College football fans: Sitting in the home section as a visitor?

[tarheelmjfan]

We go to a lot of away games, albeit more basketball than football. Football fans can be much more hostile, but we've never let it deter us from wearing our team shirts or buying the best seat available, which is often in the middle of the season ticket holders. I wouldn't hesitate to wear a shirt representing my team. You won't be the only one.

 

[MillauFr]

The catch is that, being as how the client is a season ticket holder at the host school, these prime seats are in the heart of the home section.

The answer to your question is it depends. If you are wearing Vanderbilt jerseys at an away game no one is going to bother you. They will probably buy you beers in sympathy.

 

[Allison]

I would dress neutrally due to the tickets being a gift from a client more than any other reason. Otherwise, go and have fun.

 

[michellej47]

I have only gone to UGA games so I just assumed what I experienced there was what I would experience at any college game. Sad to hear that other team fans sound like they are just mean.

Honestly, the only time I've ever experienced issues is at Clemson. When I was in school at USC, I was in the marching band. Every year we went to Clemson, their fans would throw pieces of raw chicken at us as we marched into the stadium.

All schools have terrible fans. But all schools also have great fans. You just have to find the good ones!

 

[WEDWDW]

Honestly, the only time I've ever experienced issues is at Clemson. When I was in school at USC, I was in the marching band. Every year we went to Clemson, their fans would throw pieces of raw chicken at us as we marched into the stadium.

All schools have terrible fans. But all schools also have great fans. You just have to find the good ones!

This.

Wearing visiting team attire in the home team seats will be a crapshoot depending in large part on the "type" of home team fans in the area.

Could go splendidly and could turn out extremely unpleasant.

The "tenor" of the game as it plays out will be an huge factor.

 

[MillauFr]

Could go splendidly and could turn out extremely unpleasant.

Do you think it would be unpleasant for a visiting Vanderbilt fan? I doubt it. You would get sympathy not derision.

On the other hand if you were an Alabama fan wearing a jersey and sat in the home section for Auburn I doubt if you would make it out unscathed.

 

[NotUrsula]

The answer to your question is it depends. If you are wearing Vanderbilt jerseys at an away game no one is going to bother you. They will probably buy you beers in sympathy.

The game is at Mizzou.

I'll come clean at this point and admit that I'm an LSU alum, since someone quietly busted me anyway. (There are posters here who knew, but I was trying to initially get a more neutral opinion, since I haven't attended a game in quite a while.) While I've attended games at many other long-time SEC stadiums, I always sat on the visitor's side, so my only home-side SEC experience was in Baton Rouge.

As has been noted, in Death (sometimes Deaf!) Valley, the home fans can be a wee bit ... intense, even in the money seats. (FWIW, the stadium itself feeds that. The structure of the place holds & amplifies sound & vibration, so much so that just being there jacks your adrenaline way up. Home games have set off the seismographs on campus a few times.)
Also, FTR, I hate the "Neck" chant.

For some reason, DH always seems to choose to wear green whenever we attend one of my alumni events. He didn't go to Tulane, but people tend to assume that he did, and they do razz him about it. If he sticks to his pattern this time I expect the assumption will be that he went to WashU, which isn't correct, either--he just likes green.

 

[LSUmiss]

I remember from WAAAAAAAY back in the day, some of my friends went to a "bowl game" where University of Illinois was apparently getting their butts handed to them by LSU. I do not know where they were sitting, but the LSU fans were taunting them and threatening them. It was not only good enough for the ballgame to be lopsided, they had to badger the Illinois fans as well

I was at the game! It was in Nola in the super dome. Sometimes you get “fans” in the dome that you don’t usually have in tiger stadium. They tend to be a different crowd.

 

[Music City Mama]

I'm that kind of dinosaur; when I was a student we routinely wore suits and heels to football games, for all the world like it was a job interview (though it generally *was* a big date night.)

This is still a thing... I wouldn't say business entire (except fraternity pledges wearing their blazers/ties), but lots of polo shirts and female students wearing dresses and heels or cowboy boots.

 

[LSUmiss]

The game is at Mizzou.

I'll come clean at this point and admit that I'm an LSU alum, since someone quietly busted me anyway. (There are posters here who knew, but I was trying to initially get a more neutral opinion, since I haven't attended a game in quite a while.) While I've attended games at many other long-time SEC stadiums, I always sat on the visitor's side, so my only home-side SEC experience was in Baton Rouge.

As has been noted, in Death (sometimes Deaf!) Valley, the home fans can be a wee bit ... intense, even in the money seats. (FWIW, the stadium itself feeds that. The structure of the place holds & amplifies sound & vibration, so much so that just being there jacks your adrenaline way up. Home games have set off the seismographs on campus a few times.)
Also, FTR, I hate the "Neck" chant.

For some reason, DH always seems to choose to wear green whenever we attend one of my alumni events. He didn't go to Tulane, but people tend to assume that he did, and they do razz him about it. If he sticks to his pattern this time I expect the assumption will be that he went to WashU, which isn't correct, either--he just likes green.

lol! I seriously doubt you will have too much trouble there. And yes “neck” is just gross & weird imo. Wear gold if you feel like you need to blend in more or a tiger print shirt lol. But, even in tiger stadium, that atmosphere & energy is usually directed at the field & not the individual fans in the stands. I know it happens, but like a pp said, everywhere has that potential to have bad fans. One of the funniest group of away fans we ever had by us were some Mizzou college kids. It was when Fournette was on our team. Those kids were a hoot. Our tickets are a few rows down from away tickets & we have never had any problems with Mizzou, UGA, TN, Vandy, A&M (although annoying imo ), South Carolina, Kentucky. Arkansas, or State. The others well…

Worst experiences I’ve had in away stadiums were at ole miss, auburn, & Florida. At ole miss, it was a CHILD, taunting us & not in a cute, good-nature way. Don’t get me started on them!! Lol!

Enjoy the game & Geaux Tigers!

 

[LSUmiss]

This is still a thing... I wouldn't say business entire (except fraternity pledges wearing their blazers/ties), but lots of polo shirts and female students wearing dresses and heels or cowboy boots.

Yeah but not usually neutral colors. You can usually tell which team they’re for.

 

[bcla]

I've never had a nor seen a problem anywhere unless it was someone deliberately looking for trouble. Not even at an NFL game.

I had a season ticket years including different sections. One was in the "young alumni" section which was typically next to the visiting team section allotment.

If you watch a game on TV you'll typically see someone dressed for the visiting team in a sea of home team fans. People buy spare tickets and resales, and it's likely going to be where there are a lot of home fans.

Just be respectful and you should be fine. That doesn't mean you can't cheer for your team, but obviously don't act rude and of course don't take too much offense with the home crowd (I've seen this before) and those are the ones deliberately looking for trouble.

 

[NotUrsula]

lol! I seriously doubt you will have too much trouble there. And yes “neck” is just gross & weird imo. Wear gold if you feel like you need to blend in more or a tiger print shirt lol. But, even in tiger stadium, that atmosphere & energy is usually directed at the field & not the individual fans in the stands. I know it happens, but like a pp said, everywhere has that potential to have bad fans. One of the funniest group of away fans we ever had by us were some Mizzou college kids. It was when Fournette was on our team. Those kids were a hoot. Our tickets are a few rows down from away tickets & we have never had any problems with Mizzou, UGA, TN, Vandy, A&M (although annoying imo ), South Carolina, Kentucky. Arkansas, or State. The others well…

Worst experiences I’ve had in away stadiums were at ole miss, auburn, & Florida. At ole miss, it was a CHILD, taunting us & not in a cute, good-nature way. Don’t get me started on them!! Lol!

Enjoy the game & Geaux Tigers!

Eh, I cut the Aggies some slack; the jokes are brutal, after all.

Most college football fans I know here in the midwest think the SEC student habit of dressing up for games is bizarre, to say the least; here they tend to stick to jeans and hoodies. (I can remember clear as a bell the night it poured for the Tulane game in 1980; it was insanely cold that night, too. I was wearing a wool suit with a long full skirt, knee-high boots and a cashmere sweater underneath [with pearls, of course, LOL], and boy, was I glad of it. I've still got that warm sweater!)

 

[Skip Coffee for Rope Drop]

I'm a college football fan, and the SEC is my home conference. I haven't been to a home game in decades because I moved halfway across the country right after school, and up until recently my school never played anywhere near where I now live, and single-game home tickets are nearly impossible to get, anyway, so going home for games never was a very viable option. I've really missed the fun of going to games, and my DH, who went to a non-football school, knew that I did.

My team is playing 2 hours away from here in a few weeks, and I was debating springing for tickets. DH surprised me before I could do so: he scored a free pair of prime seats from a client. (I mean, REALLY prime seats.) The catch is that, being as how the client is a season ticket holder at the host school, these prime seats are in the heart of the home section.

Naturally, I gratefully accepted the tickets; it was a very generous gift. However, I'm a bit afraid of how the experience is going to go. I know SEC D1 football, and IME, visitors are not really welcome in the home seats, especially in the good ones. I plan to dress neutrally (which is killing me) and try to contain my vocal enthusiasm for my side, but still ...

So, has anyone BT/DT? I need some perspective.

if you are going to a noon game in prime seats you should be fine but a night game at LSU, BAMA, etc it is different. Also remember that the ticket gets you in the venue and maybe in the second half you can go other side and sit with your school's fans. Also keep in mind that if the tickets are prime from a season ticket holder, the people around you most likely know the client and have been sitting with him for years (like in Fever Pitch with Jimmy Fallon/Drew B). the older you are, the more likely you wont be bothered and tell them that you are a local if they do.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I'm a college football fan, and the SEC is my home conference. I haven't been to a home game in decades because I moved halfway across the country right after school, and up until recently my school never played anywhere near where I now live, and single-game home tickets are nearly impossible to get, anyway, so going home for games never was a very viable option. I've really missed the fun of going to games, and my DH, who went to a non-football school, knew that I did.

My team is playing 2 hours away from here in a few weeks, and I was debating springing for tickets. DH surprised me before I could do so: he scored a free pair of prime seats from a client. (I mean, REALLY prime seats.) The catch is that, being as how the client is a season ticket holder at the host school, these prime seats are in the heart of the home section.

Naturally, I gratefully accepted the tickets; it was a very generous gift. However, I'm a bit afraid of how the experience is going to go. I know SEC D1 football, and IME, visitors are not really welcome in the home seats, especially in the good ones. I plan to dress neutrally (which is killing me) and try to contain my vocal enthusiasm for my side, but still ...

So, has anyone BT/DT? I need some perspective.

SEC fan here. At the venue of my team (UK), our fans generally treat opposing fans with respect and some good-natured ribbing. But if you show up like Puddy in the Seinfeld New Jersey Devils episode and make an *** of yourself, it may not go well.

 

[NotUrsula]

if you are going to a noon game in prime seats you should be fine but a night game at LSU, BAMA, etc it is different. Also remember that the ticket gets you in the venue and maybe in the second half you can go other side and sit with your school's fans. Also keep in mind that if the tickets are prime from a season ticket holder, the people around you most likely know the client and have been sitting with him for years (like in Fever Pitch with Jimmy Fallon/Drew B). the older you are, the more likely you wont be bothered and tell them that you are a local if they do.

My understanding is that they are family legacy tickets; they've been passed down since before WW2. I expect the area will be kind of multi-generational, but yes, I'm pretty sure that the people around us will know the folks who so kindly are letting us use them. That was part of my concern; I didn't want people ragging the owners later about giving their seats to the enemy.

I'm never rude at games in any case, but I do tend to cheer a lot. I'm just hoping to avoid causing repercussions for yelling "Geaux Tigers" when the wrong side scores. (It's so weird contemplating going to a major game where both teams have the same mascot and overlapping colors, too. At least with Auburn you can pick one of the aliases, LOL.)

No word yet on what the kickoff time is; I suspect it's slated to be televised, pending the results of weeks 4 & 5. I normally much prefer night games, but with a bit of a drive involved I'll be fine if it's in the middle of the day.

 

[Kestryl]

Maybe it's because I'm from a Big 10 school and have never been to an SEC game, but I would show up in my own side's gear and not worry at all. My spouse is a fan of a different Big 10 school. He'd have no problem showing up in his side's gear.

If the fans want to be trash, then maybe security can have a fun chat with them.

 

[mqwho]

My understanding is that they are family legacy tickets; they've been passed down since before WW2. I expect the area will be kind of multi-generational, but yes, I'm pretty sure that the people around us will know the folks who so kindly are letting us use them. That was part of my concern; I didn't want people ragging the owners later about giving their seats to the enemy.

I'm never rude at games in any case, but I do tend to cheer a lot. I'm just hoping to avoid causing repercussions for yelling "Geaux Tigers" when the wrong side scores. (It's so weird contemplating going to a major game where both teams have the same mascot and overlapping colors, too. At least with Auburn you can pick one of the aliases, LOL.)

No word yet on what the kickoff time is; I suspect it's slated to be televised, pending the results of weeks 4 & 5. I normally much prefer night games, but with a bit of a drive involved I'll be fine if it's in the middle of the day.

War Eagle! This is kind of similar seating to where we sat last year with LSU fans in our section. We were in the retired AU employee ticket holder section so some of those are really legacy seats as well.

We didn’t mind the other Tigers being around us too much. There was one particularly intoxicated group, but they left before the second quarter ended bc they’d imbibed too much. Hope you enjoy your game!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

This is still a thing... I wouldn't say business entire (except fraternity pledges wearing their blazers/ties), but lots of polo shirts and female students wearing dresses and heels or cowboy boots.

I think this is mostly an SEC thing. Have you seen girls wearing dresses & heels at any other schools?

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Eh, I cut the Aggies some slack; the jokes are brutal, after all.

Most college football fans I know here in the midwest think the SEC student habit of dressing up for games is bizarre, to say the least; here they tend to stick to jeans and hoodies. (I can remember clear as a bell the night it poured for the Tulane game in 1980; it was insanely cold that night, too. I was wearing a wool suit with a long full skirt, knee-high boots and a cashmere sweater underneath [with pearls, of course, LOL], and boy, was I glad of it. I've still got that warm sweater!)

I replied to the post above, before reading your post. We go to ACC games & I've never seen a fan in heels. If you see a dress, it's a skimpy sundress. Like you said above, it's mostly jeans, t-shirts & hoodies.