For the past several years, the SEC has led the nation in attendance by consistently having more than one million fans pass through its gates every year. No conference has better fans or venues in which to watch a game.
Having had the opportunity to visit almost all of the stadiums, here is a ranking of the venues of SEC teams by division.
SEC East
1. Neyland Stadium (University of Tennessee)
This is the biggest SEC Stadium and, depending on which way the wind is blowing, in some years the biggest stadium in the country.
There is nothing more entertaining than listening to 100,000 people sing "Rocky Top" in unison.
Lose a game at UT as a visitor, and I promise you too will know all the words. Plus, at UT you can tailgate in a boat as part of the Volunteer Navy. That, like the Vols, is hard to beat.
2. Ben Hill-Griffin Stadium (University of Florida)
I think this and Sanford Stadium are interchangeable in the Eastern division rankings.
I'll give Florida the edge, though, because it has a great nickname in "The Swamp."
Watching Florida fans do the Gator Chomp before a kickoff is pretty impressive. It's also a good site to see the Gator faithful enjoy "We are the Boys" before the Fourth Quarter of games.
3. Sanford Stadium (University of Georgia)
My alma mater! Here's a confession of a UGA alum: Georgia's fan base is a pretty wine and cheese crowd at home games.
The fans are a little too reactive and not very proactive.
However, the stadium is beautiful and the atmosphere at UGA games is great.
Last year for the "blackout" game against Auburn was as great a home crowd as you could ever want.
- B/R Ticket Guide
The stadium boasts the nation's best live mascot, Uga, and also a graveyard for his predecessors. Okay, I can admit: that's a little creepy.
4. Williams-Brice Stadium (University of South Carolina)
South Carolina by far has the best fans in the country. Hands down, no questions asked.
The Gamecocks have never won a conference championship, but their fans continuously show up in droves of more than 80,000 at every home game in Columbia.
Watching the Gamecocks come out to 2000: A Space Odyssey is a must-see for any fan. The only drawback is that the stadium is not on campus, so it doesn't have the appeal to the eye that some of the other stadiums do.
5. Commonwealth Stadium (University of Kentucky)
This is a beautiful stadium, too. However, it's the second-smallest in the division and thus gets the next-to-last ranking.
6. Vanderbilt Stadium (Vanderbilt University)
This stadium isn't very great. It's a patchwork mess of metal bleachers and is generally inhabited by more visiting fans than home fans.
That said, it's in downtown Nashville and so it has a lot of nice things to look at...including Vandy co-eds. They got their daddy's money and their momma's good looks...
SEC West
1. Tiger Stadium (LSU)
This is a fantastic place to watch a game. While South Carolina may have the "best" fans, LSU has the most intense.
There is probably no louder stadium in the country than LSU at night. If you've never seen the tape of the "Earthquake Game", get on youtube and check it out immediately.
2. Bryant-Denny Stadium (University of Alabama)
Alabama is also a great place to watch a game. I went to a game in 2002 in Tuscaloosa and the fans were just amazing.
'Bama scored on a Charlie Peprah interception and I literally could not hear myself think. I thought that phrase only existed in theory, but it's actually true. When the PA plays "Sweet Home Alabama," it's amazing.
Side note: If you go to a game at Alabama, you may think Bear Bryant still coaches there. I googled it and apparently he does not.
3. Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn University)
This is also a great place to watch a game. Jordan-Hare is probably one of the more picturesque stadiums in the country along with Sanford Stadium.
The design is great and the fans are great. However, don't joke about rolling Toomer's Corner around Auburn fans if your team wins. I almost didn't make it out of there in 1996 or 2002.
4. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (University of Mississippi)
The Grove is probably one of the best places to tailgate in all the country.
It's also a nice touch that Archie Manning's No. 18 serves as the speed limit around campus.
And, as noted above, Ole Miss has beautiful co-eds. The stadium isn't very big, however, and there's just not a whole lot to do in Oxford. It's a great town, though, and a must-do trip for any SEC fan.
5. Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium (University of Arkansas)
This stadium isn't as big and loud as most of the others and just doesn't have the great feel that some of the others do.
6. Scott Field (Mississippi State University)
I like Blue Oyster Cult as much as anyone, but I do not need more cowbell.
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5 months ago
bryan just a comment about bleacher report. don't write and article on which someone else has written about say a couple of weeks ago and pretend to be original. just comment on their article. it looks bad. i know you joined three days ago, but that is sort of the unwritten rule here. and the "wine and cheese" comment came straight of the comments on the other article. you are forgiven since you are a dawg but you are also dead wrong about ut and neyland. besides being old and very tight seating, it is also several thousand seats smaller than michigan. and given the tight seating arrangements , it makes you wonder what are the horzontal dimensions of seats in SEC stadiums? now that would be original and you have my permssion to pursue an article about the idea.
5 months ago
My bad...I searched specifically for it and didn't find anything before I wrote it.
5 months ago
as long as the intent is not to blatantly copy someone else's article, i don't see a problem with similar articles.
every idea in the world is someone else's originally. but with similar phrasing i can see what you mean. i guess i tend to give people the benefit of the doubt.
when writing my "top 20 fight songs" article, i searched it about 4 different ways b/c i was worried about plagiarism but nevertheless i wasn't writing with the attempt of stealing someone else's idea.
i don't know if i would have continued on with that piece had i found something similar. depends on the style in which it is written i guess. but i in no way claimed to have invented the wheel with that article and feel confident enough in my work that if someone else wants to write their own fight song list, then go ahead.
especially with lists. they're fun and easy and can be an engaging read while sparking debate.
but if someone writes a "best live mascots" list (Mike VI would have trouble picking UGA's sweater out of his teeth btw) it wouldn't be the first one ever, maybe just the first one on B/R (i'm not sure i didn't actually do a search for this topic).
blatant copying and pasting without citing is wrong and so is taking someone else's idea, style, manner of delivery, point of view, and analysis and passing it off as your own, but if one of those factors is different (such as point of view) i don't see a problem with it. just my 2 cents (not that you asked for it)
i basically think (like with homocide) intent plays a big role.
5 months ago
I can't imagine anything being harder on my ass than neyland stadium. Ben Hill Griffin is far better, and I am an Alabama fan.
BamaNation
http://www.bamanation.net
5 months ago
I, for one, like the article and agree with Justin (@3) that, unless the article is a blatant copy, I say go for it.
As a Vol, I am honored that you would put Neyland at No. 1. I will also agree with John (@ 1) that the seating is tight, and the stadium was built when God was a boy. Fortunately, Tennessee is in the midst of a major renovation of the stadium (ala' Ohio State's remodel of the Horseshoe) which has already made major improvements in terms of seating, concourse areas, and overall fan comfort / enjoyability.
More on point, however, I think you are selling Sanford Stadium short. I would easily put it above Ben Hill Griffin, mainly because of the way it is nestled down into the valley. I have always found the fan reactions at Sanford to be really great. Having been to both Florida and Georgia numerous times, I would reverse them.
As for the SEC West -- you are dead on with LSU at the top. You called them "the most intense" I would call them the "drunkest" fans in the SEC (and I mean no insult with that comment). I have been there for both Tennessee games as well as an Alabama vs. LSU game, and I had a blast. The LSU faithful stay excited regardless of the outcome of the game -- in fact I'm pretty sure that some aren't even aware there is a game going on.
Oh yeah, your Mississippi State analysis ... priceless (and completely accurate).
Nice piece.
from 5 months ago
Thanks for the good words. Honestly I put Sanford behind BHG so as not to smack of blatant homerism. I think Florida has louder fans and so that is why I put them above UGA, though.
I hate that I love the UT fight song. But damn it's great.
from 5 months ago
I must say that I am also glad to see that I am not the only shyster (a/k/a lawyer) on Bleacher Report. Of course if they get too many of us, we'll give the place a bad name.
5 months ago
I was at the earthquake game...it was an awful way to lose a game, after leading for most of the game, they scored the winning TD in the closing moments, but trust me, it is as loud as advertized! There is no better venue is all of sports than a big showdown in Death Valley.
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