Best Away Game You Have Attended?

Submitted by VCavman24 on

The other day I was chatting with a friend who went to the game at UCONN and it got me thinking about all of the away games I have gone to.  After thinking about it, I decided my favorite was the 2006 game at Notre Dame.  Notre Dame was ranked #2 for that game and was supposed to "return to glory" that year.  Also, the winner of that game would be #1 for winning percentage.  As we now know, Michigan dominated 47-21.  That game was truly awesome to go.  Now I must ask everyone else: what is the your favorite away game that you have been to (and if you haven't been to any, then do you have a favorite away game from the past?)

Soulfire21

October 2nd, 2013 at 9:56 PM ^

I've only attended one and it was @STAEE.  I was in the student section, so I was expecting to be heckled, but I was pushed down the stairs and then spat on by a woman in her 60-somethings [separate incidents].

A police officer saw it happen and told me "You shouldn't have worn yellow" but the usher escorted me back to my seat and ended up kicking out the people who pushed me.  For the rest of the game the few people around me would chant 'faggot, faggot' to me.

Edit:  Wow that sounds whiney.  Would've been better if we won, but that was the trash tornado game.  Did have a pretty fun tailgate though!

EGD

October 2nd, 2013 at 10:38 PM ^

Sounds like not much has changed since I first went to a game at State in 1993.  We lost the game 17-7; as my friends and I were leaving the student section, people were throwing full-on punches at us.  I thought, "Man, I could understand if you lost and were pissed off, but you won the game.  What gives with you people?"  

Despite the loss, I had a very good time at an MSU party after the game.  There were lots of attractive women and at least four couches were burned.  

lonewolf371

October 3rd, 2013 at 12:11 AM ^

This is why I don't bother with wearing away team jerseys. There's too much bullshit to justify some silly notion of "fandom." With away game fans getting killed out in California and the constant heckling you get otherwise, I don't see the point when I'm really just interested in watching a good football game.

tdcarl

October 2nd, 2013 at 9:55 PM ^

Went to the game at Northwestern 2 years ago. Not really a true "away" game since there were MIchigan fans a plenty, but it was still fun. Nice campus, tailgating right next to the beach was cool, and an overall good experience.

Section 1

October 3rd, 2013 at 7:56 PM ^

Michigan 22, Ohio State 0.  In Columbus.  On a classic fall (clear, cool) day.  A dominating performance of Schembechler perfection, to beat an undefeated OSU team.  My first-ever trip to Columbus.

It's funny but the thing I remember, walking out of B deck on the east side of the "Shoe (and it was before they closed the south endzone) was all of the talk from OSU people about getting rid of Woody Hayes because they thought he was losing it.  Damn.  Just one loss on the year; but it was to Michigan.  And it was a curb-stomping.

Unless my calculations are wrong (the location, weather and clothes worn by both coaches fit "1976") it was the day that this iconic photo (a series of photos, actually) was snapped:

pinkfloyd2000

October 2nd, 2013 at 10:01 PM ^

Night game @ Kinnick in 2009. My best friend is an Iowa grad, and we drove together from Cincy to Iowa City. Had a LOT of fun -- the game itself, well...yeah, that was the one where if we could just have fielded a punt cleanly, we win. Oh well.

In any event, the atmosphere was awesome, the crowd was rocking, etc. Only thing is -- it was in early October, and the gametime temperature was in the 20s. That was a bit of a shocker to the ol' system. It had actually snowed earlier in the day.

Anyway...the trip itself was great. Along the way, we stopped in several interesting locations, including the Field of Dreams in Dyersville.

preed1

October 2nd, 2013 at 10:07 PM ^

2007 Michigan vs Illinos- sat in student section, night game, great atmosphere, got heckled every minuted of the game but it was worth it when clock hit zero.    2012 Michigan vs Nebraska- the trip with the guys alone made it worth it, but the hospitality of the huskers was second to none.  A night game in Lincoln was somthing to see, too bad it ended the wa it did.  1997 mac championship Toledo at Marshall-  guessing on the year as I was about 10 but Randy Moss, opening play was 80 yd flea flicker, blizzard during the game as we got like 8 inches of snow during the game, again wrong team won but amazing game to be at.

go50blue

October 2nd, 2013 at 10:10 PM ^

We went to Miami for New Years..Awesome game!!! My 5 year old daugher was dressed in her M cheerleading outfit..she was photographed by ABC and the Alabama fans were taking pictures of her..you could tell they expected to win!!

M-Dog

October 2nd, 2013 at 10:20 PM ^

1997 at Penn State.  
 
That game and the Cap One bowl against Florida were the only times I was ever in awe of my own team.
 
Some impressions of the game:
 
I had 2 tickets from the DC alumni association.  My wife (girlfriend at the time) got sick and could not go.  I was just going to bag it . . . why schlep 3 hours in the rain by myself to see a game we are supposed to lose in a hostile environment? . . . but I decided at the last minute, WTF.  One of the best decisions I ever made.
 
Game time was at 3:30 on a gloomy, misty, cloudy day.  A real Big Ten football day.  Clocks had already been set back so it was getting dark already.  I was late so I had to listen to our first series on the radio.  It was a good drive, but ended only in a field goal.  When I got close to the stadium, I could see it lit up in the distance.  It looked like a battleship floating in the middle of the ocean in a storm.  It was eerie, yet stunnning.
 
When I made it into the stadium, Penn State was starting their first drive.  I entered the stadium at field level just in time to see McQueary "The Rooster" and his trick play blown up for a big loss, up close and personal.  After that, Michigan just unloaded.  We stopped every PSU drive and scored on all of our drives in the first half.  It looked like an NFL team against a high school team.
 
I sat in the upper deck which was new at the time.  The other deck was not built yet, so you could see Mount Nittany in the distance.  When it got into the middle of the 3rd quarter, what I vividly remember is the endless stream of taillights in the darkness, all leaving town in the dimming shadow of Mount Nittany.  Penn State had quit.  We Michigan fans started our own version of the Penn State cheer:  "Where is . . . Penn State?, Where is . . . Penn State?"
 
When the game was over, the team came over to the Michigan section near the end zone to celebrate with us.  That small section of fans was louder than the entire Big House on many football Saturdays.
 
After the game about 50 of us gathered around a guy with a portable TV to watch the end of the Nebraska-Missouri game.  Missouri was winning late in the fourth quarter.  We went nuts, up until the famous illegal kick that was recovered by Nebraska to force OT.  Once it went to OT we knew the writing was on the wall.  Game, Nebraska.
 
The game was broadcast on ABC and ESPN was doing a Judgement Day "Mini-Game Day" from Penn State.  (FSU and UNC were the other undefeated Judgement Day contestants).  Beno Cook was doing the PSU broadcast.  Earlier in the day, he stated that Michigan should not even bother to show up.  We should just send the band.  So we went over to the braodcast booth and let him have it good.  He was clearly embarassed by his earlier statements.  To calm us down, he informed us that he would be voting us #1 the next day, despite Nebraska's OT win and FSU's win.  We all kept sarcastically shouting "We love you Beno!" after that.  
 
I hit the bars after that, careful not to show too much of my Michigan sweatshirt under my coat.  But my Cat-that-ate-the-Canary grin gave me away all night.  I did not leave 
until so late that I had to find a flea-bag roadside motel near Harrisburg because I just could not stay awake any longer.  
 
Slept like a baby that night.
 

burtcomma

October 2nd, 2013 at 10:25 PM ^

Great game and that is the most dominant performance I have ever seen by a Michigan team in my memory since 1976!  Oh, do I wish I had been there! PSU is a great place to visit to see a game, and if you have never been there, be sure to go sometime and see a game there.  The whole atmosphere is stunning, and it is one of the most perfectly beautiful football game stadiums and settings you will ever see.

M-Dog

October 3rd, 2013 at 12:26 PM ^

Yep.  (Drove up from D.C., about 3 hours or so.)

It's never a problem at an away game because you'll always be able to meet up with Michgan fans who will treat you like a lost brother.  I would do it again for any Michigan away game, no matter how far away.

 

bluenectarine

October 3rd, 2013 at 1:36 PM ^

anyone at the 1997 PSU game says the same thing " Best away game ever" and we all have similar stories....but I have a unique story...My buddy and I get to the stadium and walk to our seats...we are in the Michigan section and we walk down our aisle. Sitting directly behind us are 4 pretty hot women holding up a sign that says "Our Beaver is Bigger than yours!"...NO JOKE!!...we end up talking to them and they say they have been and are going to every game seeing as this is their senior year...OK, hot chicks, smart &  into football....well then the game starts....Its first down and we gain two yards or something and one of the chicks turns the other and says to the other 3 "no big deal, we still got 2 downs and a draw will work perfect here"...I turned to my buddy and said " I wish I wasn't married!"

Bando Calrissian

October 2nd, 2013 at 10:12 PM ^

Rose Bowl ('07) and Penn State ('06) are 1A and 1B in my ranking.

OSU ('04 and '06) is a close second. ND ('06) squeaks in at third.

Been to East Lansing four times now, don't really feel a need to go back. Illinois was pretty awful, and Northwestern is nothing to write home about. Only been to Camp Randall for a hockey game, but it was pretty great. 

a2_electricboogaloo

October 2nd, 2013 at 10:12 PM ^

The only UofM football games I've only been to outside of the Big House is the Bama game and Ohio St. last year.  I think I'm bad luck.

Edit: I went to Michigan-Michigan St. in 2001. Yeah, I'm definitely bad luck

Bluemandew

October 3rd, 2013 at 9:17 AM ^

The 2001 michigan- michigan state game was not only my first road game but my first michigan football game ever. I grew up in the Lansing area and it was my senior year in high school. So dealing with Sparty b.s is my lot in life.  My dad told me he would buy tickets to any game I wanted to go to. I made the mistake of telling him that was the game. He shelled out 200 dollars a ticket to get us seats on the 50 half way up in the lower bowl. I still haven't recovered. God damn spartan Bob fu#@@##@@!!! Their I'm better now here is a picture of a cat.

LSAClassOf2000

October 2nd, 2013 at 10:16 PM ^

It may be for a strange reason, but when I think about it, the 2000 Michigan-Ohio State game in Columbus stands out. Not only did Drew Henson and Anthony Thomas make sme significant contributions that day, but it was the first trip that I took my then-girlfriend (now wife of 10 years) on. 

WingsNWolverines

October 2nd, 2013 at 10:16 PM ^

OSU game in Columbus when we beat them in the Shoe. God what a thrill that must have been to watch Cooper's last loss vs Michigan. 14 fucking years since we've won there.

burtcomma

October 2nd, 2013 at 10:20 PM ^

Sitting in the end zone as Remy Hamilton's kick landed right next to me and my buddy!  Just before, as Notre Dame was about to score the go ahead touchdown, the ND guy next to me asked us to move so they could rush the field and celebrate their victory.  He was very quiet and red as that kick from Hamilton sailed through the uprights!  Finally, a Michigan last second field goal to beat ND!!!!

Avon Barksdale

October 2nd, 2013 at 10:25 PM ^

2012 @ Purdue game

2011/12 Sugar Bowl



Out of those, I'd say the Sugar Bowl was better just because of the competition in the game. Trying to decide between Iowa or Northwestern this year.



I'll be driving from Tennessee. Wanted to go to Penn State but it's a trek and tickets are outrageous at the moment.

reshp1

October 2nd, 2013 at 10:26 PM ^

2011 in Evanston. I got married the day before and we went to the game with all my college buddies that came to the wedding. Kinda a depressing first half but hardly even noticed because it was so good seeing everybody. Then we reeled off like 24 unanswered points to win.