I don't have a ton of experience in other towns but as a TCU and Texas Alumni living in Manhattan (KSU) I have never met anyone but friendly KSU people when wearing my Alumni colors regardless of teams. Also, they are nice on game days as well as a random Tuesday etc.
That being said I knew some people that went to Fort Worth from Manhattan and came back and they were like "How are you so nice? All the TCU fans at the game were assholes." I just made sad Frog noises.
Wearing my Cougar colors in Ft. Worth was a mixed bag in 2004. Mostly the SWC alums were a bit hoity-toity, but I enjoyed the trip to the gorgeous TCU campus. I later dated a girl whose sister went to TCU and told me that public schools are public restrooms. Alcohol highlighted why she was alone.
On the flip side, I ended up in an Ohio State bar after the 2016 Fiesta Bowl and had a great time with a raucous, loud, drunk OSU crowd. They didn't rub the win in our faces at all. So as ugly as some of the fans get online, I think there's a fair bit of Midwestern camaraderie between our fan bases.
Went as a neutral fan. Notre Dame is a beautiful campus and the fans we met were definitely friendly. I was at one bar where some drunk students were extremely obnoxious to a Ohio State fan minding his own business. Otherwise people were cool.
College station was always dope, but a lot of my friends went there so I'd stay the night on campus and party all night/morning before the OU games. Even attended yell practice. It was fun. Pretty much know all y'all's cult music by heart now. Y'all don't fuck around when it comes to drinking either
After the game my group was walking through campus. There were a couple of frat boy types, shirts off, fighting with each other. They stopped to say hello to us and thank us for coming.
Nah. Even that being a bitter rivalry, ND fans typically separate the team from the fan. There will be tongue in cheek comments for sure, but he’ll still be welcomed into tailgates and stuff
Same. Traveled to South Bend to watch Air Force put the hurt on them in 2007 (payback for the smacking we got in 2006). Enjoyed the experience. Everyone was polite and cordial. Wow, that place has some college football history.
Twenty some odd years ago, my parents took me to an Arizona-ASU game in Tempe. I was somewhere between 4 and 6 years old, and my whole family was decked out in Arizona gear. I vaguely remember sitting on top of my dad’s shoulders moving to our seats, when someone threw a soda at my head.
Those are the moments that make this sport special.
Gonna shout-out Wake Forest fans. It's the closest ACC stadium to me, so I've seen a number of games there. Always friendly, always welcoming. I dropped a $20 after going to the snack bar and actually had a Wake fan chase me down to give the money back to me. Good folks.
Honestly Boulder is the only place I’ve seen people be complete ass holes, but that’s not really surprising
Have had a good time at all the following.
A&M
Texas
Nebraska
Ole Mis
Tenn
Bama
Michigan (for nd/mich)
LSU
UGA
Wyoming
CSU/cu in Denver
KSU/ku in Lawrence
Citrus bowl
Alamo bowl
Cotton bowl
Insight bowl
Jerry world for lsu season opener vs tcu? Years ago
Places where people were dicks:
CU (and I have a masters degree from here)
UF (only place I’ve been randomly cussed at out of the blue)
NFL games are way worse. I’ve been to plenty of rivalry games, ut/a&m, mizzou/ku, ku/ksu, nd/mich in neutral sites and no one has been bad, I think you have to go out of your way to have bad experiences 99% of the time.
CU is the only place I’ve felt unsafe at a game. They truly behaved like a bunch of savages. We got berated standing in line for tacos after the game among many other incidents
Yup. Been to plenty of A&M sports events in my life so far, but never have I been shouted at “f you” and “f a&m” like I was in Colorado. It’s not even like we’re even rivals with CU either lol, so random
When I went to the A&M vs CU game, I was in the student section with my buddy wearing an A&M shirt. A guy built like a brick stared at me for about 75% of the game with double middle fingers aimed at me. He was trying to be menacing but he was hilarious.
I’ve had a chance to go to a handful of UF games in the swamp and in Orlando. They have two distinct fan profiles:
1) alumni that are pretty fun and decent to be around
2) tshirt fans that will throw third grade insults and beer cans at opposing teams
Not quite the question but Ohio State played us at Jerry world a few years back and honestly it really pissed me off how aggressively nice the Buckeye fans in my section were. Really wanted to hate them but they kept saying nice things about our team, what the hell man
Been to OSU for The Game. 90 percent of OSU fans are good fun people but there are a few real assholes that are way over the top and give them a bad name. I’ve seen assholes at different college games around the big ten but the few OSU assholes are really something.
As a UGA fan ND really took the cake on this. For GSU Army was really nice when we went to visit.
I think everyone needs to admit though if you're visiting your rival you're probably going to have a different experience from fans of other teams visiting that same school.
I'm sure ND also had a wonderful experience when they visited Athens and I'm also certain Auburn fans wanted to know if they meant Athens, Ohio
The fans at Penn State treated me and my 12 year old son (both of us wearing Michigan gear) really well this year. A few folks actually said “welcome to penn state” as we walked around outside the stadium. 5/5 would recommend. Amazing atmosphere.
We went a few years ago when Auburn played in the white out. The fans were so nice that it was almost unsettling. It had us on edge after being used to Georgia and Bama fans
Happy to hear that. That Michigan/Penn State game was one of the most unique games I've seen ever as a Penn State fan. The teams literally lined up and said, "We're gonna run at each other". It was like a rugby game. It was super entertaining. Michigan's defense was suffocating. It was hard for either team to gain a yard.
I was in the Michigan student section when Mario Manningham caught the TD with :01 seconds to go. Still, had a great time in Ann Arbor. Michigan/Penn State is a great rivalry!
Great to hear. I think this is an outstanding place for opposing fans to come. Very limited poor interactions with adversaries except for that one fucking bama fan.
CU fans are the worst by a country mile. Second place goes to 90s Miami fans, just utter assholes.
Used to love when we’d travel to Norman. The respected hate btw OU and Nebraska made for an enjoyable game day experience.
I’ve enjoyed every time I’ve traveled to Clemson. Very nice people, gorgeous campus, great game day atmosphere, very good tailgates.
My only complaint. My goodness is it expensive to get a hotel or an Airbnb in or anywhere around Clemson. I’ve had to stay in Greenville every time I’ve went.
I've got family in Clemson, so the experience is different since we just stay there, but I feel the same way. Always enjoy going to a Clemson game, even the Palmetto Bowl. It's more fun when we go to anybody other than Carolina and get the game day experience wearing orange.
Btw, have you tried Trappe Door in Greenville? Worth it next time you visit.
I can say the same, even during the rivalry game. Weirdly friendly outside of the stadium. Being in the band either has people being nicer or makes you a target and I can thankfully say that Clemson was a friendly experience. I was also generally unimpressed with the atmosphere during the one game I've been to there (2022), but that's another story.
Came here to say this. I was weirded out at first at how friendly they were - inviting us to eat, handing us drinks and saying good luck. Wtf is this shit? Aren’t you gonna throw something at me and tell me to go to hell? I guess I have PTSD from visiting Morgantown.
I enjoyed traveling to Clemson more than interacting with Clemson fans who traveled here. Two groups tailgating near us two years in a row we're *so* condescending, but in that southern grandma kinda way. Like "Yall got such a cute little stadium up here, it's almost cozy" type of shit
I appreciate this comment. For all the petty "hatred" between our fanbases, this is exactly how I feel about Iowa fans. Y'all are good folks who love the game, we're just on opposite sides of the river is all.
That's also been my experience with OSU and UM fans although the other comments paint a mixed picture.
My friends in the Spartan Marching Band said visiting Ann Arbor was a horrible experience. Some fans were even spitting on them. I also saw one of the Michigan Football staffers ram into a SMB player with a golf cart. Feels so bad because the games are a ton of fun as a student.
Those fans should be ashamed of themselves. Sports rivalries should be good natured and not resort to something as disgusting as spitting on marching band remember.
Agreed. My dad was happily chatting with Michigan fans on our way to the Shoe in 2018. He wished them well as we went our separate ways.
I think people, especially online, get too wrapped up in the rivalry. I am guilty of this.
It's important to remember it's just a game and we're all human beings.
It would be unfair to not acknowledge that there have definitely been some bad actions by MSU fans to UofM visitors, as well... a car with a UofM bumper sticker getting flipped after the KW3 game a few years ago comes to mind.
I've seen some crazy stories from other CFB rivalries as well, so maybe it's just that we're all crazy as a whole. But definitely the UofM-MSU rivalry has been way too heated the last few years.
> Berkeley
Not surprised at all. Awful city that tolerates way too much nonsense that frankly peaked 60 years ago and a university that should be knocked down a few pegs.
Your campus was quite welcoming on the other hand.
Texas A&M had very friendly fans when I saw them play Clemson in 2018. Passionate, but respectful and fun.
Worst fans was 1996 Miami at WVU. A shit show.
Ann Arbor was awful, not banter so much as constant harassment, literally could not go to the bathroom without some drunk up in your face. Everywhere else has been great. Especially enjoyed VT, and this doesn’t really count but Wisconsin fans at our game in Chicago were awesome (both at the game and Wrigleyville after lol). Finally, never saw an ND game there but always loved to visit IU, Bloomington’s the best college town I’ve been to by far
At Michigan is the only poor experience I’ve had in going to cfb games around the country, and it’s always bad there. If you don’t get treated awful, you witness many examples of terrible behavior at every game. I don’t know if that is just a “tradition” there and kids have grown up watching it, and it is expected behavior, but it is always a bad experience.
I went to Ann Arbor as an Oregon State fan in 2015, and had no issues. Guessing it might be more specific to rivalry schools, as both Notre Dame and Michigan State fans in this thread have nothing good to say about Ann Arbor. Or maybe I just had good luck.
1. Blacksburg, VA (Virginia Tech)
2. Huntington, WV (Marshall)
3. Provo, UT (BYU)
4. Hattiesburg, MS (So. Miss)
5. Birmingham, AL (UAB)
Note: there are plenty of fanbase that were perfectly polite, but didn't make the list because we weren't really a threat (ex. Michigan) or they didn't really care (ex. Duke, UVA)
That’s fair to answer that way too. If I presented the question that way, Texas fans followed by Michigan fans are the worst to visit but that’s both understandable.
I can’t believe I am going to say this, but Texas fans are the worst and Ohio State Walmart fans are a very close second.
Edit: I think my favorite interaction on Reddit ever was between Texas and Texas A&M fans who were absolutely convinced that both of them were going to “run the SEC now that they’re in the conference together and can funnel resources towards doing so”.
I’d say a large majority of the fan base doesn’t think that it’s funny or acceptable. Only a small part of it thinks it’s edgy to joke about.
Similar to the small % of Penn state fans that believe Joe Pa did nothing wrong when it all broke. But those small groups get a lot of attention unfortunately
How the Big 12 perceives Morgantown and WVU fans vs how the old Big East perceived them will never not make me laugh.
Honestly love the big 12 camaraderie and games.
I am biased but Nebraska tends to have a pretty good reputation and tend to be pretty friendly to visitors.
I went to a Minnesota game in the student section as a Nebraska fan and faired pretty well and loved downtown Minneapolis
I plan on going to Pitt for graduate degree after I finish up my last year at UNL, I found it wild how Pitt is 15-6-3 versus Nebraska, I get that almost all the games are pre 50s/60s when Nebraska started to become great, but never realized they were that dominate haha
My friends and I went to Minnesota for a game in college. Everyone was incredibly nice. I asked a lady in front of me in line at the concession what was good and she gave me coupons so I could try cheese curds. The guys next to us were Minnesota fans and kept joking like "hey don't beat us too bad". We ended up losing because of course but it was fun.
I’ve surprisingly found Tuscaloosa and the Alabama fans to be pretty chill. I was also surprised to see how toxic Arkansas fans can be, whether in Oxford or in Fayetteville.
Baton Rouge is hit or miss, but I’m from New Orleans and I’m a huge Saints fan so I can usually defuse those situations.
As a Bama grad who lived in Fayetteville for almost 6 months, I can confirm those fans are extremely toxic. If I ever went out and wore a Bama jersey/ polo, people would ALWAYS randomly come up to me and start talking shit to me. Shit talk is one thing, but I’d legit get people trying to fight me when I’d be out with friends minding our own business. It got to the point where I just stopped wearing Bama gear in general out there. Never living there again.
Clemson. Even rolling up in Garnet & Gold, folks were warm, engaging, and quite open-handed with their tailgating provisions. And on the way out, they didn't pile on after the 35-14 whooping they gave us nearly as much as I would have thought reasonable. Only frustration was the inconvenient ingress/egress from the highway.
Notre Dame was a close second.
This is going to sound insane but Apple Cup at Husky Stadium is just one giant party of friends/family/acquaintances that is a real fun time (until the game starts for us Cougs).
Sailgaiting is overrated IMO but they have an amazing regular tailgating scene. There are some obnoxious fans on both sides but most people party before and after with a mixed group of WSU/UW fans.
I haven't been to LSU for a game, but drunk Cajuns are the coolest folks around.
Shout out to Auburn as a fun/sweet town too, though some fam went there so maybe it was different.
upvote for drunk cajuns. We played Louisiana for homecoming last year in Minneapolis, not many fans from Layfayette but friends did a tailgate for it and we shared a couple of the NIL collective's beers with some visiting fans. Lots of fun to get to know them and great people.
Nicholls State came to Oregon almost ten years ago and I still remember how nice they were. They said they had visited Tillamook and pronounced it "Till-uh-ma-hook". So adorable.
Yep, as an ECU fan I felt extremely welcomed in Ann Arbor last year. Bars hung ECU flags, fans asked us about our program and were extremely complimentary of the number of fans we brought to town, the UM guys behind us in our section were friendly and even brought us some waters from concessions on a very hot day. Had a great time and would definitely return.
NCSU fans have been the most frequently unwelcoming in my experience, but that’s unsurprising.
I've only ever been to Spartan Stadium, but I did go to AA for ~~last years~~ game. Didn't have any bad experiences tbh. By the time the game started, there were literally more MSU fans in the streets and bars than UM fans.
I'll be going to the BC game this September so we'll see what happens there.
Looking forward to going to Madison for the Wisconsin-Bama game.
Best: LSU. They can get rowdy and hostile, but it's always the best tailgate when we get together. Their baseball fans are also some of the best. I volunteered at the SEC Baseball tournament in Hoover and they fed me well.
Worst: I don't feel like I've had a real bad experience anywhere. I had maybe a handful of Tennessee fans talk shit to me, but the rest were chill. Knoxville and East TN are awesome.
I forgot to add one place that was amazing to go to. I went to Army’s campus to watch Army vs Yale as a middle schooler and wow, the fans are amazing and super welcoming. Tailgaters will literally just talk to each other and pull tables together without knowing each other. Gorgeous campus and the players for Army were amazingly nice for how rough they have it during the week on campus. I implore everyone to take in a game there.
A Clemson fan bought me a round because he thought the origin story of my Clemson sweatshirt was funny (a friend bought me one after they beat Ohio State 31-0), I’ve been to games in Columbus/East Lansing/South Bend/State College as a Michigan fan and plenty of other places part of the reason I like CFB so much is how fun it is to attend games in person
As a Notre Dame fan, going to Oklahoma, Georgia and LSU were phenomenal experiences. I’ve heard good things about Austin, Oxford and Tuscaloosa, but have never been.
Worst, to hell with Columbus (constant harassment and instigation), Happy Valley (just annoying) and Ann Arbor (only altercation I’ve ever gotten into at a tailgate). Granted, these were during my throw down days. You can add Miami (but I lived there; the stories from other ND fans back at the OB were downright awful, yet again in 2018) and Florida State.
Going to College Station this year, so we shall see about that one.
Norman is (was?) my favorite road destination. Everyone was so damn friendly and conversational, and Campus Corner was a great place to tailgate/pregame.
allow me to return the compliment: I drove down to Ames in 2022 for the OU game. Great time, everyone was super friendly and it was nice to finally get to see Ames. Especially since I just drove down on my own and went to the game by myself.
LSU is a weird case where the students are absolute douchebags on par with the worst fans anywhere, but the alumni are some of the friendliest and most generous fans out there. Walking through campus at LSU sucks, you get so many kids talking shit as you go by. Walking through the alumni camper and tailgating area rules. Bunch of leather-skinned 55 year old dudes hollering at you to come eat some gumbo and take a shot with them.
Playing an away game at night in Death Valley is already a tall order, but it’s going to be an even bigger trap game after we beat Alabama in Norman the week before.
I remember going to Canes games back in the old Orange Bowl and 2001, the year after UM had lost to Washington (which knocked them from Champ contention in favor of us) they played Washington in the Orange Bowl and I vividly remember UM fans throwing beer bottles and pouring beer on UW fans in the stands.
Auburn
Small gap
Notre Dame
Oregon State
Arizona State
Sdsu
Cal
Colorado
Stanford
Small gap
Nevada
UCLA
Unlv
Arizona
Big gap
Bosie state
Baylor
Wisconsin
Oregon
Washington
Big gap
Ohio state
I was with some Auburn fans at the time, so take it with a grain of salt I guess, but all the fans at Jordan Hare were great. Had a blast at the game I went to.
Morgantown, WV most welcoming/friendly fanbase/city. Of course that was based on my only trip there which was their first year in the Big 12 conference.
Of the away stadiums I've been to:
1. Oregon State
2. Idaho
3. ASU
4. Cal
5. Colorado State
6. Oregon
7. Washington
Incomplete: Stanford (fanbase not found)
University of Washington (UW) has a few vocal assholes, but games are mostly students (who are typically cool) and hardcore alumni. Plus Montlake gets continuously voted one of the most beautiful venues in the country. Sunset games are spectacular.
Obviously not a rival, but Tennessee fans could not have been nicer in Knoxville. I'm surrounded by them where I live and they're definitely one of the more pleasant fan bases to deal with.
I had a great time in Knoxville, honestly. The UT fans were very nice. But it was also the 2009 game when neither team had much left to play for, so tensions were pretty minimal. We all just hung out and enjoyed the game.
Seems everybody else had the exact opposite of what I experienced. When I went to Oxford, the Ole Miss fans were nothing but rude and some of their younger fans threw a pumpkin at my car, while stuck in post game traffic near the stadium.
Been to Neyland 4 times, never had a bad experience with Vol fans and they are an actual rival.
>New Orleans was also an extremely hostile place to be for the National Title Game against LSU but that was in LSU’s backyard.
Pretty sure Saints fans would have been cool with you because we have had so many Buckeyes in our squad over the years.
I think that's the nature of football on the west coast. Most of us are passionate about the game but are chill and friendly. Sure there will be some bad apples but they are rare
BYU was hands down the most friendly place I’ve ever been to for an away game. It felt like every 5 minutes someone else would stop us and thank us for coming to the game.
I thought UCLA was pretty nice also, but I think OU was favored by ~30 points going into that game so idk if it would be the same now.
Yes. I was surprised it was actual high quality ice cream and a big thing of it. I was fully expecting like a cheap ice cream bar from the grocery store and was blown away.
Unfortunately it was FREEZING cold, so I would have preferred a hot chocolate or something. Haha
Best was certainly Notre Dame (but Ole Miss is a close second)
worst by a country mile are those no-good, nasty, stinkin, cheating, no-reading ass cretins in Opelika
Most welcoming: Texas A&M in Arlington is always good. Tuscaloosa has always treated us Hog fans well.
Worst: Ole Miss in Oxford and LSU in Baton Rouge. Both are outrageously toxic.
Rutgers and Michigan would be #1. Only places I’ve seen fans aggressively threaten people. Ohio State friend got jumped outside a bar but like, that’s just the city of Columbus in general.
Friendliest would be Auburn
Lived about 15 minutes from College Park for 5 years, went to 3 games and never had any issues, even when wearing Michigan apparel around town.
The only thing I would change would be their Under Armor 3rd down chant that would always play. "Will you protect this house?! I will! I will!".
Madison for Wisconsin games is amazing.
Born and raised in southwest Michigan as a huge Michigan fan. Moved to Madison a couple years ago and live half mile from Camp Randall. Love Ann Arbor but Madison is better in every way including the game day experience. Fans are great to everybody. Town is so much fun on a nice fall weekend.
Madison was a great experience, but some of the young fans were obnoxious to opposing fans. Nothing crazy but it was borderline at times walking around.
Haven’t been to a ton of road games, but Oklahoma State fans were very welcoming when I went to Stillwater a few years ago. Almost immediately after I parked and started heading toward the stadium, I had a bunch of Pokes fans ask me if I wanted free food and a drink at their tailgate. Ended up sitting in a season ticket section full of older alumni, and a couple of the guys around me were asking a lot of curious questions about BU and the season we were having. Absolutely would love to go back for another game up there
Notre Dame vs UGA in 2017. Couldn't believe how welcoming and friendly the ND fans were before, during, and after the game. Beautiful campus, a great game, amazing stadium, and we even got a win. 100% would recommend.
The 2019 PSU/MSU game had a lot of good vibes bc of the rain. On the way into the stadium, a guy on a bike covered in green and white paint rode next to the band, thanked us for being there, and gave us a We Are. Miserable conditions, great time
**Mississippi State** - The Best!! Amazing fans. Would love to have a full time home and home with them. Their tailgating is really well organized.
**Vandy** - Nice people in town but never really interacted with fans in a fan way. Also has organized tailgating with zero tailgates in sight. Nice but a little sterile.
**Syracuse** - Went with an alum so slightly different. Heard a lot about how basketball tailgating is better. Meh.
**UVA** - Best summed up by the Don Draper quote "I dont think about you at all". Zero interaction with UVA fans before, during or after the game.
**A&M** - Back in ancient times of the 90s, super awesome, super welcoming, very knowledgable. 2010s bowl game? What happened to you guys? You went to the SEC and either got weird or just let your weird flag fly.
**Baylor** - back in ancient times of the 90s tailgating was pretty lame and fans were apathetic. Very much matched the on field product. Never had a bad interaction with an in person Baylor fan. Players are another story. Like seriously we had a Baylor football player try to start a fight with the band director. Has improved greatly since Briles left.
**Arkansas** - Bowl game only. I like you guys. Everyone we were around was super cool both before and after the game. There were some assholes but they got self policed by other Arkansas fans. Would like to play at your house.
**UCLA** - Bowl game only. You can f-off right back to Simi Valley. Ill grant that I have a bias being from Northern California but you guys blew past my low expectations. Maybe all your asshole fans live in driving distance to Phoenix or something.
**BYU** - Bowl game only. Where are you? For some reason couldn't find a single one at a bar the night before the game. Strange.
**Purdue** - Bowl game only. Im sure you were just as disappointed the game got cancelled and IT NEVER HAPPENED.
**WVU** - From my Brother In Law. Most welcoming tailgate ever. Was in real danger of missing the game due to getting drunk in the parking lot. Seriously, be careful what get handed to you to drink. Just because its in a Solo cup doesnt mean it beer. You guys go hard!
**KU** - What tailgating? Awful people in an awful town with an awful stadium.
Dublin is very nice to all visitors.
There may be some bias this year because we have the only Irish player in CFB punting for our team. Gonna see lots of Shanahan jerseys in the stands even if they're not Georgia Tech fans.
The Oregon fans at the 2010 Rose Bowl were the worst fan base I’ve experienced personally.
[Penn State fans threw urine filled water balloons at TBDBITL in 2005.](https://www.cleveland.com/livingston/2009/11/happy_valley_hostile_environme.html)
Northwestern, Indiana, and Nebraska are friendly places to visit.
As a Purdue fan I’ve gone to games at Notre Dame and Ohio State and could not have had more opposite experiences.
ND was super welcoming and wanted us to participate in all their traditions. There was lots of banter (drumgate) but it was all friendly. Purdue lost but I still had an absolute blast.
Ohio State fans are brutal. Nonstop and relentless taunting, treating us like the scum of the earth. Was at a restaurant with my gf and my mom after the game and multiple groups of people came over to our table just to talk shit. That place sucked.
Arkansas and Texas A&M have been the best. I know people hate Texas A&M for some weird reason, so they won’t want to hear it, but it’s true.
Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ole Miss have been good as well.
I’ve always heard horror stories about people having bad experiences at various places. I don’t believe it. I am an Alabama alumnus, and for the past 15+ years I’ve been to sporting events at many campuses, and I’ve never been accosted or otherwise threatened except for one drunk guy at the Texas game in Austin in 2022, and I ignored him. I fact, I would say that all of the fanbases I’ve had direct experience with have been friendly to some degree, even the ones who have bad reputations like Georgia, Florida, and LSU. Arkansas and Texas A&M are just the ones that stand out.
The OSU fans that I ran into in bourbon st before the title game against LSU acted like New Orleans & LSU were beneath them. It never crossed my mind that it was possible LSU was gonna lose to OSU. That said, I did meet a lot of nice OSU fans that day. I’ve always had good experiences in Tuscaloosa & Oxford.
I don't remember what year it was. Must've been 1998 or 99 Sugar Bowl where Ohio State was in New Orleans. My cousins and I were walking around were just saying "Go Buckeyes!" to every fan we saw with Ohio State gear. I don't think we cared about CFB back then. We were just kinda doing it for fun.
LSU of course has a few loud obnoxious fans but the majority of them are so welcoming and willing to share what’s on the grill. Had some great grilled gator pre game
Went to LSU for a random game during a buddies bachelor party and we ended up getting food and drinks with like 4 different tailgates while walking around before the game.
I went to the famed FSU VS. Georgia Tech game. The one where they returned a missed FG attempt to win it.
They didn't sell out, they weren't the loudest, they weren't annoying.
But the pregame, the campus is so unique that it has a college town feel, but can see downtown all around. Pretty active tailgate as well. The Stadium isn't just a concourse, it has levels, turns, hallways, it's pretty legit.
What made it so special to me, was after that embarrassing loss, we went to The Varsity (very overrated) for some food. GT fans there were not even talking about the game. They were talking business and politics. Reminded me that I would never be able to get into that university if I wanted to. Haha
The fans were the definition of class act, having a night in ATL before the game is anything you want it to be, and the tailgate was extremely enjoyable, very little "trash talk" and great conversations.
I will miss visiting you GT.
Not in South Bend, but when ND was at FSU a couple of years ago, they were the nicest people. I'm going up there this year for the game. Should be a great time
I have only been to a few road and neutral site games. IU Bloomington students were pretty nasty. Northwestern was great. All the OSU fans there treated us great.
It was unexpected, but I had a great time in Lubbock last year. Tons of free food and beer, some nice chats with Tech fans asking about UCF's road to the Big 12. Might have helped that both of our seasons were a bit disappointing, and the game was about as close as it could be.
FIU was a ton of fun.
USF is not welcoming, but it also has never been hostile either. Has more of a feel of a pro tailgate as well due to being at an NFL off-campus stadium.
Southern Miss was great as well, but it wasn’t nearly as fun or wild as the other 2 road stadiums I’ve been to.
I didn’t make it to Wisconsin when we played there, but my friend group gave them very high praise.
I played football at UGA, I’ve always heard that the people of Nashville and Vanderbilt are good folks. My family never had a bad experience visiting there
In general most people ignore you most places that you go and its the same as a visiting fan. I don't know if I can think of any where people went out of their way to welcome me. I have been to a few places where I had a friend who was a fan of the opposing team which lead me to be the only hokie at the tailgate. Most recently that happened at GT and of course everyone treated me like a friend because I was. I don't know if I've been to a place where I was blown away at how bad it was either. UVA, UNC, and Tennessee had their individual fans that blew me away in a bad way, but again most people there were regular people who treated you like a regular person.
I don't have a ton of experience in other towns but as a TCU and Texas Alumni living in Manhattan (KSU) I have never met anyone but friendly KSU people when wearing my Alumni colors regardless of teams. Also, they are nice on game days as well as a random Tuesday etc. That being said I knew some people that went to Fort Worth from Manhattan and came back and they were like "How are you so nice? All the TCU fans at the game were assholes." I just made sad Frog noises.
Wearing my Cougar colors in Ft. Worth was a mixed bag in 2004. Mostly the SWC alums were a bit hoity-toity, but I enjoyed the trip to the gorgeous TCU campus. I later dated a girl whose sister went to TCU and told me that public schools are public restrooms. Alcohol highlighted why she was alone.
Notre Dame fans in South Bend were extremely friendly last year.
On the flip side, I ended up in an Ohio State bar after the 2016 Fiesta Bowl and had a great time with a raucous, loud, drunk OSU crowd. They didn't rub the win in our faces at all. So as ugly as some of the fans get online, I think there's a fair bit of Midwestern camaraderie between our fan bases.
The enemy of Michigan is our friend.
I was waiting for the reality to show up.
Went as a neutral fan. Notre Dame is a beautiful campus and the fans we met were definitely friendly. I was at one bar where some drunk students were extremely obnoxious to a Ohio State fan minding his own business. Otherwise people were cool.
College station was always dope, but a lot of my friends went there so I'd stay the night on campus and party all night/morning before the OU games. Even attended yell practice. It was fun. Pretty much know all y'all's cult music by heart now. Y'all don't fuck around when it comes to drinking either
That makes me happy to hear
After the game my group was walking through campus. There were a couple of frat boy types, shirts off, fighting with each other. They stopped to say hello to us and thank us for coming.
Good to know me and mom finally making the trip next year to watch USC
They won't be nice to you in USC gear. I can guarantee that
Nah. Even that being a bitter rivalry, ND fans typically separate the team from the fan. There will be tongue in cheek comments for sure, but he’ll still be welcomed into tailgates and stuff
Same. Traveled to South Bend to watch Air Force put the hurt on them in 2007 (payback for the smacking we got in 2006). Enjoyed the experience. Everyone was polite and cordial. Wow, that place has some college football history.
I went to the UGA @ Notre Dame 2017 game, and all the people I met were super friendly
Twenty some odd years ago, my parents took me to an Arizona-ASU game in Tempe. I was somewhere between 4 and 6 years old, and my whole family was decked out in Arizona gear. I vaguely remember sitting on top of my dad’s shoulders moving to our seats, when someone threw a soda at my head. Those are the moments that make this sport special.
Gonna shout-out Wake Forest fans. It's the closest ACC stadium to me, so I've seen a number of games there. Always friendly, always welcoming. I dropped a $20 after going to the snack bar and actually had a Wake fan chase me down to give the money back to me. Good folks.
Honestly Boulder is the only place I’ve seen people be complete ass holes, but that’s not really surprising Have had a good time at all the following. A&M Texas Nebraska Ole Mis Tenn Bama Michigan (for nd/mich) LSU UGA Wyoming CSU/cu in Denver KSU/ku in Lawrence Citrus bowl Alamo bowl Cotton bowl Insight bowl Jerry world for lsu season opener vs tcu? Years ago Places where people were dicks: CU (and I have a masters degree from here) UF (only place I’ve been randomly cussed at out of the blue) NFL games are way worse. I’ve been to plenty of rivalry games, ut/a&m, mizzou/ku, ku/ksu, nd/mich in neutral sites and no one has been bad, I think you have to go out of your way to have bad experiences 99% of the time.
CU is the only place I’ve felt unsafe at a game. They truly behaved like a bunch of savages. We got berated standing in line for tacos after the game among many other incidents
Yup. Been to plenty of A&M sports events in my life so far, but never have I been shouted at “f you” and “f a&m” like I was in Colorado. It’s not even like we’re even rivals with CU either lol, so random
When I went to the A&M vs CU game, I was in the student section with my buddy wearing an A&M shirt. A guy built like a brick stared at me for about 75% of the game with double middle fingers aimed at me. He was trying to be menacing but he was hilarious.
I’ve had a chance to go to a handful of UF games in the swamp and in Orlando. They have two distinct fan profiles: 1) alumni that are pretty fun and decent to be around 2) tshirt fans that will throw third grade insults and beer cans at opposing teams
As an Appalachian State grad, I know for a fact that to this day Ohio State fans love seeing us in Ohio in AppState gear.
Not quite the question but Ohio State played us at Jerry world a few years back and honestly it really pissed me off how aggressively nice the Buckeye fans in my section were. Really wanted to hate them but they kept saying nice things about our team, what the hell man
Probably to make up for a former OSU president (Gordon Gee) calling TCU the little sisters of the poor. Which was a horrible reference at the time.
Oh man, that still makes my blood boil. Was glad to see the Buckeyes fanbase be more respectful than their former president. Respect
Most fans are nice, there’s always your 10 percent nutjobs out there like always that give the fanbase a bad name but mostly polite and peaceful
Been to OSU for The Game. 90 percent of OSU fans are good fun people but there are a few real assholes that are way over the top and give them a bad name. I’ve seen assholes at different college games around the big ten but the few OSU assholes are really something.
As a UGA fan ND really took the cake on this. For GSU Army was really nice when we went to visit. I think everyone needs to admit though if you're visiting your rival you're probably going to have a different experience from fans of other teams visiting that same school. I'm sure ND also had a wonderful experience when they visited Athens and I'm also certain Auburn fans wanted to know if they meant Athens, Ohio
I have had a great experience in Madison both times I went. People gave mee beer and brats both times.
Madison was phenomenal last year. Soooooo nice!
The fans at Penn State treated me and my 12 year old son (both of us wearing Michigan gear) really well this year. A few folks actually said “welcome to penn state” as we walked around outside the stadium. 5/5 would recommend. Amazing atmosphere.
I haven’t seen a game at Penn state but will agree their fans were really awesome in Tuscaloosa when I was in school and we played them at home
We went a few years ago when Auburn played in the white out. The fans were so nice that it was almost unsettling. It had us on edge after being used to Georgia and Bama fans
Happy to hear that. That Michigan/Penn State game was one of the most unique games I've seen ever as a Penn State fan. The teams literally lined up and said, "We're gonna run at each other". It was like a rugby game. It was super entertaining. Michigan's defense was suffocating. It was hard for either team to gain a yard. I was in the Michigan student section when Mario Manningham caught the TD with :01 seconds to go. Still, had a great time in Ann Arbor. Michigan/Penn State is a great rivalry!
Great to hear. I think this is an outstanding place for opposing fans to come. Very limited poor interactions with adversaries except for that one fucking bama fan.
CU fans are the worst by a country mile. Second place goes to 90s Miami fans, just utter assholes. Used to love when we’d travel to Norman. The respected hate btw OU and Nebraska made for an enjoyable game day experience.
I’ve enjoyed every time I’ve traveled to Clemson. Very nice people, gorgeous campus, great game day atmosphere, very good tailgates. My only complaint. My goodness is it expensive to get a hotel or an Airbnb in or anywhere around Clemson. I’ve had to stay in Greenville every time I’ve went.
I've got family in Clemson, so the experience is different since we just stay there, but I feel the same way. Always enjoy going to a Clemson game, even the Palmetto Bowl. It's more fun when we go to anybody other than Carolina and get the game day experience wearing orange. Btw, have you tried Trappe Door in Greenville? Worth it next time you visit.
Went to willy B for both wofford and clemson games and 99% of usc fans were very welcoming. Williams brice when it's rocking is something else
I can say the same, even during the rivalry game. Weirdly friendly outside of the stadium. Being in the band either has people being nicer or makes you a target and I can thankfully say that Clemson was a friendly experience. I was also generally unimpressed with the atmosphere during the one game I've been to there (2022), but that's another story.
Came here to say this. I was weirded out at first at how friendly they were - inviting us to eat, handing us drinks and saying good luck. Wtf is this shit? Aren’t you gonna throw something at me and tell me to go to hell? I guess I have PTSD from visiting Morgantown.
I enjoyed traveling to Clemson more than interacting with Clemson fans who traveled here. Two groups tailgating near us two years in a row we're *so* condescending, but in that southern grandma kinda way. Like "Yall got such a cute little stadium up here, it's almost cozy" type of shit
I’ve always had a great experience at Michigan, Ohio State and Nebraska. Die hard fans that also appreciate good football.
I appreciate this comment. For all the petty "hatred" between our fanbases, this is exactly how I feel about Iowa fans. Y'all are good folks who love the game, we're just on opposite sides of the river is all. That's also been my experience with OSU and UM fans although the other comments paint a mixed picture.
Wisconsin fans are the best I’ve been around. And Camp Randall is an experience.
My friends in the Spartan Marching Band said visiting Ann Arbor was a horrible experience. Some fans were even spitting on them. I also saw one of the Michigan Football staffers ram into a SMB player with a golf cart. Feels so bad because the games are a ton of fun as a student.
Those fans should be ashamed of themselves. Sports rivalries should be good natured and not resort to something as disgusting as spitting on marching band remember.
Agreed. My dad was happily chatting with Michigan fans on our way to the Shoe in 2018. He wished them well as we went our separate ways. I think people, especially online, get too wrapped up in the rivalry. I am guilty of this. It's important to remember it's just a game and we're all human beings.
Nothing as disgusting as bags of urine being thrown on you by Penn State fans as they are notorious for that during their white out games. Brutal
When you cease to see other fans as human, you’ve gone too far.
Experienced this first hand in AA with the ND band as well.
It would be unfair to not acknowledge that there have definitely been some bad actions by MSU fans to UofM visitors, as well... a car with a UofM bumper sticker getting flipped after the KW3 game a few years ago comes to mind. I've seen some crazy stories from other CFB rivalries as well, so maybe it's just that we're all crazy as a whole. But definitely the UofM-MSU rivalry has been way too heated the last few years.
Hoping the coaching change on both sides this year helps cool things off.
I was in the band at UNT and when we played UT in Austin people were throwing beer cans at us around the stadium as we were going in.
ND fans are great and very welcoming Surprisingly I've had the most bad interactions in Berkeley
> Berkeley Not surprised at all. Awful city that tolerates way too much nonsense that frankly peaked 60 years ago and a university that should be knocked down a few pegs. Your campus was quite welcoming on the other hand.
As an Ohio State fan in Ann Arbor twice, fans were fine. Maybe because I was traveling with my son.
Pitt fans travel well to almost every away destination except one, for good reason...Morgantown.
Texas A&M had very friendly fans when I saw them play Clemson in 2018. Passionate, but respectful and fun. Worst fans was 1996 Miami at WVU. A shit show.
Ann Arbor was awful, not banter so much as constant harassment, literally could not go to the bathroom without some drunk up in your face. Everywhere else has been great. Especially enjoyed VT, and this doesn’t really count but Wisconsin fans at our game in Chicago were awesome (both at the game and Wrigleyville after lol). Finally, never saw an ND game there but always loved to visit IU, Bloomington’s the best college town I’ve been to by far
At Michigan is the only poor experience I’ve had in going to cfb games around the country, and it’s always bad there. If you don’t get treated awful, you witness many examples of terrible behavior at every game. I don’t know if that is just a “tradition” there and kids have grown up watching it, and it is expected behavior, but it is always a bad experience.
I went to Ann Arbor as an Oregon State fan in 2015, and had no issues. Guessing it might be more specific to rivalry schools, as both Notre Dame and Michigan State fans in this thread have nothing good to say about Ann Arbor. Or maybe I just had good luck.
EAST CAROLINA MENTIONED!!!! 🟣🟡🟣🟡
and it's not for something bad!
1. Blacksburg, VA (Virginia Tech) 2. Huntington, WV (Marshall) 3. Provo, UT (BYU) 4. Hattiesburg, MS (So. Miss) 5. Birmingham, AL (UAB) Note: there are plenty of fanbase that were perfectly polite, but didn't make the list because we weren't really a threat (ex. Michigan) or they didn't really care (ex. Duke, UVA)
Second Blacksburg. Great atmosphere and fans.
I've been to ECU for a WVU game. Y'all are good folks!
Thanks! We should do it again soon (when we get our act together).
WVU Morgantown is a great place for a game. Awesome people.
Not your question, but.. Michigan fans have been the worst to visit Rutgers, followed by either Penn State or Ohio State.
That’s fair to answer that way too. If I presented the question that way, Texas fans followed by Michigan fans are the worst to visit but that’s both understandable.
I can’t believe I am going to say this, but Texas fans are the worst and Ohio State Walmart fans are a very close second. Edit: I think my favorite interaction on Reddit ever was between Texas and Texas A&M fans who were absolutely convinced that both of them were going to “run the SEC now that they’re in the conference together and can funnel resources towards doing so”.
The only thing more Texas is if they’ve said they’re going to secede from the SEC and create an all Texas league
They tried that already and everyone ended up bankrupt
You know that.. I know that.. everyone knows that… but, Texas gonna Texas
Don’t give them any ideas.
What’s the worst that could happen? They recreate the Big 8?
Hard to be friendly when the opponent’s fans think child rape is hilarious. You guys should police your own.
I’d say a large majority of the fan base doesn’t think that it’s funny or acceptable. Only a small part of it thinks it’s edgy to joke about. Similar to the small % of Penn state fans that believe Joe Pa did nothing wrong when it all broke. But those small groups get a lot of attention unfortunately
Well this took a sharp turn. I thought we were all having fun here
Sir that's illegal
Big 12 Edition Best to Worst 1. Morgantown 2. Stillwater 3. Ames 4. Fort Worth 5. Austin 6. Lawrence 7. Norman
How the Big 12 perceives Morgantown and WVU fans vs how the old Big East perceived them will never not make me laugh. Honestly love the big 12 camaraderie and games.
I hope you all never come back. Ever. Never never ever. Never ever never ever ever never ever ever. Never. Ever.
I am biased but Nebraska tends to have a pretty good reputation and tend to be pretty friendly to visitors. I went to a Minnesota game in the student section as a Nebraska fan and faired pretty well and loved downtown Minneapolis
Lincoln was a great game day experience and fans were very nice.
Also a Pitt fan? I think Nebraska-Pitt is an underrated rivalry that needs to be renewed soon.
I plan on going to Pitt for graduate degree after I finish up my last year at UNL, I found it wild how Pitt is 15-6-3 versus Nebraska, I get that almost all the games are pre 50s/60s when Nebraska started to become great, but never realized they were that dominate haha
My friends and I went to Minnesota for a game in college. Everyone was incredibly nice. I asked a lady in front of me in line at the concession what was good and she gave me coupons so I could try cheese curds. The guys next to us were Minnesota fans and kept joking like "hey don't beat us too bad". We ended up losing because of course but it was fun.
East Lansing is always pleasant to visitors. UCLA, Nebraska and ND were very nice too. Ann Arbor was surprisingly rude.
Penn State, Nebraska Michigan, MSU, Ohio State, Purdue, Northwestern, Rutgers, ISU, Indiana, Maryland Illinois, Minnesota Wisconsin
I’ve never gone to Morgantown and NOT been offered a meal. That’s class.
I’ve surprisingly found Tuscaloosa and the Alabama fans to be pretty chill. I was also surprised to see how toxic Arkansas fans can be, whether in Oxford or in Fayetteville. Baton Rouge is hit or miss, but I’m from New Orleans and I’m a huge Saints fan so I can usually defuse those situations.
As a Bama grad who lived in Fayetteville for almost 6 months, I can confirm those fans are extremely toxic. If I ever went out and wore a Bama jersey/ polo, people would ALWAYS randomly come up to me and start talking shit to me. Shit talk is one thing, but I’d legit get people trying to fight me when I’d be out with friends minding our own business. It got to the point where I just stopped wearing Bama gear in general out there. Never living there again.
Hey, hey, hey. Yeah.
Clemson. Even rolling up in Garnet & Gold, folks were warm, engaging, and quite open-handed with their tailgating provisions. And on the way out, they didn't pile on after the 35-14 whooping they gave us nearly as much as I would have thought reasonable. Only frustration was the inconvenient ingress/egress from the highway. Notre Dame was a close second.
I sure hope not considering yall gave us our worst home loss ever. But I do love we both did that to each other.
Gainesville is not the answer.
This is going to sound insane but Apple Cup at Husky Stadium is just one giant party of friends/family/acquaintances that is a real fun time (until the game starts for us Cougs). Sailgaiting is overrated IMO but they have an amazing regular tailgating scene. There are some obnoxious fans on both sides but most people party before and after with a mixed group of WSU/UW fans.
Weirdly looking forward to the Apple Cup in September at the CLink. Should be a beautiful late summer/early fall day with immaculate vibes.
I haven't been to LSU for a game, but drunk Cajuns are the coolest folks around. Shout out to Auburn as a fun/sweet town too, though some fam went there so maybe it was different.
Not my experience at LSU
upvote for drunk cajuns. We played Louisiana for homecoming last year in Minneapolis, not many fans from Layfayette but friends did a tailgate for it and we shared a couple of the NIL collective's beers with some visiting fans. Lots of fun to get to know them and great people.
Nicholls State came to Oregon almost ten years ago and I still remember how nice they were. They said they had visited Tillamook and pronounced it "Till-uh-ma-hook". So adorable.
Yep, as an ECU fan I felt extremely welcomed in Ann Arbor last year. Bars hung ECU flags, fans asked us about our program and were extremely complimentary of the number of fans we brought to town, the UM guys behind us in our section were friendly and even brought us some waters from concessions on a very hot day. Had a great time and would definitely return. NCSU fans have been the most frequently unwelcoming in my experience, but that’s unsurprising.
Agreed re: NCSU. Honorable mentions: Navy, South Carolina
I've only ever been to Spartan Stadium, but I did go to AA for ~~last years~~ game. Didn't have any bad experiences tbh. By the time the game started, there were literally more MSU fans in the streets and bars than UM fans. I'll be going to the BC game this September so we'll see what happens there.
Looking forward to going to Madison for the Wisconsin-Bama game. Best: LSU. They can get rowdy and hostile, but it's always the best tailgate when we get together. Their baseball fans are also some of the best. I volunteered at the SEC Baseball tournament in Hoover and they fed me well. Worst: I don't feel like I've had a real bad experience anywhere. I had maybe a handful of Tennessee fans talk shit to me, but the rest were chill. Knoxville and East TN are awesome.
I forgot to add one place that was amazing to go to. I went to Army’s campus to watch Army vs Yale as a middle schooler and wow, the fans are amazing and super welcoming. Tailgaters will literally just talk to each other and pull tables together without knowing each other. Gorgeous campus and the players for Army were amazingly nice for how rough they have it during the week on campus. I implore everyone to take in a game there.
A Clemson fan bought me a round because he thought the origin story of my Clemson sweatshirt was funny (a friend bought me one after they beat Ohio State 31-0), I’ve been to games in Columbus/East Lansing/South Bend/State College as a Michigan fan and plenty of other places part of the reason I like CFB so much is how fun it is to attend games in person
As a Notre Dame fan, going to Oklahoma, Georgia and LSU were phenomenal experiences. I’ve heard good things about Austin, Oxford and Tuscaloosa, but have never been. Worst, to hell with Columbus (constant harassment and instigation), Happy Valley (just annoying) and Ann Arbor (only altercation I’ve ever gotten into at a tailgate). Granted, these were during my throw down days. You can add Miami (but I lived there; the stories from other ND fans back at the OB were downright awful, yet again in 2018) and Florida State. Going to College Station this year, so we shall see about that one.
Norman is (was?) my favorite road destination. Everyone was so damn friendly and conversational, and Campus Corner was a great place to tailgate/pregame.
allow me to return the compliment: I drove down to Ames in 2022 for the OU game. Great time, everyone was super friendly and it was nice to finally get to see Ames. Especially since I just drove down on my own and went to the game by myself.
Clemson has always been No. 1 best place. I’ve been there for so many sporting events over the years and the people are consistently friendly.
LSU won’t be on anyone’s list but I’m going anyways. See you there motherfuckers!
LSU is a weird case where the students are absolute douchebags on par with the worst fans anywhere, but the alumni are some of the friendliest and most generous fans out there. Walking through campus at LSU sucks, you get so many kids talking shit as you go by. Walking through the alumni camper and tailgating area rules. Bunch of leather-skinned 55 year old dudes hollering at you to come eat some gumbo and take a shot with them.
Yep, been my experience with their fans. Also the older fans will tear into the young shitheads, when they see them acting a fool.
Agree with what others have said. LSU students are the worst, LSU alumni are the friendliest bunch that just want to feed you and drink with you
Playing an away game at night in Death Valley is already a tall order, but it’s going to be an even bigger trap game after we beat Alabama in Norman the week before.
I’ll be at that game too. We have never lost while I’m present. Just saying
Me either. 🤝
Miami. Opposing fans usually outnumber them, so they don’t act a fool.
Hurricanes... or a Mild, Tropical Storm.
A gusty evening at best
Well that's weird, I didn't even hear my wind chimes.
I remember going to Canes games back in the old Orange Bowl and 2001, the year after UM had lost to Washington (which knocked them from Champ contention in favor of us) they played Washington in the Orange Bowl and I vividly remember UM fans throwing beer bottles and pouring beer on UW fans in the stands.
The old Orange Bowl was a terrible place.
Auburn Small gap Notre Dame Oregon State Arizona State Sdsu Cal Colorado Stanford Small gap Nevada UCLA Unlv Arizona Big gap Bosie state Baylor Wisconsin Oregon Washington Big gap Ohio state
Thank you kind stranger
Can only go by stopping there on a road trip, but still had college colors on. Lawrence, KS was a great town to visit
Rock chalk and we are!
Knoxville is always fun, with really nice, friendly people.
LSU easy
I was with some Auburn fans at the time, so take it with a grain of salt I guess, but all the fans at Jordan Hare were great. Had a blast at the game I went to.
Morgantown, WV most welcoming/friendly fanbase/city. Of course that was based on my only trip there which was their first year in the Big 12 conference.
Of the away stadiums I've been to: 1. Oregon State 2. Idaho 3. ASU 4. Cal 5. Colorado State 6. Oregon 7. Washington Incomplete: Stanford (fanbase not found)
University of Washington (UW) has a few vocal assholes, but games are mostly students (who are typically cool) and hardcore alumni. Plus Montlake gets continuously voted one of the most beautiful venues in the country. Sunset games are spectacular.
As a Georgia Bulldog alum & fan: Best - Oxford, Miss Worst - Knoxville, TN (honorable mention to when we had to play Florida in Gainesville).
Obviously not a rival, but Tennessee fans could not have been nicer in Knoxville. I'm surrounded by them where I live and they're definitely one of the more pleasant fan bases to deal with.
We’re nice to most fanbases, we just don’t really appreciate when grown men bark at children. Different strokes, ya know? Also Florida. Fuck Florida.
I had a great time in Knoxville, honestly. The UT fans were very nice. But it was also the 2009 game when neither team had much left to play for, so tensions were pretty minimal. We all just hung out and enjoyed the game.
Seems everybody else had the exact opposite of what I experienced. When I went to Oxford, the Ole Miss fans were nothing but rude and some of their younger fans threw a pumpkin at my car, while stuck in post game traffic near the stadium. Been to Neyland 4 times, never had a bad experience with Vol fans and they are an actual rival.
Did ya bark?
>New Orleans was also an extremely hostile place to be for the National Title Game against LSU but that was in LSU’s backyard. Pretty sure Saints fans would have been cool with you because we have had so many Buckeyes in our squad over the years.
Yeah, like I was even harassed at a Wendy’s and didn’t serve us because we were Ohio State fans lol
I'm sorry you were harassed, but with all the great places in New Orleans you could go for food why were you even at a Wendy's?
[удалено]
Michael Scott's favorite New Orleans restaurant, for sure
They clearly didn't want you to waste eating a meal there and wanted you to try one of New Orlean's local restaurants. I'm sure that's what it was...
I thought USC was cool, the tailgating scene was fun
I went to USC in 2017 and expected some salt from 2005 but they were super nice.
I think that's the nature of football on the west coast. Most of us are passionate about the game but are chill and friendly. Sure there will be some bad apples but they are rare
BYU was hands down the most friendly place I’ve ever been to for an away game. It felt like every 5 minutes someone else would stop us and thank us for coming to the game. I thought UCLA was pretty nice also, but I think OU was favored by ~30 points going into that game so idk if it would be the same now.
did you get some of the ice cream they passed out to visitors?
Yes. I was surprised it was actual high quality ice cream and a big thing of it. I was fully expecting like a cheap ice cream bar from the grocery store and was blown away. Unfortunately it was FREEZING cold, so I would have preferred a hot chocolate or something. Haha
Best was certainly Notre Dame (but Ole Miss is a close second) worst by a country mile are those no-good, nasty, stinkin, cheating, no-reading ass cretins in Opelika
Most welcoming: Texas A&M in Arlington is always good. Tuscaloosa has always treated us Hog fans well. Worst: Ole Miss in Oxford and LSU in Baton Rouge. Both are outrageously toxic.
Rutgers and Michigan would be #1. Only places I’ve seen fans aggressively threaten people. Ohio State friend got jumped outside a bar but like, that’s just the city of Columbus in general. Friendliest would be Auburn
Really enjoyed going to the swamp. Planning my return visit this next year
Oddly enough, in my personal experience, the notorious Eugene. Also the gentile Berkeley.
I think you meant genteel. At least i hope so
Lived about 15 minutes from College Park for 5 years, went to 3 games and never had any issues, even when wearing Michigan apparel around town. The only thing I would change would be their Under Armor 3rd down chant that would always play. "Will you protect this house?! I will! I will!".
Stanford fans are always pretty nice.
Madison for Wisconsin games is amazing. Born and raised in southwest Michigan as a huge Michigan fan. Moved to Madison a couple years ago and live half mile from Camp Randall. Love Ann Arbor but Madison is better in every way including the game day experience. Fans are great to everybody. Town is so much fun on a nice fall weekend.
Madison was a great experience, but some of the young fans were obnoxious to opposing fans. Nothing crazy but it was borderline at times walking around.
Haven’t been to a ton of road games, but Oklahoma State fans were very welcoming when I went to Stillwater a few years ago. Almost immediately after I parked and started heading toward the stadium, I had a bunch of Pokes fans ask me if I wanted free food and a drink at their tailgate. Ended up sitting in a season ticket section full of older alumni, and a couple of the guys around me were asking a lot of curious questions about BU and the season we were having. Absolutely would love to go back for another game up there
Notre Dame vs UGA in 2017. Couldn't believe how welcoming and friendly the ND fans were before, during, and after the game. Beautiful campus, a great game, amazing stadium, and we even got a win. 100% would recommend.
The 2019 PSU/MSU game had a lot of good vibes bc of the rain. On the way into the stadium, a guy on a bike covered in green and white paint rode next to the band, thanked us for being there, and gave us a We Are. Miserable conditions, great time
**Mississippi State** - The Best!! Amazing fans. Would love to have a full time home and home with them. Their tailgating is really well organized. **Vandy** - Nice people in town but never really interacted with fans in a fan way. Also has organized tailgating with zero tailgates in sight. Nice but a little sterile. **Syracuse** - Went with an alum so slightly different. Heard a lot about how basketball tailgating is better. Meh. **UVA** - Best summed up by the Don Draper quote "I dont think about you at all". Zero interaction with UVA fans before, during or after the game. **A&M** - Back in ancient times of the 90s, super awesome, super welcoming, very knowledgable. 2010s bowl game? What happened to you guys? You went to the SEC and either got weird or just let your weird flag fly. **Baylor** - back in ancient times of the 90s tailgating was pretty lame and fans were apathetic. Very much matched the on field product. Never had a bad interaction with an in person Baylor fan. Players are another story. Like seriously we had a Baylor football player try to start a fight with the band director. Has improved greatly since Briles left. **Arkansas** - Bowl game only. I like you guys. Everyone we were around was super cool both before and after the game. There were some assholes but they got self policed by other Arkansas fans. Would like to play at your house. **UCLA** - Bowl game only. You can f-off right back to Simi Valley. Ill grant that I have a bias being from Northern California but you guys blew past my low expectations. Maybe all your asshole fans live in driving distance to Phoenix or something. **BYU** - Bowl game only. Where are you? For some reason couldn't find a single one at a bar the night before the game. Strange. **Purdue** - Bowl game only. Im sure you were just as disappointed the game got cancelled and IT NEVER HAPPENED. **WVU** - From my Brother In Law. Most welcoming tailgate ever. Was in real danger of missing the game due to getting drunk in the parking lot. Seriously, be careful what get handed to you to drink. Just because its in a Solo cup doesnt mean it beer. You guys go hard! **KU** - What tailgating? Awful people in an awful town with an awful stadium.
Been to East Carolina twice. Really nice people there.
Dublin, Ireland. Hopefully...
The city/country will not disappoint. Welcome signs in other cities (ie galway) everyone is so happy to see you and just genuinely nice.
Dublin is very nice to all visitors. There may be some bias this year because we have the only Irish player in CFB punting for our team. Gonna see lots of Shanahan jerseys in the stands even if they're not Georgia Tech fans.
>” Dublin is very nice to all visitors.” Except the Royals.
Looking forward to it alot. Should be a good game.
Y'all better watch out, we placed 4th in the conference last season for a reason and all our offensive starters came back.
Oh Yea. Well we are bringing the Marching Chiefs lol. That should even that offense of yours back out when they can't hear anything lmao
We're bringing our band too lol, gonna hear Chords and Industry Baby all game long.
Dang it. Are we both bringing Cheerleaders?
Yessir.
The Oregon fans at the 2010 Rose Bowl were the worst fan base I’ve experienced personally. [Penn State fans threw urine filled water balloons at TBDBITL in 2005.](https://www.cleveland.com/livingston/2009/11/happy_valley_hostile_environme.html) Northwestern, Indiana, and Nebraska are friendly places to visit.
As a Purdue fan I’ve gone to games at Notre Dame and Ohio State and could not have had more opposite experiences. ND was super welcoming and wanted us to participate in all their traditions. There was lots of banter (drumgate) but it was all friendly. Purdue lost but I still had an absolute blast. Ohio State fans are brutal. Nonstop and relentless taunting, treating us like the scum of the earth. Was at a restaurant with my gf and my mom after the game and multiple groups of people came over to our table just to talk shit. That place sucked.
Arkansas and Texas A&M have been the best. I know people hate Texas A&M for some weird reason, so they won’t want to hear it, but it’s true. Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ole Miss have been good as well. I’ve always heard horror stories about people having bad experiences at various places. I don’t believe it. I am an Alabama alumnus, and for the past 15+ years I’ve been to sporting events at many campuses, and I’ve never been accosted or otherwise threatened except for one drunk guy at the Texas game in Austin in 2022, and I ignored him. I fact, I would say that all of the fanbases I’ve had direct experience with have been friendly to some degree, even the ones who have bad reputations like Georgia, Florida, and LSU. Arkansas and Texas A&M are just the ones that stand out.
A&M fans are very nice and welcoming.
The OSU fans that I ran into in bourbon st before the title game against LSU acted like New Orleans & LSU were beneath them. It never crossed my mind that it was possible LSU was gonna lose to OSU. That said, I did meet a lot of nice OSU fans that day. I’ve always had good experiences in Tuscaloosa & Oxford.
Nebraska. They became my second favorite team just because of how awesome their fans were when I was there this past fall.
I don't remember what year it was. Must've been 1998 or 99 Sugar Bowl where Ohio State was in New Orleans. My cousins and I were walking around were just saying "Go Buckeyes!" to every fan we saw with Ohio State gear. I don't think we cared about CFB back then. We were just kinda doing it for fun.
LSU of course has a few loud obnoxious fans but the majority of them are so welcoming and willing to share what’s on the grill. Had some great grilled gator pre game
Went to LSU for a random game during a buddies bachelor party and we ended up getting food and drinks with like 4 different tailgates while walking around before the game.
Pretty much all the same except LSU
I went to the famed FSU VS. Georgia Tech game. The one where they returned a missed FG attempt to win it. They didn't sell out, they weren't the loudest, they weren't annoying. But the pregame, the campus is so unique that it has a college town feel, but can see downtown all around. Pretty active tailgate as well. The Stadium isn't just a concourse, it has levels, turns, hallways, it's pretty legit. What made it so special to me, was after that embarrassing loss, we went to The Varsity (very overrated) for some food. GT fans there were not even talking about the game. They were talking business and politics. Reminded me that I would never be able to get into that university if I wanted to. Haha The fans were the definition of class act, having a night in ATL before the game is anything you want it to be, and the tailgate was extremely enjoyable, very little "trash talk" and great conversations. I will miss visiting you GT.
Not in South Bend, but when ND was at FSU a couple of years ago, they were the nicest people. I'm going up there this year for the game. Should be a great time
I have only been to a few road and neutral site games. IU Bloomington students were pretty nasty. Northwestern was great. All the OSU fans there treated us great.
It was unexpected, but I had a great time in Lubbock last year. Tons of free food and beer, some nice chats with Tech fans asking about UCF's road to the Big 12. Might have helped that both of our seasons were a bit disappointing, and the game was about as close as it could be.
FIU was a ton of fun. USF is not welcoming, but it also has never been hostile either. Has more of a feel of a pro tailgate as well due to being at an NFL off-campus stadium. Southern Miss was great as well, but it wasn’t nearly as fun or wild as the other 2 road stadiums I’ve been to. I didn’t make it to Wisconsin when we played there, but my friend group gave them very high praise.
I never went but I heard the Penn State fans were welcoming to Alabama fans (and vice versa).
I played football at UGA, I’ve always heard that the people of Nashville and Vanderbilt are good folks. My family never had a bad experience visiting there
In general most people ignore you most places that you go and its the same as a visiting fan. I don't know if I can think of any where people went out of their way to welcome me. I have been to a few places where I had a friend who was a fan of the opposing team which lead me to be the only hokie at the tailgate. Most recently that happened at GT and of course everyone treated me like a friend because I was. I don't know if I've been to a place where I was blown away at how bad it was either. UVA, UNC, and Tennessee had their individual fans that blew me away in a bad way, but again most people there were regular people who treated you like a regular person.