The Minnesota away game experience

Submitted by PeteM on

Having just returned, I thought I'd share some thoughts about the Minnesota away game experience though it sounds like our next trip there is several years off.

First, on the positive side, Minnesota has a relatively new stadium with a brick facade and arched portals giving it a quasi-traditional feel.  The fans and stadium staff exude "Minnesota nice" (the ticket taker even said "go blue" while scanning my ticket).  Michigan travelled well, and you could tell that the Michigan sidelines and D heard us cheering them on during the last Gopher drive.

On the downside, the Gopher PA announcer made me really appreciate the Michigan experience.  He was an over-the-top homer without any compensating humor or charm reminding me of an infomertial host on speed.  He also, oddly, kept calling Drake Johnson what sounded like "Tony Johnson" (I see below he was saying "20 Johnson" -- my bad not his).  Michigan's announcers are -- I've been told -- instructed to avoid histrionics & extreme partisanship but the Minnesota guy missed that memo.  Also, the piped-in music was oppressively loud and relentless at least in the corner where one of the Michigan sections was.  They kept playing music at high volume after Jake or Wilton got to the line, which I imagine would have impacted to some extent either's ability to change the play if the music was nearly as ear-splitting on the field as it was in the stands (I understand noise is part of the home-field advantage but it should be crowd noise).

Anyway, it is a trip worth taking (the twin cities are great) and it was fun to see us bring back the jug.

LSAClassOf2000

November 1st, 2015 at 9:42 PM ^

".....son of Frothgar, leaves his home to seek Hangar the Elder at the home of Thorvald Nlodvisson, the son of Gudleif, half brother of Thorgier, the priest of Ljosa water, who took to wife Thurunn, the mother of Thorkel Braggart, the slayer of Cudround the powerful, who knew Howal, son of Geernon, son of Erik from Valdalesc, son of Arval Gristlebeard, son of Harken, who killed Bjortguaard in Sochnadale in Norway over Cudreed, daughter of Thorkel Long, the son of Kettle-Trout, the half son of Harviyoun Half-troll, father of Ingbare the Brave, who with Isenbert of Gottenberg the daughter of Hangbard the Fierce ..."

spigmoni

November 1st, 2015 at 10:06 PM ^

Friendly Gopher fan wearing one of those weird capes chatted us up walking into the stadium.  He mentioned that they lose money on it every year but they serve beer because the fans love it.  Not sure if that is a real stat or not, but I thought that was awesome.  Friendly fans for the most part.

WCHBlog

November 1st, 2015 at 10:39 PM ^

They lost money selling beer the first year because they got approval to sell at the last minute, so the infrastructure was kind of a mess and they way overdid it on security costs. Once they got the kinks worked out after the first year, I don't think they lose money on it anymore.

 

snarling wolverine

November 1st, 2015 at 8:59 PM ^

I don't know if it's an actual rule or just tradition, but yeah, our PA guys at Michigan Stadium have always been very neutral-sounding. The Crisler guy is more of a homer, and I don't care for him.

HailChicago

November 1st, 2015 at 9:07 PM ^

To your point, basketball PA announcers always tend to be more animated and bias...both college and NBA levels (the Pistons announcer mine as well be a hype man on a part bus). Don't think our guy at Crisler is anywhere out of the norm. The rules of the road are different as well as home teams can play music, beats, and sound effects during actual play.

flashOverride

November 1st, 2015 at 9:03 PM ^

I've road tripped to most of the B1G campuses for games and Minnesota was definitely a favorite. Granted, that was back in 1996 and they were still at the Metrodome, so it was a little different. I was also in ninth grade and so going to Mall of America was about enough to impress me on its own. 

UMProud

November 1st, 2015 at 9:03 PM ^

Minnesota fans are pretty good folks and I think are on parity with Michigan fans.  You can feel safe traveling there and not have to worry about a beer bottle being thrown at your head like is done in Columbus.

MH20

November 1st, 2015 at 9:34 PM ^

US Bank Stadium looks awesome up close.  The Green and Blue lines share a train stop right next to the stadium and it is quite an impressive sight.  The glass look on the side is really cool.

DrAwkward

November 1st, 2015 at 9:07 PM ^

Minneapolis is a nice city and I'mglad you enjoyed the game. I lived in Minnesota for one winter and it cured me of the desire ever to return. 

The people were nice, even the Minnesota fans treated me with class. But the weather was more than I could bear.

M-Dog

November 1st, 2015 at 11:15 PM ^

I had a business trip there once in January.  It was so cold, that the rental car windows were frosting up on the inside from our breath.  The guy I was with had to scrape the windshield on the inside as I was driving so that we could see.

I grew up in northern PA and went to school in Michigan, so I am no stranger to the cold.  But I have my limits.

BTW:  Was it cold there for a night game at the end of October?  It did not look like it was very cold.