CBS Sportsline is doing a poll on the best stadiums in the country. They are releasing one stadium a day (so far they have listed #'s 10,9,8). Not surprisingly, the first 3 have all been SEC schools #10 Georgia #9 Auburn #8 Alabama The SEC has plenty of great stadiums left to be on the list...I know The Swamp, Neyland, and Death Valley are soon to be added. So that would put the SEC at 6/10. They rate the stadium on a 1-10 scale in 5 categories: Atmosphere History Tradition Fans Architecture It will be interesting to see where LSU falls. Top Stadiums
Well all of the suspense is over.....I found this...the rest of the top ten somehow got out ahead of schedule. Top 25 Stadiums
Let me say that I am thrilled that so many SEC teams got put in AND I agree that UT, LSU, and UF are so high up. But one thing that bothers me is this guy grades so many stadiums and he hasnt even visited 3/4th's if not more. Seems a bit weird to me...
I realize I'm biased, but I really can't take any list that doesn't rank Death Valley #1 seriously. I'll give other schools the nod here and there but when it comes to college football, nothing comes close to Saturday night in Death Valley. It's a religious experience. Case closed! I just noticed he gave Florida a 9.5 for tradition and LSU a 9!!! What??? Because SOS won a lot of Games the past 10 years gives them tradition? This guy has as much credibility as the Iraqi Information Minister.
I am surpised 1. That Ohio State is not even on the list. I have never been to a game in Columbus so I can't speak for the atmosphere but they do have a great tradition (a lot longer than Florida and Florida State) of being a national power. They also have very rabid fans. 2. That Penn State's stadium is called Beaver Stadium. I didn't know that even though my brother's wife is a Penn State graduate. Is a Nittany Lion some species of Beaver? 3. That the fans of USC and UCLA are rated as high as 7.0 and 6.5. They show up in the middle of the first quarter and leave by the middle of the third quarter. Even earlier if there are good surfing conditions. 4. That Clemson rates a 10.0 in tradition. Anybody have any idea why? 5. That Notre Dame fans only got a 9. I thought Notre Dame was supposed to be perfect at everything just because they are Notre Dame. 6. Texas A&M #1? Just because those idiot cadets stand up the whole game? Gimme a break! 7. That the tradition of Bryant-Denny Stadium is rated higher than Tiger Stadium. Until Bryant-Denny was renovated and expanded 10 or 15 years ago Alabama played almost all of their home games in Birmingham. 8. That California is even on the list. The only thing they rated higher than a 6 on was atmosphere. The guy who put them on the list must have been blasted from all the pot smoke in the air. Was there even a game going on? Did anybody there even care?
I have been to many games at Kyle Field, including last year when they beat #1 Oklahoma. In no way does it compare to Death Valley. I would take a game in Tiger Stadium any day of the week over Kyle Field.
The thing that bothers me about this poll is the 7.5 rating they gave Tiger Stadium for architecture and 8.5 rating for History. Tiger Stadium at one time served as a dual purpose (football stadium and dorm.) That fact alone should give it at least a 9 in each of those categories. I don't know of any other stadiums that could claim the same thing. How can another stadium have better history than that? Not to mention some of the crazy things that have occured there in the past (earthquake game for one example). As for as architecture, Tiger Stadium is very reminiscent of the Coliseum in Rome, which many could consider the ultimate stadium. That doesn't deserve a better rating than 7.5 for Architecture? I don't get it...
There are many flaws with his rating system. I don't think he has even been to all of the top stadiums. All he did was add a flawed rating system to some info that everyone already knew. when I heard about this poll a few days ago I made my own and was going to see how close I would be. Out of my top 10, I have only been to 3 stadiums (GA, AU, LSU), the rest was pretty much common sense, although I did have Mich at #1. I didn't get the right order but I had a general idea what teams would/should be in the top 10.
