Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Houses of Pain



There are so many great college stadiums all around the country. On fall saturdays many of them can get pretty noisy. Some of them so loud, and so massive, all opposing fans and players fear them. Here are my type 5 houses of pain


5: Lane Stadium. Blacksburg ,VA

Seats: 66,233

opened originally in: 1965

Okay 66,233 is 20,000 less then some of these other places. But if you have ever visited Lane Stadium on a game day you would get why it is on the top 5 list. This stadium gets most crazy on thursday nights, as Va Tech always hosts a thursday night game annually. These fans could be considered nocturnal, because they just come out like crazy at night. The rabid fans are what really make coming to this place a very loud, magically bad experience for away teams and fans. Caution away fans, the Hokie faithful are just a little territorial. So do not be asking to share some food from there tailgate with you. You will most likely end walking away with a black eye.



4: The Horseshoe. Columbus ,OH

Seats: 102,329

opened originally in: 1922

With a massive stadium, crazy fans, and a great team. Ohio State’s “Shoe” is my 4th toughest place to play. Ohio is a football state. It always has been, always will be. The Buckeyes are the Kings of Ohio. Fans of Ohio State are everywhere, in any part of the country. And on saturdays in the fall 100,000 plus of them flock to Columbus to see their Buckeyes. These fans do not need the dimming light to bring them out of their shell. they are always charged and ready to go. The combination of a great team, great fans, and a massive stadium, and a great team make this place a nightmare for visitors.


3: Neyland Stadium. Knoxville, TN

Seats: 102,459

opened originally in: 1921

The shear number of fans that can attend a game in Knoxville make it number 3 on the list. At a game in 2004 against Florida, there were 109,000 plus fans in attendance. This program has a great history. With a great fan base. The stadium itself has the intimidation factor. It is enclosed from all sides. Not at whole lot can be said about it. It is one of those places you must be there to know. Neyland Stadium, the Vol’s team and Tennessee fans embody college football.


2:The Swamp. Gainesville, FL

Seats: 88,548

opened originally in: 1930

This house of pain is maybe the most electrifying place in all the land. These fans are crazy. They just have a buzz to them as does the stadium. The town of Gainesville will carry that electric buzz on any given saturday in the fall. And with an always stacked team these fans always have something to cheer about. Tebow was the crowd favorite as these fans look for a new player to love and give the gators another national championship to imprint on the hallowed orange walls of the swamp.



1:Death Valley. Baton Rouge, LA

Seats: 92,400

opened originally in: 1924

Tiger Stadium was originally nicknamed Deaf Valley. I don’t have to tell you why. These fans are some of the kindest you will ever meet. They will not hesitate to share some of their gumbo with opposing fans. But once it is game time, they make Death Valley the toughest place to play in the country. It is literally a valley all the way around the stadium. On top of that, the eye of the tiger is imprinted at mid field. It is the toughest, most intimidating place to play in the country. And the Tigers do feel right at home there. With a (.713) winning average at home its no secret the Tigers like to settle in. They will get up early on you, and do not let you back up. These crazy fans alone have the ability to make games at Death Valley more exciting. Opposing players will know when they step foot in that stadium, that they have entered a house of pain.- Josh Neighbors

1 comment:

  1. you missed one when adrian peterson came to oregon he said it was the loudest place he has ever played ... thats coming from a big 12 player who has seen texas nebraska and oklahoma

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