I just want to thank all of you for helping me plan an incredible weekend in Champaign. All of the recommendations were very helpful and worked out. A couple of you asked for a recap from an outsider so I’ll try my best.
Friday: We arrived in Champaign around 5pm and immediately went to Papa Del’s. Seems like we just beat the traffic because we got seated pretty fast. The Pizza was great! Overall just a nice unique place to eat. There were some Illinois fans there who were all extremely polite. (You guys legitimately have the nicest fans in the big 10) One guy made a comment about you guys winning the game but it was definitely just fun football fan trash talk and we all laughed. We hung around for a bit and then just headed out to where we were staying.
Saturday: We got up and headed to the lot some of you suggested on the corner of Springfield and Goodwin. We made sure to walk down through Main Quad to South Quad while making our way to the stadium. The campus is absolutely beautiful the open quad was great to coast through and a lot of the buildings in that area looked really cool. Definitely felt unique and made me wish we had walked through while class was in session. It was pretty quiet and peaceful but as we approached Grange Grove we heard a roar and could immediately feel the energy. Seeing all of the orange tents set up and the sea of Orange around the big noon setup really made it feel like a big game. We kinda just wandered around for awhile and then entered the stadium.
Stadium Atmosphere: We walked in and immediately went up to the colonnades which really kinda gave me a feeling I don’t think I’ve ever had at a football stadium. It put the name “Memorial Stadium” into perspective some. It also provided a great view of Grange Grove. As we got to our seats we were impressed that the students were really pouring in 30ish minutes before kickoff. I’ll reiterate again it really had a big game feel. Prior to kickoff up until the interception I thought it was really loud. I haven’t been everywhere in the big 10 but of the places I’ve been would rank it behind Penn St as far as loudest road games I’ve been to. The atmosphere was great seeing the towels swinging and the fans really buying in to make it an electric environment. The energy died some as the game got out of reach but it seemed like the fans still were enjoying themselves and having a good time. The environment was much more upbeat and than a game at the Shoe so that cool to experience.
Afterwards we walked around campustown for a bit and took everything in. Then we made our way to Black Dog for some excellent BBQ. (Great recommendation)
There’s plenty of stuff I’m sure I left out but it felt like it was getting pretty long winded. Overall though it was a great road environment, a cool town that was very unique, and the nicest most approachable fans I’ve been around. Thanks again guys!
Friday: We arrived in Champaign around 5pm and immediately went to Papa Del’s. Seems like we just beat the traffic because we got seated pretty fast. The Pizza was great! Overall just a nice unique place to eat. There were some Illinois fans there who were all extremely polite. (You guys legitimately have the nicest fans in the big 10) One guy made a comment about you guys winning the game but it was definitely just fun football fan trash talk and we all laughed. We hung around for a bit and then just headed out to where we were staying.
Saturday: We got up and headed to the lot some of you suggested on the corner of Springfield and Goodwin. We made sure to walk down through Main Quad to South Quad while making our way to the stadium. The campus is absolutely beautiful the open quad was great to coast through and a lot of the buildings in that area looked really cool. Definitely felt unique and made me wish we had walked through while class was in session. It was pretty quiet and peaceful but as we approached Grange Grove we heard a roar and could immediately feel the energy. Seeing all of the orange tents set up and the sea of Orange around the big noon setup really made it feel like a big game. We kinda just wandered around for awhile and then entered the stadium.
Stadium Atmosphere: We walked in and immediately went up to the colonnades which really kinda gave me a feeling I don’t think I’ve ever had at a football stadium. It put the name “Memorial Stadium” into perspective some. It also provided a great view of Grange Grove. As we got to our seats we were impressed that the students were really pouring in 30ish minutes before kickoff. I’ll reiterate again it really had a big game feel. Prior to kickoff up until the interception I thought it was really loud. I haven’t been everywhere in the big 10 but of the places I’ve been would rank it behind Penn St as far as loudest road games I’ve been to. The atmosphere was great seeing the towels swinging and the fans really buying in to make it an electric environment. The energy died some as the game got out of reach but it seemed like the fans still were enjoying themselves and having a good time. The environment was much more upbeat and than a game at the Shoe so that cool to experience.
Afterwards we walked around campustown for a bit and took everything in. Then we made our way to Black Dog for some excellent BBQ. (Great recommendation)
There’s plenty of stuff I’m sure I left out but it felt like it was getting pretty long winded. Overall though it was a great road environment, a cool town that was very unique, and the nicest most approachable fans I’ve been around. Thanks again guys!
