanna get 240/180 over something and my paltry life wont do it...

 
kutta said:
I went to an Auburn game last year with a buddy who is an Auburn grad and a huge fan. It blew me away. I’m a Cardinals’ season ticket holder, and the only thing that matched that Auburn game were some of the Kurt Warner playoff games way back when.
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Funny enough, two of my favorite Panthers games I have been to were Carson Palmer with the Cardinals here in Charlotte. :)

Both had pretty bad weather, which for some reason makes me like the games more (unless it is just brutally hot)

 
In person to see live --College by a mile.  To watch live on TV--I'd have to go NFL by a moderate margin.

 
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In general, college...

But when you have Kansas as your college team and Arrowhead and the Super Bowl Champions as your NFL team, it makes it a bit of a different call.

 
I would vote for an something like, "depends on the game and venue" option if offered. I've been to Lambeau well over 100 games going back over 30 years.  Still get chills coming through the concourse tunnel and seeing the field.  Playoff games or Bear games are a fantastic gameday experience.  I've also been to NFL games around the country that felt like a library.  College games can also be boring though.  The students at Camp Randall in Madison are late-arrivers, early leavers.  The early-season games against patsies are boring affairs. I've never been to a big rivalry game in the south though - definitely on my bucket list and I'm sure its an incredible gameday experience unlike any other.

Still would say there's nothing in this country that can rival a typical gameday at one of the iconic soccer venues in Europe or South America.

 
Haven't been to an nfl game in quite a few years.   I personally didn't care for the crowd there.   It seemed to be mostly a bunch of drunk dudes in their 40's.    Only go to a couple of Rutgers games each year, but even with them being terrible, its a far superior experience.   

 
bigmarc27 said:
If anyone outside of NY said NFL, I’d be shocked. 
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Much of the Northeast, imo. 

Where I grew up in NJ, the closest decent teams were Rutgers, Temple, etc. Definitely not powerhouse teams. Penn State was a little ways away. 

College football just isn't as popular in the north.

 
I think KC Chiefs football puts on a pretty event.   Before and after the games.   

Unless OU is playing a big time game at home I am missing all the pregame stuff.  

Each venue is unique.

 
Like asking what’s the better restaurant experience, the family owned Italian neighborhood restaurant where nonna is sitting there making the pasta by hand or the brand new Olive Garden they built in a strip mall. 

 
In general, college, but program makes a big difference. I grew up in Piscataway, NJ, home of Rutgers and went to a lot of games there in the 90s when Rutgers was pretty terrible. I’d take an NFL game over that.

But the best football experience I’ve ever personally been to was a Clemson-FSU game at Clemson in the early 2000s.

 
Slapdash said:
Being a season ticket holder in the NFL has to be a slog.  Between the preseason games and the many 1PM games.  Night games at either level are a lot better and it is much more common for the good college football programs.
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Maybe I'm getting old but night games would be the worst to attend for NFL. College would be a bit better.

comfortably numb said:
There might be some major HS games that rival NFL games in terms of atmosphere 
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In Texas, Florida and Alabama for sure.

Nugget said:
In general, college...

But when you have Kansas as your college team and Arrowhead and the Super Bowl Champions as your NFL team, it makes it a bit of a different call.
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Closer call but I'll take my Jayhawks in Lawrence even if they'll get smacked.

 
We try to go with my dad to one college game every couple of years we've  been to

Texas AM

Tenn

Notre Dame

Georgia

Penn State

Miami

Florida St

Michigan

Clemson

Alabama

Hands down a much better experience minus the bench seating....

 
Sitting in the 3252 for an LAFC match gave college football a run for its money in immediate atmosphere. But Banc of California Stadium holds 22K. Can’t compete overall with 100k college football stadiums.

 
Stadium and atmosphere is probably better for college but my odds of seeing a closer, better played game is at an nfl game. 
 

For example I’m sure the atmosphere at the Big House or Denny Field is great but how is watching either home team smash Illinois or Georgia State 55-7 worthwhile?

 
And if attending a high school game is more interesting to you than an nfl game you need to get out more. 

 
It depends. 
 

The right tailgate party (or house) @  Lambeau can rival a good college tailgate

but random college game day >>>>>> random nfl game day.   

 
Sinn Fein said:
It depends. 
 

The right tailgate party (or house) @  Lambeau can rival a good college tailgate

but random college game day >>>>>> random nfl game day.   
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Agreed.  Im guessing those that are saying college and its not close havent been to Lambeau or Arrowhead.  Yeah generally speaking college is much better but a few NFL venues are close to that experience minus the attractive coeds of course.

 
Pros:  several Bengals and a bunch of Browns games

College:  been to a number of games at these places 

- University of Arkansas games in Little Rock (used to have a game a year there)

- University of Arkansas on campus at Fayetteville

- Ohio State

- University of Meechigan

- Ole Miss

- University of Texas

- smaller Ohio colleges (University of Miami, University of Toledo, University of Akron)

gotta say that the U of Arkansas games in Little Rock and the Ole Miss games stand out most to me - also the wimmens at these games are pretty hard to match

 
Definitely college, but it's not anything against the NFL.  My answer would also be college vs the NBA and NHL. 

Not sure about MLB because I've never been to a baseball game at a big time program.

 
Joe Mammy said:
I've had season tix for both the Dolphins and the Bucs. I've also attended games in Seattle, the Meadowlands and Atlanta. But one venue and gameday experience blows all of those away:

New Orleans superdome!!!!! The fans there party like no others before the game, during the game and after the game (regardless of who won).
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I've never been to the Superdome - but the year they had to move the Giants/Saints game to Giants Stadium  (as a Saints home game) due to Katrina the law firm I was working at got a slate of tickets. It was an amazing experience due to all the Saints' fan in attendance. There was obviously more Giants fans attending than a normal home game for the Saints but I was shocked by how many Saints fans made the journey (people that had tickets for the Superdome had priority). It was a huge party.

 
If you offered me tickets to my alma mater, or to my favorite NFL team, I'd choose the college game every time because it's familiar, it's my team, it's my former school, I know where the good tailgates are, it's the band and the fans and I love it all.  

But if you offered me tickets to a random college game or NFL game between two teams I don't care about, I'd choose the NFL game to watch the better product.   

 
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wlwiles said:
If you offered me tickets to my alma mater, or to my favorite NFL team, I'd choose the college game every time because it's familiar, it's my team, it's my former school, I know where the good tailgates are, it's the band and the fans and I love it all.  

But if you offered me tickets to a random college game or NFL game between two teams I don't care about, I'd choose the NFL game to watch the better product.   
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What's your alma mater? Also, I get what you are saying about quality of the players and all, but assuming it is a marquee program and not Toledo at Rutgers, I would rather get the college experience. Give me the Iron Bowl or sailgate at Husky Stadium over the Jerry Dome or a Broncos-Chiefs game. 

 
Ilov80s said:
What's your alma mater? Also, I get what you are saying about quality of the players and all, but assuming it is a marquee program and not Toledo at Rutgers, I would rather get the college experience. Give me the Iron Bowl or sailgate at Husky Stadium over the Jerry Dome or a Broncos-Chiefs game. 
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Mississippi State.  We're not a marquee by any means, but I attended for 5 years and had a lot of fun on football gamedays, and try to get back as often as I can.  And yes, I'd love to see Enter Sandman at Va Tech, see a game in The Big House, or go to any game in the Rose Bowl stadium, just to experience it once.  But if you gave me a B1G or ACC game, I probably wouldn't know more than 2 players in it.  At least through FF I know NFL players, and I can have a rooting interest in Broncos/Chiefs or Chargers/Jaguars or literally any NFL game.  Absolutely willing to concede that the gameday atmosphere wouldn't be as good as OSU/UM would be though. 

 
Early on in this thread I pointed out my love for Saints games. I've been to alot of college games too, mostly FSU and Miami. My brother is an FSU grad and invited me to meet him in Tally for homecoming about 10 years ago.  This game was the most fun of all of them.

The game was played the day before Halloween. Alot of fans attend in their halloween costumes. I have a standard costume I wear almost every year for parties etc. - The Blind Referree. I had found a bona fide ref outfit online, jersey, hat, whistle and even penalty flags with beanbags in them. I fashioned a blindman's walking cane from a piece of pvc and wore my dark shades.

I surprised my brother by putting on my costume and we went to the game, we were staying at the huge Marriott downtown.. He is much more conservative than me and was a little embarrassed at first until he saw all the babes wanting their pics taken with me. I was having alot of fun with the tailgaters during pregame blowing the whistle and throwing flags.  

When we went to enter the stadium security told me if I wasn't really blind that I had to turn over the cane. They pointed me to some stairs and I headed down under the stadium where I found security, they even have a large brig to hold the rowdy drunks.

As I came back out of the office all of the FSU players were running onto the field through the tunnel. It struck me that I had quite an opportunity here. I just kind of blended in with them and trotted out onto the field. I made my way to the back of the endzone underneath our seats and planted myself against the wall with a perfect ground level view. I managed to watch the entire first half there. My mistake was looking up into the crowd and finding my brother, yelling and waving at him.

Suddenly I'm surrounded by some guy in a suit and a couple of unis. Suit man demanded to see my "credentials". Uh, no credentials. They asked to see my ticket and huddled up for a minute and then told me I could go back to my seat but if I did anything else stupid they would toss me.

When I got back up to our seats my brother was like, "I was wondering what happened to you and then freaked when I saw you on the field."

So that college game was pretty fun but overall I like the Saints games the best!

 
Bills pre-game rivals any frat boy kegger, but complete gameday experience is college without question. And when I've traveled to college games the experience starts the night before which is not the case in Pros.

 
kutta said:
I went to an Auburn game last year with a buddy who is an Auburn grad and a huge fan. It blew me away. I’m a Cardinals’ season ticket holder, and the only thing that matched that Auburn game were some of the Kurt Warner playoff games way back when.
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AU grad here, what game did you make it to?  You and I would have likely been the only 2 in that stadium who also own Cardinals tickets.  I'm still sitting on that invoice right now.

 
Shula-holic said:
AU grad here, what game did you make it to?  You and I would have likely been the only 2 in that stadium who also own Cardinals tickets.  I'm still sitting on that invoice right now.
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Cool! I was at the Ole Miss game - the game itself wasn't super exciting, but the atmosphere was super cool.

Where are your Cards' tickets? We have four seats in section 447, row 1. 

 
jhib said:
Definitely college, but it's not anything against the NFL.  My answer would also be college vs the NBA and NHL. 

Not sure about MLB because I've never been to a baseball game at a big time program.
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College basketball definitely >>>> NBA (I'm a Jayhawk so that's a super easy choice) 

Can't really agree on college over the NHL. 

Ilov80s said:
That’s awesome- I would consider any SEC team to be marquee. I am sure Davis Wade gets rocking with those cowbells and there’s some amazing tailgates when Ole Miss comes to town. 
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I don't know man, I'm probably passing on attending Arkansas at Vanderbilt and just hanging out in Nashville. 

 
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