What it's like to be the ROAD fan

[budbowl77]

Wanna see some real fun? gimme some tickets in the blue seats at Madison Square Garden for Isles Rangers...hahaha!!

so ya enjoy seeing losses?

No I enjoy the whooping we've been putting on the Rags this season on there own track.

[NJTank]

Been a road fan once, and it was fun sitting in the Yankee Stadium bleachers rooting for the Mets

[-Helix-]

When Marshall played in the MAC, we were the most hated team in the conference. So no matter where you went, you were sure to get some . (At least in the stadiums that actually had fans in them.)

Miami of Ohio fans were probably the worst. Tailgates would get attacked and destroyed when left unattended, you'd get insults and curses thrown at you on the way inside the stadium... and drinks/food sometimes.

Toledo was bad too. They didn't actually try to harm you or your property though like Miami fans, but they were just scary people. I guess it was just intimidating because Toledo actually had fans. Miami's stadium was empty.

UCF was a nice relaxed atmosphere. But that's probably because I stayed away from the Student Section and Tailgate Parties. I heard stories from other people that some drunk UCF fans got aggressive though.

[Bucks6thMan]

THIS is why Cubs fans get their sorry a**es kicked in the Miller Park parking lot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1MJ-ta0S24&NR

Nothing but yuppie trash from northern Illinois who don't have the hook-ups to get tickets at Wrigley Field, so they buy tickets from the vendors that Bud Sleaze-ig sold them to in Illinois (but they've been selling less and less tickets in Illinois since Anistacio took over, so the Cubs fans don't dominate nearly as much as they used to).

I would hope that the Cubs fans who go to Wrigley would be more gracious, but the ones who come to Miller Park are like school on a Saturday... NO F***IN' CLASS!!!

[HedleyLamarr]

I've seen cars damaged if they have visiting team license-plate frames, things thrown at people, the "accidental" bumping into visiting fans in the concourse, etc. And of course, the chants of "a-hole, a-hole" whenever a visiting fan (even children) are walking towards their seat.

I can verify this. An Atlanta radio host had a hidden mic on him, and he was wearing a Falcons jersey and got the bidness....

I've been to a few road UGA games at Tech. Well, more like unofficial home games, since there were more UGA fans there than Tech fans....

[FiddySicks]

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

A real shocker. I thought a team with a history of inneptitude would be a lot lot more gracious to a visitor currently mired in a losing funk. WRONG. A Tampa local tried to warn me of this on the flight there, but I waved it off. We sat right below the pirate ship (they wouldn't let us on it). Every time we got up for a beer the entire section would yell things to the effect of "BYE LOSERS!". I'd just smile and point at my empty beer cup. The Bucs have no sense of history as I didn't see one orange jersey in the place, as if they didn't exist before their current quasi-glory.

Raymond James is an amazing stadium, and I hope to God the Cowboys build something akin to it in 2009. The ship is cool, the little tiki villaige behind it is even cooler. Met a few Buc-Lovin' locals who got over their immediate hatred of blue and silver, and had some great dialogue. They admitted half of their pewter and red buddies had Cowboys stuff in the closet at home.

Ive heard that Bucs fans tend to be quite the douchnozzles at home games, and ive heard that from some of the biggest Bucs fans ive ever met.

OAKLAND: Wow. Wearing a red and black pirate costume to the first game back in Oakland since whipping the crap outta them in the Super Bowl was NOT a smart idea. I ended up leaving in he third quarter because I was so scared for my life. Raiders games are a blast if your pullin for the home team, but if not, your screwed.

LOS ANGELES (DODGERS): Uggh. Scum. Only word necessary to describe the fans. Almost as bad as Raiders fans, except without any of the credibility. Theyre constantly trying to take shots but arent smart enough to accually come up with anything witty, and when thier team is losing, they go buy $8 beers just so they can dump them on you. Idiots.

ANAHEIM (ANGELS AND DUCKS): Angels games are the best place to go if your pulling for the other team. Its a bunch of Bong-Toking Surfers, how bad could it be?

Ducks games are pretty similar, but are usually empty of Ducks "Fans". Every Sharks Ducks game ive gone to there has been more sharks fans than ducks fans.

SAN FRANCISCO (49ERS): Not too bad. Usually very friendly, even if your not a Niners fan. Honestly, Niners fans are classy. They know theyve got a stronger history than you, they almost always pull in more bread than you do, and realize that in the long run, your just there to see the football game, and so are they. Even the really bad fans tend to back off pretty quickly and let their teams play on the field speak for itself. And the WORST of the fans dont go to the games.

THIS is why Cubs fans get their sorry a**es kicked in the Miller Park parking lot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1MJ-ta0S24&NR

Nothing but yuppie trash from northern Illinois who don't have the hook-ups to get tickets at Wrigley Field, so they buy tickets from the vendors that Bud Sleaze-ig sold them to in Illinois (but they've been selling less and less tickets in Illinois since Anistacio took over, so the Cubs fans don't dominate nearly as much as they used to).

I would hope that the Cubs fans who go to Wrigley would be more gracious, but the ones who come to Miller Park are like school on a Saturday... NO F***IN' CLASS!!!

did that video remind anyone else of the South Park Cripple Fight?

[EatSleepJeep]

Kauffman Stadium:

I spend an entire Twins series here every year. Very good-natured fans for the most part. This summer we had an issue with the guy in front of us not caring for the proliferation of "Circle me Bert" signs so we moved and got better seats too.

Kinnick Stadium:

I've been to Kinnick in Iowa City as a Cyclone fan and as a Gopher fan. The rivalry against ISU is good natured. Against Minnesota it is hell. A lot of vulgarities, thrown food and thrown beer. During tailgating I witnessed an Iowa fan tell a pregnant woman in Minnesota gear she should have an abortion so that she wouldn't produce another Gopher fan. Her husband stomped him into the hospital. I volunteered my assistance by holding some of the stompee's friends back so they job could be properly completed. I will never bring my money to Iowa City again.

Xcel:

Rough territory for a Stars fan. I wear a Ciccarelli or Casey Northstars Jersey to deflect a lot of the comments, but I understand their frustration. I have a "Minnesota Salutes Norm Green" shirt with a hockey glove flipping the bird. I wear that underneath and show anybody who tries to rip my girl's Dallas Modano Jersey. Brings the s

Camp Randall at the UofW-Madison is quite hospitable for Gophers, as is Miller Park for the Twins. County Stadium was always a good time, I never had an issue there. Savvis(ScottTrade) is also pretty tame, although it was rough after Hull became a Star. I sure hope KC gets hockey, I would love to see the Stars play at Sprint.

[Guest]

THIS is why Cubs fans get their sorry a**es kicked in the Miller Park parking lot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1MJ-ta0S24&NR

Nothing but yuppie trash from northern Illinois who don't have the hook-ups to get tickets at Wrigley Field, so they buy tickets from the vendors that Bud Sleaze-ig sold them to in Illinois (but they've been selling less and less tickets in Illinois since Anistacio took over, so the Cubs fans don't dominate nearly as much as they used to).

I would hope that the Cubs fans who go to Wrigley would be more gracious, but the ones who come to Miller Park are like school on a Saturday... NO F***IN' CLASS!!!

The hatred in the Brewers-Cubs, and by extension, Milwaukee-Chicago rivalry is so one-sided. And sorry that the Brewers have a nice park that is easily accessible from Chicago. Hey, if Brewers fans won't buy tickets to the games, then someone has to.

"GRR OH MAN I HATE CHICAGO AND THOSE FIBS AAARRRRGGH THERE SO STOOPID WELL OUR ART MUSEUM HAS A COOLER ROOF THAN YOURS AND OUR TRAFFIC IS BETTER SO THERE!"

"Milwaukee is okay, I guess."

[Bucks6thMan]

THIS is why Cubs fans get their sorry a**es kicked in the Miller Park parking lot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1MJ-ta0S24&NR

Nothing but yuppie trash from northern Illinois who don't have the hook-ups to get tickets at Wrigley Field, so they buy tickets from the vendors that Bud Sleaze-ig sold them to in Illinois (but they've been selling less and less tickets in Illinois since Anistacio took over, so the Cubs fans don't dominate nearly as much as they used to).

I would hope that the Cubs fans who go to Wrigley would be more gracious, but the ones who come to Miller Park are like school on a Saturday... NO F***IN' CLASS!!!

The hatred in the Brewers-Cubs, and by extension, Milwaukee-Chicago rivalry is so one-sided. And sorry that the Brewers have a nice park that is easily accessible from Chicago. Hey, if Brewers fans won't buy tickets to the games, then someone has to.

"GRR OH MAN I HATE CHICAGO AND THOSE FIBS AAARRRRGGH THERE SO STOOPID WELL OUR ART MUSEUM HAS A COOLER ROOF THAN YOURS AND OUR TRAFFIC IS BETTER SO THERE!"

"Milwaukee is okay, I guess."

Yea... funny how fans become jaded when owners milk taxpayers for a palace and then refuse to spend any money to field a competitive team. You think it's any coincidence that attendance at Brewers games doubled when Sleaz-ig sold the team?

And if you think the Milwaukee-Chicago rivalry is one-sided, you obviously haven't spent much time here. It's well known that Chicagolanders (for some reason that I have yet to figure out) love to vacation at Lake Geneva and Door County while patronizing the locals and dismissing them as a bunch of barefoot, cheese-eating hillbillies. Then there's the issue with Chicagoans nasty little habit of relocating to Milwaukee, then bitching about everything from the local culture (as if Wisconsin is soooo different from Illinois) to our lack of a massive skyline while refusing to go back to Chicago.

Besides, if Chicago is as apathetic towards Milwaukee as you say, then why would they hire Santiago Calatrava...whose name in the U.S. is synonymous with Milwaukee... to design that crappy new skyscraper (that they're building ONLY because the Freedom Tower is gonna be taller than the Sears Tower, BTW) when they could've conceivably gone with any other architect in the world?

[Guest]

It's well known that Chicagolanders (for some reason that I have yet to figure out) love to vacation at Lake Geneva and Door County while patronizing the locals and dismissing them as a bunch of barefoot, cheese-eating hillbillies.

THEY ARE CHEESE-EATING HILLBILLIES. Walworth County looks like Appalachia.

Besides, if Chicago is as apathetic towards Milwaukee as you say, then why would they hire Santiago Calatrava...whose name in the U.S. is synonymous with Milwaukee... to design that crappy new skyscraper (that they're building ONLY because the Freedom Tower is gonna be taller than the Sears Tower, BTW) when they could've conceivably gone with any other architect in the world?

Trust me, Chicago is in no way threatened by Milwaukee when it comes to architecture.

[Bucks6thMan]

It's well known that Chicagolanders (for some reason that I have yet to figure out) love to vacation at Lake Geneva and Door County while patronizing the locals and dismissing them as a bunch of barefoot, cheese-eating hillbillies.

THEY ARE CHEESE-EATING HILLBILLIES. Walworth County looks like Appalachia.

And? No one is holding a gun to their heads and forcing them to go there. Although it does make me wonder what it must be like to live in Chicago if Lake Geneva seems like a vacation.

Besides, if Chicago is as apathetic towards Milwaukee as you say, then why would they hire Santiago Calatrava...whose name in the U.S. is synonymous with Milwaukee... to design that crappy new skyscraper (that they're building ONLY because the Freedom Tower is gonna be taller than the Sears Tower, BTW) when they could've conceivably gone with any other architect in the world?

Trust me, Chicago is in no way threatened by Milwaukee when it comes to architecture.

Chicago has shown itself to be INCREDIBLY insecure towards ANY threats towards its architecture.... which brings me back to why they not only chose Calatrava, but why they would build a skyscraper they don't even need in the first place.

[Mings]

They wouldn't build a skyscraper they don't need bud. Thats not the way the profession works. If you start comparing the Museum of Art to the City of Chicago in general be prepared for a long argument that you won't win.

[Bucks6thMan]

They wouldn't build a skyscraper they don't need bud. Thats not the way the profession works. If you start comparing the Museum of Art to the City of Chicago in general be prepared for a long argument that you won't win.

That's not actually true... the Sears Tower was considered a huge gamble when it was built (which has since paid off).

And I'm not comparing the MAM to the entire city of Chicago. In fact, I'll say it right now... Chicago has one of the nicest skylines in the world. But with big buildings come big business, corrpution, paid-off politicians, working-class disenfranchisement, etc. And for what? To be able to send prettier postcards? Sorry, but with that trade off, I'll gladly take Milwaukee with its 4 tall buildings and a cool museum (Besides, Milwaukee can barely handle the corruption and disenfranchisement it does have).

Anyway, back to my point. It seems a little fishy to me that...

A. Chicago drew up the plans for this new tower almost immediatley after the plans for the Freedom Tower were finished.

and B. When literally any architecht in the world would've jumped at the opportunity to design what will become the tallest building in North America, they "just happened" to choose the one guy whose reputation in the U.S. is synonymous with a buiding he designed 90 miles to the north.

Thus far, no one has been able to give me a practical reason for why they did either.

[Guest]

You make it sound as if Chicago is a corrupt and depressed hellhole that happens to have tall buildings, rather than a vibrant world-class city.

[FiddySicks]

You make it sound as if Chicago is a corrupt and depressed hellhole that happens to have tall buildings

And the Cubs

[Mings]

They wouldn't build a skyscraper they don't need bud. Thats not the way the profession works. If you start comparing the Museum of Art to the City of Chicago in general be prepared for a long argument that you won't win.

That's not actually true... the Sears Tower was considered a huge gamble when it was built (which has since paid off).

And I'm not comparing the MAM to the entire city of Chicago. In fact, I'll say it right now... Chicago has one of the nicest skylines in the world. But with big buildings come big business, corrpution, paid-off politicians, working-class disenfranchisement, etc. And for what? To be able to send prettier postcards? Sorry, but with that trade off, I'll gladly take Milwaukee with its 4 tall buildings and a cool museum (Besides, Milwaukee can barely handle the corruption and disenfranchisement it does have).

Anyway, back to my point. It seems a little fishy to me that...

A. Chicago drew up the plans for this new tower almost immediatley after the plans for the Freedom Tower were finished.

and B. When literally any architecht in the world would've jumped at the opportunity to design what will become the tallest building in North America, they "just happened" to choose the one guy whose reputation in the U.S. is synonymous with a buiding he designed 90 miles to the north.

Thus far, no one has been able to give me a practical reason for why they did either.

In the spirit of Christmas, I'm gonna just let you think what you want. I don't think you want to argue about architecture with an architecture major anyways.

[gueman]

Well my wife wanted to go on a Ravens road trip in 2001 the season after their Super Bowl Championship. She chose CLEVELAND! It was a good choice for a few reasons it was drivable , I had a cousins there to stay with, and tickets were easy and cheap to get on e-bay, and an easy victory. Now my wife is only football fan since 98, but because she is Canadian and 10 years my junior she didn't know about the whole Colts to Indy, expansion snub, and Browns 1 to Baltimore stuff. (We met in '98, she moved to Maryland in '99 to marry me.)

So off to Cleveland we went...I arrived in full colors...purple camo pants & Ray Lewis Jersey (bold but really dumb). She just wore a grey Ravens sweatshirt (Smart girl). The first thing was the looks people gave us, kinda incredulous. We got to our seats and were hassled a little bit, but all good natured. On the concourse at the half more good natured ribbing, and a lot of "What do you think of Cleveland...did you go...try this place...ect" stuff. The Ravens lost...then the fun started. We left via the same exit of the Dog Pound. That is when it got bad, real bad, biblical bad. Did I mention I was in a Ray Lewis jersey and purple camo pants. It made it kinda hard to "blend in" . I can guarantee that if the lovely wife wasn't with me I would be writing this from jail.

I just kept my mouth shut, took my lumps and walked back to the car...in the rain. We will go on more trips when the kids get bigger. But as my wife says "Let's not go were they hate us, again"

[Bucks6thMan]

You make it sound as if Chicago is a corrupt and depressed hellhole that happens to have tall buildings, rather than a vibrant world-class city.

Yea... I mean, Chicago is about the last city that comes up in a discussion about curruption and machine politics. /sarcasm And how "vibrant" can Chicago be when most of the city shuts down at 8:00? Trying to find something to do after the Taste last year was operation needle-in-a-haystack.

And like bucfan56 said... they have the Cubs.

In the spirit of Christmas, I'm gonna just let you think what you want. I don't think you want to argue about architecture with an architecture major anyways.

Hey man, it's cool if you really don't know

Seriously though... if you can answer my questions, enlighten me. But I've seen more than enough documentaries about skycrapers, chicago, the Sears Tower, etc. to know that Chicago was not in need of that much office space when they built it. So it definetley wouldn't be the first time they've done something like this.

[SgtCarp]

Football: Virginia Cavaliers @ Virginia Tech Hokies 2004. I waltz into Lane Stadium decked out in Orange & Blue (surprised that they even let me in the stadium, considering how big the rivalry is between the two schools, especially in football) and sit in the section next to the Tech students. I get ridden the entire game, and when VT won 24-10, well I wasnt feeling so great.

Baseball: Nationals @ Phillies in 2005. I go to Citizens Bank in a Nats jersey and you know how Philly fans are. One guy looks me in the eye in the parking lot after the game and says "I'm gonna knock you silly". Empty threat, but it isnt much fun watching a game with beer soaked fans razzing you all the time.

[Steel Certain]

Great topic...here's a Philly experience and an observation from today...

Flyers vs Penguins, Playoffs

I was 12 year old, and just moved from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. I wore a Lemieux home jersey to game 5 or 6 of the playoffs in Philly, when Pittsburgh eliminated the Fly Boys. We had gotten to the game late and had to park relatively far from the arena. Aside from having beer/peanuts/trash thrown at me during the game and learning lots of colorful new terms, needless-to-say the walk back to the car was a LONG one. I had a longneck Bud bottle whiz by my right ear and learned how "The City of Brotherly Love" does not extend its warmth to the road fan, even the 12 year old variety.

Today's Observation

Went to Geno's Steaks with my brother-in-law (up from Texas) to give him a proper intro to Philly cheesesteaks...we saw two tattered Cowboys jerseys tied to a fence, ripped apart and there as a reminder to road fans: be prepared for an arse whooping when you come to town. Wow. My guess is that the Mitchell & Ness Emmit Smith jersey was not surrendered voluntarily...picture to be posted...