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AuEGO4

AuEGO4

Goldy is my Home Boy
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What did you all think about the full experience last night before/after the game?
I personally took the light rail from MOA to Green Line to East Bank stop and walked around. Total trip took 40 min. MacNamera was pretty active. Walked past the Jerrysota tailgate about 1.5 hours before game time and looked like the bag tourney was done and not many students partying there. Made my way to Ski U Mah lot and noticed the change in parking to fill the exterior then fill up the middle. Loved this concept because you weren't dodging late arrivers all night trying to drive over your tailgate party. Nadine continues to throw one heck of a party. Entrance into the game was easy. Lines for beer were short. Student section was packed and looked like a blast from the open end perspective. The temporary bleachers were full and lively. Saw an old man in the front row with a huge flask just having a wonderful time. My dad said that's "Old School Gopher Football".
Didn't take the light rail home so can't speak to that.
Any other observations about the "Game Day Experience" I had a frickin blast and it was worth the trip for San Diego.
Also sporting the t shirts we had made with our Gopherhole names on them. If ya see us in Texas say Hi.
 

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Before the game was wonderful. I had a nice walk in from Como Ave where I park for free. Stopped at Qdoba for dinner and headed over to the Bank.

I always love going to the games, but the crowd was awful last night. The students were 1/3 of the attendance, and were the only ones watching the game. It didn't even rain except for a few sprinkles.

After the game was great because everyone had left and there was no traffic :)
 

Light rail was generally smooth (don't know why we had to walk to one end of the platform to board the westbound trains after the game, but whatever).

Beer lines were short all night, which was great. Like having Nordeast available everywhere. Cheese curds seemed improved somehow, so that was a plus. Overall another great night outdoors at our on-campus stadium.
 

Light rail is a joke. Took it from MOA at 5pm and didnt get to game until after kickoff. Then another hour trip back after the game. Would never consider light rail unless parking near West Bank and taking it from there. Billion dollar boondoggle as per usual.
 



LesBolstad said:
Light rail is a joke. Took it from MOA at 5pm and didnt get to game until after kickoff. Then another hour trip back after the game. Would never consider light rail unless parking near West Bank and taking it from there. Billion dollar boondoggle as per usual.
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Were you surprised at the time it took? If you do the trip map on their website it tells ya it's a 45 min trip.
 

The free MTC transport was nice. I took the 6 bus from Uptown and there were quite a few gold clad fans on board. We all transferred to the Green Line which had a ton of fans. Next time we will try to fire up he rouser during the light rail trek. Lots of excited looking freshman got on at the West Bank and it was fun to see how excited they were for life in general and football.
Why oh why did they get rid of draft beer at the stadium though? My friend and I were both disappointed in not being able to get nice frothy mugs of Summit Saga like last year, and instead were left with 12 oz cans of Summit EPA or tall not so delicious beers.
 

I took the light rail to the game. It wasn't crowded, I suppose the 6:00 start kept a lot of people away. I always try to arrive in time for the pregame show, but wasn't able to this time. I did like riding the light rail to the game. The band had their usual "salute to music that really doesn't work all that well with a marching band."

Sent from my LG-L38C using Tapatalk 2
 

WorkingMyTailOff said:
The free MTC transport was nice. I took the 6 bus from Uptown and there were quite a few gold clad fans on board. We all transferred to the Green Line which had a ton of fans. Next time we will try to fire up he rouser during the light rail trek. Lots of excited looking freshman got on at the West Bank and it was fun to see how excited they were for life in general and football.
Why oh why did they get rid of draft beer at the stadium though? My friend and I were both disappointed in not being able to get nice frothy mugs of Summit Saga like last year, and instead were left with 12 oz cans of Summit EPA or tall not so delicious beers.
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I saw people with Saga cans and I did see someone with a clear plastic cup of beer. I just didn't want to spend the time hunting around the stadium for them. Nice that they have beers at most of the concessions though, makes it a lot easier to grab one and not miss much. And they just give you the can, which is nice and speedy. If anyone knows where the Saga is, then please let me know. And I think they extended beer sales through the third quarter now.

I also took advantage of the free MTC transport coming from NE Mpls. Wish there was a direct bus route from my area to campus, but the transfer wasn't too bad.

Also to AuEGO4, nice shirts. Saw you and goldyspop enjoying the game from the plaza.
 



LesBolstad said:
Light rail is a joke. Took it from MOA at 5pm and didnt get to game until after kickoff. Then another hour trip back after the game. Would never consider light rail unless parking near West Bank and taking it from there. Billion dollar boondoggle as per usual.
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LesBolstad has the perfect avatar picture. Every post he makes, I just read it in a "grumpy old man" voice.
 

Does your Dad's name mean you were once Goldy? That would be awesome.
 


I noticed that they had prices for a hot dog and a beer or a hot dog and a soda clearly posted at the concession stands. There was one oldster complaining that beer sales at all stands were making lines too long.
 



Theyve never figured out how to go from pregame video to team coming on to the field. Last night was close. The team behind the garage door with brick by brick painted on it....it opens and teams runs out was pretty cool. Thought the video was meh but the entrance gave me chills.
 

Maximus said:
Theyve never figured out how to go from pregame video to team coming on to the field. Last night was close. The team behind the garage door with brick by brick painted on it....it opens and teams runs out was pretty cool. Thought the video was meh but the entrance gave me chills.
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I agree. The garage opening was cool, and the entrance was cool.

The video wasn't their best. The previous 2 years had been really great, but this one didn't have me glued to the screen like the others.
 

Got to sit in the big buck seats and meet some very nice ticket holders from the Grand Forks area. I was glad the rain never hit us too hard although my wife got cold as usual. For the first time, I parked at the Weisman (sp?) Ramp and it was only $10. Had some pizza on Wash Ave with a beer and headed in to the game. Sitting on the 45 is nicer than my old corner seats but I miss being on the home side. Intro was fine and they kept things moving. Had some annoying folks around, but you never get away from that. 5 minutes in they said it was the worst game we would play all season and in the 3rd it was the best we'd play all season. Love it...
 


I preloaded my belly at the State Fair all morning, then took the campus connector to Stub & Herbs for an afternoon snack. I had no issues with the game or stadium. It was nice to have beer available almost everyone, but it would be nice if a beer vendor walked the aisles too! The lower student section was full from kickoff to final whistle, with the upper deck 1/3rd to 1/2 full and back. The students outnumbered the general ticket holders at kickoff and finale as well.

I took the lightrail home after the game and it was nice. There was no wait and it was a smooth transition to the MOA line. To LesBolstad, I don't really understand what you could possibly have been thinking that you'd have a smooth ride at peak rush hour and within an hour of kickoff. Plan ahead. It eliminates headaches
 

LesBolstad said:
Light rail is a joke. Took it from MOA at 5pm and didnt get to game until after kickoff. Then another hour trip back after the game. Would never consider light rail unless parking near West Bank and taking it from there. Billion dollar boondoggle as per usual.
Click to expand...
I think you need to plan better. A 6 PM kickoff on a weekday with rush hour and you are leaving for the game an hour before gametime?
 

AuEGO4, good post and great shirts! Love them.

LesBolstad, I can't believe you are complaining about the length of time at that day.
 

Stan said:
AuEGO4, good post and great shirts! Love them.

LesBolstad, I can't believe you are complaining about the length of time at that day.
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No doubt. In a personal vehicle, it would take an hour to get from MOA to TCF at 5pm.
 

It was all good. I'm a state fair parker and did not mind the inconvenience of parking at the Wash ramp. Although a 7:00 PM kickoff would be more ideal, I really hope we open every season on this Thursday night.

Go Gophers!
 


afurry91 said:
I agree. The garage opening was cool, and the entrance was cool.

The video wasn't their best. The previous 2 years had been really great, but this one didn't have me glued to the screen like the others.
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IMO, it's the music in the video that's the letdown -- the actual footage and production value are awesome. Take the music from either of the last two years, slap it over this year's video, and you'd have another spine-tingler...again, just IMO.
 

LesBolstad said:
Light rail is a joke. Took it from MOA at 5pm and didnt get to game until after kickoff. Then another hour trip back after the game. Would never consider light rail unless parking near West Bank and taking it from there. Billion dollar boondoggle as per usual.
Click to expand...

I find it hard to believe that in today's age that they can't run a train just for you. I can see it now: "THIS TRAIN RESERVED FOR LES BOLSTAD ONLY! NON STOP FOR LES!!!
 

Left Woodbury at 4pm. Got to Hwy 280 by 4:30pm and didn't get off the Huron exit until 5:10. That was frustrating but the traffic on campus itself was surpsingly easy. I too am a St. Paul fairground parker but used the Washington Ave ramp instead.
 

Great to be back for Gopher football! First year tailgating in Lot 37 and game 1 was a great start.

One of the best things about the game experience for me was what WASN'T there....evidence of the Vikings using the Bank. The facilities people did an outstanding job of ensuring the University of Minnesota branding was everywhere, in my opinion. It might have been there if I would have looked really hard, but I did not see any purple.

Perhaps it was just me, but I also thought there were much less advertising gimmicks woven throughout, which is a big plus.

The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the announcer drawing out "touchdowwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnn" after a score that got progressively longer and more drawn out as the game wore on.

A great night, awesome to be back, and Go Gophers!
 

The forecast caused me to think twice about making the 4 hour drive. But it was a good decision and it kept lots of others away. A disappointing turnout except for the students.

The students were good in voice and number but, IMO, not up to last year when it came to enthusiasm.

Did the Buffalo Wings food for the first time and the no bone wings were horrible. But they had Surly Furious on tap which made up for it.

Mac Center crowd was sparse also. Beer there is now $6. I thought I saw $8.50 for a canned brew in the concourse. is that correct?

Seemed like the commercials were fewer and more band music than in the past.

Glad I made the trip.
 

Dr.Don said:
I find it hard to believe that in today's age that they can't run a train just for you. I can see it now: "THIS TRAIN RESERVED FOR LES BOLSTAD ONLY! NON STOP FOR LES!!!
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but Les is right. Game day congestion is all evil. Case in point, the Great Recession and loss of jobs made traffic flow so much better.

There is a solution to Les' problem. To ensure we manage game day traffic, we need to make sure we we suck every season thereby reducing ticket sales and attendance. This way, Les will have an easier go getting to and from games.
 

AuEGO4 said:
What did you all think about the full experience last night before/after the game?
I personally took the light rail from MOA to Green Line to East Bank stop and walked around. Total trip took 40 min. MacNamera was pretty active. Walked past the Jerrysota tailgate about 1.5 hours before game time and looked like the bag tourney was done and not many students partying there. Made my way to Ski U Mah lot and noticed the change in parking to fill the exterior then fill up the middle. Loved this concept because you weren't dodging late arrivers all night trying to drive over your tailgate party. Nadine continues to throw one heck of a party. Entrance into the game was easy. Lines for beer were short. Student section was packed and looked like a blast from the open end perspective. The temporary bleachers were full and lively. Saw an old man in the front row with a huge flask just having a wonderful time. My dad said that's "Old School Gopher Football".
Didn't take the light rail home so can't speak to that.
Any other observations about the "Game Day Experience" I had a frickin blast and it was worth the trip for San Diego.
Also sporting the t shirts we had made with our Gopherhole names on them. If ya see us in Texas say Hi.
Click to expand...

That is because the student tailgate lot officially "closes" about 60 minutes or so prior to the start of the game.
 

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