OT: Anyone ever been to a game at Maryland?
So I just decided that im going to go to the MD Vs. Rutgers game this weekend. Has anyone ever been to a game in College Park?
I know the town and the team suck, but does anyone know where the good pregames (the main reason im going) are or things to avoid in particular?
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:33 PM ^
as a matter of fact I have. There are bars, The Green Turtle, along the main strip (Route 1) that you can hit, but the hike to the stadium is kind of a bear. My advice would be to drop some cash on a case of beer and tailgate. There are plenty of places around the stadium to do so.
And, keep your expectations very, very low. The atmosphere inside the stadium is so far removed from Ann Arbor it's like another planet of football.
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:43 PM ^
UMD can be fun if the proper amount of alcohol is consumed.
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:45 PM ^
Things to avoid: Maryland fans.
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:33 PM ^
A lot of Maryland fans are really, really disgusting human beings.
When Duke played at Maryland last year and a Duke player (think it was Gerald Henderson) was down on the floor for a significant amount of time, in clear pain, possibly seriously injured, there was sustained clapping and cheering by most of their student section.
There's also their clever and classy cheers, such as "Fuck you, J.J.!" *clap-clap clap-clap-clap" which last year was recycled for Kyle Singler.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:11 PM ^
that ran into a monster pick by Dave Neal (no foul), play did not stop and then Neal hit a 3 at the other end. The cheering was for Neal's basket, not because of the injury.
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:45 PM ^
call me biased, but although the team sucks their punter Travis Baltz is damn good and on the Ray Guy watch list. Reminds me a lot of last year...
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:02 PM ^
Are not that bad. Agree with the comments above, bring beer and low expectations for the tailgate, you are not in the Midwest anymore. As my wife said at her first Michigan game this year (Notre Dame), Holy Sh!t.
FYI, upper deck seats can get chilly to cold from the wind. Take more layers than you would expect and drink heavily before. On a postive note, if you come in by the golf course, you can get out of the area pretty easy.
One additional note, if you have any ladies attending, bathrooms can be less than optimal.
If you are looking for a college bar, sorry don't know your age, Bentley's on route one is good. However, as noted above, it is a real hike to the game.
Enjoy, as a Maryland Grad School Alum, it has been my fix between limited trips back home for the good stuff.
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:13 PM ^
and am again, mostly going for the alcohol...I was more or less wondering about anything that is really cool on gameday, but its sounding pretty meh.
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:18 PM ^
Enjoy the beer, it appears the Maryland product has went the way of the Fridge's weight.
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:39 PM ^
A pretty small campus that had its share of highs and lows. We used some Yuengling to mingle into a great tailgate that towed a huge smoker over from the Baltimore area, and we had some good pork bbq... and after the game we stopped in some crab joint off the main drag (can't remember the street, sorry) that had a really unique old bay dry rub. I was pretty impressed with the basketball building, but Byrd stadium is kinda meh.
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:51 PM ^
is a great B-Ball site, but I miss Cole Field House. Nothing like two bathrooms and 90 degrees in Jan and Feb.
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:56 PM ^
Went to GT/MD in 2007 and came away unimpressed. Pregame was just parking lot drinking and the game experience was forgettable. Their hoops fans are ravenous, but even with a GT shirt on after a close GT loss, I didn't have any issues with the football fans.
Can't say the same for 'Skins fans though - the next day, I went to the Lions/Skins game with my Calvin Johnson jersey on and have never had so many people yell at me. I'm like, "Dude, we're the LIONS...why are you even wasting your energy heckling?" (Actually, to be fair, the Lions were like 3-or-4 and 1 at that point.)
September 23rd, 2009 at 12:03 AM ^
As a Maryland student, I can say that if there is one thing our fans do well, it's be blindly loyal to a bunch of underachieving, terrible teams to the point that we are huge assholes (often to dangerous levels) to opposition fans. Classless? Yep that's us. If there is a second thing we do well, it's drink. If you know somebody at the school, the best place to pregame is somebody's tailgate (I am usually obliterated at my fraternity's weekly get-together by kickoff). Lot 1 is a sea of tailgaters and the ground is usually covered in crushed beer cans (often Natty Light). But if you don't know anybody, there are many fine alcohol emporiums around town...the best for pre-football are Cornerstone and Bentley's.
If you're lucky (and I don't think it will be happening for the Rutgers game), the Church lot, on the other side of Lot 1, is like what Woodstock would have been if it was full of drunk college kids wallowing in beer instead of dirty hippies in the mud giving each other chlamydia. Different strokes, I guess...