BYU Game Experience for those in attendance.

[CyCoug]

i wasn’t there, but maybe they should focus on having a competitive team instead of worrying about visiting fans. It would have been fun watching the a$$ whooping in person.

This feels like one of those Progressive Insurance commercials:

"Internet Message boards can be hard for young homeowners turning into their parents. Make sure to post in the relevant thread"

*** Official IOWA STATE vs BYU Game(Day) Thread *** | CycloneFanatic: The Internet's most popular site for fans of the Iowa State Cyclones

 

[Kinch]

It’s kinda nice having a school that actually appreciates being in the Big 12.

 

[CyValley]

The story I heard is that Melvin gave the crowd his middle finger because they called him the N word. Don't know for sure if this is true, but it makes sense to me because it was so out of character for Melvin to do that.

Rather than 'they,' might it have been one or two renegades rather than BYU fans at large? I don't know. I'm asking.

 

[crs8975]

I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and experience. We made a family vacation of the trip, used Amtrak and stayed in an AB&B.

The one theme that explains the experience more than anything is how "nice" everyone was. The BYU experience and fan base are first class.

I would highly recommend a BYU game trip to everyone who would ask. Next year we will go to Utah. It will be interesting to see the differences.

Utah is interesting. We attended a game back in 2018ish. The tailgating scene was a little more similar to ISU. Not sure how the fanbase will be to outsiders. Guess we'll find out!

 

[CyValley]

We made a family vacation of the trip, used Amtrak. . . .

Curious, I'm a railroad buff, was your Amtrak trip decent? Thanks.

 

[CyValley]

i wasn’t there, but maybe they should focus on having a competitive team instead of worrying about visiting fans. It would have been fun watching the a$$ whooping in person.

Well, when they beat our asses in a few years and still treat us with brownies and ice cream, maybe we'll learn an important lesson.

 

[ISU_Guy]

Curious, I'm a railroad buff, was your Amtrak trip decent? Thanks.

also intrigued on this.
was wondering how long it took and how much.

 

[Pope]

Rather than 'they,' might it have been one or two renegades rather than BYU fans at large? I don't know. I'm asking.

I don't know, but I'm guessing you're correct that it was just a few idiot fans.

 

[BCoffClone125]

I can't agree with others enough about how friendly everyone was. And it didn't feel passive-aggressive friendly like other places I've been too (looking at you KState), everyone was legitimately nice. I live in SLC and had some good conversations with some BYU fans at work today. They are ecstatic to be in the Big 12 - especially after being independent for so long. Clearly it will take them a while to get used to the challenge, but I think they will be fine long term.

Some highlights for me included:
-Free delicious brownies and cougar tail donuts
-The student section, noise and atmosphere were really good until the game got out of hand. Very impressed with the fan support in general
-The dance team, mascot and other things between breaks were really entertaining
-The bathrooms lines and general accessibility for getting around was great, especially for a full stadium
-We were able to leave at half and scan our tickets out like you do at JTS. Funny thing is, they didn't even scan us back into the game when we came in, probably because so many people were leaving
-In general, it was a top notch game day experience

P.S. - We had a crew of about 30 Cyclones roll up to the stadium in a party bus blasting the song "Shots". Got a lot of funny looks from the BYU fans for that one

 

[SleepyEyeCy]

Curious, I'm a railroad buff, was your Amtrak trip decent? Thanks.

I enjoyed the trip. It was my first experience riding Amtrak and I plan on taking it to SLC next year.

Sunday there was a derailed train West of Denver which shut down the tracks. We had about a 5 hour delay at a depot in Colorado then bussed to Denver to board for the rest of the trip. Travel delays happen all the time. It was no big deal and Amtrak was very pleasant to work with about the issue.

 

[cyIclSoneU]

It’s kinda nice having a school that actually appreciates being in the Big 12.

I forgot to mention this. I noticed this too. They run in pregame with people carrying flags for BYU, their student section's logo, USA, the state of Utah, and a Big 12 flag. They ran some Big 12 trivia on the ribbon video board throughout the game. I think multiple times the PA voiceover said something about "Welcome to Big 12 Football at LaVell Edwards Stadium." And I noticed at the establishments we went to in Provo (not the one bar, because I heard it was overwhelmed), Big 12 football was playing on the TVs. I even noticed Houston-Cincinnati was featured prominently on one television at the last spot we hit before heading to the stadium. They are all the way in on the Big 12 and thrilled to be here.

I think many of them will come to Kansas City in March, especially if BYU is good. They will be friendly and sober in Power & Light if they are not horrified by what they see from our fans first.

 

[JP4CY]

I forgot to mention this. I noticed this too. They run in pregame with people carrying flags for BYU, their student section's logo, USA, the state of Utah, and a Big 12 flag. They ran some Big 12 trivia on the ribbon video board throughout the game. I think multiple times the PA voiceover said something about "Welcome to Big 12 Football at LaVell Edwards Stadium." And I noticed at the establishments we went to in Provo (not the one bar, because I heard it was overwhelmed), Big 12 football was playing on the TVs. I even noticed Houston-Cincinnati was featured prominently on one television at the last spot we hit before heading to the stadium. They are all the way in on the Big 12 and thrilled to be here.

I think many of them will come to Kansas City in March, especially if BYU is good. They will be friendly and sober in Power & Light if they are not horrified by what they see from our fans first.

 

[Cyhig]

Reading the comments, it seems BYU fans and the game day atmosphere are very family friendly. If any BYU fans are still here, what is the game day like during the Holy War? Are BYU fans this friendly towards Utah fans? Would you bring your kids to the Holy War game?

 

[NWICY]

You could say that again - 1 bartender (& only 2 other staff in the place, besides maybe a cook somewhere) for what, ~150-200 people? There was a 15+ minute line every single time you needed another drink. Guessing they could have sold at least double if they had another couple people working. Only saw a couple people in BYU gear there, ha!

That has a tendency to happen, a long time ago that happened in Cincinnati when the ladies made the elite 8, bar was totally taken over they had no idea what hit them. Staff made a boatload of tips that day.

 

[NWICY]

I forgot to mention this. I noticed this too. They run in pregame with people carrying flags for BYU, their student section's logo, USA, the state of Utah, and a Big 12 flag. They ran some Big 12 trivia on the ribbon video board throughout the game. I think multiple times the PA voiceover said something about "Welcome to Big 12 Football at LaVell Edwards Stadium." And I noticed at the establishments we went to in Provo (not the one bar, because I heard it was overwhelmed), Big 12 football was playing on the TVs. I even noticed Houston-Cincinnati was featured prominently on one television at the last spot we hit before heading to the stadium. They are all the way in on the Big 12 and thrilled to be here.

I think many of them will come to Kansas City in March, especially if BYU is good. They will be friendly and sober in Power & Light if they are not horrified by what they see from our fans first.

Sober in P&L well that's a concept.

 

[cyIclSoneU]

Reading the comments, it seems BYU fans and the game day atmosphere are very family friendly. If any BYU fans are still here, what is the game day like during the Holy War? Are BYU fans this friendly towards Utah fans? Would you bring your kids to the Holy War game?

A BYU fan told us that they play the visiting team’s fight song before every game except Utah, and they also give out ice cream and brownies to the visitors section for every game except Utah.

 

[simply1]

I forgot to mention this. I noticed this too. They run in pregame with people carrying flags for BYU, their student section's logo, USA, the state of Utah, and a Big 12 flag. They ran some Big 12 trivia on the ribbon video board throughout the game. I think multiple times the PA voiceover said something about "Welcome to Big 12 Football at LaVell Edwards Stadium." And I noticed at the establishments we went to in Provo (not the one bar, because I heard it was overwhelmed), Big 12 football was playing on the TVs. I even noticed Houston-Cincinnati was featured prominently on one television at the last spot we hit before heading to the stadium. They are all the way in on the Big 12 and thrilled to be here.

I think many of them will come to Kansas City in March, especially if BYU is good. They will be friendly and sober in Power & Light if they are not horrified by what they see from our fans first.

They've been to Vegas quite a bit, I imagine they've seen things beyond what the P&L can offer.

 

[simply1]

There was a kid running around in a Hawkeye beanie and sweatshirt, I want to know who brought him!

 

[theshadow]

There was a kid running around in a Hawkeye beanie and sweatshirt, I want to know who brought him!

There's always one. Must be their version of the Washington State flag on GameDay.

 

[SleepyEyeCy]

also intrigued on this.
was wondering how long it took and how much.

The trip was 26 hours. We boarded at Osceola Thursday night at 8 and arrived in Provo Friday night at 11. We had a couple delays on the way out. Two medical emergencies which slowed us down. The way back we boarded at 4:30 am in Provo and arrived in Osceola around 10 am Monday. (There was a large derailment West of Denver which forced Amtrak to bus everyone to Denver where we boarded and finished the trip.)

Our tickets were around $60 each way for coach seating. We booked early in mid June which saved some money. We also took advantage of a 20% discount which came in a Facebook ad. You will get a lot of offers on Facebook once you start looking at Amtrak.

It was my first experience on Amtrak and there were travel delays but I am definitely doing it again. I don't fly, which would be faster so I usually drive everywhere. It would have been an 18-20 drive and probably a hotel stay each way. With Amtrak I just relaxed and enjoyed a leisurely ride through the Rockies.