Illinois is good but different. People who tailgate are grads and older people for the most part. Most students go to the bars before hand.
Best college tailgates by State
- Thread starter JP4CY
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Illinois is good but different. People who tailgate are grads and older people for the most part. Most students go to the bars before hand.
I feel like it's a real missed opportunity for Iowa St not to have a name for its tailgating like the outdoor cocktail party or the Grove.
We have the Haunted Forest bro
Tailgating, ISU wins. After the game, Austin wins. Unless you get too drunk and try to fight the cops on horses.
I lived in Chicago near downtown for 15 years and my office wasn't that far from Evanston.
I met two NW fans and one Illini fan the entire time. They just aren't a thing.
It is fun when Ohio State fans come into the city for a party to play NW and then they sulk around crying all night because NW beat them. I remember one year in particular it was hilarious seeing so many depressed Ohio State fans just completely lost wandering around the city depressed looking.
KSt has a decent tailgate scene and I had a blast with some of their fans at Farmageddon when we played at Arrowhead. But Ive also had a good time tailgating in Lawrence. After ISU bludgeoned KU one year, KU fans invited us to their outdoor house party like 300 feet from the stadium and we got hammered with them. I think KU tailgates could be better if more fans showed up. Right now though, I agree, EMAW is better even if their mascot is ****ing stupid.
And no matter where your friends, co workers, etc are, they are within walking distance. That’s not the case in Iowa ******.
Montana games and the tailgate scene are epic. They take Griz football seriously up there and cops pretty much don't enforce any kind of open container laws on game days. They don't really enforce anything. The bar scene in Missoula is also great after the games. The stadium is in the shadow of Mt. Jumbo and the scenery is fantastic. Every game is packed and their mascot always used to be in national mascot of the year contention and was always doing super dangerous and awesome stuff.
I have a couple buddies that played for UNI and they played out there. Said it’s a really awesome atmosphere and place to play. People spilling drinks on them on the sidelines during the game got annoying though!
Never done much of the lawn stuff but for a 'bar' scene the best spot was Rocky Rococo's lot. Had lots of good beer on tap, grilled food, short lines, and outdoor TVs to take in whatever game was on. Also close enough to Camp Randall if going to the game.
Yeah, no. The average age of a KSU tailgater is about 70. As for KU...what else do they have to do other than tailgate...certainly not go into the stadium.
I honestly don't know any Iowa fan that has tried to debate that Iowa tailgating is better than ISU. If you know the right people to park in their yard you might have a great time, but I have heard from plenty of people complaining how bad the tailgating/parking situation is over there. Everyone who comes to an ISU game essentially has the same experience. You are going to park relatively close to the stadium and be surrounded by a bunch of other tailgaters having a good time.
My thoughts based on trips I've made:
-Iowa's tailgating is really fun if you get in with the right group in the right place. It's ******* awful if you're in the wrong place. Where ISU beats Iowa is in ease of access and convenience. The intensity and passion behind the tailgates is pretty similar. Iowa's an upper tier tailgating school, we're just a little better.
-KSU is better than KU, but KU actually has a really fun gameday atmosphere. No one really gives a **** and there isn't a big set of tailgates at the stadium, but there are fun little neighborhood bars in that part of Lawrence (it reminds me of West Ames and places like Thumbs and Mothers) that draw a big game day crowd. Go to Lawrence, get $5 tickets, and bar hop from Louise's West (great Bloodys), Rick's, The Jayhawk, and The Wheel and tell me you don't have a good time. KSU's set up is extremely similar to ours, but a little smaller and just a little less fun, IMO. I realize it's weird that I'd say KSU is better and spend all this time talking up KU.
-Never been to OU, but I really like OSU's tailgating. Kind of like ours, but not quite as open or extensive.
-The State of Texas is a coin flip between A&M and UT. A&M has a better set up, I'd say, as it's a lot like ours. UT has a decent set up, plus you have the option of hitting Austin places. The local Austin Cyclone club does a phenomenal job of hosting a tailgate, and that may cloud my opinion too.
-I just realized that they ranked Marshall as the best tailgate in West Virginia. Someone is trying to piss off WVU fans. WVU arguably has a better tailgate scene than we do. Arguably.
-Iowa's tailgating is really fun if you get in with the right group in the right place. It's ******* awful if you're in the wrong place. Where ISU beats Iowa is in ease of access and convenience. The intensity and passion behind the tailgates is pretty similar. Iowa's an upper tier tailgating school, we're just a little better.
-KSU is better than KU, but KU actually has a really fun gameday atmosphere. No one really gives a **** and there isn't a big set of tailgates at the stadium, but there are fun little neighborhood bars in that part of Lawrence (it reminds me of West Ames and places like Thumbs and Mothers) that draw a big game day crowd. Go to Lawrence, get $5 tickets, and bar hop from Louise's West (great Bloodys), Rick's, The Jayhawk, and The Wheel and tell me you don't have a good time. KSU's set up is extremely similar to ours, but a little smaller and just a little less fun, IMO. I realize it's weird that I'd say KSU is better and spend all this time talking up KU.
-Never been to OU, but I really like OSU's tailgating. Kind of like ours, but not quite as open or extensive.
-The State of Texas is a coin flip between A&M and UT. A&M has a better set up, I'd say, as it's a lot like ours. UT has a decent set up, plus you have the option of hitting Austin places. The local Austin Cyclone club does a phenomenal job of hosting a tailgate, and that may cloud my opinion too.
-I just realized that they ranked Marshall as the best tailgate in West Virginia. Someone is trying to piss off WVU fans. WVU arguably has a better tailgate scene than we do. Arguably.
Yeah, almost all of my Iowa fan friends who came to our tailgates in Ames concede that ISU is a better tailgate scene.
I've never met anyone that tailgated at an ISU game and wasn't impressed.
